University of Barcelona

This course offers a study of biomaterials from their history in the ancient world to current developments and the latest progress. Topics include: types of biomaterials; biocompatibility; applications and regulations.

The course examines the development of literary genres in Latin American literature across the history of Spanish language and literature. It places emphasis on the philosophical and aesthetic components of the genre; the fundamentals of literary analysis; and the relationship between the literary work and its historical context. Topics include the origin and history of America; the diaries of Christopher Columbus; an overview of Spanish language Latin American literature (from Baroque to modernism); anti-poetry and conversational poetry (Nicanor Parra y Mario Benedetti); the Latin American Boom (Gabriel Garcia Marquez); and contemporary authors (Roberto Bolaño).

The course introduces students to the core concepts of applied linguistics - history, origin, and scope. It explores how linguistic knowledge can be used to understand and address real-world language and communication issues.  Students will examine language processing, language disorders, and multilingualism from cognitive, social, and educational perspectives. The course also focuses on identifying contemporary language-related social problems, analyzing their causes, and proposing interdisciplinary solutions.

This course focuses on Spanish theater and dramatic literature. It examines the world of the theater: actors, producers, and the public; theatrical movements at the turn of the century; continuity and modernization; innovative playwrights and conceptual theater; tradition and avant-garde; the theater of "urgency" during the Civil War and the playwrights of exile; post-war theater, escapist conformity, and humor; the new realism; theater as spectacle and experiment; and new trends and "theatre groups."

This course offers a study of the status of foreign nationals and immigration in Spain. Topics include: migration, sustainability, and social cohesion; migrant women and cultural diversity; the role of public powers in matters of nationality, foreign nationals, and immigration policies; Spanish nationality and its impact on foreign nationals and immigration; the rights and freedoms of foreign nationals; laws regulating the status of foreign national in Spain; penalties for violations of immigration law.

This course examines the early linguistic development of the Spanish language, with special emphasis on the sociological and historic elements that have influenced this development. It covers the basics of diachronic linguistics, the evolution from Latin to hispanicized Latin to Romance to Spanish, the Germanic and Arabic substrata of Spanish, medieval Spanish and its linguistic affinity with other Romance languages, modern Spanish including major changes of the 15th to 17th centuries, and contemporary trends and variations in the Spanish language.

This course offers a study of ethology and evolution of behavior. It analyzes the relative importance of different ecological and social factors that shape behavior, as well as how evolution and adaptation contribute to the development of individual and social behavior. Through evolutionary reasoning, it examines the socio-spatial, sexual, and reproductive behavior in the human species and in other animal species.