Semester Courses

During the semester students enroll in 4 or 5 classes, 12 or 15 credits.
All SPAN courses are conducted in Spanish.
Spanish Prerequistes: Completed SPAN 2020-Advanced Intermediate Spanish or the equivalent. NOTE: SPAN 2010 or SPAN 2020 are options for students on the Engineering program, Pre-Health program, or Valencia First program.
Fall students may opt to take one of the courses offered on the Engineering or one of the STEM classes on the Valencia First track.
Spring students may opt to take one of the courses offered on the Pre-Health track.

Semester Course Offering

+ Pre-requisite of 2 Spanish classes beyond the intermediate level
# Pre-requisite of at least 2 previous Spanish literature courses
~ Pre-requisite of Business Spanish or similar course. Can be taken simultaneously. Students who wish to participate in the business site visits and symposia need to apply using the Business application.

PLCP 3110-Politics of Western Europe (in English)

This course is designed to introduce you to the major political features and dynamics of West Europe’s five largest countries since 1945: the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. Readings and lectures tackle the causes of each country’s democratic stability, attempts to engineer institutions, the varying successes and failures of the parties that have dominated political life, and the interaction between politics and economics. The course concludes with a short section on the European Union.

PLCP 3330-Politics of Latin America (in English)

This course provides a sweeping overview of political life in Latin America. We consider the organization of the New World colonies, the legacies of the colonial period for present day development, the nature and scope of political competition in Latin America’s newly independent states, import-substituting industrialization, populism, and the forging of the modern state, the emergence and eclipse of military regimes, the transition to democracy and free markets, and the performance of democracy in the present day.

PSYC 2600-Introduction to Social Psychology (in English)

Surveys major topics in social psychology, including personal perception and social cognition, attitudes and persuasion, interpersonal influence, interpersonal attraction, and helping relationships. Considers research theory and applications of social psychology.

SPAN 3000-Phonetics

The main goal of this course is to improve students' pronunciation in Spanish through general concepts of Spanish phonetics; oral practice of articulation of sounds, intonation, measure and intensity; and written transcriptions. It also studies the pronunciation varieties existing throughout Spain and Latin America.

SPAN 3010-Grammar Review and Composition I

This course strives for a deeper understanding of grammatical aspects of the Spanish language through an intensive review of the main forms and uses of "ser" and "estar", simple and perfect verb tenses, pronouns, prepositions, passive voice, imperative, subjunctive and indicative/subjunctive contrast. It is assumed the student has a working knowledge of the mechanics. Though this course is a review, it is intended to increase the student's skills in reading, writing, listening and speaking in preparation for work in upper-level courses.

3030-Cultural Conversations

This course is intended primarily for students with some background in grammar and syntax. The course presents the student with a variety of practical situations to improve communication in Spanish. Oral presentations about cultural and social Spain, current readings, and quotations by famous people, debate, and acquisition of new vocabulary and expressions will all be used in this course. The final grade will primarily be assessed on the quality of class participation and weekly class work.

SPAN 3031-Conversation Cinema Latin America

This class is designed as an advanced-level conversation class, with a cultural component. The major course materials are contemporary Latin American films and supplementary readings. Classroom activities are designed to track deficiencies in pronunciation, accent, grammar, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. Through the content of the films, students study issues relating to the cultures of Latin America.

SPAN 3040-Business Spanish

This is an advanced Spanish course recommended for students with a solid background in Spanish. It focuses on the use of Spanish business terminology concerning business organization, management, banking, real estate and equipment, human resources, products and services, marketing (buying and selling, storage, transportation and advertising) and foreign trade. It also deals with the fundamentals of practical commercial Spanish correspondence and documentation. Other important aspects of the course will be studying Hispanic countries' commercial behaviors, and their present economical reality.

SPAN 3050-Spanish for Medical Professionals

This course is designed for students planning to work in the health care field and who want to develop fundamental written and oral skills and vocabulary for the assessment of Spanish speaking patients in a variety of settings. Students will gain familiarity with non-technical and semi-technical functional vocabulary, along with idiomatic expressions and situational phrases that are used in medical Spanish. Medical language skills and cultural competency for health care situations will be developed as well as a review of important grammatical features.

SPAN 3200-Introduction to Hispanic Linguistics

This course is designed to introduce the student to the study of linguistic analysis applied to Spanish. The course provides an overview of main linguistics areas such as phonology, word formation, syntax and semantics. Students will also become familiar with related aspects of the study of linguistics: diachronic approach to language and issues in sociolinguistics.

SPAN 3300-Texts and Interpretation

The course will focus on analyzing contemporary texts in prose, poetry and drama, all representing main tendencies, and showing the social atmosphere of the moment. This course will provide beginning Spanish majors and other interested students with the basic terminology and concepts involved in textual analysis. Practice in writing analytical essays and examinations on literary topics will prepare the student for more advanced courses of Spanish and Spanish American literature.

SPAN 3410-Survey of Spanish Literature II

A survey of Spanish texts and authors from the beginning of the Enlightenment to the contemporary period, that shows the complexity of the cultural and social life in Spain during this important period, the paths that historical facts such as Spanish Civil War left in the literature and the evolution of Spanish diversity. We will study literary movements such as Neoclassicism, Romanticism, Generation of 98, and Modernism, Generation of 1927, post-war and post-Franco literature.

SPAN 3430-Survey of Latin American Literature II

This is a survey of Latin American literature in the 20th century. It will deal chronologically with short stories, poetry, and a few essays. The aim will be to provide a general introduction to the study of modern and contemporary Spanish American literature, its main periods and movements and its major authors showing its richness, diversity and complexity. We will read a selection of authors coming from very diverse countries and cultural environments, among others, Gabriel García Márquez, Julio Cortázar, Juan Rulfo, Luisa Valenzuela, Joge Luis Borges.

SPAN 4040-Translation from Spanish to English

The aim of this course is to explore the general principles and the practical techniques of translation from Spanish to English (sometimes from English to Spanish) by discussing and translating examples drawn from a wide variety of registers. Colloquial, general, literary, and technical texts will be translated and commented on during the course. The final grade will be assessed not only on the basis of exams, but also on weekly class work and the quality of class participation.

SPAN 4050-Economy of Latin America (or PLCP 2500-Special Topics in Comparative Politics: Economy of Latin America)

Spain has an enormous business presence in Latin America. Large corporations were established in the finance, insurance, telecommunications, and construction sectors. But later, many small and medium-sized enterprises were developed in these countries, given the similarities in language and Latino business cultures. The goals of this course are to study the characteristics of these countries and to learn about business opportunities that many of them present.

SPAN 4600-Literature and Cinema

This course, on one hand, focuses on how translation from literary language to cinema language works. Students discuss the differences between some literary works and the movies that are based on them, and are invited to think about the changes in context, and the different rhetoric's that are used. On the other hand, since all the examples are taken from Spanish literature and cinema, the course provides students with a comprehensive look at the society that has produced the films and the books from which they are made; very diverse cultural, social and literary issues about Spain are discussed in this class.

SPAN 4700-Spanish Culture and Civilization (or HIEU 3712-Spanish Culture and Civilization)*

This course intends to inform the student of the peculiarities and traits that define and have defined the social, political, ideological, economic and cultural context of Spain on a national as well as regional scale. Using a historic-political reference, an analysis will be made of the points that best define Spanish cultural reality: festivals, bulls, music, gastronomy, art, etc…., which will allow the student to passing precise coordinates to this reality beyond preconceived ideas and stereotypes.

SPAN 4704-Islamic Iberia (or HIEU 3151-Islamic Iberia)*

This course offers an introduction to Islam and a cultural history of Al Andalus from 711 until the expulsion of the Moriscos from early modern Spain in 1609. We will concentrate on several major moments: The Emirate/Caliphate of Córodba and Islamic hegemony in the peninsula; fragmentation of the Caliphate and the cultural splendor of the taifa kingdoms in the eleventh century; the advent of Moslem fundamentalism from the Maghreb in the eleventh and twelfth centuries; the phenomenon of mudejarismo after the Christian conquest of Seville and Cordoba in the thirteenth century; the contradictions posed by Islam in Granada, a client stat of Castile during most of its history, after the decline of Islam in the rest of the peninsula (1250-1492); and the problems created by the vestigial presence of Islamic culture in a Christian state immediately after the conquest of Granada and during the sixteenth century.

SPAN 4705-Spanish Mass Media (or MDST 3504-Special Topics in Non-US Media: Spanish Mass Media or PLCP 3500 Special Topics in Comparative Politics: Spanish Mass Media)*

Mass media, especially those based on images, are very important nowadays to create, modify and empower cultural communities by providing signs of identity and topics to discuss inside the community. Studying media is a very good way to discover how today's Spaniards think about themselves and others, since media simultaneously influence and reflect those images. This course starts with background on the history and structure of the media in Spain, discussions about some multimedia texts to discover how they work and find out relevant information about Spain in different levels of reading: implicit ideologies, roles of men and women, current controversies, Spanish identity vs. regional identities, the influence of opinion lobbies, images of USA.

SPAN 4706-Spanish 20th Century History (or HIEU 3620-Spanish 20th Century History)*

The study and comprehension of contemporary Spanish history gives us a fundamental tool for understanding the present and in a way project to the future of this country. After a short summary of the 19 th century, we will make an in-depth analysis of the so-called Crisis of ’98 to begin the transition to the 20 th century; the rule of Alfonso XIII and the crisis of the Restoration; dictatorship of Primo de Rivera; Second Republic; Civil War, franquismo, and finally, the transition to democracy, finishing up in the Spain of today.

SPAN 4707-Introduction to Spanish Art (or ARTH 3545-Topics in 20th/21st Century Art:)*

Spanish art is among the richest and most important examples of world art. Its heritage is comprised of works dating from prehistoric times with the caves at Altamira up to the 21st century (Calatrava, Mariscal), including the rich architectural legacy of the Romans, the gothic castles and churches of the Middle Ages, Golden Age painting (Velázquez, El Greco, Murillo, Ribera), and the great names of the 20th century (Gaudí, Picasso, Dalí, Miró). This course will be a study of all these in which the student will analyze period style as well as the cultural, historical and ideological backdrops which triggered them, making the course a small window through which we can study the past.

SPAN 4708-Picasso (or ARTH 3545-Topics in 20th/21st Century Art: Picasso)*

If we looked back on the 20th century from the vantage point of the present, we would define it with just one word: Picasso. This artist was capable of transforming all the art of his period, showing us a new way of looking at reality and the world. Through the different artistic styles that the artist either developed or assimilated, the course will help us understand this new reality and see the world from a different perspective.

SPAN 4709-Modern Spanish Art (or ARTH 3545-Topics in 20th/21st Century Art: Modern Spanish Art)*

Nineteenth and 20th century Spanish art boasts of some of the most outstanding figures of world art: Goya, Picasso, Dalí, Miró, Tapies, Chillida, Villanueva, Gaudí and Calatrava, to name just a few among the vast artistic production that has marked world art history over these two centuries. We will study these artists, their works and influence in the different styles of the contemporary period which will be reviewed up to current times.

SPAN 4710-Latin American Culture and Civilization (or HILA 2110-Latin American Civilization 1492-1898)*

This course intends to acquaint the student with the cultural richness and diversity of Latin America. The topics to be studies are compiled from a selection of different aspects of the Latin America societies, thereby pointing out and identifying the diversity as well as similarities of countries of the region. A thematic approach is taken to study the political, social, historical, and artistic components that contribute to the unique cultural development of the continent. In addition, a study of diverse cultural artifacts is used to explore the ethnic and cultural heterogeneity of Latin American societies including the Latin presence in the United States.

SPAN 4713-Economy of the European Union or PLIR 3610-The European Union in World Affairs)*

The European Union is an economic, political, social, and cultural community that brings together twenty-eight European nations within a shared judicial, political, and economic system. Its economy is among the strongest in the world, given its Gross Domestic Product, geographical size, population, and economic activity. The EU leads the global economy in international trade and its political and cultural connections drive forces of globalization. The course will concentrate primarily, but not exclusively, on these important economic factors to better understand the economic realities of the European Union. Taking this course requires that you enroll using the Business program application.

SPAN 4993-Independent Study

Special permission needed from the program director, Dr. Fernando Operé

* In courses with two or three possible nomenclatures, the student will be able to choose only one.