(file last updated: [8/10/1998 - 15:28:7])
With the large number of Hispanicsin the world and in the United States, a Spanish concentrationor minor is now of greater value than ever. The study of Spanishlanguage and literature not only broadens students' cultural horizons;it proves extremely useful in preparation for careers--whetherin legal, medical, business, or other professions.
Students considering a Spanishconcentration should complete the language requirement as soonas possible, preferably by the end of their first year at Brandeis.(They may also complete the optional ECS 100a, the Proseminar,early in their Brandeis career.) They are then advised to takeSPAN 41b or 42b, and must take SPAN 105a before beginning thesequence of Spanish language (SPAN 106b) and literature (SPAN110a, 111b, and beyond) courses that will fulfill the Spanishconcentration. Please note: Many Spanish concentrators and minorschoose to study in Spain or Latin America for all or part of theirjunior year. Normally, any full-credit Spanish literature coursetaken abroad will count toward the Spanish concentration up toa maximum of four courses for concentrators and two courses forminors. Students interested in learning more about the Spanishconcentration or minor are encouraged to speak with the undergraduateadvising head in Spanish.
See Romance and ComparativeLiterature.
The concentration consistsof nine semester courses.
A.ECS 100a (European Cultural Studies: The Proseminar). A Spanishcourse numbered above 111 and taught in Spanish may be substitutedfor ECS 100a.
B.SPAN 106b (Spanish Composition, Grammar, and Stylistics).
C.SPAN 110a (Introduction to Peninsular Spanish Literature), andSPAN 111b (Introduction to Latin American Literature), to be completedas early as possible.
D.Four additional semester courses from the Spanish literature offeringsnumbered above 111, at least one of which must deal with Spanishliterature before 1700. No more than two of these electives maybe taken in English. Courses conducted in English include thoseabbreviated SECS (Spanish and European Cultural Studies).
E.At least one course beyond 106b must be designated "LibraryIntensive."
F. SPAN198a (Seminar in Literary and Cultural Studies) in the fall semesterof the senior year. Those seeking departmental honors will alsotake SPAN 99d in the spring to complete the Senior Thesis. Studentswho declared a concentration prior to the fall semester of 1997have the option of substituting SPAN 97a, the Senior Essay (Fallsemester only) for SPAN 198a, or for honors, of taking SPAN 99dfor the full year instead of SPAN 198a in the fall and SPAN 99din the spring. Honors students must have maintained a 3.50 G.P.A.in Spanish courses previous to the senior year. Honors are awardedon the basis of cumulative excellence in all courses taken inthe concentration, including the Senior Thesis.
G.Junior and senior concentrators may apply for admission into graduateseminars of the Interdisciplinary Program in Literary Studiesby permission of the instructor and the undergraduate advisinghead in Spanish.
Students may petition the areahead for changes in the above program. Students wishing credittoward the Spanish concentration courses crosslisted under ECS(abbreviated SECS) will be required to do the reading and writingin Spanish.
The minor consists of fivesemester courses.
A.SPAN 106b (Spanish Composition, Grammar, and Stylistics).
B.SPAN 110a (Introduction to Peninsular Spanish Literature), andSPAN 111b (Introduction to Latin American Literature).
C.Two additional Spanish literature courses from the offerings numberedabove 110. No more than one of these electives may be taken inEnglish. Courses conducted in English include those abbreviatedSECS (Spanish and European Cultural Studies). All students pursuinga Spanish minor will be assigned an advisor in the department.Enrollment in the Spanish minor must be completed by the end ofthe first semester of the senior year. All courses are conductedin Spanish, unless otherwise noted.
SPAN 10a Beginning Spanish
Enrollment limited to 18per section.
For students who have had noprevious study of Spanish. A systematic presentation of the basicgrammar and vocabulary of the language within the context of Hispanicculture, with focus on all five language skills: listening, speaking,reading, writing, and sociocultural awareness. Several sectionswill be offered. Usually offered every year.
Staff
SPAN 20b Continuing Spanish
Prerequisite: SPAN 10a orthe equivalent. Enrollment limited to 18 per section.
For students with some previousstudy of Spanish. Continuing presentation of the basic grammarand vocabulary of the language within the context of Hispanicculture and practice of the four language skills. Special attentionto reading and writing skills, as well as guided conversation.Several sections will be offered. Usually offered every semester.
Staff
SPAN 31a Intermediate Spanish:Composition and Grammar
[ fl ]
Prerequisite: SPAN 20b orthe equivalent. Enrollment limited to 18 per section.
This course focuses on thedevelopment of writing and/or grammatical skills in the contextof continuing development of linguistic competence in Spanish.Usually offered every year.
Staff
SPAN 32a Intermediate Spanish:Conversation
[ fl ]
Prerequisite: SPAN 20b orthe equivalent. Enrollment limited to 18 per section.
This course focuses on thedevelopment of oral expression and conversational skills in thecontext of continuing development of linguistic competence inSpanish. Usually offered every year.
Staff
SPAN 33a Intermediate Spanish:Reading
[ fl ]
Prerequisite: SPAN 20b orthe equivalent. Enrollment limited to 18 per section.
This course focuses on thedevelopment of reading skills in the context of the continuingdevelopment of linguistic competence in Spanish. Usually offeredevery year.
Staff
SPAN 34a Intermediate Spanish:Topics in Hispanic Culture
[ fl ]
Prerequisite: SPAN 20b orthe equivalent. Enrollment limited to 18 per section.
Topics or themes from Hispaniccultures are the context for continuing development of linguisticcompetence in Spanish. Usually offered every year.
Staff
SPAN 40b Intermediate SpanishII
[ hum ]
Prerequisite: Any 30-levelSpanish course or the equivalent. Enrollment limited to 18 persection.
Prepares students for practicalapplications while continuing development of linguistic competencein Spanish.
Staff
SPAN 41b Spanish for Culturaland Literary Studies
[ hum ]
Prerequisite: Any 30-levelSpanish course or the equivalent. Enrollment limited to 18 persection.
This course prepares studentsfor the more advanced Spanish courses leading to the concentrationand minor. It focuses on cultural and literary topics in the Hispanicworld while continuing development of linguistic competence inSpanish. Usually offered every year.
Staff
SPAN 42b Spanish for theProfessions
[ hum ]
Prerequisite: Any 30-levelSpanish course or the equivalent. Enrollment limited to 18 persection.
Prepares students for practicalapplications of Spanish in U.S. and foreign communities whilecontinuing development of linguistic competence in Spanish. Eachsection will focus on a single topic such as: business Spanish;medical Spanish; Spanish for the social sciences. Usually offeredevery year.
Staff
SPAN 97a Senior Essay
Students should first consultthe area head of the concentration. Signatures of the instructorand the advising head required.
Usually offered every year.
Staff
SPAN 97b Senior Essay
Students should first consultthe area head of the concentration. Signatures of the instructorand the advising head required.
Usually offered every year.
Staff
SPAN 98a Independent Study
May be taken only with thewritten permission of the advising head of the concentration andthe chair of the department. Signatures of the instructor andthe chair of the department required.
Reading and reports under facultysupervision. Usually offered every year.
Staff
SPAN 98b Independent Study
May be taken only with thewritten permission of the advising head of the concentration andthe chair of the department. Signatures of the instructor andthe chair of the department required.
Readings and reports underfaculty supervision. Usually offered every year.
Staff
SPAN 99d Senior Thesis
Students should first consultthe area head of the concentration. Signatures of the instructorand the advising head required.
Usually offered every year.
Staff
The SECS abbreviation denotesSpanish and European Cultural Studies courses.
SPAN 105a Spanish Conversationand Grammar
[ hum ]
Prerequisite: Any 30-levelor 40-level Spanish course or the equivalent, or permission ofthe area head. Enrollment limited to 15.
Students learn to communicateeffectively in Spanish through class discussions, oral and writtenexercises, presentations,
literary and cultural readings,film, and explorations of the mass media. Emphasis on improvementof oral and written fluency, and acquisition of vocabulary andgrammar structures. Usually offered every semester.
Staff
SPAN 106b Spanish Composition,Grammar, and Stylistics
[ wi hum ]
Prerequisite: SPAN 105aor permission of the area head. Enrollment limited to 15.
Focuses on written communicationand the improvement of writing skills, from developing ideas tooutlining and editing. Literary selections will introduce thestudents to the principles of literary analysis and serve as topicsfor class discussion and writing. Usually offered every semester.
Staff
SPAN 110a Introduction toPeninsular Spanish Literature
[ wi hum ]
Prerequisite: SPAN 106bor permission of the instructor. Signature of the instructor required.
Was El Cid a political animal?How do women, Jews, and Moslems fare in classical Spanish literature?Study of major works, authors, and social issues from the MiddleAges to the end of the 17th century. Texts covered range fromthe epic Cantar del Cid to Cervantes and masterpieces ofSpanish Golden Age theater. Usually offered every semester.
Ms. Fox or Mr. Mandrell
SPAN 111b Introduction toLatin American Literature
[ nw hum ]
Prerequisite: SPAN 106bor permission of the instructor. Signature of the instructor required.
Students will become familiarwith the traditional ways of segmenting Spanish-American literatureand also study the uses of history and historical material inthe elaboration of literary texts. From colonial to early 20th-centuryliterature. Usually offered every year.
Staff
SPAN 120b Don Quijote
[ cl30 hum]
Prerequisite: SPAN 110aor permission of the instructor.
A reading for fun and criticalinsight into what is often called "the first modern novel." We will discuss some reasons for its reputation as a major influenceon subsequent fiction throughout the Western world and view severalfilm interpretations. Usually offered in even years.
Ms. Fox
SPAN 130a Modern PeninsularSpanish Literature
[ hum ]
Prerequisite: SPAN 110aor permission of the instructor.
A historical study of Spanishliterature from the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, includingconsiderations of neoclassicism, Romanticism, Realism, the Generationsof '98 and '27, as well as post-Civil War fiction. Usually offeredin even years.
Mr. Mandrell
SPAN 140a Masters of SpanishPoetry
[ hum ]
Prerequisite: SPAN 110aor permission of the instructor. Topics vary from year to year.
Usually offered in even years.Last offered in the spring of 1993.
Mr. Yglesias
SECS 150a Golden Age Dramaand Society
[ cl2 cl30hum ]
Open to all students. Conductedin English with readings in English translation.
The major works, comic andtragic, of Spain's 17th-century dramatists. We will consider Cervantes'sbrief witty farces; Tirso's creation of the "Don Juan"myth; Lope's palace and "peasant honor" plays; and Calderón'sBaroque masterpieces, which culminate Spain's Golden Age. Usuallyoffered in odd years.
Ms. Fox
SPAN 161a Modern Latin AmericanPoetry
[ hum ]
Prerequisite: SPAN 110a,111b, or permission of the instructor.
Development of 20th-centurypoetics through the works of Dario, Vallejo, Neruda, Paz, andothers. Usually offered in even years.
Mr. Yglesias
SPAN 163a Modern Latin AmericanFiction
[ cl24 nwhum ]
Prerequisite: SPAN 110a,111b, or permission of the instructor. Course may be repeatedfor credit.
Focuses on the new Latin Americannarrative. Texts will be selected from the works of Borges, Cortázar,Carpentier, Cabrera Infante, Rulfo, Poniatowska, Castellanos,Vargas Llosa, and García Márquez. Topics vary fromyear to year. Usually offered every year.
Staff
SPAN 164b Studies in LatinAmerican Literature
[ cl24 cl37nw hum ]
Prerequisite: SPAN 111bor permission of the instructor. Course may be repeated for credit.
A comparative and criticalreading of main trends, ideas, and cultural formations in LatinAmerica. Usually offered every year.
Staff
SECS 169a Columbus: Encountersand Inventions
[ cl3 hum]
Open to all students. Conductedin English with readings in English translation.
The course's purpose is tofamiliarize the student with the vicissitudes of the figure ofChristopher Columbus, in literature, selected historiographicalworks, and those texts that have come down to us as his. Usuallyoffered in even years.
Staff
SPAN 170a Topics in Eighteenth-and Nineteenth-Century Spanish Literature
[ hum ]
Prerequisite: SPAN 110aor permission of the instructor. Course may be repeated for credit.
Topics will vary from yearto year, but might include: Spanish Enlightenment and Romanticism:costumbrismo; Romantic drama; Bécquer; Galdós(the novelas contemporáneas); or 18th- and 19th-centurypoetry of the sublime. Usually offered in even years.
Mr. Mandrell
SPAN 180b Topics in Twentieth-CenturySpanish Literature
[ hum ]
Prerequisite: SPAN 110aor permission of the instructor. Course may be repeated for credit.
Topics will vary from yearto year, but might include: the Generation of '98; the Generationof '27; García Lorca (poetry and drama); the post-Civilwar novel; novels of the individual's quest; or modern women'swriting. Usually offered in odd years.
Mr. Mandrell
SECS 182b The Spanish CivilWar
[ cl29 hum]
Open to all students. Conductedin English with readings in English translation.
We will focus on works illustratingthe background of the Civil War, its development and influenceon fiction, art, film, theater, poetry, and journalism of laterdecades. Usually offered every third year. Last offered in thefall of 1995.
Mr. Mandrell
SECS 183a Spanish Fictionsand Films of Modern Life
[ cl13 hum]
Open to all students. Conductedin English with readings in English translation.
A consideration of literary,visual, and cinematic texts that address modern life, includingthe nature of the modern and of modernity, in late 19th- and 20th-centurySpain. Topics include the individual in the modern world, technology,and fragmentation. Usually offered every third year. Last offeredin the fall of 1994.
Mr. Mandrell
SECS 185b Realism in ModernSpain
[ hum ]
Open to all students. Conductedin English with readings in English translation.
A study of the trajectory ofprose fiction in 19th-century Spain in relation to various historicaltrends and cultural traditions. Usually offered every third year.Last offered in the fall of 1993.
Mr. Mandrell
SPAN 190b Latin AmericanFiction in Translation
[ cl24 nwhum ]
Considers a number of majorLatin American novels and stories in an effort to identify significanttrends of divergence and convergence with regard to the mainstreamof Western narrative. Usually offered in even years.
Staff
SPAN 192a Contemporary HispanicWomen's Fiction in Translation
[ cl7 cl24cl37 nw hum ]
A consideration of contemporaryfiction by Spanish, Latin American, and Latina women writers.Usually offered in even years.
Mr. Mandrell
SPAN 198a Seminar in Literaryand Cultural Studies
[ wi hum ]
Prerequisite: SPAN 110aor SPAN 111b, or permission of the instructor. Signatures of theinstructor and the advising head required.
A research seminar organizedaround varying themes ("the other," "the nation,"etc.). Instruction on literary/cultural theory, researching atopic, and analytical skills necessary for developing a scholarlyargument. Students present research in progress and write a researchpaper of significant length. Usually offered every year.
Staff
European Cultural Studies:The Proseminar