Graduate Spanish Course Offerings

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Spring, 2003

SPAN 5200.001 - Latin American Civilization and Culture

Taught entirely in Spanish, this course is a survey of Latin American civilization and culture intended to develop a critical awareness of the writing of history and its consequences for the present and future. The politics, social structures and traditions of Latin America from the indigenous period until today will be studied with a special focus on their contemporary life in order to build a foundation for a more in-depth study of the culture. Topics to be included are: the theoretical purpose of history and its shortcomings, the cultural history of Latin America in the 18th and 19th centuries, Puerto Rico and the quest for independence, North American intervention in Latin America, agrarian reform--a comparative history of the European "latifundia" and the Latin American "hacienda," the trajectory of the mestizo from myth to reality, the cultural history of Argentina and the "Caudillo," and, Vasco de Quiroga's version of Thomas More's Utopia in Colonial Mexico.

SPAN 5200.002 - Generation of 98

This course will examine the cultural, literary and historical phenomena occurring in Spain during the time-period of the writings of the Generation of 98 (approximately 1890-1914). A few of the writers which we will be studying are Unamuno (Niebla), Valle-Inclán (Tirano Banderas), Baroja (El árbol de la ciencia), Azorín (Las confesiones de un pequeño filósofo) and Antonio Machado (Campos de Castilla). The course will be taught in Spanish. Students will be expected to learn, and be able to explain (by the end of the semester) why this period is often called the Second Golden Age, or Silver Age, of Spanish literature as well as the importance of each of these writers on both their contemporaries and later authors.

SPAN 5200.003 - Latin American Colonial Literature II

This course will examine indigenous and creole texts produced during the colonial period (1521-1800). The course will be divided into three parts. The first part will deal with some of pre-Hispanic indigenous literary traditions such as Nahuatl poetry and Popol Vuh. In the second part, we will focus on the Spanish American baroque literature by examining Sor Juana’s poetry and theater, and Sigüenza y Góngora’ Los infortunios de Alfonso Ramírez. The third part will deal with novels and essays such as Lizardi’s Periquillo Sarniento and Teresa de Mier’s Memoriales that promote political autonomy in the colonial society. The student will be expected to participate daily in discussions about readings. The course will be given in Spanish.

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Fall, 2003

SPAN 5200.001: Hispanic Poetry

Tuesdays, 5-7:50 p.m.
INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Mónica Jato
"Entre la vanguardia y la posmodernidad: la poesia latinoamericana del siglo XX." El curso consistirá en un recorrido por la poesía latinoamericana, partiendo de la Vanguardia hasta llegar a las últimas propuestas poéticas del siglo XX. Se estudiarán selecciones de autores como J.L. Borges, Lezama Lima, Vicente Huidobro, Neruda, Vallejo, Girondo, Paz, así como de Olga Orozco, Ida Vitale, Amanda Berenguer, Rosario Castellanos, Mario Benedetti, Jose Emilio Pacheco, Alejandra Pizarnik, David Huerta, Margorie Agosíin, etc. Con este curso se pretende ofrecer una panorámica de las diferentes vertientes poéticas y su evolución a lo largo de todo un siglo en la literatura latinoamericana.

SPAN 5200: Quijote

Wednesdays, 5-7:50 p.m.
INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Pierina Beckman
During this seminar we will study in depth the most famous Spanish novel: Don Quijote de la Mancha. We will read, analyze, and discuss all 126 chapters. We will also study characteristics of the picaresque, pastoral, Moorish, and chivalry novels which are found within this masterpiece.

SPAN 5200: Advanced Grammar

Thursdays, 5-7:50 p.m.
INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Jiyoung Yoon
This introductory course to Advanced Grammar will explore the grammatical aspects of contemporary Spanish from both theoretical and practical perspectives. The main objectives are to broaden your knowledge of Spanish grammar at an advanced level and to develop your analytical skills to apply theories to linguistic data. Students are expected to have basic grammatical knowledge acquired from the previous four years of study of the Spanish language.

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Spring, 2004

SPAN 5200: Spanish Civilization and Culture

Mondays, 5-7:50 p.m.
INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Patrick L. O Connell
This course is a survey of Spanish civilization and culture intended to develop a critical awareness of the writing of history and its consequences for the present and future in Spain. Through a series of lectures, films, discussions, and student presentations, the student will be able to recognize and discuss the main historical, cultural and artistic currents of Spanish civilization from the Paleolithic period to modern-day Spain.

SPAN 5200: 19th Century Spanish Literature

Tuesdays, 5-7:50 p.m.
INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Jeffrey Oxford
This course will examine the cultural, literary and historical phenomena occurring in Spain during the 19th century, with a particular focus on Realism and Naturalism (approximately 1870-1905). A few of the writers which we will be studying are Alarcón, Blasco Ibáñez, Clarín, Pardo Bazán, and Pérez Galdós. Students will be expected to learn, and be able to explain why this period is so important to the development of Spanish literature as well as the importance of each of these writers.

SPAN 5200: Romanticism and Realism

Thursdays, 5-7:50 p.m.
INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Jongsoo Lee
This course will provide a general overview of romantic and realist/naturalist novels in nineteenth-century Latin America with an emphasis on the efforts to establish political and cultural systems for the newly independent nations, the resistance to dictatorship, and the conflicts between races, genders and social classes. Readings include Echeverría, Sarmiento, Hernández, Isaacs, Cambaceres and Matto de Turner. Nationalist, postcolonial and feminist theory will be introduced as a major methodological approach to analyze the novels.