Students who have studied this language for three or more years in high school, or who use it at home, are not eligible to register for this course. This course focuses on the development of basic communication skills with an emphasis on vocabulary building and functional grammar. Attention is also devoted to developing basic reading and writing skills. Meets World Languages Requirement; satisfies SEEDS World Language I student learning outcome in alignment with Diversity and Intercultural Competency value. Students who do not comply with the placement policy will be dropped from this course.
For non-native speakers (i.e. students who do not speak and/or understand Spanish) who have completed Spanish 101 at MSU, have transferred credit for 101 from another university, or have been placed at this level after taking the placement exam. This course focuses on the continued development of basic communication skills with and emphasis on vocabulary building and functional grammar. Attention is also devoted to developing basic reading and writing skills. Meets World Languages Requirement; satisfies SEEDS World Language I student learning outcome in alignment with Diversity and Intercultural Competency value. Students who do not comply with the placement policy (i.e. native/heritage Spanish speakers or students whose official placement does not qualify them for Spanish 102) will be dropped.
For non-native speakers (ie. students who do not speak and/or understand Spanish) who have completed Spanish 102 at MSU, have transferred credit for 102 from another university, or have been placed at this level after taking the placement exam. This course focuses on enhancing the communicative skills acquired in The development of reading and writing skills will also receive special attention. Students who do not comply with the placement policy (i.e. native/heritage Spanish speakers or students whose official placement does not qualify them for Spanish 103) will be dropped. Satisfies SEEDS World Language student learning outcome in alignment with Diversity and Intercultural Competency value.
For non-native speakers (ie. students who do not speak and/or understand Spanish) who have completed Spanish 103 at MSU, have transferred credit for 103 from another university, or have been placed at this level after taking the placement exam. This course focuses on enhancing and expanding the communicative skills acquired in previous coursework with a continued emphasis on speaking. The development of more advanced reading and writing skills will also receive special attention. Meets World Languages Requirement; satisfies SEEDS World Language III student learning outcome in alignment with Diversity and Intercultural Competency value. Students who do not comply with placement policy will be dropped.
This course serves as an introduction to medical communication skills in Spanish. Students will practice all four skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing in addition to expanding their medical, health, and science terminology in real-world settings. It is designed for non-native students of Spanish who are studying Spanish for the first time or who have taken two years or less of Spanish in High school. This fully online course is divided into weekly thematic modules. Satisfies SEEDS World Language I student learning outcome in alignment with Diversity and Intercultural Competency value.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 105 or departmental approval. The course serves to provide the continuing development of medical communication skills in Spanish. Students will practice all four skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing in addition to expanding their medical, health, and science terminology in real-world settings. It is designed for non-native students of Spanish who took the first part of this course (SPAN 105) at MSU or who have taken three years or less of Spanish in high school. This fully online course is divided into weekly thematic modules. Satisfies SEEDS World Language I student learning outcome in alignment with Diversity and Intercultural Competency value.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 106 or departmental approval. This course serves to provide the continuing development of medical communication skills in Spanish. Students will practice all four skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing in addition to expanding their medical, health, and science terminology in real-world settings. Students will also have the opportunity to practice medical interpretation, a useful skill to have in the medical setting. This fully online course is divided into weekly thematic modules. Each module is divided into tabs. Each tab focuses on a specific study area related to the theme of the module. Satisfies SEEDS World Language III student learning outcome in alignment with Diversity and Intercultural Competency value.
Course designed to provide law enforcement officials and persons in related areas with a basic knowledge of the Spanish language as it pertains to the performance of their duties in the Hispanic community. Completion of the course will give the student a knowledge of Spanish which will enable him to deal with those immediate problems where the use of English is not possible. Not for master credit. Meets World Languages Requirement.
This course is designed for students who, because of their exposure to Spanish at home or in the community, have a general familiarity with the language and understand some spoken Spanish but have had little or no formal instruction. This course emphasizes communication skills and the development of the abilities needed to read, write, and speak Spanish in a variety of contexts. Taught in Spanish. Special fee. Meets World Languages Requirement.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 104. The main goal of this course is to provide students with the language skills necessary to pursue upper division course work in Spanish. It is also designed to fulfill the World Languages Requirement for students who place at this level. The focus of the course is on developing students' proficiency through grammar instruction and review, vocabulary building exercises, readings of original texts by contemporary authors, examination of contemporary film, and the exploration of the link between literature, film, language, and culture through writing and conversation. A wide spectrum of topics and disciplines will be examined for the purpose of improving students' language skills and introducing them to key aspects of Hispanic culture. Meets World Languages Requirement.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 104 or equivalent. This course focuses on the development of culturally appropriate written and oral communication in business contexts. Specialized vocabulary, discourse styles and the interpersonal etiquette required to function effectively in the Spanish-speaking business world will be addressed as well as the organization and culture of businesses in Spanish-speaking countries. Students who complete this class will develop the skills necessary to conduct professional interviews, meetings and presentations, and produce written communication in a variety of styles required in a business setting, including emails, reports and letters. Taught in Spanish.
An intermediate level course for non-majors to improve spoken Spanish and acquire knowledge of Hispanic culture.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 104 or equivalent. This course is designed to improve students' knowledge of the basics of Spanish grammar and their ability to apply this knowledge in oral and written exercises. It centers on the various lexical categories and on their syntactic functions in phrases and simple sentences. Attention is given to the linguistic and communicative needs of both native and non-native speakers of Spanish. Taught in Spanish.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 241. This course is designed to strengthen students' written Spanish in a variety of contexts: short narratives, descriptions, argumentative essays, and literary analysis. Attention is given to style, register, vocabulary enrichment, and referencing. The course emphasizes writing as a process and the critical thinking and research skills needed to fully develop, articulate, and support one's ideas. Meets the Graduation Writing requirement for majors in Spanish. Taught in Spanish. Satisfies SEEDS Effective Writing I student learning outcome in alignment with Diversity and Intercultural Competency value.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 221. This course focuses on the importance of negotiation skills in Spanish applied to the realm of international business. The course will provide a general overview of the importance of cross-cultural communication in our current globalized society and will examine in particular the main strategies used to present an argument, reach an agreement, and perform other communicative functions related to the business world. Students will be able to apply these strategies to practical cases based on real business situations in the Hispanic world as well as compare and contrast Spanish negotiation mechanisms with those used in the Anglo‐Saxon world. Taught in Spanish. Equivalent course SPAN 232 effective through Fall 2019.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 241. The aim of this course is to examine the phonemic and phonetic systems of the Spanish language within the context of current linguistic theories. The course helps students and future teachers of the language improve their pronunciation in Spanish. It also helps them learn classroom techniques to foster the acquisition of proper pronunciation patterns. Special attention is given to phonetic dialectal differences in the Spanish-speaking world. Technology is used extensively. This course prepares students for the ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview. Taught in Spanish.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 241. Practice in spoken Spanish through assigned topics and participation in discussions about daily life and world events; gives a competence in Spanish as an instrument of oral expression. Classes limited to 16 students. Required for certification. Native speakers of Spanish must substitute another elective.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 241 and SPAN 242. This course will explore one aspect of the Spanish language study which is either not covered in the curriculum or deserves more in-depth treatment than is possible in an existing course. May be repeated twice for a maximum of 9 credits.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 241 or SPAN 242. This course examines the role of the Spanish language in the United States. We analyze the linguistic impact of the contact between different varieties of Spanish and between Spanish and English on phonetics, morphology, and syntax. We also explore sociolinguistic issues related to the use of Spanish in public life, the connection between the Spanish language and the Hispanic/Latino community and the centrality of Spanish in the debate over bilingual education. Satisfies SEEDS Analyzing Cultures and Societies student learning outcome in alignment with Diversity and Intercultural Competency value.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 242. This course provides students with an introduction to the scientific study of the Spanish language. It explores the phonological, morphological, syntactic, and semantic systems of the language within the context of current linguistic theories. It also gives special attention to the notion of linguistic variation and to sociolinguistic and pragmatic aspects of the language and how they are manifested in the various communities that constitute the Spanish-speaking world. Students will demonstrate their understanding of the structure and functionality of the Spanish language through a field study. Taught in Spanish.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 241. The course proposes to identify the characteristics of various literary genres and define the inner workings of a piece of literature. Selections from the epic poem, the ballad, drama, satirical essays, philosophical novels, etc., will be used to enable the students to define the uniqueness of each genre. Certain forms of literature such as the jarcha, romance, zejel, peculiar to the Spanish literary tradition will also be analyzed. The role of the author, the uses of images and irony, the narrative point of view, etc. will be stressed as essential to literary criticism.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 241 or equivalent. This course is an introduction to translation into English and Spanish. Its aim to give students a detailed and comprehensive understanding of the basic principles of the theory of translation, main techniques and strategies for translating as well as the differences between English and Spanish regarding grammar, syntax, punctuation, register, and style. Students will learn to identify specific and general difficulties in texts at both the linguistic and extralinguistic level and how to solve them by applying the appropriate technique. Students will practice translating general texts taken from newspapers and magazines in both directions: from English into Spanish and Spanish into English. Meets the Graduation Writing Requirement for majors in Spanish.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 350. The aim of this course is to build on the knowledge students have gained from SPAN350 and expose them to the different types of specialized translation from English into Spanish and vice versa. The types of texts used will be literary, legal, medical, technical, and commercial. Students will learn the specific grammatical and stylistic features of each type of text and the translation strategies relevant to each field. Students will also learn how to use specialized dictionaries and online glossaries. Meets the Graduation Writing Requirement for majors in Spanish.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 241. This course analyzes themes, topics and problems that are recurrent but also in the process of change in significant works of Spanish literature throughout the centuries. Readings will include canonical authors as well as lesser known writers. The focus of this course as well as the readings varies according to the instructor. Taught in Spanish.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 241. This course analyzes themes, topics and problems that are recurrent, but also in the process of change, in significant works of Latin American literature throughout the centuries. Readings will include canonical authors as well as lesser known writers. The focus of this course, as well as the readings, varies according to the instructor. Taught in Spanish.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 361 and SPAN 363. The exploration of a topic in Spanish or Latin American Literature which deserves more in depth treatment than is possible in an existing course. The specific topic will be announced each time the course is offered. This course may be repeated twice for a maximum of 9 credits.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 241. This course provides an overview of the interaction between sociohistoric contexts and cultural expressions in Spain, taking into account the phenomenal culture development of Spain at the beginning of the 21st century and its surprising rupture from recurrent patterns of the past. Through the vehicles of literature, film, theater, art, and manifestations of pop culture, the course examines the tension between official and unofficial discourses of representation, manifestations of high and low culture, the negotiation of identity in Spain's various regions, and the restructuring of Spanish "nationhood." Contemporary phenomena will be analyzed in a retrospective fashion providing insights into earlier periods of Spanish cultural history. Taught in Spanish.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 241 or SPAN 242. Study at a university in a Spanish-speaking country to gain firsthand knowledge of the historical, social, economic and cultural life of the country. Credit by evaluation.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 241 or SPAN 242. This course analyzes selected literary texts, films, and music from Latin America and the Caribbean that grapple such events and issues as the icons of culture; culture as commodity; culture as a site of resistance; and everyday cultural practices. Discussion will focus on theories about the nation, the role of national icons in the formation of cultural identity, cultural practices such as football, the bolero and Latin American telenovelas or soap operas, and the role of television and film. Students will be exposed to the cultural complexities of Latin America and the Caribbean and the relationship between "high" and "low" culture; oral culture and written culture; rural culture and urban culture; and the problems facing Latin America and the Caribbean today. Meets World Cultures Requirement.
Prerequisite(s): Departmental approval. This course provides an opportunity to extend academic resources beyond the campus by placing the student in meaningful learning situations with thoroughly screened and approved employers. Each chosen situation is to prepare the student to play a dynamic role in society.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 348. This course reviews and refines students' understanding of the most important structural features of Spanish. It gives special attention to the formation and analysis of complex syntactical structures, the interplay between Spanish morphology and syntax, and to areas that present the greatest level of difficulty for English speakers. Taught in Spanish.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 350. This course introduces students to the various technological tools that aid in the automation and streamlining of certain translation tasks using computers and specialized terminology databases and software. Insofar as the last two decades we have seen the proliferation of online as well as computerized tools aiming to assist both the novice and professional translator. Allowing students interested in careers in translation to become familiar with Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) or Machine Translation (MT) tools constitutes an obvious imperative. Students will thus have the opportunity to familiarize themselves not only with key CAT concepts and terminology, but also with the most popular CAT tools and software on the market. Both online and software-based tools, especially the most popular, will be reviewed and introduced in hands-on settings. Students will also learn the dos and don’ts of Computer-Assisted Translation.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 241 and SPAN 242. This course provides students with the theoretical and practical underpinnings of a communicative, standards-based approach to teaching Spanish as a world language in elementary and secondary schools. Students will become familiar with current theories of second language acquisition and explore their practical application to the Spanish language classroom. They will learn a variety of teaching methods and develop lesson plans that incorporate state and national standards. Required for all students in the Teacher Education Program. Taught in Spanish.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 350. With the fast growth of the audiovisual translation industry, there is an increasing demand for high-quality subtitles, surtitles, closed captions, and video descriptions in film, opera and television. This course offers a practical approach to the art of audiovisual translation in all its forms. It uses software and audiovisual material taken from different authentic contexts for hands-on training and experimenting. In our state-of-the-art translation lab, students follow a step-by-step guided method to familiarize themselves with media's specific technical requirements and shape their translations in accordance with professional standards. To complete the course, students will assemble a final full-length audiovisual project of their choice. Meets the Graduation Writing Requirement for majors in Spanish.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 418. This course builds on the theoretical and practical foundation established in SPAN 418 by enabling students to delve deeper into specific aspects of language teaching. Students will fine tune their ability to create a wide variety of original pedagogical materials and implement different forms of assessment. They will develop additional strategies for maximizing use of the target language in the classroom, expand the ways in which they use technology to enhance language learning, and participate in multiple microteaching sessions. Students will also familiarize themselves with the specific needs of both second and heritage language learners and will explore strategies for addressing these needs. Required for students in teacher education program. Taught in Spanish.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 350, SPAN 351 or SPAN 420. This course aims at understanding the main theoretical concepts of audio description (AD) and its practice in English and Spanish mainly for the big screen and theater. Audio Description is the verbal narration of a visual product (a movie, a documentary, a theater play, a painting in a museum) mainly intended for blind and visually-impaired audiences. Since the main two factors in AD are observation and selection, students will be exposed to a variety of exercises where they will have the opportunity of enhancing their selective and critical thinking skills at the same time that they refine their linguistic abilities.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 361. A study of significant works of Spanish Literature from the end of the 19th century through the present time as well as films by important film directors that are either based on such texts or reflect their principal themes. The course will provide detailed study of the evolution of major political and social issues in Spain during the last two centuries and the representation of issues in literature and film. The specificities of the fiction and film will be an essential component of the course and different narrative strategies and cinematographic techniques relevant to each work will be discussed.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 361. Medieval Spanish masterpieces will be selected as basic topics around which the background that made them possible will be studied in an effort to bring to light the intricate relationship between the outstanding men of letters and their times.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 361. This course examines selected works of Spanish novelists from the beginning of the 20th century to the present time, with particular emphasis on post Civil War writers and the relationship between the evolution of the novel as a literary genre and changing social, cultural, and political structure. Special attention will be given to the novel's role in reflecting and challenging stratified cultural values and in using complex narrative techniques to suggest the dismantling of traditional authority. Authors include Cela, Moix, Goytisolo, Martin Gaite, Rodoreda, among others. Taught in Spanish.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 361. This course will examine main Spanish poets and dramatists of the 19th century. Textual analysis of the works of Rosalia de Castro, Gustavo Adolfo Becquer, Leandro Fernandez de Moratin, Duque de Rivas, Jose de Espronceda, and Jose Zorrilla will be situated in the context of Neoclassical and Romantic Poetics. Spanish readings will be accomanied by a study of classical rhetoric and references to the Poetics of Aristotle, Luzan, Victor Hugo, and William Wordsworth. Taught in Spanish.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 361. This course will examine main literary trends in the Spanish prose of the 19th century: Romanticism, Realism, and Naturalism. Selected readings from the works of Mariano Jose de Larra, Cecilia Bohl de Faber (Fernan Caballero), Juan Valera, Benito Perez Galdos, Leopoldo Alas, and Emilia Pardo Bazan will be studied in light of theories of the novel and the literary essay. Taught in Spanish.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 361. This course examines representative works of contemporary Spanish theater from the perspective of the relationship between social, political, physiological, and philosophical concerns and dramatic structure. The role of censorship during the Franco regime and its effect on Spanish theater and performance from 1939-1975 will be discussed as well as various political ideologies of the post Franco era and theater's role in portraying a changing urban society marked by shifting gender roles, consumerism, and the redefinition of cultural values. Readings include selection from main stream and independent theater, among them works of Lorca, Arrabal, Buero Vallejo, Pedrero, Romero, Falcon, and Alonso de Santos. Taught in Spanish.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 363. From the early days of the Spanish conquest, witnesses used the crónica to understand the past and present, pointing out injustice, demanding reform, and giving voice to historically marginalized groups. This course will study the Hispanic essay and crónica as vehicles for charting shifts in theories of identity and trends in Hispanic literature. It will also examine the debates these texts have prompted, including critical voices that encompass colonialism, Romanticism, the "Boom" and current theories of hybridity and globalization.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 361 or SPAN 363. An important genre in Hispanic literature, short stories provide a unique context for delving into the literary periods, historical frameworks and geographical spaces in which they were written. This course explores the cross-cultural processes that underlie major trends in Hispanic literature from the late 19th century to the present, highlighting the migration of persons, ideas, and cultural forms.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 361 or SPAN 363. This course examines the evolution of Hispanic poetry, from Modernism and Vanguardism to Posmodernism and the most recent poetic expressions in the Spanish-speaking world. Students will analyze contemporary regional trends, politics and identities at the crossroads of oral, musical, and written traditions.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 361 or SPAN 363. This course examines selected readings from significant Hispanic novelists and the manifestation of timeless struggles in their literary works. A special emphasis on the issues of gender, race relations, the search for a national identity, and the distribution of economic and political power will allow students to make meaningful connections between literary representations and current social/cultural trends.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 241. This course is designed to teach the student the specialized techniques of oral interpreting and to prepare them for a career in the field. Visits to observe professional interpreters at work will be arranged.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 351 or departmental approval. The aim of the course is to engage students in an extensive translation project that entails two different aspects: translation and commentary. The first part consists of the translation of a text relevant to a specialized translation field (medicine, law, science, advertising, business, economics, literature, foreign affairs, etc). The second stage consists of a critical essay about the difficulties students encounter in the translation and the techniques and strategies used to solve them. The course includes group work involving students engaged in the translation of similar fields and individual sessions between each student and the professor.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 241, SPAN 242 or Department permission. This course, structured as a workshop, explores the strategies of creative nonfiction and fiction writing, examining the roles of memory and research in developing personal narratives. Students receive feedback from their instructor and their fellow writers in a roundtable setting and offer their classmates responses to their work as well. Class sessions are principally devoted to reading and discussing students' fiction, usually short stories, or excerpts from novels-in-progress.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 241, SPAN 242 or department permission. In this course students expand their idea of what a poem is and begin to develop their abilities to express themselves through that medium. Students engage with traditional topics but will also be exposed to poetry that addresses current issues. This course introduces students to several styles of poetry and challenges them to consider the issue of individual voice when reading and writing poetry.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 241, SPAN 242 or Department permission. This course exposes students to the art and basic practices of literary translation. They engage with several genres: poetry, essay and fiction. By comparing different translations of the same literary work, students are introduced to the most common challenges translators face. They also learn techniques and strategies for producing literary translations that accurately represent the original text.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 361. This course examines in depth Miguel de Cervantes's masterpiece. It focuses on such aspects as Cervantes's literary hall of mirrors; his use of narrative techniques that anticipate aspects of the contemporary novel; and his profound view of the human condition and of such themes as madness, the complexities of self and identity, shifting gender norms, challenges to authority, and the transformation of fiction into life and life into fiction. It also examines Cervantes's critique of 16th and early 17th century Spain and the relationship between Cervantes's life and the creation of Don Quijote. Taught in Spanish.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 361 or SPAN 363. Through a critical analysis of Hispanic plays, students will examine recurring themes, such as, absolute power versus the quest for social justice, the colonial legacy and forging of national identities, the power of language and the role of art in the theater's historic trajectory. With a focus on intercultural aspects of theater and performance, the course will encompass a wide variety of practices, including solo/collective, avant-garde and community theater, street performance and agitprop. Supplemental readings will provide the necessary historical, critical, and theoretical background for interpreting and staging these works.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 350, SPAN 351, SPAN 361, SPAN 363 or by departmental approval. This course on the art of translation explores the world of musical theater adaptation into Spanish. Through the fusion of language, culture, and musical expression, the different modules will guide students in the translation of lyrics, dialogues, and cultural references while preserving the essence and rhythm of the originals. Participants will engage in hands-on exercises, analyze different types of musicals, and collaborate with fellow learners to overcome linguistic obstacles. By the end of the course, students will have a comprehensive understanding of the translation process needed to adapt musical plays for Spanish-speaking audiences.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 361. An overall approximation to early modern Spanish theater, this course focuses on text analysis and performance as two fundamental elements in the understanding and appreciation of Spanish comedias. It allows students to access the plays from different angles: 1) as texts that need to be studied analytically; 2) as cultural and historical exponents of a specific period; 3) as objects of literary and theatrical research; 4) as would-be productions waiting to be staged. After an introductory account on early modern Spanish theater and comedia performance then and now, classes are organized around three phases resembling those of theater production: text analysis, pre-production workshop, and staging.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 361 and SPAN 363. Restriction(s): Spanish majors only. Selected topics from Spanish and Spanish-American literature acquaint the student with the techniques of literary research.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 363. The contemporary novel in Spanish America, with emphasis on the "Nueva Novela".
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 363. Insight into the literature and philosophy of the Caribbean Hispanic world; contemporary Puerto Rican writers and the emergent Puerto Rican influence in the United States metropolitan areas. Meets World Cultures Requirement.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 361 or SPAN 363. This course examines various representations of sexual subversion in selected works and films of Spanish, Latin American, and Caribbean writers and film directors. It analyzes the role of the body and subversive sexualities in challenging politically imposed sexual norms and socially encoded gender practices. Topics include homosexuality and dissidence, transgender and performance, lesbianism, female bonding, and transsexualism. Selections from Allende, Goytisolo, Falcon, Arenas, Umpierre, Riera, Almodovar, Gutierrez Alea, Paris,and Bollain, among others. Taught in Spanish.
Prerequisite(s): Departmental approval. Directed independent study and research in Spanish. Open to students with a 3.0 cumulative average in at least 9 semester hours of Spanish electives. May be repeated once for a maximum of 6 credits.
This course provides students with the opportunity to explore various linguistic-oriented topics and theories in order to expand their knowledge of the structure, usage and variation of the Spanish language both in the Spanish-speaking world and in the United States. The study of these topics will be done in connection with the analysis of various literary texts. Topics to be explored will change with each offering of this course.
This course gives students a comprehensive view of different critical and theoretical approaches to literary studies, among them Russian Formalism, Structuralism, Feminist Theory, Postmodern and Postcolonial Studies, and gender and queer theory. Major articles of such theorists as Jacobson, Genette, Levi-Strauss, Barthes, Moi, Kristeva, Derrida, Foucault, Lyotard, Sidonie Smith, Benedict Anderson, Said, and Butler will be applied to specific literary texts from Latin America and Spain.
The aim of this course is to examine the evolution of the Spanish language from its origins to the present. It focuses on the phono-phonetic, morphological, syntactical, and semantic changes that characterized the evolution from Latin to modern Spanish from a political, sociological, and historical point of view. Topics include a structural and textual analysis of ancient documents and literary pieces.
This course is devoted to the teaching of the translation skills targeting the field of medical translation. Course content will reflect the variety of text types encountered in Medicine and Health Services including specialized medical articles and reports, informed consents, clinical trials, and prescription drug information. The course is oriented toward teaching students how to study the linguistic features of medical texts, determine the level of difficulty of a medical text and analyze it, set the voice and register of the translation, develop research and translation skills in medical contexts, and manage main terminology tools in the area of translation for health services.
This course is devoted to the teaching of the translation skills targeting the field of the Law and the Judiciary. Course content will reflect the variety of text types encountered in different branches of the Law including specialized legislative materials, court documents, contracts, and personal legal documents such as birth certificates, last will and testaments, divorce settlement agreements, and powers of attorney, among others. The course is oriented toward teaching students how to study and analyze the linguistic features of legal texts, translate legal terminology from English into Spanish and vice versa, set the register of the translation, and develop research, analytical, and translation skills in the area of the Law.
This course develops the foundation for professional consecutive interpretation and trains students to broaden their interpreting abilities. Drawing on various techniques such as memory drills, note-taking strategies, and role-playing, students perform a series of skill-building exercises that will gradually lead to the consecutive interpretation of various kinds of speeches. Students are expected to develop the ability to observe/analyze their work, self critique their strategies, and recognize the opportunities for improvement. In this way, the course serves as an effective platform of high residual value that extends beyond the classroom and reaches the professional arena. By the end of the semester students will be able to perform consecutive interpretation both ways, in the target and source languages (EnglishSpanish).
This course develops the foundation for professional simultaneous interpretation and trains students to broaden their interpreting abilities. Drawing on basic drills such as shadowing, and dual tasking and advanced techniques such as paraphrasing, summarizing, and decalage, students perform a series of skill building exercises that will gradually lead to the simultaneous interpretation of various kinds of speeches. Students are expected to carry on research in order to build glossaries on their own as well as observe/analyze their work, self critique their strategies, and recognize the opportunities for improvement. In this way, the course serves as an effective platform of high residual value that extends beyond the classroom and reaches the professional arena. By the end of the semester students will be able to perform simultaneous interpretation and whispering in the direction of their choice (EnglishSpanish) in large conference settings, smaller scale corporate meetings, and more personalized situations involving one or two participants.
This course introduces students to the various technological tools that aid in the automation and streamlining of certain translation tasks using computers and specialized terminology databases and software. Insofar as the last two decades we have seen the proliferation of online as well as computerized tools aiming to assist both the novice and professional translator. Allowing students interested in careers in translation to become familiar with Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) or Machine Translation (MT) tools constitutes an obvious imperative. Students will thus have the opportunity to familiarize themselves not only with key CAT concepts and terminology, but also with the most popular CAT tools and software on the market. Both online and software-based tools, especially the most popular, will be reviewed and introduced in hands-on settings. Students will also learn the dos and don’ts of Computer-Assisted Translation. Students may not receive credit for both FREN 515 and SPAN 515.
This course examines main philosophical concerns of the Middle Ages and the connections and dialogue that exist between works of this period and the contemporary world. Through close analyses of representative works, the course explores the roles played by identity, representation, and desire in the construction and reconstruction of the aesthetic of the self as well as the representation of the human in relation with the divine.
This course is required for graduate students enrolled in either the Initial Certification or MAT program. It provides students with the theoretical and practical underpinnings of a communicative, standards-based approach to teaching Spanish as a world language in elementary and secondary schools. Students will become familiar with current theories of second language acquisition and explore their practical application to the Spanish language classroom. They wil learn a variety of teaching methods and develop lesson plans that incorporate state and national standards. Taught in Spanish.
With the fast growth of the audiovisual translation industry, there is an increasing demand for high-quality subtitles, surtitles, closed captions, and video descriptions in film, opera and television. This course offers a practical approach to the art of audiovisual translation in all its forms. It uses software and audiovisual material taken from different authentic contexts for hands-on training and experimenting. In Schmitt Hall's state-of-the-art translation lab, students follow a step-by-step guided method to familiarize themselves with media's specific technical requirements and to learn to shape their translations in accordance with professional standards. To complete the course, students will assemble a final full-length audiovisual project of their choice.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 518. This course builds on the theoretical and practical foundation established in SPAN 518 by enabling students to delve deeper into specific aspects of language teaching. Students will fine tune their ability to create a wide variety of original pedagogical materials and implement different forms of assessment. They will develop additional strategies for maximizing their use of the target language in the classroom, expand the ways in which they use technology to enhance language learning, and participate in multiple microteaching sessions. Students will explore strategies for addressing these needs. Required for students in the Teacher Education program. Taught in Spanish.
Focusing on the Baroque chiaroscuro as a metaphor for the scission of the 17th century Spanish subjectivity, this course draws from Lacanian theory to articulate and analytical framework that allows a postmodern reading of comedias by both leading and peripheral playwrights. Recurring topoi, such as gender confusion, honor, uxoricide, rape, order and chaos, are contextualized and deconstructed in light of psychoanalysis and performativity.
This course examines the works of major authors of the Spanish Golden-Age and concentrates on the subtextual dialogues established by these authors in reaction both against their time and space and themselves. Readings include canonical prose and poetry of the period as well as peripheral writings. Literary texts of the period are analyzed in the context of different currents in literary theory and genre studies.
This course takes a closer look at the fragmented discourses intertwined in the texts of Cervantes. By drawing from different critiques and theories about Cervantes, among them those dealing with paradox, madness and sanity, nationhood and the satire of a monolithic Spanish identity, and the function of dialogue and intertextuality, this course delves into the many layers of Cervantes's writings. It also examines the narrative complexity of Cervantes's masterpiece and the ways in which Don Quijote anticipates many aspects of postmodern fiction.
This course exposes students to two of the literary manifestations of 18th and 19th century Spain. It explores the concept of the "Enlightenment" in the painting of Goya and the writings of Feijoo and Cadalso as well as the socioeconomic context of this period. It also examines European Romanticism in art and literature; selected Spanish Romantic poetry, drama, and essays, including the writings of Larra, Becquer, Rosalia de Castro, Duque de Rivas, and Zorrilla are analyzed in light of literary theories of the 18th and 19th centuries.
The focus of this course is the study of the so-called "novela realista" or the Spanish novel of the 19th century. It explores cultural, literary and socioeconomic influences on the novel as well as the theory and the practice of this genre in the 19th century. Texts of 19th century Spanish authors are accompanied by selected theoretical readings on the novel written by twentieth-century critics Miguel de Unamuno, Jose Ortega y Gasset, M. Bakhtin, Doritt Cohn, and Gerard Genette, among others.
This course examines major works of the generation of writers whose intellectual development coincides with the defeat of Spain in the Spanish-American War of 1898. Attitudes toward national identity, literature, culture, politics, gender, and philosophy will be explored as well as the concept of literary generations and their inclusions and exclusions. Readings will include selections from canonical writers - Unamuno, A. Machado, Valle-Inclan, Azorin, and Baroja - as well as texts from women writers - Caterina Albert and Carmen Burgos, among others - historically excluded from this generation.
This course analyzes works of Spanish literature from the late 19th century to the present and films that are either based on specific texts or reflect their major themes. It discusses film and fiction as distinct modes of artistic expression and the process by which complex narrative strategies are rendered into visual images and cinematographic techniques. A variety of film genres, novelistic techniques, idological concerns, and gender roles are studied in the works of writers like Galdos, Tusquets, Rodoreda, Riera, and Munoz Molina and film directors, Bunuel, Bollain, Almodovar, Betriu and Miro, among others.
This course aims at understanding the main theoretical concepts of audio description (AD) and its practice in English and Spanish mainly for the big screen and theater. Audio Description is the verbal narration of a visual product (a movie, a documentary, a theater play, a painting in a museum) mainly intended for blind and visually impaired audiences. Since the main two factors in AD are observation and selection, students will be exposed to a variety of exercises where they will have the opportunity of enhancing their selective and critical thinking skills at the same time that they refine their linguistic abilities.
A study of the formation and the nature of Spanish civilization through an investigation of the political, social and cultural trends and influences on the Iberian Peninsula from prehistoric times to the present.
This course examines selected works of Spanish theater from the beginning of the 20th century to the present. It explores the relationship between ideology and dramatic technique during the Franco regime and the Post Civil War and Post Franco periods, and the Spanish theater's appropriation and adaptation of theories of Artaud, Brecht, and the theater of the absurd, among others. The theater as a vehicle for social and political critique, subversion of gender norms, exploration of the complexities of identity formation, and challenge to historical values will be explored through selections of Valle-Inclan, Lorca, Arrabal, Buero Vallejo, Diosdado, Pedrero, and Romero, among others.
This course examines the evolution of the Spanish novel from the 20th century to the present and the relationship between the evolution of narrative techniques and strategies and changes in Spanish social and political structure. Theories of the novel offered by diverse European and American critics will be combined with the study of various novel forms from social realist to psychological realist and the postmodern and their respective debt to Cervantes's masterpiece, Don Quijote. The role of the novel in circumventing censorship, challenging official norms and myths, and dismantling traditional literary and political authority will be examined in the works of Cela, Delibes, Martin Santos, Falcon, Martin Gaite, Diaz-Mas, and Juan Goytisolo, among others.
This course examines Spanish poetry from the beginning of the 20th century (Juan Ramon Jimenez, A. Machado) to the poetic expressions that emerged after Spanish Civil War (Miguel Hernandez and Gloria Fuertes, among others). Different trends, topics, influences and movements will be examined, among them Symbolist and post Romantic poetry at the beginning of the 20th century; European Ultraism and Futurism; Surrealist poetry; painting and cinema in Spain; the notion of "Avant-Garde"; art as a game; humor and irony in poetry; homoerotic expressions of love in the poetry of Federico Garcia Lorca and Luis Cernuda; and social poetry and the poetics of protest. Students will be exposed to classical notions of Rhetoric as part of the process of analysis of poetry.
This course examines the works of Spanish writer Federico Garcia Lorca (1936). His biography and his artistic collaborations with important artists such as Salvador Dali and Luis Bunuel will be explored. The course will pay attention to Lorca's traditional plays and poetry and will study Lorca's more obscure, surrealist endeavors such as Poeta en Nueva York, Asi que pasen cinco anos, Sonetos del amor oscuro and El publico. Students will be exposed to notions of classical rhetoric as well as queer readings of Lorca's writings.
This course presents a systematic, scientific study of the Spanish language. It explores the phonological, morphological, syntactic, and semantic systems of the language. It also gives special attention to the notion of linguistic variation and to sociolinguistic and pragmatic aspects of the language and how they are manifested in the various communities that constitute the Spanish-speaking world. This course provides students with the opportunity to conduct original research to further explore a linguistic topic in more detail.
This course examines Colonial Latin American texts such as Hernan Cortes's Cartas de relacion, Cristobal Colon's Cartas del descubrimiento, Sor Juan Ines del la Cruz's writings, Dabeza de Vaca's Naufragio and Bartolome de las Casas's Brevisima relacion del la destruccion de las Indias, among others, in light of postmodern and post colonial interpretations. Semiotic and anthropological readings are also applied to the course selections.
This course provides an in-depth study of the aesthetics of Romanticism in Europe and its subsequent adaptation by Latin American writers. Special emphasis is given to Argentine Romantic writers of the period. Texts will be analyzed in the context of Romantic aesthetics and political, historical and social change in the Latin American continent. Realistic and Naturalist aesthetics will also be discussed as will such aspects of economic and social change as the growth of the city, the influx of immigrants, social exploitation, and racial strife.
This course is divided into three main components. The first one studies in depth the novels of the Mexican Revolution from Azuela to Carlos Fuentes. A sociological approach will be applied to the novels of this period and students will trace the changes that the novel of the Revolution reveals as it moves from one generation to another. The second component examines the novels of the land and of social reform from J.E. Rivera to the indigenous novel. Attention will be given to the Andean novel and the reappearance and adaptation of neo-realistic aesthetics. The third component deals with novels of the city, mainly in the southern tip of the continent. Argentine and Uruguayan novels will be studied carefully to reveal such aspects as the growth of the city, the relationship with European novels, the need for a new language, and the birth of the psychological novel.
Designed to offer a critical introduction to contemporary dramatic writings in Latin America. Students examine a corpus of works by playwrights from a variety of Latin American nations, movements, and decades, up to the present. Taking as point of departure The Tempest, William Shakespeare's drama of conquest and resistance, students will examine themes of social justice, identity, the power of language and the role of art in theater's trajectory over the course of the twentieth century and into the present century. Major playwrights such as Rodolfo Usigli, Griselda Gambaro, and Luis Rafael Sanchez are studied within the framework of contemporary theories of performance and reception in Latin America.
This course provides an in-depth study of the aesthetics of French Parnassian and Symbolist poetics and how these in turn lead directly to the Modernist aesthetics in Latin America. Special consideration is given to Decadentism and its rejection of the social and economic values represented by the European bourgeoisie. Works by Marti, Najera, Casals, Silva, Dario, and Lugones will be approached stylistically and thematically for the purpose of identifying the radical changes in the literary text from the perspectives of language, versification, forms, themes, and the unique poetics of each member of this movement. Special attention will be given to the works of Ruben Dario in tracing the development of Modernist poetics from the pre-Modernist period through the post-Modernist period.
In this course students examine and reflect on past and current roles of the Spanish language in the United States. They compare and contrast different varieties of Spanish and analyze the linguistic impact of the contact between those varieties, as well as between Spanish and English, on phonetics, morphology, and syntax. They also explore sociolinguistic issues related to the use of Spanish in public life, the connection between the Spanish language and the Hispanic/Latino community and the centrality of Spanish in the debate over bilingual education. Additionally, students will investigate related topics of interest and synthesize that material for others.
A critical examination of representative examples of the Spanish American novel from the "boom" to the "post-boom".
The contemporary short story from the end of the "Modernista" period to the present time. Critical evaluation and analysis of representative works.
This course offers an overview of significant trends in Latin American poetry from the Avant-Garde to the Postmodern, with particular attention given to the most contemporary expressions of Latin American poetry. The course will focus on authors such as Borges, Lange, Ocampo, Huidobro, Neruda, Vallejo, Lezama Lima, Pizarnik, German Belli, Gonzalo Rojas and Zurita.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 504 or Department permission. This course, structured as a workshop, enables students to thoroughly examine the strategies of creative nonfiction and fiction writing while developing their personal voice. In-depth craft discussions and extensive outside reading deepen students' understanding of their chosen genre and broaden their knowledge of literary forms and techniques. Students analyze the art of choosing a subject and developing a sense of structure, consider the roles of memory and research in developing personal narratives, and practice techniques for strengthening characterization, dialogue and imagery. This course hones their ability to cultivate their own tone and style.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 504 or department permission. In this course students further develop their abilities to express themselves imaginatively through poetry, defined in the broadest sense. Students engage with traditional topics, but also learn to address the issues of our time through poetry. Students examine a wide variety of styles, ranging from traditional to experimental, contemplative and avant-garde. They analyze and write poetry with an increased focus on creating an individual voice. The course encourages students to take artistic risks while working within the context of multiple traditions.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 504 or Department permission. This course will advance students’ ability to produce substantial literary translations into their language of choice, English or Spanish, with the guidance of the instructor. By analyzing multiple translations of the same literary work, students examine the most common challenges translators face. They develop different strategies for rendering context-dependent and idiomatic expressions and for making informed syntactical and stylistic choices. Students practice techniques and strategies for producing literary translations that faithfully represent the original text and at the same time stand as works of art in their own right within the linguistic and cultural framework of the target culture.
Prerequisite(s): Majors only. This course explores contemporary narrative fiction from the Spanish Antilles (Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic). It examines foundational themes of Caribbean letters such as the plantation structure, the maroons, the repercussions of the French Revolution and the Age of the Enlightenment in the works of Alejo Carpentier, Miguel Barnett, Reinaldo Arenas and others. The works of Emilio Diaz Varcarcel, Ana Lydia Vega and Julia Alvarez highlight the problematic relationship of island and diaspora in the context of neocolonialism and identity. May be repeated once for a total of 6 credits.
This course examines autobiographical texts from Spain and Latin America in light of general theories of the genre. Autobiography will be studied in the broadest sense and will encompass the study of testimony, letters, diaries, and autobiographical poetry. Readings will include texts written by Julia de Burgos, Garcia Marquez, Jorge Guillen, Lorca, Rigoberta Menchu, Renee Mendez-Capote, and Pedro Salinas, among others.
The aim of this course is to examine the phonemic and phonetic systems of the Spanish language within the context of current linguistic theories. The course helps students and future teachers of the language improve their pronunciation in Spanish. It also helps them learn classroom techniques to foster the acquisition of proper pronunciation patterns. Special attention is given to phonetic dialectal differences in the Spanish-speaking world. Taught in Spanish.
This course on the art of translation explores the world of musical theater adaptation into Spanish. Through the fusion of language, culture, and musical expression, the different modules will guide students in the translation of lyrics, dialogues, and cultural references while preserving the essence and rhythm of the originals. Participants will engage in hands-on exercises, analyze different types of musicals, and collaborate with fellow learners to help them overcome linguistic obstacles. By the end of the course, students will have a deep understanding of the translation process needed to adapt musical plays for Spanish-speaking audiences as well as a comprehensive knowledge of recent scholarly works that inform and advance this academic field.
Prerequisite(s): Departmental approval. Independent research project done under faculty advisement. Students must follow the MSU Thesis Guidelines, which may be obtained from the Graduate School. Students should take SPAN 699 if they don't complete SPAN 698 within the semester.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 698. Continuation of Master's Thesis Project. Thesis Extension will be graded as IP (in Progress) until thesis is completed, at which time a grade of Pass or Fail will be given.