Department of Romance Studies

For full lists of courses offered next semester, download the PDF brochures:

• Hispanic Studies Language Course Offerings (HISP 10–108) Fall 2021

• Hispanic Studies Upper-Level Courses Fall 2021

For a short video introduction to each of our courses, click on the course title below.

Questions about major/minor requirements, course offerings, or studying abroad? Contact our Interim Undergraduate Advising Head for fall 2021: Professor Kristen Turpin.

• Language Courses
• Upper-Level Courses (above HISP 108) and courses taught in English (open to all)

All students need permission to enroll in Spanish Language Courses (HISP 10-108). They will appear to have an enrollment limit of 0 in WorkDay. Enrollment in these courses is processed via Wait List management by the Department Administrator and Director of the Language Program.

• Students currently enrolled in HISP language courses (HISP 10-105) will receive instructions about permission requests before the beginning of registration.
• All others should email Professor Elena González Ros, Director of the Spanish language program, as soon as possible with a description of their background in Spanish, including classes taken, standardized test scores, and/or other exposure to the language. She will reply with further instructions about obtaining permission for the appropriate language course.
• Heritage speakers (those who grew up speaking Spanish) should also describe their language background in an email to Professor Elena González Ros who will give them additional information.
• For more information about level placement, enrollment in ROMS courses, or the language requirement, please visit our FAQs page.

(1) M,T,W,Th 8:00 AM–9:30 AM, Gould (in-person)
(2) M,T,W,Th 12:00 PM–1:30 PM, Gould (in-person)

Prerequisite: Permission required (please see instructions above).

For students who have had no previous study of Spanish. An introduction to the Spanish language and culture, this course focuses on the acquisition of effective 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.

(1) M,T,W,Th 10:00 AM–11:30 AM, Gould (in-person)
(2) M,T,W,Th 8:00 AM–9:30 AM, Mederos (in-person)
(3) M,T,W,Th 2:00 PM–3:30 PM, Staff (in-person)

Prerequisite: A grade of C- or higher in HISP 10a or the equivalent. Permission required (please see instructions above).

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 culture of the Spanish-speaking world. Active participation is essential.

(1) M,T,W,Th 8:00 AM–9:30 AM, González Ros (in-person)
(2) M,T,W,Th 12:00 PM–1:30 PM, Staff (in-person)
(3) M,T,W,Th 10:00 AM–11:30 AM, Turpin (in-person)
(4) M,T,W,Th 2:00 PM–3:30 PM, Turpin (in-person)
(5) M,T,W,Th 8:00 AM–9:30 AM, Staff (in-person)

Prerequisite: A grade of C- or higher in HISP 20b or the equivalent. Permission required (please see instructions above).

Students in HISP 32 will bring their proficiency up to an intermediate level. All skills will be practiced with a focus on developing oral communication. Themes will include familiar topics in the context of the Spanish-speaking world.

(1) M,T,W,Th 12:00 PM–1:30 PM, Mederos (in-person)
(2) M,T,W,Th 10:00 AM–11:30 AM, Mederos (in-person)

Prerequisite: A grade of C- or higher in HISP 20b or the equivalent. Permission required (please see instructions above).

Students in Hisp34 will bring their proficiency up to an intermediate level. All skills will be practiced with an emphasis on developing intercultural competence. Themes will include familiar topics in the context of the Spanish-speaking world.

*HISP classes listed below (104 and above) are conducted in Spanish, unless otherwise noted.*

Prerequisite: HISP 32 or 34. Permission required (please see instructions above).

Participants will expand their language skills in Spanish while deepening their understanding of Hispanic cultures. Students will explore how their identity and those of others is expressed through language, images, and cultural practices.

(1) M,W 12:00 PM–1:30 PM, Turpin (in-person)

Prerequisite: HISP 104b or the equivalent. Permission required (please see instructions above).

How do we persuade others to enact meaningful change? In this special topics section of Hisp 105, students will improve their speaking skills as they explore issues of sustainability in the Spanish-speaking world. We will reflect about the global consequences of individual actions, debate about the feasibility of ecotourism, and tell the stories of indigenous and Latin American climate activists.

(3) T,Th 10:00 AM–11:30 AM, González Ros (in-person)

Prerequisite: HISP 104b or the equivalent. Permission required (please see instructions above).

Hisp105A.3 focuses on improving oral communication skills through practical tasks paying special attention to common language and cultural challenges. Students will practice oral presentations, conduct interviews, explain and clarify complex issues, persuade and debate, among other communicative functions. This course is appropriate for students in any field where they would interact with Spanish speakers regularly.

(1) T,Th 8:00 AM–9:30 AM, Pérez Arraz (in-person)
(2) T,Th 4:00 PM–5:30 PM, Pérez Arraz (in-person)

Prerequisite: HISP 105a or the equivalent. Permission required (please see instructions above). [WI]

Students will develop their writing skills in order to communicate effectively in a variety of contexts and for different audiences. Examples may include creative, professional, and academic texts.

(1) T,Th 10:00 AM–11:30 AM, Durán (in-person)

[DEIS-US; DJW; Cross-listed with LALS, ENG] Taught in English.

This discussion-based course introduces students to U.S. Latinx cultural productions and to the interdisciplinary questions that concern U.S. Latinx scholars, peoples, and 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 20^th and 21^st century texts that decolonize nationalist approaches to Latinidades and therefore challenge existing Latinx literary “canons.” 

(1) M,W 12:00 PM–1:30 PM, Pérez Arranz (in-person)

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

Topic for Fall 2021: HUNGER IN SPAIN

This course offers a panoramic view of the most representative figures in literary history and culture in Spain, examined through the lens of food and hunger. By disseminating the civilization and culture of Spain through different genres (comics, cookbooks, poems, short stories, film, novella, material culture, and television), the course pays special attention to social, cultural, political, literary, and artistic representations of hunger and traces common desires, satisfactions, and anxieties throughout Spanish history. 

(1) T,Th 6:00 PM–7:30 PM, Pérez Arranz (in-person)

Prerequisite: HISP 109b, HISP 111b, or permission of instructor. Course may be repeated for credit. Does not fulfill writing intensive beginning fall 2020. [NW; Cross-listed with COML, LALS]

Topic for Fall 2021: CARIBBEAN HORROR

This course explores the horror genre present in literature, culture, and visual arts of some areas of the Caribbean. It focuses on native representations of the genre, on its local realities, political biases, and histories. It analyzes the realist and historical novels that have become the nationalist representation of horror in literary studies, in fiction, short stories, and movies. It explores how authors react to colonialism and postcolonialism in their stories, and how their anxieties are reflected. (Taught in Spanish).

(1) M,W 2:00 PM–3:30 PM, Arellano (in-person)

Prerequisite: HISP 109b, HISP 111b, or permission of instructor. [Cross-listed with IGS, LALS]

Explores new trends in Latin American literary fiction and cinema from the last two decades.

(1) T,Th 12:00 PM–1:30 PM, Durán (in-person)

[WI; Cross-listed with LALS, CAST, COML, and THA] Taught in English.

This course examines Latinx Theatre as a creative and political force for social change in the United States from the 1960s to the present. We will read representative works by Latinx playwrights and supplementary text including performance reviews and critical analyses, and theoretical studies. We will examine Latinx theatre’s politics, cultural practices, and artistic expressions; we will also use various modes of inquiry in our study, including performance studies, gender studies, and critical race theory.

(1) M,W 4:00 PM–5:30 PM, Arellano (in-person)

Prerequisite: HISP 109, HISP 111, or permission of instructor. [DL; OC; Cross-listed with LALS, COML] The course will be taught in English; students will have the choice of writing their papers in Spanish or English.

Required for Hispanic Studies majors, but open to minors and other programs. This seminar and writing workshop will accompany the student in choosing the topic for and developing, researching, and writing an original capstone project. We will use a mix of practical and conceptual tools to facilitate this path. We will also study and discuss cultural material (such as short texts, films, etc.) in order to revisit a number of topics and problems central to Hispanic Studies, particularly when it pertains to the students' paper topics. The class will be strongly shaped by students' own previous and developing interests.