Courses

DESCRIPCIÓN DE LOS CURSOS DE ESPAÑOL.

Syllabus for SPA 101: Beginning Spanish I

Course Description This course is intended for students with little or no Spanish background. The purpose is to help students develop the four basic skills: understanding, speaking, reading, and writing of elementary Spanish. The instructors use the “Natural Approach” methodology and emphasize oral competency. Throughout the course students will learn about various aspects of life and culture in the Spanish-speaking world. In addition to the formal classes, the experience of living with local host families also provides hours of language practice, and therefore topics related to the home stay will be addressed in class.

Syllabus for SPA 102: Beginning Spanish II

Course Description This course is intended for students who have a basic understanding of the Spanish language. The purpose of this course is to help students review and master all of the basic structures of Spanish and build their conversational skills through discussion of selected texts that stimulate intellectual growth and promote cultural understanding. Instructors use the “Natural Approach” methodology and emphasize oral communication. Students will be expected to review the grammar at home and use it in class. Throughout the course students will learn about various aspects of life and culture in the Spanish-speaking world. In addition to the formal classes, the experience of living with local host families also provides hours of language practice, and therefore topics related to the home stay will be addressed in class.

Syllabus for SPA 201: Intermediate I
Spa: Conversation and Composition

Course Description This class is designed to meet the individual needs of intermediate Spanish students who have completed two semesters or more of college level Spanish. The goal is for students to enrich their vocabulary and improve fluency and facility through oral and written practice in correct expression. Basic grammar structures will be reviewed and more complicated structures introduced and practiced so that students may improve their overall fluency in the language. Emphasis will be placed on learning to express abstract ideas while correctly using complex grammatical structures. Students will be expected to read the local newspapers and watch local news in order to become informed of key issues in Mexico and the rest of Latin America. The experience of living with host families provides many additional hours of practice for students.

SPA 202 : Intermediate II
Spa: Conversations in Cultural Context

Course Description This class is designed to meet the needs of the Spanish students who have already completed at least three semesters of college level Spanish. The goal of the course is for students to improve their oral fluency through discussion, debates, and oral reports through discussion of contemporary issues in Latin America. One of the special features of this course is the use of both classic and contemporary Mexican and other films to stimulate discussion of Latin American history, culture, and contemporary issues. Students will read articles from local newspapers, magazines, and journals in order to expand their vocabulary and deepen their understanding of political, economic, and social issues in the host country and throughout Latin America. During class they will discuss and debate the issues that they read about. They will also be expected to engage in conversations and conduct informal interviews with members of their Mexican host families and record new vocabulary. In preparation for each of their four formal oral presentations, the course instructor will teach students about different speech forms, drawing upon examples from the films and listening exercises mentioned above. She or he will then give explicit instructions about the type of speech that must be given for that particular assignment. The five and final oral presentation will involve independent research on any topic of interest in contemporary Latin American society and will be accompanied by a bibliography and list of citations. Students will be expected to use local libraries in order to complete that assignment.

SPA 317: Advanced Conversation & Composition
Prerequisite: Completion of Spanish 202 or its equivalent

Course Description This course is designed for advanced language students who have already completed one conversation and composition course. The goal is for students to increase the facility and correctness of their written and oral expression through conversation, discussions, reports, debates, occasional lectures about writing, written compositions, and grammar review, as necessary. Much class time will be spent on oral presentations and peer review of the written compositions. Special emphasis will be placed on developing writing skills and writing research papers, as this course fulfills the writing skill graduation requirement at Augsburg College. Students will write and submit at least two drafts/rewrites before completing the final version of each composition. The first draft will be submitted for peer review and discussion in class and the second will be submitted to the instructor.

SPA 332: Latin American Civilization and Culture
Prerequisite: Completion of Spanish 317 (Conversation & Composition I) or its equivalent

Course Description The primary purpose of this course is to explore the history of cultural inheritance of Latin American countries from pre-Columbian times to the present. Due to the fact that the course is taught in Mexico, we will focus primarily on Mexican history, although students will be exposed to common historical developments and cultural characteristics shared throughout Latin America. This course will focus on the history of Latin American cultures and civilization from pre-Columbian times to the present, starting from the premise that we need to know where we come from in order to know where we are and where we are going. Particular emphasis will be placed on contemporary cultural issues and cultural media, including murals and other visual arts, theatre, dance, music, and film. Since the course will be taught in Mexico, we have rich opportunities to enhance learning from text books and films by listening to guest lectures by Mexican historians and anthropologists and participating in excursions to museums, archeological sites, historical monuments, and local cultural events, as well as talking directly with many Mexicans and other Latin Americans from diverse backgrounds with regard to race, ethnicity, socio-economic class, religion, gender, and sexual orientation. Students will also be asked to read Mexican newspaper articles and analyze them with regards to themes discussed in this course.

SPA 335: Contemporary Latin American Women: Texts & Voices
Prerequisite: SPA 311 or equivalent or instructor’s permission

Course Description The purpose of this course is to learn about the social construction of gender within Mexico and other Latin American countries and to address key issues faced by Latin American women today. You will accomplish these goals by reading and discussing poems, excerpts of important literature, essays, testimonies, interviews, and newspaper articles by and about Latin American women. By studying this wide range of texts while living in Mexico and hearing directly from a wide variety of Latin American women, you will develop an appreciation for the complexity of diversity of Latin American women’s experiences.

The writers studied in this course include Rosario Castellanos (Mexico), Gioconda Belli (Nicaragua), Bokhara de Angelica Gorodischer (Argentina), and Angela Hernandez (Republica Dominicana). However, rather than studying their works just from a literary perspective, you will explore their writings to develop a more profound understanding of key issues facing women of diverse racial, ethnic, and class backgrounds throughout Latin America.

In addition, an important component of this course will be a weekly community engagement project, through which you will engage in participant observation of and service to a Mexican feminist organization. Through such engagement, you will be able to talk directly with Mexican feminists about course topics and conduct research for a final independent project.

SPA 334: Contemporary Mexican Literature
Prerequisite: Spanish 317 or its equivalent.

Course Description In this course, you will critically read and discuss short stories by the most important contemporary Mexican authors, focusing particularly on the second half of the 20th and the first few years of the 21st century. Through readings, lectures, and class discussions you will develop knowledge regarding the distinctive traits of Mexican literature, significant authors, and important trends and developments in the contemporary period. You will become familiar with the different aesthetic and ideological movements that characterize contemporary Mexican literature as you learn about the historical, cultural, and literary contexts of this period and engage in textual analysis of each work you read. The course will be taught in Spanish and all class conversations will be conducted in Spanish.