Spanish

This course covers the topic of food to explore the history of Mexico and its diaspora from the time of the Conquest, with a particular focus on food as national and cultural identity as reflected in cinema and literature. It will also explore how food provides a multifaceted lens through which to examine issues such as food and poverty, food as a transnational site of both community and exclusion, and ecological issues, such as control of natural resources essential to food production and security. Students examine the topic of food as both a political issue and a source of creative inspiration through our analysis of texts, art, films and television series.

The course proposes a tour - not strictly chronological - through the Spanish American essay from the 19th century to the present. The main ideas, paradigms, sensitivities and tensions that articulate regional thought will be presented, such as those of civilization and barbarism, the local and the foreign, center and periphery, tradition and modernity, among others. In the same way, key thematic axes of contemporary essay production will be addressed, such as the monstrous, animality and gender as they provide notions that inform a discourse of the Hispanic American intellectual subject in relation to the local and global present. 

The purpose of this course is for students to know the foundations of three linguistic paradigms of current high relevance (Structuralism, Generativism and Functionalism) in the context of modern linguistics, become familiar with their specialized terms and understand their different conceptions of language and questions asked in relation to this.

This course is designed for UCEAP students at the upper elementary (A2) level to improve, consolidate, and expand grammatical knowledge of the Spanish language. Class meetings are supplemented with practical experiences where students visit emblematic locations in Madrid to practice Spanish communication in real time.

Spanish is the language of over four hundred million people. It is spoken officially in 23 countries, and it is the second language of the United States, where there are some 45 million Spanish speakers. Spanish is also one of the four major languages of the European Union alongside English, French, and German. If you are interested in learning one of the most commonly spoken first languages in the world and have no prior knowledge of the Spanish language, then this is the right course for you. Based on a communicative and culture-based approach, this course is designed to help you quickly develop your proficiency in basic oral and written Spanish. Vocabulary and basic Spanish grammar are presented in contexts that are relevant for everyday language use. Students will also learn basic language learning strategies to make the learning process more effective.

This is an independent research course with research arranged between the student and faculty member. The specific research topics vary each term and are described on a special project form for each student. A substantial paper is required. The number of units varies with the student’s project, contact hours, and method of assessment, as defined on the student’s special study project form.

This course offers an elementary study of Spanish language for students at an A1 to A2 level, according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

This course examines the age and literary style of Spanish literature in the 18th and 19th century by placing them in the larger context of the rest of European literature using selected literary works to explore the historical and literary importance of this period. Topics discussed include aesthetics; controversy and reform; romanticism; natural realism; the enlightenment and neoclassicism; ideas and literary genres of 18th century Spain; modern to vanguard poetry; prose and drama of the Silver Age; literature, post-war, and exile; and literary creation and post-modernity.