Spanish Courses

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.

MLAC 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.

288, 289 Selected Topics (1/2, 1) Fall, Spring
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
An examination of a special topic which is not included in the regular curriculum. Offered to meet the evolving needs and interests of students. Staff.

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

SPANISH 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.

SPANISH 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 Creative Writing Workshop (1) Spring
Expected level of proficiency: Spanish 301 or permission of instructor.
Rotates among “Spanish/Latin American/ U.S. Latino Theatre,” “Spanish/Latin American/ U.S. Latino Short Story” and “Spanish/Latin American/ U.S. Latino Poetry.” Introduces the respective genre through readings of literary works and critical and theoretical studies. Includes development of a portfolio of creative writing projects produced individually and collaboratively, and meetings with Hispanic artists and writers in Detroit and Chicago. Offered in alternate years. Oswald.

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.

307 Cultural Encounters: Caribbean, Mexico and Central America (1)
Expected level of proficiency: Spanish 301 or equivalent, or permission of instructor.
Examines past, present and future struggles of cultural encounters and production in the Spanish-speaking Caribbean, Mexico and Central America. Explores cultural artifacts such as music, visual arts, performance arts, literature, popular culture and folklore from the legacy of the pre-Columbian period to the twenty-first century and considers this region’s growing interaction with the United States. All readings, discussions and written work in Spanish. Offered every third year. Medina.

314 Storytellers (1) Fall
Expected level of proficiency: Spanish 301 or permission of instructor.
An introduction to the workings of storytelling. Focuses on the short story as a genre to explore the different ways of narrating through key literary and cultural movements that have defined the Spanish-speaking world, including the oral and pre-Columbian traditions, romanticism, modernism and magical-realism. Medina.

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.

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 (1) Fall
Expected level of proficiency: Spanish 315 or equivalent, or permission of instructor.
Analysis of a special problem, topic, issue, phenomenon, period, author, genre or movement in Spanish literature and/or culture from its beginning to the present. All reading, discussions and written work in Spanish. Offered every third year. Oswald.

361 Key Issues in Latin American Literature and Culture (1) Fall, Spring
Expected level of proficiency: Spanish 315 or equivalent, or permission of instructor.
Analysis of a special problem, topic, issue, phenomenon, period, author, genre or movement in Latin American literature and/or culture from its beginning to the present. All reading, discussions and written work in Spanish. Offered every third year. Medina.

SPANISH 362 Hispanic 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.

391, 392 Internship (1/2, 1) Fall, Spring
Offered on a credit/no credit basis. Staff.

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.

401, 402 Seminar (1/2, 1)
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
Staff.

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.