Homework, quizzes and examinations, oral interviews, compositions, class participation, and a video activity. Reading, analysis, and discussion of selected works by Spanish-American authors from the colonial period to 1888. The course will emphasize the different literary styles and interpretations of the Spanish-American experience and introduce the student to the social and historical context in which the works were written. In particular, this course will focus on issues of cultural identity, as these unfolded through the transition from the colonial period to the establishment and consolidation of the newly independent states in the nineteenth century. All lectures, readings, class discussion, and written work, including exams, will be conducted in Spanish.
Emphasis is placed on close textual readings.
Conversation and composition centers on current issues of importance in the Hispanic world, and topics are drawn from recent films, novels, essays, and plays. The spring quarter focuses on the Hispanic community in the United States and the relations of this country with its closest neighbors, Cuba and Mexico. Students will examine the media, explore the neighborhoods of the Hispanic community, and read a novel as well as short selections by and about Latinos. Special attention is given as well to the development of fluency and accuracy in the speaking, comprehension, and writing of Spanish. The course is conducted entirely in Spanish.