Department of Romance Studies

All schedule information is tentative. Please see the Registrar's site for the latest information.

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

• Hispanic Studies Language Course Offerings (HISP 10–108) Fall 2023

• Hispanic Studies Upper-Level Courses Fall 2023

For short video introductions to many of our courses, click on the course titles.

Questions about major/minor requirements, course offerings, or studying abroad? Contact our Undergraduate Advising Head: Professor Lucía Reyes de Deu.

For more information about HISP 10-108 placement/enrollment, please see our Language Programs Placement page. If you have any questions, please contact Prof. González Ros.

(1) M,T,W,Th 9:05–9:55 AM, González Ros
(2) M,W,Th 10:10–11:00; T 10–10:50 AM, González Ros

Prerequisite: Permission required (please see instructions on our Language Programs Placement page).

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 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.

(1) M,W,Th,F 11:15 AM–12:05 PM, Mederos
(2) M,W,Th 12:20–1:10 PM; F 12:45–1:35 PM, Mederos
(3) M,T,W,Th 9:05–9:55 AM, Peary

Prerequisite: A grade of C- or higher in HISP 10a or the equivalent. Permission required (please see instructions on our Language Programs Placement page).

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.

(1) M,W,Th 10:10–11:00 AM; T 10:00–10:50 AM, Peary
(2) M,W,Th 1:20–2:10 PM; T 12:45–1:35 PM, Peary
(3) M,T,W,Th 11:15 AM–12:05 PM, Turpin
(4) M,W,Th 12:20–1:10; F 12:45–1:35 PM, Reyes de Deu
(6) M,W,Th 10:10–11:00; T 10–10:50 AM, Moreno

Prerequisite: A grade of C- or higher in HISP 20b or the equivalent. Permission required (please see instructions on our Language Programs Placement page).

Students will bring their proficiency up to an intermediate level. 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.

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

(1) M,W,Th 10:10–11:00 AM, Castro
(2) M,W,Th 11:15 AM–12:05 PM, Castro
(3) M,W,Th 9:05–9:55 AM, Mederos

Prerequisite: HISP 32 or 34. Permission required (please see instructions on our Language Programs Placement page).

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,Th 1:20–2:10 PM, Castro

Prerequisite: HISP 104b or the equivalent. Permission required (please see instructions on our Language Programs Placement page).

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) M,W,Th 11:15 AM–12:05 PM, Reyes de Deu

Prerequisite: HISP 104b or the equivalent. Permission required (please see instructions on our Language Programs Placement page).

Students will improve their oral communication skills through active participation in practical tasks in contexts related to the way the Spanish–speaking world views the concepts of health and wellbeing. Students will present information, conduct interviews, 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 2:20–3:40 PM, Turpin
(2) T,Th 3:55–5:15 PM, Turpin

Prerequisite: HISP 105a or the equivalent. Permission required (please see instructions on our Language Programs Placement page). [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) M,W 4:05–5:25 PM, Herrera Díaz

Prerequisite: HISP 106b, or HISP 108a, or permission of instructor. Taught in Spanish. [DJW; Cross-listed with COML, IGS, LACLS, and MUS]

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.

(1) T,F 11:10 AM–12:30 PM, Durán

Taught in English.

This course 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.

(1) T,F 9:35–10:55 AM, Durán

Taught in English.

This course 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. fiction, 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.

(1) M,W 5:40–7:00 PM, Herrera Díaz

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

Topic for fall 2023: Divine Meditations: Race, Religion, and Myth in Latin America

This course will explore the intersection of race, religion, and myth in Latin America from colonial times until the present. By analyzing a wide array of media (i.e., maps, paintings, photographs, comics, literary texts, performances and films), we will focus on how Afro-Atlantic and Indigenous cosmogonies and identities have shaped colonial, imperial, and national realities, often challenging dominant representations of gender, labor, race, and identity. The course is divided into four units: Nation, Gender, Capitalism, and Borders. Over the course of the semester, we will examine a variety of marginalized and transgressive identities such as maroons, malandros, zombies, shamans, ghosts, and spirits and discuss their influential role in Latin American transcultural practices and experiences.

(1) W 2:30–5:20 PM, Rosenberg

Required for Hispanic Studies majors, but open to minors and other programs. This year, the topic of the research seminar is Fiction and Truth. How does literature intertwine with reality, fiction with history, narrative and identity? We will study texts and watch films (in Spanish and English) that present themselves as having a commitment to truth, to reflect on their strategies of representation and authority. The reflection will accompany students through the process of choosing and developing their essay or multi-media project, which might focus on literature or other artistic and cultural media. Along this path, we will 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 developing interests. Taught in both English and Spanish; the final project might be completed in either language.