Spanish Studies Courses
An intensive introduction to the Spanish language that allows students to take two semesters in one. Ideal for anyone who has had some Spanish in high school and/or placed into First Semester Spanish on the placement exam with a high score. Note: All incoming students enrolling is a Spanish class at USF for the first time who have taken Spanish before and'or were raised speaking Spanish are required to take the placement test. (Please see the Department of Modern and Classical Languages' website for more information). Offered every semester.
The first of a two-semester sequence designed specifically for students with no previous Spanish. Activities and tests designed to accommodate the early stages of language acquisition; grammatical structures and lexical items presented accordingly. Emphasizes the development of communication skills: the ability to comprehend native speakers of Spanish, to speak Spanish with them, to understand Spanish-language texts, and to communicate ideas in Spanish. Students who successfully complete this course will proceed to SPAN 102. This course includes a mandatory one-hour weekly group conversation class with a tutor for nine weeks of the semester outside of the class meeting time. Note: All incoming students enrolling in a Spanish class at USF for the first time who have taken Spanish before and/or were raised speaking Spanish are required to take the placement text. (Please see the Department of Modern and Classical Languages website for more information). Offered every semester.
The second of a two-semester sequence designed specifically for students with no previous Spanish. Activities and tests designed to accommodate the early stages of language acquisition; grammatical structures and lexical items presented accordingly. Emphasizes the development of communication skills: the ability to comprehend native speakers of Spanish, to speak Spanish with them, to understand Spanish-language texts, and to communicate ideas in Spanish. Students who successfully complete this course will proceed to SPAN-201. This course includes a mandatory one-hour weekly group conversation class with a tutor for nine weeks of the semester outside of the class meeting time. Note: All incoming students enrolling in a Spanish class at USF for the first time who have taken Spanish before and/or were raised speaking Spanish are required to take the placement test.) Please see the Department of Modern and Classical Languages website for more information). Offered every semester. Prerequisite: SPAN-101.
An interesting introduction to a topic in the field of Spanish.
A one-semester intensive review of the basic structures of Spanish. Class conducted in Spanish, with activities designed to practice and consolidate all language skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Cultural readings to expand vocabulary, stimulate discussion, and broaden students' understanding of the Hispanic world. Note: All incoming students enrolling in a Spanish class at USF for the first time who have taken Spanish before and'or were raised speaking Spanish are required to take the placement test. (Please see the Department of Modern and Classical Languages website for more information). Qualifying students who were raised speaking Spanish at home are not eligible to take this course and are required to take "Spanish for Bilinguals 1". (Please see the description for Spanish 221). Offered every semester. Cross-listed with LAS - 201. Prerequisite: SPAN - 101-102.
Students continue to develop reading, speaking, and writing skills, and expand their active vocabulary. The readings (which explore economic development, education, environment, politics, and social institutions in Latin America) are the core of the course, serving as the basis for class discussion and essays and for the selective review of grammar. Students learn to read/write discipline specific content in preparation for upper level classes at USF or abroad. Note: All incoming students enrolling in a Spanish class at USF for the first time who have taken Spanish before and/or were raised speaking Spanish are required to take the placement text. (Please see the Department of Modern and Classical Languages website for more information). Qualifying students who were raised speaking Spanish at home are not eligible to take this course and are required to take "Spanish for Bilinguals II" ). (please see the description for Spanish 222). Offered every semester. Cross-listed with: LAS - 202. Prerequisite: SPAN - 101-102-201.
This class seeks to strengthen students active skills in Spanish, particularly reading and writing. Students will engage various texts combining different disciplines such as aesthetic: film, fine arts, photography and literature; social sciences: history, sociology, economy, journalism and media studies; and humanities: philosophy and theology. The selected texts will examine the complexity of the Spanish-speaking world in all its geographical amplitude. A feature in this class will be the participation of guest speakers. Prerequisite: SPAN 202 or SPAN 222.
A four-week program designed for students who wish to acquire fluency in Spanish while being immersed in Mexican culture. The Program includes lectures, conversation hours and field trips that support language proficiency and are inspired by the University's mission of social justice. Offered in collaboration with Universidad Iberoamericana - Puebla and USF's Spanish and Latin American Studies Program. Students who successfully complete this course will proceed to SPAN 202. Completion of this course is the equivalent of SPAN 201 (Third Semester Spanish) and will satisfy any USF program requiring three semesters of a foreign language.
A four-week program designed for students who wish to acquire fluency in Spanish while being immersed in Spanish culture. The program includes lectures, conversation hours and field trips that support language proficiency and the opportunity to learn about the culture and history of Spain. Offered in collaboration with Universidad Pontificia Comillas and USF's Spanish and Latin American Studies programs. Students who successfully complete this course will proceed to SPAN 202. Completion of this course is the equivalent of SPAN 201 (Third Semester Spanish) and will satisfy any USF program requiring three semesters of a foreign language.
Required for all Spanish and French conversation tutors. While simultaneously teaching conversation sessions, students will specifically learn how to: identify issues underlying communicative language and task-based teaching,create well designed language learning activities that engage learners in communicative language learning tasks, sequence those tasks, apply appropriate language teaching terminology during class discussions, reflect about themselves as learners and teachers, and participate in intellectual discussions about second language acquisition and foreign language teaching issues. Prerequisite: SPAN 202 or 222.
Students expand vocabulary and develop proficiency by means of extensive conversation. May be repeated once for credit after an interval of one semester. Designed for native speakers of English. Offered every semester. Prerequisite: SPAN - 101-102-201.
Conversation class for students in a particular discipline. Students will read Spanish-language articles and selections from books on topics specific to their field. In-class discussions and activities, individual presentations, quizzes (written and oral) on content and vocabulary. Discipline alternates. Offered intermittently.
Students will improve linguistic skills and increase exposure to academic Spanish. This may take the form of improving spelling, expanding vocabulary at formal registers, broadening the range of topics controlled in written and oral expression, and so forth. The readings (which explore health, education, politics, bilingualism, biculturalism and social institutions in Latin America) are the core of the course, serving as the basis for class discussion and essays and for the selective review of grammar. Completion of this course is the equivalent of Spanish 201 (Third Semester Spanish) and will satisfy any USF program requiring three semesters of a foreign language. Note: All incoming students enrolling in a Spanish class at USF for the first time who have taken Spanish before and/or were raised speaking Spanish are required to take the placement test. (Please see the Department of Modern and Classical Languages website for more information). Qualifying students who were raised speaking Spanish at home are required to take this course and are not eligible to take Spanish 201. Offered Fall Semester only. Prerequisite: Native speaking abilities, no junior high or high school study in a Spanish-speaking country, and placement into Spanis 201 (Third Semester Spanish) or permission from Spanish Language Coordinator.
Students will continue improving their linguistic skills and increase exposure to more academic Spanish. This may take the form of improving spelling, expanding vocabulary at formal registers, broadening the range of topics controlled in written and oral expression, and so forth. The readings (which explore health, education, politics, bilingualism, biculturalism and social institutions in Latin America) are the core of the course, serving as the basis for class discussion and essays and for the selective review of grammar. Completion of this course is the equivalent of Spanish 202 (Fourth Semester Spanish) and will satisfy any USF program requiring four semesters of a foreign language. Note: All incoming students enrolling in a Spanish class at USF for the first time who have taken Spanish before and/or were raised speaking Spanish are required to take the placements test. (Please see the Department of Modern and Classical Languages website for more information). Qualifying students who were raised speaking Spanish at home are required to take this course and are not eligible to take Spanish 202. Prerequisite: Native speaking abilities, no junior high or high school study in a Spanish-speaking country, and successful completion of or a waiver for Spanish 221 (Spanish for Bilinguals I) or permission from Spanish Language Coordinator. Offered Spring semester only.
Who speaks Spanish in the US? What kind of Spanish do they speak? What does it mean to be a Spanish-speaker in the US/California/San Francisco - to a Spanish speaker and to an English speaker? We will examine historical realities, language varieties, and the relationships between language and identity, language and culture. Using sociolinguistic methods, we will explore a variety of contemporary social and political issues associated with the presence of Spanish and Spanish-speakers in the U.S., in California, and in San Francisco, among them language legislation and bilingual education. Sources include published book and articles, web resources, and community contacts. Prerequisite: SPAN 206.
Reading and translation exercises highlight the multidimensional nature of text and the dynamic nature of reading while honing analytic skills. They encourage experimentation and contribute to the improvement of linguistic and intercultural skills. Prerequisite: SPAN 206.
Offered in English. This course considers writers who bring a deeper understanding to the Hispanic-Latino-American experience in California and in the West. Both Hispanic-Latino and non-Hispanic-Latino writers are studied. Works are read and discussed in English in a seminar style. Cultural on-site experiences are integral to course objectives. Offered every Spring.
Our course will focus on the finest short stories written in Spanish over the last 100 years. The compression of the genre is particularly suited for the pace of modern life and has proved to be a favorite of such writers as Borges, García Márquez, Matute,
and Cortázar, to name only a few. The primary goal of this course is to introduce students to the craft of close reading and the critical skills necessary for a nuanced understanding of culture in a complicated subject such as literature. Prerequisite: SPAN 206
This Service Learning course is designed for Spanish majors and minors as well as for those interested in the Spanish speaking community living in the US, in the study of gender and immigration issues, in grassroots activism, and in the languages and cultures of Latin/o America. The class will work directly with different community organizations that focus on the Spanish-speaking community of San Francisco. Different service tasks include: tutoring, translation and labor advocacy. Class topics include: immigration in the US, problems of discrimination based on citizenship, sexuality, gender and ethnicity, collective and individual responses to such forms of oppression, and the role of education and the arts in challenging injustice. Prerequisite: SPAN 206.
Students will focus on oral and written expression through an introduction to specific text genres. In addition to a brief review of idiosyncratic structures and the construction of complex sentences, students will read brief texts representative of (primarily) non-literary genres: definition, summary, description, narration, exposition, meditative essay, and critical essay. These texts will serve as models for both written (short essays) and oral practice (the discussion of texts and the ideas presented in them). Prerequisite: SPAN 206.
Overview of basic fields of linguistic analysis (syntax, morphology, phonology, semantics) and consideration of sub-fields (dialectology, bilingualism and biculturalism, language change). Prerequisite: SPAN 206.
This course examines the languages and cultures of Meso- and South-America that were overlaid by Spanish. In addition to an overview of the languages and cultures themselves, students will explore such issues as (1) the relationship between language and culture, language and nation, (2) colonial policies concerning indigenous languages, (3) contemporary language policies, and (4) the endangerment of indigenous languages. Prerequisite: SPAN 206.
This survey will trace an emerging category of writing called literature from the Enlightenment to the present. Offered every Spring. Prerequisite: SPAN - 310.
Students will focus on oral and written expression through an introduction to the analysis of literary texts. In addition to learning the Spanish-language terminology of literary analysis, students will read short works (poetry, short stories, dramatic texts), practice the concepts and techniques of analysis in class discussion, and write short essays on those texts. Offered every semester.
Studies various attempts to define cultural identity and artistic expression in the work of the boom novelists, black poets, etc. Course given in Spanish. Offered intermittently. Prerequisite: SPAN 206.
A study of novels, short stories, and poems by Latin American, Latino-Latina, and indigenous writers in the light of current theories of feminist criticism. Exploration of issues such as writing of desire and the body, revisionist readings and race, class and religion as they affect gender issues. Works are read and discussed in Spanish. Offered every Fall. Prerequisite: SPAN 206.
Ideas about honor and the values that reflect them are not static, changing over time. In this course we consider how such changes emerge in Iberian societies, converting a behavior or practice once thought honorable into one considered dishonorable, and elevating other behaviors to occupy the higher moral position. Prerequisite: SPAN 206.
This course begins in the 19th Century during the last throws of a dying Spanish Empire. We will track Spanish literature and history through such extreme experience as foreign invasion, nationalism, dictatorships, civil wars, censorship and the (often exiled) avant guarde, finally ending with a remarkable return to the freedoms of democracy in the late 20th Century. Prerequisite: SPAN 206.
A social and cultural survey from Medieval Spain to the present, focusing on history, literature, music and the visual arts, including film. Works to be discussed will consider how cultural forces and significant figures have influenced contemporary Spain. Class sessions will be conducted in Spanish. Prerequisite: SPAN - 310 or instructor.
This course combines historical, social, and artistic perspectives. Topic varies. Offered intermittently. Prerequisite: SPAN 206.
The life and works of Cervantes, with emphasis on the Quixote. Class to be given in Spanish. Offered intermittently. Prerequisite: SPAN - 310.
The written permission of the instructor, the department chair and the dean is required. Offered every semester.
Recognition, description, and transcription of the sounds of Spanish; discussion of intonation, rhythm, pitch, and stress.
Topic varies: Spanish dialectology, bilingualism and biculturalism, language change, or contrastive linguistics. Prerequisite: SPAN 317 or equivalent introduction to linguistics.
After a careful reading of Dante's Inferno students will engage the vast and foundational influence of this text in Latin American and Spanish literatures, including Juan de Mena's Laberinto de la fortuna, Valle Inclán's Luces de Bohemia, Juan Rulfo's Pedro Páramo, Borges's El Aleph, José Donoso's Lugar sin límites. To theoretically approach these textual conversations, students will study the concept of dialogism and intertextuality featured in Mikhail Bakhtin's Dialogic Imagination. Cross Listed With: SII - 413.
This course examines a full range of medieval Iberian women's lives, as the women and their lives were written, and as women wrote ABOUT themselves and their own lives. Prerequisite: Senior standing or permission of instructor.
Course offered by faculty from other departments. Topic varies.
