101 Elementary Spanish
This course is designed for students who have never formally
studied Spanish. Students will acquire the basic vocabulary and
grammatical structure in appropriate contexts to communicate in
real world situations. They will learn to identify related words
and to deduce the meaning of unfamiliar words. As students
progress in the acquisition of the language, they will answer
questions related to readings, describe/paraphrase what has been
seen, read, or heard, respond in more complex sentences, and
improve fluency through vocabulary building, grammar
reinforcement and oral practice. Students will be exposed to
various historical, cultural, and sociopolitical aspects of the
communities that speak Spanish.
SPANISH 102 Elementary Spanish, continued
This course is designed for students who completed Spanish
101 at Albion College OR who have some high school experience in
the language. The goal of Spanish 102 is to continue to develop
the four skills necessary to acquire a second language at a
basic level (listening, speaking, reading and writing) and to
learn crucial and interesting information about the cultures
that serve as context for the Spanish language. As a significant
part of this goal you will be provided the opportunity to study
different Hispanic countries and cultures through various
in-class and extra curricular activities (movies, fiestas,
lessons, concerts, interviews, etc.). Since this course will
count for Global Studies Category, the students should be
prepared and excited to learn the Spanish language in its global
context.
Prerequisite: Spanish 101, placement exam or recommendation
of the professor.
FRLN 105:
Intercultural Understanding and Global Issues (taught in English).
This course explores a theoretical model of how
cultures are derived and what it means to interact across cultural
boundaries. Students will apply these theoretical models in the
second half of the course to select global issues to explore the
potentialities and hazards of negotiation global issues across
borders. This course is particularly useful for pre-professional
students who want to attain those skills an knowledge to effectively
function in an internally/intercultural context. Taught in
English. Myers.
201 Intermediate Spanish
Prerequisite: Spanish 102 or equivalent.
Expansion of vocabulary and grammatical structures. Increased
emphasis on conversation, composition and cultural awareness. Conducted in
Spanish. Tutorials with teaching assistants are integrated into the
course. Staff.
202 Intermediate Spanish, continued
This course continues to review the language structure
learned in previous Spanish courses, with particular emphasis on
developing conversational skills. All assignments, quizzes and
exams are designed to stimulate discussion in Spanish. Much of
the second language input comes from authentic Hispanic sources
(literary texts, film, TV, newspaper and magazine articles,
etc.) that deal with social, political, geographical,
historical, artistic and otherwise cultural issues from the
Hispanic world. The constant use of Spanish in the classroom
will significantly improve fluency. Tutorials with teaching
assistants are integrated into the course.
Prerequisite: Spanish 201, placement exam or permission of
the instructor.
301 Advanced Spanish Grammar and
Composition (1) Fall
Prerequisite: Spanish 202 or placement.
A writing-intensive course designed to develop competency in
written Spanish. Review of the finer points of grammar. Attention is given
to the development of the mechanics of writing, the fundamentals of
stylistics and the basic organizational requirements of composition.
Implementation of appropriate strategies for various kinds of writing,
including description, narration, summary, analysis and essay. Conducted
in Spanish. Staff
302
Advanced Oral and Written Expression through Hispanic Cinema
Development of communication skills in Spanish relative to
grammar, syntax, appropriate registers, necessary vocabulary,
non-verbal cues and culturally specific idiomatic usage. Also
includes the processes of conversation development, thesis
formation and strategies for argumentation operating within
Hispanic cultural norms, as well as key contemporary issues of
importance to the Spanish-speaking world. This course is
designed to improve fluency through the viewing, analysis and
interpretation of Hispanic film. Conducted in Spanish.
Expected level of proficiency: Spanish 301 or permission of
instructor.
303: Spanish for the Professions
Designed for students who are interested in studying Spanish
in the context of activities related to the professional world.
This course will focus on domestic and international issues
related to business and commerce, education, and social and
service work and includes topics related to cultural
considerations, generalized and specific professional concerns,
correspondence, and translation. Spanish 303 emphasizes the
specialized vocabulary of the professional world and requires a
working knowledge of Spanish grammar. Conducted in Spanish.
Expected level of proficiency: Spanish 301 (highly
recommended) or permission of instructor.
304: Workshop of Creative Writing in Spanish
This course endeavors to increase the students’ proficiency
in Spanish and ability to think creatively and critically
through the process of creative writing in the target language,
and through the activities related to that process. The
components of the course will address the need to increase each
student’s vocabulary, grammatical accuracy and understanding of
linguistic and generic structures, but in a much different
context than some traditional language classes. To be successful
in this course a student does not need to be a talented author,
nor does s/he already need to have a highly developed creative
imagination. In the course we will learn how to be creative, how
to effectively communicate in Spanish and how to have fun doing
it.
Spanish 304 introduces short stories, poetry and theatre
through the analysis and interpretation of interesting and
entertaining literary models. Then the students write their own
works (some of which might be read at the
Conference of the Michigan Academy of Science, Arts and Letters
in Kalamazoo on March 7), poems (some of which will be recited
in the 6th Annual Hispanic Poetry Program in late March) and
short theatre pieces (one or two of which will be produced for
and premiered in a special year-end Spanish program at the end
of April). The class will also edit and publish a creative
writing anthology which includes all the projects produced
individually and collaboratively during the semester.
Again… ¡you do not need to be “good at” creative writing to
benefit enormously from this course! You need only a desire to
better learn Spanish, the openness to try new things, and the
ability to not take it personally if someone makes suggestions
to help you improve your work.
Kalen Oswald
Expected level of proficiency: Spanish 301 or above.
305 Peninsular Cultures (1) Spring
Prerequisite: Spanish 301 or equivalent.
Examination of selected aspects of Spanish culture, values,
attitudes, behaviors and aesthetic appreciation from prehistoric times to
the present. Conducted in Spanish. Offered in alternate years.
Staff.
306 Latin American Civilization (1)
Spring
Prerequisite: Spanish 301 or equivalent.
Examination of selected aspects of Latin American culture,
values, attitudes, behaviors and aesthetic appreciation from prehistoric
times to the present. Conducted in Spanish. Offered in alternate years.
Staff.
314 Storytellers (1 unit)
This course will focus on the short story as a genre to
expose students to key literary and cultural movements across
Latin America. Movements that may be western or autochthonous to
the region, including but not limited to: the oral tradition,
romanticism, naturalism, realism, detective stories, modernism,
surrealism, magical realism, etc. Students will learn about
these movements to provide insight into the context in which
they emerge, and most of all, to explore how meaning is produced
and conveyed by these different registers. By focusing on the
nuances of storytelling, students will be exposed to different
ways of analyzing and thereby develop their ability to process
abstract thinking in their second language.
315 Interpretation of Literature
(1) Spring
Prerequisite: Spanish 301 or equivalent, or permission of
instructor.
An introduction to the analysis, interpretation and
appreciation of literature, focusing on a variety of texts from the
Spanish-speaking world. Special attention will be given to theoretical
concerns. All class discussions and writing in Spanish.
Oswald.
340 Peninsular Literature I (1)
Fall
Prerequisite: Spanish 315 or permission of instructor.
Selected topics from the poetry, prose and drama of medieval
and early modern writers. Covers works from twelfth- to
seventeenth-century Spain. Conducted in Spanish. Emphasis is placed upon
careful reading and discussion of the texts to develop critical skills and
literary appreciation. Participation in all class discussion is considered
essential. Writing assignments will assess students’ comprehension of
texts and ability to apply analytical skills. Offered in alternate years.
Staff.
341 Peninsular Literature II (1)
Fall
Prerequisite: Spanish 315 or permission of instructor.
Selected topics from the prose, poetry and drama of modern
Spanish authors. Covers works from eighteenth-century to present-day
Spain. Conducted in Spanish. Emphasis is placed upon careful reading and
discussion of the texts to develop critical skills and literary
appreciation. Participation in all class discussion is considered
essential. Writing assignments will assess students’ comprehension of
texts and ability to apply analytical skills. Offered in alternate years.
Staff.
342 Latin American Literature I (1)
Spring
Prerequisite: Spanish 315 or equivalent.
Analysis of prose, poetry and/or drama. Covers works through
nineteenth-century Latin America. Conducted in Spanish. Emphasis is placed
upon careful reading and discussion of the texts to develop critical
skills and literary appreciation. Participation in all class discussion is
considered essential. Writing assignments will assess students’
comprehension of texts and ability to apply analytical skills. Offered in
alternate years. Staff.
343 Latin American Literature II
(1) Spring
Prerequisite: Spanish 315 or equivalent.
Analysis of prose, poetry and/or drama. Covers works from
early twentieth-century to present-day Latin America. Conducted in
Spanish. Emphasis is placed upon careful reading and discussion of the
texts to develop critical skills and literary appreciation. Participation
in all class discussion is considered essential. Writing assignments will
assess students’ comprehension of texts and ability to apply analytical
skills. Offered in alternate years. Staff.
350 Women in Hispanic Literature
This course will allow students to become acquainted with the
wide-ranging field of Hispanic Women Writers and will deal
exclusively with canonical and non-canonical Latin American
Women Writers. By studying narrative, drama, poetry, and film
composed by Latin American Women, the students will reflect on
issues of gender, culture, and history beyond the framework of
an Anglo-American context. This course will also strengthen
students’ reading and analytical abilities within the target
language, with special attention given to improving their oral
and discursive abilities in Spanish. An overarching theme of the
course will be the relationship of woman and nation, including
the concepts of Republican motherhood and female sexual
transgression. The course will include works by Sor Juana Inés
de la Cruz, Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda, Delmira Agustini,
Gabriela Mistral, Alfonsina Storni, Clorinda Matto de Turner,
Claribel Alegría, Alejandra Pizarnik, Rosario Castellanos, Luisa
Valenzuela, Elena Poniatowska, Sabina Berman, and Lucrecia
Martel. Students in the course will also learn to apply various
theories and concepts derived from the fields of feminism,
psychoanalysis, and cultural, film, and performance studies.
Expected level of proficiency: Spanish 315 or permission of
the instructor.
360:
Key Issues in Spanish Literature and Culture - Perspectives on
the Spanish
Civil War
The Spanish Civil War is perhaps the event that has most
greatly affected the history, politics, culture, arte and
society of 20th century Spain than any other incident. The
repercussions of this conflict have far reaching effects in
temporal and geographic terms. This course is called
“Perspectivas sobre la Guerra Civil española” because we will
analyze the war from multiple artistic, ideological and temporal
points of view. We will study the causes and results of the
civil war in addition to several cultural artifacts that deal
with the conflict.
Artistic Perspectives: We will analyze academic works,
journalism, movies, documentary films, narrative fiction,
poetry, theatre, graphic art, painting and music.
Ideological Perspectives: We will consider the point of view
of the Nationalists, exiled Republicans, Republicans who stayed
in (or returned to) Spain, the international brigades and
governments of other countries.
Temporal Perspectives: We will examine the work of people who
witnessed the war as adults, those who were children at the time
of the war and people who were born after the conflict was
officially over.
The students will acquire valuable knowledge about an
important historical period that in the United States is often
taught incorrectly, or even worse, ignored altogether. Kalen
Oswald
Prerequisite: Spanish 305, or Spanish 314, or Spanish 315, or
permission from the professor.
362
Latino Literature And Cultures in the United States
In this interdisciplinary course, students will be exposed to
a wide array of cultural production from the Latino communities
in the United States including fiction, film, testimony, poetry,
theater, music, visual arts, popular culture and foods. Students
will critically engage texts from the standpoint of key
sociopolitical moments in order to explore the effects of
history in the migratory fluxes that continue to shape the
demographic, political and cultural reality of the Unites
States. Rather than presenting the different Latino identities
in isolation from each other, the course is designed
thematically so that students can trace the intersecting
commonalities and despairing contrasts in regards to,
borderlands, migration, “acculturation”, labor, gender issues,
popular culture, “minorities of the minorities” (ei: indigenous,
and afro-latin), spanglish, etc. The study of the bilingual and
multicultural nature of Latinos will serve as a gateway to
understanding past and present. This course will strengthen
student’s analytical skills, as well as competency in writing,
reading and oral ability in Spanish. It is meant so that future
professionals can be prepared to culturally understand today’s
changing world.
Expected level of proficiency: Spanish 315 or permission of
the instructor.
398 Practicum in Spanish (1/2)
Fall, Spring
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
Experience in language teaching in the classroom or with
individual students under the close supervision of a regular instructor.
Offered on a credit/no credit basis. Staff.
SEMINARS:
402
Revolution & Resistance in Latin America (1 unit)
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor
In this seminar students will examine the concepts of
revolution and resistance to explore how these have defined the
cultural imaginary of Latin America. How is revolution and
resistance defined and understood? How have these categories of
struggle permeated the cultural production of this part of the
world? And how have historical realities been narrated in
cultural terms? By addressing such questions, students will be
able to trace concrete and abstract relationships between
historical processes and artistic movements. Parting from the
literary tradition, students will be exposed to a wide array of
cultural production that includes poetry, essays, novels, short
stories, testimonies, music, film and photography. A critical
approach to these forms will allow students to identify the
relation between narrative forms and social movements that have
marked the historical trajectory of the continent. Julia Medina
402:
The Female Prostitute in the Hispanic World
Gender Studies
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor
This course allows students to become acquainted with the
myriad representations of the female prostitute in Spanish and
Latin American literature and film. By studying canonical and
non-canonical poetry, narrative, film, and essay from the
medieval period to the present day, the students will reflect on
issues of gender, culture, and history beyond the framework of
an Anglo-American context. We will examine the social and
cultural construction of female sexual deviancy in works such as
La Celestina, Don Quijote, Los de abajo, El laberinto de la
soledad, Eréndira, La novia oscura, Princesas, Aventurera, and
En la puta vida. This course will also strengthen students’
reading and analytical abilities within the target language,
with special attention given to improving their oral and
discursive abilities in Spanish. Rebecca Whitehead-Schwarz
411, 412 Directed Study (1/2, 1)
Directed studies generally are reserved for those students who
have schedule conflicts between their two majors. They are also available
for students pursuing honors theses. In specific cases, students may
request directed studies that cover topics beyond the scope of the current
curriculum. These students are expected to present their proposed plan of
study to the instructor for approval well in advance of registration.
Spanish faculty will determine if directed study work counts toward the
completion of the major.
Staff.
back to top
