Hispanic Studies

Department of Languages, Cultures and Literatures

  • PARKER BROOKIE
  • MIRKO M. HALL, chair
  • RAFAEL E. HERNÁNDEZ
  • STEFANIA LICATA

Mission

The mission of the Department of Languages, Cultures and Literatures is to enable Converse students to embrace diversity and complexity in the world through communication in other languages and knowledge of other cultures. The department will achieve this goal by preparing students in the following areas:

  1. competence in oral comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing of the target language;
  2. knowledge of the culture and literature of the major language;
  3. preparation to enter an advanced degree program, public service, business, or the professions.

The Department of Languages, Cultures and Literatures offers a Bachelor of Arts degree with the majors of German Studies and Hispanic Studies. Students majoring in German Studies or Hispanic Studies must complete 30 credit hours in courses numbered 202 and above.

The General Education Program is a requirement for all degrees. The requirements listed below are approved for the Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Fine Arts.

ENG 101 3 hours
Language and Culture 9 hours
MTH 108 or higher 3 hours
One course designated as Quantitative Reasoning 3–4 hours
Health and Well-Being Wellness 2 hours
Activity course 1–2 hours
Humanities 6 hours
Literature 3 hours
Fine Arts 6 hours
Natural Science 7–8 hours
Social Science 6 hours
Total 49–52 hours

Graduation requirements but not a separate course:

  • First Year Seminar
  • Writing Intensive course
  • Non-European/non-Anglophone course
  • Capstone experience

Calculation of Major and Minor GPA in Languages, Cultures and Literature

To earn a major or minor in German Studies or Hispanic Studies, or a minor in French and Francophone Studies, students must have a minimum GPA of 2.0 across all of their required and elective courses on the Degree Completion Form for that specific program.

Elective credits beyond the required number may not be considered in the calculation.

For the major in German Studies, this GPA includes the allowance of two elective courses from other departments with a substantial Germanic component. For the major in Hispanic Studies, this GPA includes the allowance of one elective course, either SPN 400 or HST 477. Transfer credits from other institutions do not figure into the calculation for major or minor GPAs.

Degrees and Certificates

Courses

SPN 101–102: ELEMENTARY SPANISH

Class Program
Credits 6
A course for beginners designed to initiate students not only into a foreign language, but also into a new and exciting culture. Up-to-date teaching methods and techniques are employed throughout the program.
Notes
GEP credit.

SPN 125: FIRST-YEAR SEMINAR

Class Program
Credits 3

First-Year Seminars (FYS) constitute a common and academically significant experience in a student’s first year at Converse. All incoming first-year students are required to take a 3- or 4-credit hour FYS course in the fall semester, choosing from a variety of discipline specific topics. Each FYS carries the corresponding departmental prefix, but with a common course number.  Each FYS carries the corresponding departmental prefix but with a common course number. Special emphasis is given to cultivating critical thinking, effective speaking, and writing skills. 

Notes

GEP credit.

SPN 199H: FRESHMAN HONORS SEMINAR

Class Program
Credits 3

First-Year Seminars (FYS) constitute a common and academically significant experience in a student’s first year at Converse. All incoming first-year students are required to take a 3- or 4-credit hour FYS course in the fall semester, choosing from a variety of discipline specific topics. Each FYS carries the corresponding departmental prefix, but with a common course number.  Each FYS carries the corresponding departmental prefix but with a common course number. Special emphasis is given to cultivating critical thinking, effective speaking, and writing skills. 

Notes

GEP, Minor, Elective credit.

SPN 202: INTERMEDIATE SPANISH

Class Program
Credits 3
This course will emphasize speaking and listening with progressively increased practice in reading and writing.
Prerequisites

SPN 201 or placement in SPN 202.

Notes
Major, Minor credit.

SPN 203: SPANISH FOR HERITAGE SPEAKERS

Class Program
Credits 3
This course is designed to review Spanish grammar and improve writing focusing on bilingual speakers’ needs. Based on the identity of the Hispanic community in the United States, this course will complement the language skills of heritage speakers by making them reach a more in-depth knowledge of the language. Entirely taught in Spanish, the course will ultimately raise the students’ level of sophistication in Spanish as they use the language in more formal contexts.
Prerequisites

SPN 202, or permission of instructor.

Notes
Major, Minor, Elective Credit.

SPN 205: CONVERSATION AND COMPOSITION

Class Program
Credits 3
Through conversation and composition, this course expands these skills beyond the basics by building students’ oral proficiency using interactional and communicative language and by strengthening writing skills through targeted compositions and other writing activities. Also, the course ultimately aims to develop students’ critical thinking abilities and awareness of Hispanic cultures. Class held entirely in Spanish.
Prerequisites

SPN 202, or permission of instructor.

Notes
Major, Minor credit, Elective credit.

SPN 265: LANGUAGE, CULTURE AND LITERATURE STUDY SEMINAR

Class Program
Credits 3
Students will study the target language and enroll in a foreign study program or participate in a Converse designed program, studying the language and discussing important topics on culture and contemporary life. Grades in the course will be determined either by the native language teacher or by a Converse professor, based on class participation, tests and graded assignments. Offered during Jan Term or Summer Terms, contingent upon sufficient enrollment. Non-European/non-Anglophone.
Notes
GEP credit.

SPN 299H: INTERDISCIPLINARY HONORS COURSE

Class Program
This course is team taught by members in two departments and is open to Nisbet Honors Program participants and to others who meet Honors Program guidelines. All students registering for these courses must register not only through the Honors Program but also with their adviser and the Registrar’s Office.
Notes
GEP, Major, Minor, Elective credit.

SPN 300: SPANISH PENINSULAR CULTURE

Class Program
Credits 3
Study of the origin, formation and manifestations of the values of the people of Spain and the institutions which reflect them. Emphasizes history, geography, environment, social trends, and sociopolitical events. Class held in Spanish with opportunity for oral, written, reading and comprehension skill building. Offered every other Fall Term. Writing Intensive.
Prerequisites

SPN 202, or permission of instructor.

Notes
Major, Minor, Elective credit.

SPN 301: LATIN AMERICAN CULTURE

Class Program
Credits 3
Study of the origin, formation and manifestations of Latin American values and the institutions which reflect them in the Americas and the Caribbean. Emphasizes history, geography, environment, contemporary trends, and sociopolitical events. Class held in Spanish with opportunity for oral, written, reading and comprehension skill building. Offered every other Fall Term. Non-European/non-Anglophone. Writing Intensive.
Prerequisites

SPN 202, or permission of instructor.

Notes
Major, Minor, Elective credit.

SPN 302: CONVERSING AND WRITING ON SPANISH AND LATIN AMERICAN LITERATURES

Class Program
Credits 3
Helps to develop further, through conversation and composition, the facility in the language necessary to study literature in courses in which lectures, readings, discussion, and papers are in Spanish. Emphasizes analysis and criticism of Spanish and Latin American literatures. Non-European/non-Anglophone.
Prerequisites

SPN 202, or permission of instructor.

Notes
Major, Minor, Elective credit.

SPN 303: CONVERSING AND WRITING ON THE PROFESSIONS

Class Program
Credits 3
Helps to develop further, through conversation and composition, the ability in the language necessary to function in professional fields such as banking, law, medicine, social services, education, architecture, planning, sales, economics and business.
Prerequisites

SPN 202, or permission of instructor.

Notes
Major, Minor, Elective credit.

SPN 304: SURVEY OF SPANISH LITERATURE: AN INTRODUCTION TO THE SPANISH MIND

Class Program
Credits 3
A study of Spanish literature through the centuries in its historical, artistic, and philosophical context. Class held in Spanish with opportunity for oral, written, reading, and comprehension skill building. Centuries and readings will vary. Writing Intensive.
Prerequisites

Permission of instructor.

Notes
GEP, Major, Minor, Elective credit.

SPN 306: DON QUIJOTE

Class Program
Credits 3
A thematic and textual study of Cervantes’s masterpiece, Don Quijote. Discuss Cervantes’s work through narrative elements explored by other authors of the Baroque period and through modern critical approaches. The novel will be read in its entirety and the course will be conducted in Spanish. Writing Intensive.
Prerequisites

Permission of instructor.

Notes
GEP, Major, Minor, Elective credit.

SPN 307: SPAIN: “ENLIGHTENED, ROMANTIC, REAL”

Class Program
Credits 3
A study of the eighteenth and nineteenth century Spain through its literature, art, history and philosophy. Class held in Spanish with opportunity for oral, written, reading, and comprehension skill building.
Prerequisites

Permission of instructor.

Notes
GEP, Major, Minor, Elective credit.

SPN 308: CONTEMPORARY SPAIN

Class Program
Credits 3
Themes and aesthetic trends in film and literature of Spain. Readings, viewings, lectures, and discussions will examine the social, historical and political forces shaping Spain’s contemporary cultural production. This course is conducted in Spanish. Writing Intensive.
Prerequisites

Permission instructor.

Notes
GEP, Major, Minor, Elective credit.

SPN 309: MODERN LATIN AMERICA: THE NOVEL OF THE “BOOM” AND THE POLITICAL DRAMA

Class Program
Credits 3
Latin American literature of the last fifty years. Emphasis will be placed on artistic and historical events and on the novels and plays by the writers of the literary “boom,” including masterpieces by Nobel Prize winners. Class held in Spanish with opportunity for oral, written, reading, and comprehension skill building. Non-European/non-Anglophone.
Prerequisites

Permission of instructor.

Notes
GEP, Major, Minor, Elective credit.

SPN 310: MODERN LATIN AMERICA: IMAGES AND SYMBOLS OF CHANGE IN POETRY AND SHORT STORY

Class Program
Credits 3
Latin American literature of the last fifty years. Emphasis will be placed on the poems and short stories by the writers of the literary “boom,” including masterpieces by Nobel Prize winners. Class held in Spanish with opportunity for oral, written, reading, and comprehension skill building. Non-European/non-Anglophone.
Prerequisites

Permission of instructor.

Notes
GEP, Major, Minor, Elective credit.

SPN 311: CONTEMPORARY LATINO AMERICAN THEATRE

Class Program
Credits 3

Latino American theatre has an extensive history, dating back to long before the conquest of the Americas by Europeans. Throughout the centuries, indigenous memory, Spanish Catholicism and political upheaval have intermixed to create a potent combination, leading to the breadth of theatre we know today. But not all Latin American theatre has its roots in these heady streams—fun and frivolous works have their place too. We will explore the serious and sublime, the silly and crowd-pleasing—the theatre of Contemporary Latino America. Fine Arts and Non-European/non-Anglophone.

Prerequisites

SPN 205 or permission of instructor.

Notes

GEP, Major, Minor, Elective credit.

SPN 312: AFRO-HISPANOPHONE PERSPECTIVES ON MIGRATION THROUGH THE MEDITERRANEAN

Class Program
Credits 3
This course aims to provide students with the fundamental knowledge to understand migration in the Mediterranean area through the Afro-Hispanophone (Equatorial Guinea and Moroccan) perspective. Specifically, it jointly considers two contemporary processes occurring between Africa and Europe: the circulation of cultures across the globe and the border-crossing of migrant subjects. Through the study of a broad variety of texts including novels, poems, theater and art produced by Equatorial Guinea and Moroccan authors (artists and writers), the course is specifically designed to link people and places, and to investigate the cultural impact and interrelations between these two continents. Non-European/non-Anglophone.
Prerequisites

SPN 205 or Permission of Instructor.

Notes
GEP, Major, Minor, Elective credit.

SPN 314: SPECIAL TOPICS IN HISPANIC STUDIES

Class Program
Credits 3

This interdisciplinary seminar explores a special topic in the language, culture, and literature of Spain and the Latino Americas. Particular emphasis is placed on the transnational and multicultural contexts of Hispanic cultural studies. Topics may include transatlantic/border studies, gender studies, sexuality, mass media, and colonialism. This seminar may be repeated as long as the course topic is different. Depending on content, it may also be considered Non-European/non-Anglophone.


 

Prerequisites

Prerequisite SPN 202 or approval of coordinator.

Prerequisite Courses
Notes

Major, Minor, GEP credit.

SPN 314H : SPECIAL TOPICS IN HISPANIC STUDIES

Class Program
Credits 3

This course aims to provide students with the fundamental knowledge to understand the African Migration in the Mediterranean with a specific focus on Spain. Through the study of a broad variety of scholarly articles, movies and documentaries we will address questions regarding borders, identity, political and ethical issues that migration poses. The selection of texts and audio-visual materials encourages students to explore the phenomena of migration under the perspective of migrant subjects and to link it with other geographies. It will help us to think how social images about Africa were constructed through a Eurocentric lens between the twentieth and the twenty-first centuries. Classes will be taught in English and will include lectures, discussions, audio-visual material, students’ presentations and a final research project.


 

Notes

Major, Minor, Elective, and Humanities, Non-European/Non-Anglophone credit.

SPN 315: INTRODUCTION TO LATINO STUDIES

Class Program
Credits 3

Latinos, Latina/os, Latinx, Chicanos, Boricuas, Nuyoricans, Cubanos, Dominicanos, Salvadoreños, Hispanics. US Latinos go by many different identities and now number more than 50 million—the largest minority group in the country. In this class we look at Latinx cultural production from literature to theory to television, broken down into thematic units including historical contexts, immigrant stories, transnational identities, feminisms, queer identities and Latinos in entertainment. Class held in English. Non-European/non-Anglophone and Literature GEP.

Notes

GEP, Major, Elective credit.

SPN 316: LATIN AMERICA CINEMA

Class Program
Credits 3

Latin America has a rich cinematic tradition, spanning from 1898 to the present day. The course offers a close analysis of select feature films from Latin America, studied as both an aesthetic practice and a medium of cultural history. Special emphasis is placed on developing techniques for critical visual literacy. Taught in Spanish.
 

Notes

GEP, Non-Western/Non-Anglo, Fine Arts

SPN 365: LANGUAGE, CULTURE AND LITERATURE STUDY SEMINAR

Class Program
Students will study the target language and enroll in a foreign study program or participate in a Converse designed program, studying the language and discussing important topics on culture and contemporary life. Grades in the course will be determined either by the native language teacher or by a Converse professor, based on class participation, tests and graded assignments. Offered during Jan Term or Summer Terms, contingent upon sufficient enrollment.
Notes
GEP credit.

SPN 415: ADVANCED GRAMMAR

Class Program
Credits 3

A study of more complex grammatical structures and vocabulary usage. Class held primarily in Spanish with emphasis on integrating the material into appropriate oral and written context.

Prerequisites

SPN 202 

Notes

Major, Minor credit.

SPN 490: DIRECTED INDEPENDENT STUDY

Class Program
Credits 3
This course allows students to pursue a course of study not covered by regular offerings in Spanish. Both teacher and student will select the topic of study according to the student’s needs and interests. Non-European/non-Anglophone.

SPN 496: FOREIGN LANGUAGE INTERNSHIP

Class Program
An internship in business or a public or private agency requiring the use of the student’s foreign language skills. Pass/fail grading.
Prerequisites

One course numbered 300 or above and permission of the instructor.

Notes
Major, Minor credit.

SPN 499: SENIOR SEMINAR

Class Program
Credits 3
A final course for majors treating topics in Spanish language and contemporary Spanish and Latin American cultures and literatures. Students complete a bilingual portfolio—including personal statement, independent research project, and public presentation—that highlights their experiences, accomplishments, and scholarly work in the program. Non-European/non-Anglophone. Capstone.
Notes
Major, Minor credit.