Provisional University Bulletin (2024-2025)

• Minor
• Major (BA)

Hispanic Studies at Brandeis focuses on the Spanish language, and much more. Students improve their Spanish-language skills in the courses they take. But language is also the matter of politics, advertising, media, and social communication. Students, therefore, engage in the analysis of cultural artifacts and artistic movements as they learn more about language and their own place in the world. Studying abroad for a semester or a year may play an important part in students’ academic careers and personal growth.

Majors and minors in Hispanic Studies are prepared to pursue careers in a wide range of fields where effective communication and intercultural competence are essential, including those in which they will have direct contact with Spanish speakers and/or Hispanic cultures, both in this country and globally. 

Professionals who have expertise in more than one language are consistently preferred over those who do not in jobs that involve international assignments. These same language skills play an important role in gaining admission to graduate, law, or medical school. Professionals in education and social work, as well as the medical and legal fields, are often expected to know a language other than English. Spanish is particularly helpful in this context as the Hispanic community is one of the largest ethnic groups in the contemporary United States.

Coursework in Hispanic Studies involves the study of literature and film, art and politics, cultures and places from Spain to Latin America and the United States, from the remote past to today. A major in Hispanic Studies encourages students to wrestle with such questions as: how does artistic production allow a community to examine its origins, identity, and memory? How do literature and the arts in the Hispanic world engage with socio-economic and political history at both a local and a transnational level? How do we think across cultures? What do works of the imagination say about the world in which we live that other texts and practices cannot articulate?

Knowledge

1. An understanding of the diversity and richness of Hispanic cultures in a global context
2. Competency in literary and cultural history, regarding the Hispanic world in and of itself as well as in conversation with other cultures and regions
3. An appreciation for language as a shaper of identities, cultures, and historical events
4. A recognition of the multiple cultural interfaces between Latin America and the United States, particularly in relation to immigrant Latinx communities

Core Skills

1. An ability to articulate complex ideas in Spanish orally and in writing
2. A capacity to enjoy literature and cultural expressions of the Hispanic world
3. An ability to comprehend literary, cultural, and theoretical texts, recognizing the various contexts in which they are produced and used
4. An ability to do research and analysis in the field of culture

Social Justice

Intercultural understanding is essential for the pursuit of social justice in a globalized world. Genuine intercultural exchanges require literacy in more than one language and knowledge of diverse cultures, in order to increase the capacity for mutual understanding. Multilingual and multicultural education fosters the creation of a climate of respect, nationally and internationally.

Upon Graduation

We prepare our students for intercultural critical thinking. This allows them to become professionals capable of navigating an increasingly complex world. Hispanic Studies majors and minors pursue graduate studies in various fields of the Humanities and the Social Sciences; they build careers in law and the public sector; they become health professionals and businessmen and women; they do creative work, applying themselves to the arts, to community organization, and to the media industry.

In order to graduate, students must achieve an intermediate level in reading, writing, speaking, and listening proficiency in a foreign language. They may satisfy this requirement in several ways:

• The study of a language at Brandeis. Completion of a 30-level course, or an FL-designated course in Spanish above level 30, with a passing grade satisfies the language requirement.
• A score of 4 or higher on an Advanced Placement exam in language or literature, or 5 or higher on the International Baccalaureate Higher Levels Exam. We encourage students to continue studies in our department (please see below to choose a course at the appropriate level).
• A Seal of Biliteracy that documents intermediate-level proficiency in Spanish.
• A passing score on the Exemption Exam that shows you have gained an intermediate-level proficiency in Spanish. Please contact Professor González Ros (elenag@brandeis.edu) to make arrangements to take the Exemption Exam.

Students with further questions about the language requirement should contact the Director of the Spanish Language Program, Professor González Ros.

Students considering a major or a minor in Hispanic Studies should complete the language requirement as soon as possible, preferably by the end of their first year at Brandeis.

• After students complete a 30-level Spanish language course, they are advised to enroll in HISP 104b.
• Students who scored 4 on the Spanish Advanced Placement exam, or 5 on the International Baccalaureate Higher Levels Exam are usually advised to enroll in HISP 105a.
• Students who scored 5 on the Spanish AP exam, or 6 or higher on the International Baccalaureate Higher Levels Exam should enroll in HISP 106b.
• Heritage Spanish speakers are encouraged to enroll in HISP 108a.
• Either HISP 106b or HISP 108a is the first course in the sequence that counts toward the major or the minor in Hispanic Studies.

Once students have completed HISP 106b or HISP 108a, they begin the sequence of literature and culture courses. Please note: many Hispanic Studies majors and minors choose to study in Spain or Latin America for all or part of their junior year. Normally, up to two full-credit Spanish or Latin American literature or film courses per semester taken abroad will count toward the Hispanic Studies major, up to a maximum of four courses total for the major and up to two courses total for the minor. Students interested in learning more about the major or minor are encouraged to speak with the Undergraduate Advising Head in Hispanic Studies.

Zoila Castro
Spanish language and culture. Language proficiency. Curriculum design and pedagogy.

María Durán
Latinx Studies. 20th- and 21st-century Latinx literatures and cultures. Latinx theater and performance. Latina/x Feminisms. Literary criticism and theory.

Elena González Ros, Director of Spanish Language Program
Spanish language and culture. Language pedagogy, curriculum design and assessment.

Christa Gould
Spanish language and language pedagogy.

Gustavo Herrera Díaz
Assistant Professor of Latin American Cultural Studies

James Mandrell
Modern and contemporary Hispanic literature. Comparative literature. American studies. Film. 

Raysa Mederos
Spanish language. Pedagogy of foreign language teaching. Hispanic/Latino cultures. Contemporary Cuban culture, literature and cinema.

Lucía Reyes de Deu, Undergraduate Advising Head
Latin American studies. Nineteenth century Argentine literature. Women's, gender, and sexuality studies. Spanish language and language pedagogy.

Fernando J. Rosenberg, Chair of Department of Romance Studies 2023-24
Latin American modernity 19th to 21st century. Contemporary literature, film and performance. Law and literature.

Kristen Turpin
Spanish language and language pedagogy. L2 teaching and learning. Latin American studies.

The minor consists of five semester courses:

1. HISP 106b (Spanish for Written Communication through Contemporary Culture) or HISP 108a (Spanish for Heritage Speakers).
2. At least one of the following: HISP 109b (Introduction to Hispanic Cultural Studies) or HISP 111b (Introduction to Latin American Literature and Culture).
3. The additional courses must be from the Hispanic Studies literature or film offerings numbered above 111. No more than one of these electives may be taken in English. HECS 42b and HISP 85a may count as an elective. Courses conducted in English include those abbreviated HECS (Hispanic and European Cultural Studies).
4. No grade below a C- will be given credit toward the minor.
5. No course taken pass/fail may count toward the minor requirements.

All students pursuing a Hispanic Studies minor will be assigned an advisor in the department. Enrollment in the Hispanic Studies minor must be completed by the end of the first semester of the senior year.

All courses are conducted in Spanish, unless otherwise noted.

The major consists of nine semester courses:

1. HISP 106b (Spanish for Written Communication through Contemporary Culture) or HISP 108a (Spanish for Heritage Speakers).
2. At least one of the following: HISP 109b (Introduction to Modern Spanish Cultural Studies) or HISP 111b (Introduction to Latin American Literature and Culture), to be completed as early as possible.
3. The additional courses must be from the Hispanic Studies literature or film offerings numbered above 111. No more than two of the electives may be taken in English. HECS 42b, HISP 85a, and one semester of HISP 92a (Internship and Analysis) may count as electives. Courses conducted in English include those abbreviated HECS (Hispanic and European Cultural Studies).
4. HISP 198a (Experiential Research Seminar in Literary and Cultural Studies) in the fall semester, normally, of the senior year.
5. Foundational Literacies: As part of completing the Hispanic Studies major, students must:
   • • Fulfill the writing intensive requirement by successfully completing one of the following: HISP 106b, HISP 108a, HISP 160a, HISP 167b, HISP 170a, HISP 180a, HISP 193b, or HISP 196a.
     • Fulfill the oral communication requirement by successfully completing: HISP 198a.
     • Fulfill the digital literacy requirement by successfully completing: HISP 198a.

   No single course may satisfy all three foundational literacies.

6. No grade below a C- will be given credit toward the major.
7. No course taken pass/fail may count toward the major requirements.

Those seeking departmental honors will also take HISP 99b in the spring to complete the senior thesis. Honors students must have maintained a 3.60 GPA in Hispanic Studies courses previous to the senior year. Honors are awarded based on cumulative excellence in all courses taken in the major, including the senior thesis.

Students may petition the undergraduate advising head for changes in the above program.

All students pursuing a Hispanic Studies major will be assigned an adviser in the department. Enrollment in the Hispanic Studies major must be completed by the end of the first semester of the senior year.

All courses are conducted in Spanish, unless otherwise noted.

How to Choose a Course at the Appropriate Level

For more information, please refer to the Registrar’s website or to the Department of Romance Studies website.

HISP 10a Beginning Spanish

For students with no previous knowledge of Spanish and those with a minimal background. Students enrolling for the first time in a Hispanic Studies course at Brandeis should refer to www.brandeis.edu/registrar/newstudent/testing.html#spantest.

An introduction to the Spanish language and culture, this course focuses on the acquisition of basic communication skills in Spanish and cultural awareness. Students will actively speak, write, listen, and read in the target language. A variety of media and texts relating to authentic familiar topics will be used. Active participation is essential. Usually offered every semester.

HISP 20b Continuing Spanish

Prerequisite: A grade of C- or higher in HISP 10a or the equivalent. Students enrolling for the first time in a Hispanic Studies course at Brandeis should refer to www.brandeis.edu/registrar/newstudent/testing.html#spantest. For students with some previous study of Spanish.

Students will continue the development of all language skills (speaking, reading, listening, writing, and culture) using a variety of media and texts relating to authentic familiar topics. The focus of the class is to communicate effectively and to learn more about the cultures of the Spanish-speaking world. Active participation is essential. Usually offered every semester.

HISP 32a Intermediate Spanish: Conversation
[ fl ]

Prerequisite: A grade of C- or higher in HISP 20b or the equivalent. Students enrolling for the first time in a Hispanic Studies course at Brandeis should refer to www.brandeis.edu/registrar/newstudent/testing.html#spantest.

Prepares students to communicate on a variety of topics which are familiar or of personal interest. All language skills will be practiced with a special emphasis on interpersonal communication and cultural competence. Usually offered every semester.

HISP 34a Intermediate Spanish: Topics in Hispanic Culture
[ fl ]

Prerequisite: a grade of C- or higher in HISP 20b or the equivalent. Students enrolling for the first time in a Hispanic Studies course at Brandeis should refer to www.brandeis.edu/registrar/newstudent/testing.html#spantest. 

Students will continue their development of linguistic competence in all skills with a special focus on exploring Hispanic cultures. Usually offered every year.

HISP 85a Introduction to U.S. Latinx Literatures and Cultures
[ deis-us djw dl hum ]

Introduces students to U.S. Latinx cultural productions and to the interdisciplinary questions that concern U.S. Latinx communities. Latinxs have played a vital role in the history, politics, and cultures of the United States. U.S. Latinx literary works, in particular, have established important socio-historical and aesthetic networks that highlight Latinx expression and lived experiences, engaging with issues including biculturalism, language, citizenship, systems of value, and intersectional identity. Though the Latinx literary tradition spans more than 400 years, this course will focus on 20th and 21st century texts that decolonize nationalist approaches to Latinidad(es) and therefore challenge existing Latinx literary 'canons.' Taught in English. Usually offered every year.

HISP 92a Internship in Hispanic Studies

Written permission of the Undergraduate Advising Head required. Students may take no more than one departmental internship for major credit.

Internships combine off-campus and on-campus work, supervised by a departmental faculty sponsor, that provides a significant learning experience in Hispanic cultural academic study. Students doing summer internships register for course credit in the following fall semester. Junior or Senior Hispanic Studies majors with a minimum GPA of 3.5 in Hispanic Studies courses may substitute one internship for an elective course. Usually offered every year.

HISP 98a Independent Study

May be taken only with the written permission of the Undergraduate Advising Head.

Reading and reports under faculty supervision. Usually offered every year.

HISP 98b Independent Study

May be taken only with the written permission of the Undergraduate Advising Head.

Readings and reports under faculty supervision. Usually offered every year.

HISP 99b Senior Thesis

Students should consult the Undergraduate Advising Head.

Usually offered every year.

HISP 104b Peoples, Ideas, and Language of the Hispanic World
[ fl hum ]

Prerequisite: 30-level Hispanic Studies course or equivalent. Students enrolling for the first time in a Hispanic Studies course at Brandeis should refer to www.brandeis.edu/registrar/newstudent/testing.html#spantest.

Students will improve their ability to communicate in Spanish and analyze the products, practices, and perspectives of the Spanish-speaking world. Specifically, students will explore how language, history, traditions, texts, and images express their own identities and those of Spanish speakers around the world. Coursework and assessment will focus on developing language proficiency and intercultural competence. Usually offered every semester.

HISP 105a Oral Communication through Cultural Topics
[ fl hum ]

Prerequisite: HISP 104b, or the equivalent. Students may repeat the course once for credit, provided the course covers a new topic. Students enrolling for the first time in a Hispanic Studies course at Brandeis should refer to www.brandeis.edu/registrar/newstudent/testing.html#spantest.

A content-based language course in which you will develop your ability to present information, persuade, and debate in Spanish. Throughout the semester, you will interact with a variety of authentic texts in order to acquire the sociolinguistic tools that you need to communicate effectively in different contexts. Each unit incorporates active learning strategies, cross-cultural comparisons, and social justice themes. Practice tasks and formal assessments will mirror real-world situations where both linguistic and intercultural competence will be evaluated. Usually offered every semester.

HISP 106b Spanish for Written Communication through Contemporary Culture
[ fl hum wi ]

Prerequisite: HISP 105a or the equivalent. Students enrolling for the first time in a Hispanic Studies course at Brandeis should refer to www.brandeis.edu/registrar/newstudent/testing.html#spantest.

Focuses on written communication and the improvement of writing skills, from developing ideas to outlining and editing. Literary selections will introduce the students to the principles of literary analysis and serve as topics for class discussion and writing. Usually offered every semester.

HISP 108a Spanish for Heritage Speakers
[ fl hum wi ]

Designed specifically for students who grew up speaking Spanish and who would like to enhance existing language skills while developing higher levels of academic proficiency. Assignments are geared toward developing skills in reading, writing, and critical thinking about U.S. Latino/as and the Spanish-speaking world. Students may use this course to fulfill the foreign language requirement. Usually offered every year.

HISP 109b Introduction to Modern Spanish Cultural Studies
[ fl hum ]

Prerequisite: HISP 106b, or HISP 108a, or permission of the instructor.

Focuses on Spanish literature and culture from the eighteenth to the twenty-first centuries. Topics will vary from semester to semester, but might include modernity; España 20XX; or the Spanish Civil War, before and after. Usually offered every year.

HISP 111b Introduction to Latin American Literature and Culture
[ djw fl hum nw ]

Prerequisite: HISP 106b, or HISP 108a, or permission of the instructor.

Examines key Latin American texts of different genres (poems, short stories and excerpts from novels, chronicles, comics, screenplays, cyberfiction) and from different time periods from the conquest to modernity. This class places emphasis on problems of cultural definition and identity construction as they are elaborated in literary discourse. Identifying major themes (coloniality and emancipation, modernismo and modernity, indigenismo, hybridity and mestizaje, nationalisms, Pan-Americanism, etc.) we will trace continuities and ruptures throughout Latin American intellectual history. Usually offered every semester.

HISP 121b Sexualidades disidentes del sur (ensayo, ficción, cine)
[ djw fl hum ]

Prerequisite: HISP 108a, HISP 111b, or instructor approval

We will study cultural texts (fiction, essay, film) to approach issues of gender and sexuality in Latin America. The last three decades have been characterized by the emergence of gender and sexualities as central to the articulation of political and cultural dissent, with profound impact on all aspects of social life. LGBTQ+ and new generation feminist movements, artists, and cultural agents incorporate issues of class, ethnicity, coloniality, and the environment in their interventions and struggles. Usually offered every third year.

HISP 122b Made in las Americas: Stories about Growing up Latinx
[ deis-us djw hum ]

Examines what it means to grow up Latinx in a multicultural United States through a focus on Latinx young adult literature and Latinx youth culture. Surveying a range of literary works that address the development of Latinx children and adolescents, we will pay special attention to coming-of-age stories that explore how Latinx negotiate ethno-racial identity, find and assert their own voice, and gain a greater understanding about their cultural differences. We will explore what intimate knowledge Latinx youth share and how they make meaning of critical, even ostensibly trivial, life moments to construct their ever-evolving sense of self and their relationship to both Latinx and non-Latinx communities. Usually offered every second year.

HISP 123b Supernatural Latin America: The Visual Culture of the Unknown
[ dl hum ]

Latin America is haunted by the specters of countless colonial genocides, ritual sacrifices, fratricidal wars, thousands of disappeared. Its vast territory is swarming with ruins, ghost towns, the emptiness of devastated fauna and languages killed by ecocide. This course explores the numerous ways Latin American artists have made sense of their own experiences of the paranormal and the supernatural, developing a rich visual culture of the intangible. Some of the topics that we will address in this journey into the unknowable are: popular culture and the paranormal/supernatural; otherworldly visitors; aura, trauma, and art; avant-gardes and the supernatural; hauntology; contemporary witch culture; uncanny spaces. Works by Jayro Bustamante, Leonora Carrington, Guillermo del Toro, Mariana Enríquez, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Samanta Schweblin, Xul Solar, among others. Usually offered every third year.

HISP 124a Nature and Ecology in Latin American Culture
[ djw hum ]

HISP 125a Transatlantic Journeys: Cultural Intersections between Spain and Latin America
[ hum ]

Prerequisite: HISP 109b or HISP 111b, or permission of the instructor.

Explores the rich cultural and historical ties between Spain and Latin America from a transatlantic perspective. Emphasizing an interdisciplinary approach, it covers mutual influences, themes, and circuits of material and symbolical interchange between both territories, spanning from the era of colonization to contemporary globalization. The course places a strong emphasis on themes of myth, sorcery, and religious beliefs, with a special focus on transgressive identities such as rebels, madmen, witches, demons, and mythical creatures. It also delves into other important areas, such as the role of African and Indigenous cultures in the transatlantic colonial and postcolonial era, transnational narratives of race, processes of migration, and circuits of influence in arts and sports. Throughout the semester, students will critically analyze cultural artifacts, understand historical contexts, and engage in comparative studies to appreciate the unique and shared aspects of Spanish and Latin American cultural identities and narratives. This exploration aims to enhance their Spanish language proficiency and research skills, provide a nuanced understanding of the dynamic transatlantic exchanges that have shaped both regions, and invite discussion of past and present trends. Usually offered every third year.

HISP 126a Race and Media in Latin America
[ hum ]

HISP 142b Literature, Film, and Human Rights in Latin America
[ djw hum nw wi ]

May be taught in English or Spanish.

Examines literature, film (fiction and non-fiction) and other artistic expressions from Latin America, in conversation with the idea of human rights'from the colonial arguments about slavery and the 'natural rights' of the indigenous, to the advent of human rights in the context of post-conflict truth and reconciliation processes, to the emergence of gender and ethnicity as into the human rights framework, to the current debates about rights of nature in the midst of a global ecological crisis. Usually offered every third year.

HISP 152b Monsters, Creatures, and Cyborgs in Latin/x American Cinema, Fiction, and BioArt
[ hum nw ]

Taught in English.

Explores posthuman and creaturely life in monster films, science fiction, and bioart created by Latin American and Latinx artists. We will pay particular attention to the ways in which the non- and post-human emerges as a space in which artists wrestle with otherness, identity, racial capitalism, and the rise of new technologies. Usually offered every second year.

HISP 158a Latina Feminisms
[ deis-us djw hum ]

Taught in English.

Explores the theoretical frameworks and literary productions of feminisms developed by Latina/xs. It introduces students to a diversity of backgrounds and experiences (Chicana, Dominican American, Cuban American, Salvadoran American, and Puerto Rican authors) as well as a variety of genres (i.e. novel, poetry, short stories, drama). Using intersectionality as a theoretical tool for analyzing oppressions, students will explore the complex politics of gender, sexuality, class, ethnicity, and race in the lives of Latina/xs. They will also explore Latina/x feminists' theoretical and/or practical attempts to transcend socially-constructed categories of identity, while acknowledging existing material inequalities. Usually offered every third year.

HISP 160a Culture/Media and Social Change in Latin America
[ djw fl hum nw wi ]

Prerequisite: HISP 109b or HISP 111b, or permission of the instructor.

The central topic of this class is the role of the creative arts (creative writing, visual arts, music, film, performance) in their role as fostering political change in Latin America. We will examine key eras of 20th and 21st century cultural production in relation with shifting mass-media landscapes, from the revolutionary impetus of the early 20th century avant-gardes in literature and visual arts, popular music in the 1940s, documentary film during and the 1960s guerrillas, artistic resistance to the dictatorship, to the street art accompanying human rights and grass roots identity movements of the 2000s. Usually offered every second year.

HISP 163b Narratives of the Borderlands and Border Crossers
[ deis-us djw fl hum ]

Prerequisite: HISP 109b or HISP 111b, or permission of the instructor. Taught in Spanish.

Explores the U.S.-Mexico border and the many ways in which it has intimately shaped the experiences of people living in the borderlands and/or moving across the border. It will examine literary works that survey the U.S.-Mexico borderlands in terms of their figurative and material realities, with specific attention to how the borderlands are represented in today's society and how the U.S.-Mexico border might be reimagined. This course will also probe the experiences of migrants and border-crosses through the lens of testimonios. Usually offered every second year.

HISP 164b Studies in Latin American Literature
[ fl hum nw ]

Prerequisite: HISP 109b or HISP 111b, or permission of the instructor. Course may be repeated for credit. Does not fulfill writing intensive beginning fall 2020.

A comparative and critical study of main trends, ideas, and cultural formations in Latin America. Topics vary year to year and have included fiction and history in Latin American literature, nation and narration, Latin American autobiography, art and revolution in Latin America, and humor in Latin America. Usually offered every year.

HISP 165b The Storyteller: Short Fiction in Latin America
[ djw fl hum nw ]

Prerequisite: HISP 109b or HISP 111b, or permission of the instructor.

Through a study of Latin American short stories, some of them by consecrated writers, some of them by less well-known, we will reflect on the power of storytelling and narrative to shape subjectivity and community. We will examine topics that traverse Latin American cultures and are expressed in these stories, such tensions between literacy and oral traditions, hegemonic and minority voices, cultural diversity, ethnicity, class, migration, as well as contemporary concerns around issues of gender and sexuality, and in relation to the natural world. This class has an optional creative writing component, as students will have the chance, if so inclined, to write fiction applying concepts and themes studied in class (instead of critical/analytical assignments). Usually offered every third year.

HISP 175b Millennial Latin American Literature and Cinema
[ fl hum ]

Prerequisite: HISP 109b or HISP 111b, or permission of the instructor. Taught in Spanish.

Explores new trends in Latin American literary fiction and cinema from the last two decades. Usually offered every second year.

HISP 180a Topics in Twentieth- and Twenty-First Century Spanish Literature and Culture
[ fl hum wi ]

Prerequisite: HISP 109b or HISP 111b, or permission of the instructor. May be repeated for credit.

Topics will vary from year to year but may include the post-Civil War novel, modern women's writing, or detective fiction. Usually offered every third year.

HISP 182a Storytelling in the Drug Wars: Colombia, Mexico, U.S.A.
[ fl hum nw ]

Prerequisite: HISP 109b or HISP 111b, or permission of the instructor. 

Narratives about the drug trade and the war on drugs have become nearly ubiquitous. This course examines the making and unmaking of stereotypes associated to the contemporary drug trade, and the role of storytelling at a time of crisis, by looking at portrayals of narco culture in cinema, literary fiction, theater and television. We will focus on two regions, Colombia in the 1970s and 80s and the U.S.-Mexico borderlands in the contemporary present. Usually offered every second year.

HISP 192b Latin American Global Film
[ hum nw oc ]

May be taught in English or Spanish.

We will study the dynamic between local and global imagination and forces in the production, circulation, and reception of films from and/or about "Latin America." Local productions, traditional topics and genres are now refashioned for international audiences. Some film directors and actors have gained mainstream global visibility; U.S.-based ‘platforms’ finance local productions for international markets. How are all these new and old images and narratives mobilized? What are all these forces and projections doing? Analysis of visual representation and film techniques will be combined with an attention to socio-cultural backgrounds. Usually offered every second year.

HISP 193b Topics in Cinema
[ fl hum ]

Open to all students; conducted in Spanish. Course may be repeated for credit. Does not fulfill writing intensive beginning fall 2020.

Topics vary from year to year but might include consideration of a specific director, an outline of the history of a national cinema, a particular moment in film history, or Hollywood cinema in Spanish. Usually offered every second year.

HISP 196a Topics in Latinx Literature and Culture
[ hum wi ]

May be repeated for credit. May be taught in English or Spanish.

Offers students the opportunity for in-depth study of a particular aspect of the diverse literary and cultural production of U.S. latinx. Topics will vary from year to year but may include autobiography, detective fiction, or historical fiction. Usually offered every third year.

HISP 198a Experiential Research Seminar in Literary and Cultural Studies
[ dl hum oc ]

May be taught in English or Spanish.

A research seminar in which each student has the opportunity to become an 'expert' in a Hispanic literary or cultural text/topic that captures her or his imagination, inspired by a study abroad experience; an earlier class in Hispanic Studies; community-engaged learning; etc. Instruction in literary/cultural theory, researching a subject, and analytical skills necessary for developing a scholarly argument. Students present research in progress and write a research paper of significant length. Usually offered every year.

HISP 123b Supernatural Latin America: The Visual Culture of the Unknown
[ dl hum ]

Latin America is haunted by the specters of countless colonial genocides, ritual sacrifices, fratricidal wars, thousands of disappeared. Its vast territory is swarming with ruins, ghost towns, the emptiness of devastated fauna and languages killed by ecocide. This course explores the numerous ways Latin American artists have made sense of their own experiences of the paranormal and the supernatural, developing a rich visual culture of the intangible. Some of the topics that we will address in this journey into the unknowable are: popular culture and the paranormal/supernatural; otherworldly visitors; aura, trauma, and art; avant-gardes and the supernatural; hauntology; contemporary witch culture; uncanny spaces. Works by Jayro Bustamante, Leonora Carrington, Guillermo del Toro, Mariana Enríquez, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Samanta Schweblin, Xul Solar, among others. Usually offered every third year.

HISP 198a Experiential Research Seminar in Literary and Cultural Studies
[ dl hum oc ]

May be taught in English or Spanish.

A research seminar in which each student has the opportunity to become an 'expert' in a Hispanic literary or cultural text/topic that captures her or his imagination, inspired by a study abroad experience; an earlier class in Hispanic Studies; community-engaged learning; etc. Instruction in literary/cultural theory, researching a subject, and analytical skills necessary for developing a scholarly argument. Students present research in progress and write a research paper of significant length. Usually offered every year.

HISP 192b Latin American Global Film
[ hum nw oc ]

May be taught in English or Spanish.

We will study the dynamic between local and global imagination and forces in the production, circulation, and reception of films from and/or about "Latin America." Local productions, traditional topics and genres are now refashioned for international audiences. Some film directors and actors have gained mainstream global visibility; U.S.-based ‘platforms’ finance local productions for international markets. How are all these new and old images and narratives mobilized? What are all these forces and projections doing? Analysis of visual representation and film techniques will be combined with an attention to socio-cultural backgrounds. Usually offered every second year.

HISP 198a Experiential Research Seminar in Literary and Cultural Studies
[ dl hum oc ]

May be taught in English or Spanish.

A research seminar in which each student has the opportunity to become an 'expert' in a Hispanic literary or cultural text/topic that captures her or his imagination, inspired by a study abroad experience; an earlier class in Hispanic Studies; community-engaged learning; etc. Instruction in literary/cultural theory, researching a subject, and analytical skills necessary for developing a scholarly argument. Students present research in progress and write a research paper of significant length. Usually offered every year.

HISP 106b Spanish for Written Communication through Contemporary Culture
[ fl hum wi ]

Prerequisite: HISP 105a or the equivalent. Students enrolling for the first time in a Hispanic Studies course at Brandeis should refer to www.brandeis.edu/registrar/newstudent/testing.html#spantest.

Focuses on written communication and the improvement of writing skills, from developing ideas to outlining and editing. Literary selections will introduce the students to the principles of literary analysis and serve as topics for class discussion and writing. Usually offered every semester.

HISP 108a Spanish for Heritage Speakers
[ fl hum wi ]

Designed specifically for students who grew up speaking Spanish and who would like to enhance existing language skills while developing higher levels of academic proficiency. Assignments are geared toward developing skills in reading, writing, and critical thinking about U.S. Latino/as and the Spanish-speaking world. Students may use this course to fulfill the foreign language requirement. Usually offered every year.

HISP 142b Literature, Film, and Human Rights in Latin America
[ djw hum nw wi ]

May be taught in English or Spanish.

Examines literature, film (fiction and non-fiction) and other artistic expressions from Latin America, in conversation with the idea of human rights'from the colonial arguments about slavery and the 'natural rights' of the indigenous, to the advent of human rights in the context of post-conflict truth and reconciliation processes, to the emergence of gender and ethnicity as into the human rights framework, to the current debates about rights of nature in the midst of a global ecological crisis. Usually offered every third year.

HISP 160a Culture/Media and Social Change in Latin America
[ djw fl hum nw wi ]

Prerequisite: HISP 109b or HISP 111b, or permission of the instructor.

The central topic of this class is the role of the creative arts (creative writing, visual arts, music, film, performance) in their role as fostering political change in Latin America. We will examine key eras of 20th and 21st century cultural production in relation with shifting mass-media landscapes, from the revolutionary impetus of the early 20th century avant-gardes in literature and visual arts, popular music in the 1940s, documentary film during and the 1960s guerrillas, artistic resistance to the dictatorship, to the street art accompanying human rights and grass roots identity movements of the 2000s. Usually offered every second year.

HISP 180a Topics in Twentieth- and Twenty-First Century Spanish Literature and Culture
[ fl hum wi ]

Prerequisite: HISP 109b or HISP 111b, or permission of the instructor. May be repeated for credit.

Topics will vary from year to year but may include the post-Civil War novel, modern women's writing, or detective fiction. Usually offered every third year.

HISP 193b Topics in Cinema
[ fl hum ]

Open to all students; conducted in Spanish. Course may be repeated for credit. Does not fulfill writing intensive beginning fall 2020.

Topics vary from year to year but might include consideration of a specific director, an outline of the history of a national cinema, a particular moment in film history, or Hollywood cinema in Spanish. Usually offered every second year.

HISP 196a Topics in Latinx Literature and Culture
[ hum wi ]

May be repeated for credit. May be taught in English or Spanish.

Offers students the opportunity for in-depth study of a particular aspect of the diverse literary and cultural production of U.S. latinx. Topics will vary from year to year but may include autobiography, detective fiction, or historical fiction. Usually offered every third year.

HISP 85a Introduction to U.S. Latinx Literatures and Cultures
[ deis-us djw dl hum ]

Introduces students to U.S. Latinx cultural productions and to the interdisciplinary questions that concern U.S. Latinx communities. Latinxs have played a vital role in the history, politics, and cultures of the United States. U.S. Latinx literary works, in particular, have established important socio-historical and aesthetic networks that highlight Latinx expression and lived experiences, engaging with issues including biculturalism, language, citizenship, systems of value, and intersectional identity. Though the Latinx literary tradition spans more than 400 years, this course will focus on 20th and 21st century texts that decolonize nationalist approaches to Latinidad(es) and therefore challenge existing Latinx literary 'canons.' Taught in English. Usually offered every year.

HISP 121b Sexualidades disidentes del sur (ensayo, ficción, cine)
[ djw fl hum ]

Prerequisite: HISP 108a, HISP 111b, or instructor approval

We will study cultural texts (fiction, essay, film) to approach issues of gender and sexuality in Latin America. The last three decades have been characterized by the emergence of gender and sexualities as central to the articulation of political and cultural dissent, with profound impact on all aspects of social life. LGBTQ+ and new generation feminist movements, artists, and cultural agents incorporate issues of class, ethnicity, coloniality, and the environment in their interventions and struggles. Usually offered every third year.

HISP 142b Literature, Film, and Human Rights in Latin America
[ djw hum nw wi ]

May be taught in English or Spanish.

Examines literature, film (fiction and non-fiction) and other artistic expressions from Latin America, in conversation with the idea of human rights'from the colonial arguments about slavery and the 'natural rights' of the indigenous, to the advent of human rights in the context of post-conflict truth and reconciliation processes, to the emergence of gender and ethnicity as into the human rights framework, to the current debates about rights of nature in the midst of a global ecological crisis. Usually offered every third year.

HISP 152b Monsters, Creatures, and Cyborgs in Latin/x American Cinema, Fiction, and BioArt
[ hum nw ]

Taught in English.

Explores posthuman and creaturely life in monster films, science fiction, and bioart created by Latin American and Latinx artists. We will pay particular attention to the ways in which the non- and post-human emerges as a space in which artists wrestle with otherness, identity, racial capitalism, and the rise of new technologies. Usually offered every second year.

HISP 160a Culture/Media and Social Change in Latin America
[ djw fl hum nw wi ]

Prerequisite: HISP 109b or HISP 111b, or permission of the instructor.

The central topic of this class is the role of the creative arts (creative writing, visual arts, music, film, performance) in their role as fostering political change in Latin America. We will examine key eras of 20th and 21st century cultural production in relation with shifting mass-media landscapes, from the revolutionary impetus of the early 20th century avant-gardes in literature and visual arts, popular music in the 1940s, documentary film during and the 1960s guerrillas, artistic resistance to the dictatorship, to the street art accompanying human rights and grass roots identity movements of the 2000s. Usually offered every second year.

HISP 163b Narratives of the Borderlands and Border Crossers
[ deis-us djw fl hum ]

Prerequisite: HISP 109b or HISP 111b, or permission of the instructor. Taught in Spanish.

Explores the U.S.-Mexico border and the many ways in which it has intimately shaped the experiences of people living in the borderlands and/or moving across the border. It will examine literary works that survey the U.S.-Mexico borderlands in terms of their figurative and material realities, with specific attention to how the borderlands are represented in today's society and how the U.S.-Mexico border might be reimagined. This course will also probe the experiences of migrants and border-crosses through the lens of testimonios. Usually offered every second year.

HISP 164b Studies in Latin American Literature
[ fl hum nw ]

Prerequisite: HISP 109b or HISP 111b, or permission of the instructor. Course may be repeated for credit. Does not fulfill writing intensive beginning fall 2020.

A comparative and critical study of main trends, ideas, and cultural formations in Latin America. Topics vary year to year and have included fiction and history in Latin American literature, nation and narration, Latin American autobiography, art and revolution in Latin America, and humor in Latin America. Usually offered every year.

HISP 165b The Storyteller: Short Fiction in Latin America
[ djw fl hum nw ]

Prerequisite: HISP 109b or HISP 111b, or permission of the instructor.

Through a study of Latin American short stories, some of them by consecrated writers, some of them by less well-known, we will reflect on the power of storytelling and narrative to shape subjectivity and community. We will examine topics that traverse Latin American cultures and are expressed in these stories, such tensions between literacy and oral traditions, hegemonic and minority voices, cultural diversity, ethnicity, class, migration, as well as contemporary concerns around issues of gender and sexuality, and in relation to the natural world. This class has an optional creative writing component, as students will have the chance, if so inclined, to write fiction applying concepts and themes studied in class (instead of critical/analytical assignments). Usually offered every third year.

HISP 175b Millennial Latin American Literature and Cinema
[ fl hum ]

Prerequisite: HISP 109b or HISP 111b, or permission of the instructor. Taught in Spanish.

Explores new trends in Latin American literary fiction and cinema from the last two decades. Usually offered every second year.

HISP 182a Storytelling in the Drug Wars: Colombia, Mexico, U.S.A.
[ fl hum nw ]

Prerequisite: HISP 109b or HISP 111b, or permission of the instructor. 

Narratives about the drug trade and the war on drugs have become nearly ubiquitous. This course examines the making and unmaking of stereotypes associated to the contemporary drug trade, and the role of storytelling at a time of crisis, by looking at portrayals of narco culture in cinema, literary fiction, theater and television. We will focus on two regions, Colombia in the 1970s and 80s and the U.S.-Mexico borderlands in the contemporary present. Usually offered every second year.

HISP 192b Latin American Global Film
[ hum nw oc ]

May be taught in English or Spanish.

We will study the dynamic between local and global imagination and forces in the production, circulation, and reception of films from and/or about "Latin America." Local productions, traditional topics and genres are now refashioned for international audiences. Some film directors and actors have gained mainstream global visibility; U.S.-based ‘platforms’ finance local productions for international markets. How are all these new and old images and narratives mobilized? What are all these forces and projections doing? Analysis of visual representation and film techniques will be combined with an attention to socio-cultural backgrounds. Usually offered every second year.

HISP 196a Topics in Latinx Literature and Culture
[ hum wi ]

May be repeated for credit. May be taught in English or Spanish.

Offers students the opportunity for in-depth study of a particular aspect of the diverse literary and cultural production of U.S. latinx. Topics will vary from year to year but may include autobiography, detective fiction, or historical fiction. Usually offered every third year.

HISP 180a Topics in Twentieth- and Twenty-First Century Spanish Literature and Culture
[ fl hum wi ]

Prerequisite: HISP 109b or HISP 111b, or permission of the instructor. May be repeated for credit.

Topics will vary from year to year but may include the post-Civil War novel, modern women's writing, or detective fiction. Usually offered every third year.

HISP 123b Supernatural Latin America: The Visual Culture of the Unknown
[ dl hum ]

Latin America is haunted by the specters of countless colonial genocides, ritual sacrifices, fratricidal wars, thousands of disappeared. Its vast territory is swarming with ruins, ghost towns, the emptiness of devastated fauna and languages killed by ecocide. This course explores the numerous ways Latin American artists have made sense of their own experiences of the paranormal and the supernatural, developing a rich visual culture of the intangible. Some of the topics that we will address in this journey into the unknowable are: popular culture and the paranormal/supernatural; otherworldly visitors; aura, trauma, and art; avant-gardes and the supernatural; hauntology; contemporary witch culture; uncanny spaces. Works by Jayro Bustamante, Leonora Carrington, Guillermo del Toro, Mariana Enríquez, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Samanta Schweblin, Xul Solar, among others. Usually offered every third year.

HISP 142b Literature, Film, and Human Rights in Latin America
[ djw hum nw wi ]

May be taught in English or Spanish.

Examines literature, film (fiction and non-fiction) and other artistic expressions from Latin America, in conversation with the idea of human rights'from the colonial arguments about slavery and the 'natural rights' of the indigenous, to the advent of human rights in the context of post-conflict truth and reconciliation processes, to the emergence of gender and ethnicity as into the human rights framework, to the current debates about rights of nature in the midst of a global ecological crisis. Usually offered every third year.

HISP 152b Monsters, Creatures, and Cyborgs in Latin/x American Cinema, Fiction, and BioArt
[ hum nw ]

Taught in English.

Explores posthuman and creaturely life in monster films, science fiction, and bioart created by Latin American and Latinx artists. We will pay particular attention to the ways in which the non- and post-human emerges as a space in which artists wrestle with otherness, identity, racial capitalism, and the rise of new technologies. Usually offered every second year.

HISP 158a Latina Feminisms
[ deis-us djw hum ]

Taught in English.

Explores the theoretical frameworks and literary productions of feminisms developed by Latina/xs. It introduces students to a diversity of backgrounds and experiences (Chicana, Dominican American, Cuban American, Salvadoran American, and Puerto Rican authors) as well as a variety of genres (i.e. novel, poetry, short stories, drama). Using intersectionality as a theoretical tool for analyzing oppressions, students will explore the complex politics of gender, sexuality, class, ethnicity, and race in the lives of Latina/xs. They will also explore Latina/x feminists' theoretical and/or practical attempts to transcend socially-constructed categories of identity, while acknowledging existing material inequalities. Usually offered every third year.

HISP 192b Latin American Global Film
[ hum nw oc ]

May be taught in English or Spanish.

We will study the dynamic between local and global imagination and forces in the production, circulation, and reception of films from and/or about "Latin America." Local productions, traditional topics and genres are now refashioned for international audiences. Some film directors and actors have gained mainstream global visibility; U.S.-based ‘platforms’ finance local productions for international markets. How are all these new and old images and narratives mobilized? What are all these forces and projections doing? Analysis of visual representation and film techniques will be combined with an attention to socio-cultural backgrounds. Usually offered every second year.

HISP 193b Topics in Cinema
[ fl hum ]

Open to all students; conducted in Spanish. Course may be repeated for credit. Does not fulfill writing intensive beginning fall 2020.

Topics vary from year to year but might include consideration of a specific director, an outline of the history of a national cinema, a particular moment in film history, or Hollywood cinema in Spanish. Usually offered every second year.

HISP 196a Topics in Latinx Literature and Culture
[ hum wi ]

May be repeated for credit. May be taught in English or Spanish.

Offers students the opportunity for in-depth study of a particular aspect of the diverse literary and cultural production of U.S. latinx. Topics will vary from year to year but may include autobiography, detective fiction, or historical fiction. Usually offered every third year.

HISP 198a Experiential Research Seminar in Literary and Cultural Studies
[ dl hum oc ]

May be taught in English or Spanish.

A research seminar in which each student has the opportunity to become an 'expert' in a Hispanic literary or cultural text/topic that captures her or his imagination, inspired by a study abroad experience; an earlier class in Hispanic Studies; community-engaged learning; etc. Instruction in literary/cultural theory, researching a subject, and analytical skills necessary for developing a scholarly argument. Students present research in progress and write a research paper of significant length. Usually offered every year.

HUM 1a Tragedy: Love and Death in the Creative Imagination
[ hum ]

Enrollment limited to Humanities Fellows.

How do you turn catastrophe into art - and why? This first-year seminar in the humanities addresses such elemental questions, especially those centering on love and death. How does literature catch hold of catastrophic experiences and make them intelligible or even beautiful? Should misery even be beautiful? By exploring the tragic tradition in literature across many eras, cultures, genres, and languages, this course looks for basic patterns. Usually offered every year.