University of Barcelona

This intensive language course prepares students for daily life in Spain by emphasizing their level of Spanish in communication and interactions in everyday settings. This course focuses on Spanish language at the intermediate level with special emphasis on grammar, vocabulary, conversation and composition as well as basic Catalan. It includes organized visits to cultural areas in Barcelona (La Pedrera, Sagrada Familia, Park Güell, Cathedral of Barcelona, and the Jewish Quarter). Assessment: Class participation, weekly assignments, final exam.

This course is a study of the ideology, politics, and social systems of Catalonia and the Catalan people within Spain and greater Europe. It discusses the interaction between various legal systems, the various political parties and interest groups, and the evolution of communication. Topics include: historical evolutions in law and civil rights in Spain, comparison between common law and civil law, the Catalonian parliament, European elections, Spanish university culture, and the mass media in Spain.

This course examines the genetic and physiopathological bases of monogenic diseases due to occasional mutations, dynamic mutations, and large reordering of the genetic material. Other topics include: genomic, chromosomal, and imprinting diseases; multifactorial diseases; pathologies of the mitochondrial genome.

The course examines the foundation, nature, applications, and development of language. Themes addressed include language and communication: language among systems of communication; animal communication; language traits; and writing; the cognitive bases of language: brain and language; language disorders; origin and evolution; and the relationship between thought and language; historical linguistic development: language before and after the 19th century as well as in the 20th century; and the evolution of grammar; universal grammar and classification of languages.

This course examines literature from the Spanish Golden Age with an emphasis on the playwrights and plays that originated during this time. Topics include theory and dramatic scenery in the 16th and 17th century; drama genres of the Renaissance; the theater of Miguel de Cervantes; Lope de Vega's New Comedy; Calderon de la Barca; the birth of the Baroque feast; myths of classical Spanish theater. 

This course examines the concept of law from a philosophical perspective and explores the virtues and problems of the contemporary ideal associated with the notions of the rule of law, democracy, and human rights. It explores the contributions of democratic constitutionalism, as well as the meaning of legal activity as a social practice linked to values.

This course examines the main perspectives of urban sociology to develop a critical understanding of current urban social problems. It studies the relationship between space and society, applying the sociological perspective on the analysis of cities, urban phenomena, and social issues in urban areas.