Course Descriptions By Program

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SPN101 - Elementary Spanish I

This course is designed for the student without previous knowledge of Spanish who wishes to achieve a command of language fundamentals. Acquisition of speech skills in the classroom is reinforced in the language laboratory. Progressively greater emphasis is placed on reading and writing.

SPN102 - Elementary Spanish II

This is a continuation of Spanish 101.

SPN203 - Intermediate Spanish I

This course reviews the essentials of Spanish grammar through intensive oral and written practice to facilitate the use of Spanish grammar and to develop the use of words and expressions accepted throughout the Spanish-speaking world.

SPN204 - Intermediate Spanish II

Students develop control of the principal structural patterns of the language through dialogue, and reading as well as through oral and written exercises based on selected readings.

SPN304 - Spanish for Law Enforcement

This course focuses on the applied aspects of the Spanish language in a law enforcement context. Significant emphasis will be on the practical exercises such as arrest situations, assisting victims of crimes, conducting searches, undertaking criminal interviews and interrogations, and reading Miranda rights. Students will also learn about the Hispanic community in terms of crimes, prison population, and how to work with citizens and community leaders toward mutual goals and objectives. While some background is provided in terms of the criminal justice system, such information is intended to assist in the language capabilities of justice personnel as opposed to undertaking substantive studies in that regard.

SPN305 - Spanish for Business

This course focuses on the applied aspects of the Spanish language in a business and international trade context. Significant emphasis will be on practical communicative activities that involve business scenarios, learning about business integrity and values that are recognized in the Hispanic community, analysis and discussions of Spanish commercial readings, analysis and discussions of business-cultural reading that impact the Hispanic market. While some background is provided in terms of the business and international trade such information is intended to assist in the language capabilities of business personnel as opposed to undertaking substantive studies in this regard.

SPN306 - Spanish for Medical Personnel

This course focuses on the applied aspects of the Spanish language in a health care context. Significant emphasis will be on practical vocabulary such as obtaining patient information, evaluating patients, conducting physical examinations, explaining diagnoses, implementing and explaining treatment, explaining the use of prescriptions, interacting with the elderly, and issues involving pregnancy and birth. Students will also learn about the Hispanic community in regard to demographics and the impact on the medical field. Further, students will learn about working with community members and leaders toward mutual goals and objectives in health promotion and prevention. While some background is provided in terms of the health care system, such information is intended to assist in the language capabilities of health care professionals as opposed to undertaking substantive studies in this regard.

SPN307 - Spanish for Social Services

This course focuses on the applied aspects of the Spanish language in a social work context. Significant emphasis will be on practical vocabulary such as obtaining client information, evaluating and speaking with clients, financial aid screenings, applying for work permits, discussing child abuse and abusive parents, discussing injury and disability benefits, discussing Medicare and welfare, and offering advice to clients. Students will also learn about the Hispanic community in terms of state population and its impact in the social services field and how to work with community members and leaders toward mutual goals and objectives in the well-being and promotion of clients. While some background is provided in terms of the social work field, such information is intended to assist in the language capabilities of social work professionals as opposed to undertaking substantive studies in this regard.

SPN308 - Spanish for Educators

This course focuses on the applied aspects of the Spanish language in the teacher education context. Significant emphasis will be on practical vocabulary such as communicating with parents and students, classroom management, managing behavioral issues, teaching various subject areas, enforcing school rules, and cooperation between school and parents. Students will also learn about the Hispanic community in terms of state population and its impact in the education field and how to work with community members and leaders towards mutual goals and objectives in promoting social and academic learning. While some background is provided in terms of the education system, such information is intended to assist in the language capabilities of education professionals as opposed to undertaking substantive studies in this regard.

SPN311 - Spanish Conversation, Composition & Phonetics I

In this course, students will acquire a genuine command of the language and the ability to communicate by listening, speaking, reading and writing. There is intense practice in conversation, composition and phonetics based on modern prose, as well as on natural spontaneous speech models, including colloquialisms. Class is taught in Spanish.

SPN312 - Spanish Conversation, Composition & Phonetics II

This course is a continuation of Spanish 311 on a higher level of proficiency accepted by educated speakers of the Spanish world. Students will acquire a genuine command of the language and the ability to communicate by listening, speaking, reading and writing. There is intense practice in conversation, composition and phonetics based on modern prose, as well as on natural spontaneous speech models, including colloquialisms.

SPN346 - 20th Century Spain 1939 to the Present

This course is dedicated to the study of the exciting revitalization of today’s Spanish society following the repression of the postwar years. It will trace the various faces of that revolution of Spanish culture when the Spaniards decided to forget the war and the desperate state of Spain and focus on new forms of artistic expression. The course will also examine the relationships among different forms of art during that period (e.g. the surrealist style in Spanish cinema, as well as in painting and in music). It will present the two major tendencies among the intellectuals of the time: those who had an inclination toward social protest and those who manifested and attitude of avoidance of the Spanish reality and produced works of universal significance.

SPN348 - Romanticism in Latin America

This course examines the new art and cultural trends of post independence Latin America. It looks at the role of painting, music and literature in the process of construction of a national identity: the “Americanista” ideology. It will study the origins and tendencies of the romantic movement, which breaks all classical rules and gives free rein to excited feelings. The course will follow the artistic-cultural work and activities of the prominent figures whose talent and efforts contributed to the creation of the new Spanish-American nations.

SPN349 - Mexico and the Chicano Movement in the 20Th Century

This course surveys a general, critical introduction to the political, social, and cultural changes in the Mexican society from the Pre-Columbian times to the present through art and literature. The course explores the concern that Mexican intellectuals have with social and political issues, and the impact that socio-political events have had on Mexico’s contemporary cultural achievements. The course will also present the opportunity to examine the social awareness of today’s Mexicans and the effect that this consciousness will have on the country’s relationship with the United States through Chicano art and literature.

SPN350 - Contemporary Argentina

This course will attempt to give the student a multiphasic view of the culture of Argentina, the Latin American country with the most widespread artistic activity. It will begin with the nationalistic trend in the arts, which evolved from the so-called “gauchesco” tradition. It will then examine the vanguardist current in the literature, music, and the visual arts. The goal of SPN 350 is also to give the student a greater awareness of the ever-increasing attention the world is giving to Hispanic America, the recent boom in Spanish intellectual productivity, and an appreciation of the future impact this will have on the world.

SPN421 - Survey of Spanish Literature I

This course is an introduction to the masterpieces of Spanish literature, ranging from Poema de Mio Cid to current authors. Represented will be all of the important Spanish literary genres: narrative poetry (epic and ballad), lyric verse, short story, and selections from novels and dramas. Class and readings are in Spanish.

SPN422 - Survey of Spanish Literature II

A study of representative selections from the Colonial period to the present, this course emphasizes the salient characteristics and the distinctive contributions of each literary form in the period or movement under study.

SPN469 - Studies in Spanish Literature

Subject matter to be arranged. This course is designed for Spanish majors who wish to take additional credits and/or study abroad.