Course Information

For more detailed information including course description, sample reading list, and instructor, please visit the Registrar Office's course offerings page.

View Spanish Undergraduate Courses

Beginner's Spanish I
Subject associations
SPA 101

SPA 101 presents the basic structures and vocabulary of the Spanish language at elementary/low intermediate levels of proficiency. It is designed to develop students' linguistic and communicative competence in all three modes of communication: interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational. Through multimedia material, the course fosters an appreciation of the rich culture of the Spanish-speaking world. The learners actively engage in activities that promote the exchange of real-world information. The custom-made digital textbook allows for immediate feedback and autonomous learning.

Instructors
Adriana G. Merino
Intensive Beginner's and Intermediate Spanish
Subject associations
SPA 103

SPA 103 is an accelerated, intensive course designed for students with some prior knowledge of Spanish, and who have earned the requisite score on the Princeton Spanish placement test. In one term we cover the most relevant structures and vocabulary from SPA 101 and SPA 102. Language is embedded in the discussion of cultural and social issues of contemporary concern. The course is conducted entirely in Spanish. In this course, students develop communicative skills in Spanish and expand their knowledge of the Spanish-speaking world.

Instructors
Eliot Raynor
Intermediate Spanish
Subject associations
SPA 105

An intermediate language course that focuses on oral and written communication and the consolidation of listening and reading skills. In this course students will enhance their linguistic skills through the analysis and discussion of various types of texts (literature, film, visual culture, music, interviews, etc.) that focus on global and cross-cultural aspects of Spain and Latin America. In particular, the course will familiarize students with the concept of neocolonialism as a way to bridge language learning with the context in which cultural values and meanings are produced. SPA 105 prepares students for SPA 108.

Instructors
Nadia Cervantes Pérez
Intermediate/Advanced Spanish
Subject associations
SPA 107

SPA 107 is an intermediate/advanced language course that consolidates and expands the skills acquired in beginner's Spanish. Students will continue to develop their ability to comprehend and communicate in Spanish while using the four skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Materials include oral, written, and audiovisual texts that present language in authentic contexts of use and interpretation. By the end of the course, students will be able to express more complex ideas, orally and in writing, with greater grammatical accuracy and communicative fluency.

Instructors
Maria F. Chiaramonte
Advanced Spanish
Subject associations
SPA 108

SPA 108 is an advanced language course that aims at strengthening and consolidating comprehension and production of oral and written Spanish while fostering cultural awareness and cross-cultural examination. Students will improve their linguistic proficiency while exploring the various mechanisms that affect how our identity is constructed, negotiated, and/or imposed. Particularly, the course will examine the ways in which gender and national identities develop and consolidate themselves by exploring cultural production (journalism, literature, cinema and the visual arts, etc.) in the Spanish speaking world and beyond.

Instructors
Gorka Bilbao Terreros
Medical Spanish (SA)
Subject associations
SPA 205

An advanced Spanish-language course that focuses on medical and health topics in the Hispanic/Latino world. Students will learn and practice specific vocabulary and structures useful for conducting a medical interview in Spanish. Aspects of Latin American and Hispanic/Latino cultures in the health and medical fields are explored by means of examining authentic texts and through the contribution of guest speakers. There is a mandatory community service project.

Instructors
Paloma Moscardó-Vallés
Studies in Spanish Language and Style (LA)
Subject associations
SPA 207

SPA 207 seeks to develop advanced language skills and to raise cultural awareness by studying language in its contexts of use and at the level of the formality that will be needed in the higher-level courses. This course focuses on underrepresented communities in the Spanish speaking world, examining issues of class, race and migration. An exciting selection of literary and multimedia productions provide the basis for a critical discussion of cultural meanings and social relations, while offering the chance to explore different registers and styles.

Instructors
Anais Holgado-Lage
Spanish Language and Culture through Cinema (LA)
Subject associations
SPA 209

A course designed to improve speaking abilities while learning about Hispanic cultures and cinema in context. The course aims to provide the students with lexical and grammatical tools to allow them to engage in formal and informal discussion on a variety of topics informed by the films provided. Additionally, there will be several writing exercises throughout the semester that will help students improve their writing abilities. By the end of the course, students should have a better command of all linguistic skills, especially listening comprehension, fluency and accuracy in their speech.

Instructors
Raquel Mattson-Prieto
Contemporary Issues in Spain (LA)
Subject associations
SPA 227 / EPS 227 / URB 237

An exploration of the major features of contemporary Spain from 1939 to the present with particular attention to developing an understanding the concepts of cultural identity and difference within the changing global context. The course will address the recent processes that have left a mark on the history of Spain: the fall of Francoism, the particular and controversial transition to democracy, the financial crisis of 2008, the Indignados social movement, the nationalist trends in Basque Country and Catalonia, and the latest feminist wave, among others. Discussions and frequent writing assignments.

Instructors
Natalia Castro Picón
Languages of the Americas (CD or EC)
Subject associations
SPA 233 / LIN 233 / LAS 233

This course explores the vast linguistic diversity of the Americas: native languages, pidgins, creoles, mixed languages, and other languages in North, Central, and South America, including the Caribbean. We will examine historical and current issues of multilingualism to understand the relationship between language, identity, and social mobility. We will discuss how languages played a central role in colonization and nation-building processes, and how policies contribute to language loss and reclamation. Students will work with members of the Munsee Delaware Nation to develop community relationships and collaborate in a small project.

Instructors
Dunia Catalina Méndez Vallejo
Animal and Human: Writing in Spain and Latin America (LA)
Subject associations
SPA 234

From animal and human interactions, to social hierarchies, fantasies, controversies over zoos, natural habitats, and slaughterhouses, this course will give us a platform to discuss some of the most timely topics of our day. We will consider some theoretical perspectives on animal-human relationships as we read and discuss works by such authors as Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, Quiroga, Monterroso, Rulfo, Borges, Cervantes, Lorca, Delibes, Clarín, Hidalgo and Atxaga.

Instructors
Marina S. Brownlee
Borges for Beginners (LA)
Subject associations
SPA 241 / LAS 241

This seminar grapples with the question of authorship and meaning in the literature of Jorge Luis Borges, the legendary Argentine writer whose convoluted fictions continue puzzling readers. Borges is a foundational figure. Gabriel García Márquez and Paul Auster, and philosophers such as Jacques Derrida and Michel Foucault, are all indebted to Borges. Using different perspectives, from philosophy and aesthetics to politics and cultural analysis, we will study Borges's thematic and formal obsessions: time and memory; labyrinths; reading as a form of writing; and the universality of Argentine local traditions such as tango and gaucho culture.

Instructors
Gabriela Nouzeilles
Identity in the Spanish-Speaking World (CD or LA)
Subject associations
SPA 250 / LAS 250 / HUM 251 / LAO 250

How are ideas of belonging to the body politic defined in Latin America, the Caribbean, and within Spanish-speaking communities in the US? What are créole identities? Who is "Latin American," "(Afro-)Latinx," "Boricua," "Chino," "Indian," etc.? Who constructs these terms and why? Who do they include/exclude? Why do we need these identity markers in the first place? Our course will engage these questions by analyzing literary, historical, visual and sound productions across centuries to present time.

Instructors
Pedro Meira Monteiro
Amina B. Shabani
Indigenous Peoples of Latin America: Race, Identity, and Knowledge (CD or LA)
Subject associations
SPA 251

Ever since Europeans arrived in the Americas in the late 15th century, Indigenous peoples have faced marginalization, domination, and exploitation. Europeans often believed that these communities lacked a history because they did not use a Western alphabetic writing system. In this course, we will explore key themes, such as: Pre-Hispanic knowledge; religious conversion through images; Indigenous knowledges, Indigenous resistance to colonial rule and the shifting transcultural and political dynamics of Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities; and contemporary Indigenous thought, focusing on decoloniality and oral history.

The Making of a Language: Spanish Then and Now (CD or SA)
Subject associations
SPA 255

From its humble beginnings in the Iberian Peninsula to its multiple contemporary manifestations and global reach, Spanish is a rowdy, vibrant, multiethnic, polyphonic language, constantly changed by evolution and innovation. When did Castilian become Spanish? How did the language contribute to nation building and imperial expansion? Who decides what correct Spanish is? Does Spanish need to be protected? Can it be improved? Through the study of texts that foreground Spanish across time and place, we explore the historical forces that have shaped Spanish and current debates about the state of one of the world's most widely spoken languages.

Instructors
Mariana Bono
Spanish in the Community (CD or SA)
Subject associations
SPA 304 / LAO 304

This course explores the issues and controversies surrounding the linguistic subordination and maintenance of Spanish within Latino communities, situating them within the broader social and historical context of the United States. Students will gain critical insights into bilingualism, the interplay between language and identity, language policy, and the racialization of linguistic minorities. Additionally, the course introduces fundamental concepts of second language teaching, preparing students for the community-engaged component in which they will volunteer as ESL instructors with El Centro.

Instructors
Dunia Catalina Méndez Vallejo
Advanced Reading and Writing in Spanish (LA)
Subject associations
SPA 307

In SPA 307, students improve their linguistic abilities to become expert readers and writers in Spanish. We study the stylistic and formal features of diverse types of texts, including essays, short stories, memoirs, interviews, news, ephemera, and poetry, and we use these texts as models for our own writing. We engage in multiliteracy exercises designed to draft, edit, rewrite, and critique texts, and to reflect upon norms and expectations within and across academic cultures, as evidenced through texts. By the end of the semester, students bring together form and function to read and write sophisticated pieces. Taught in Spanish.

Instructors
Mariana Bono
Junior Seminar: Spanish and Portuguese-Speaking Worlds (LA)
Subject associations
SPA 330 / POR 330

This seminar has been designed to assist SPO concentrators in the production of their fall JP. With such end, the seminar will be conducted as a writing workshop. The emphasis of the first part of the seminar will be on introducing students to the approaches, critical concepts and tools utilized in cultural studies in the Luso-Hispanic and Latinx world. In the second part of the seminar, students will be expected to write and share their JP-in-progress, as well as comment on their peers' ongoing work. By the end of the semester, students should have completed about eighty percent of their independent work.

Instructors
Rafael Cesar
Rachel L. Price
When the Subaltern Speaks: Indigenous and Female Voices in Pre-Columbian and Colonial Latin America (CD or LA)
Subject associations
SPA 352

This course explores the voices of Indigenous people and women who challenged the intellectual inferiority imposed upon them due to their race and gender. Through their writings, these individuals defied societal expectations and left a lasting legacy that transcends their time. We will take a critical approach to examine how these intellectuals navigated their societies, confronting dominant power structures and questioning social hierarchies designed to marginalize them from knowledge production.

Spanish into English Translation in the Age of AI (LA)
Subject associations
SPA 368 / TRA 368

This course delves into the theory and practice of Spanish-to-English translation, combining readings, discussions, workshops, and guest lectures. Students will explore key theoretical frameworks and the linguistic and cultural challenges of translating diverse text types. A special focus will be given to the role of AI in translation, examining its limitations, biases, and ethical implications in contexts such as law, migration, healthcare, Indigenous languages, and literature.

Instructors
Catalina Arango

View Portuguese Undergraduate Courses

Introduction to Portuguese I
Subject associations
POR 101

Students will be taught the fundamental skills of oral comprehension, speaking, reading and writing, while gaining exposure to the Portuguese-speaking world through the media, literature, film and the music of Brazil, Portugal and Lusophone Africa.

Instructors
Luana Reis
Introduction to Portuguese for Spanish Speakers
Subject associations
POR 106

This course is tailor-made for Spanish speakers, using your existing language knowledge for the accelerated learning of Portuguese. You'll quickly develop the ability to speak, read, write, and understand Portuguese, all at the same time. In just two semesters (POR 106-109), you'll be ready to explore, research, and connect with people in Brazil, Portugal, and Lusophone Africa. Get ready to unlock new adventures and opportunities - your Portuguese journey starts here!

Instructors
Luis Gonçalves
Luana Reis
Intermediate Portuguese
Subject associations
POR 107

Students will continue to develop their speaking, reading and writing skills while being exposed to realia related to the Lusophone world, such as daily news, reports, short stories, chronicles, videos, films, critical reviews, etc. Through different communicative genres, students will learn not only the language but also the culture, art and lifestyle of a range of Portuguese-speaking societies.

Instructors
Luana Reis
Intermediate Portuguese for Spanish Speakers
Subject associations
POR 109

A continuation of POR 106. Students will further develop their language skills, especially those of comprehension and oral proficiency, through grammar review, readings, film, and other activities. The two-semester sequence POR 106-109 is designed to give in only one year of study a command of the Portuguese language sufficient for travel and research in Portuguese-speaking countries.

Instructors
Luis Gonçalves
Intensive Portuguese
Subject associations
POR 199

An intensive course designed for students who have fulfilled the language requirement in Spanish or another Romance language. Knowledge of one of these languages provides the basis for the accelerated learning of Portuguese. This one-semester 'crash' course teaches fundamental communication skills--comprehension, speaking, reading and writing--and some exposure to cultural aspects of the Portuguese-speaking world, but does not offer an in-depth study of grammar.

Instructors
Nicola T. Cooney
Myth, Memory and Identity Politics in Lusophone Cinema (CD or LA)
Subject associations
POR 260 / LAS 260 / AAS 267

This course will analyze the role of cinema in the construction (and deconstruction) of national and transnational identities and discourses in the Portuguese-speaking world. We will examine recurring cultural topics in a wide variety of films from Brazil, Portugal, and Lusophone Africa and Asia, situating works within their socio-historical contexts and tracing the development of national cinemas and their interaction with global aesthetics and trends. Through these cinematographic productions we will illuminate complex relationships between Portuguese-speaking societies and analyze significant cross-cultural differences and similarities.

Instructors
Nicola T. Cooney
Junior Seminar: Spanish and Portuguese-Speaking Worlds (LA)
Subject associations
SPA 330 / POR 330

This seminar has been designed to assist SPO concentrators in the production of their fall JP. With such end, the seminar will be conducted as a writing workshop. The emphasis of the first part of the seminar will be on introducing students to the approaches, critical concepts and tools utilized in cultural studies in the Luso-Hispanic and Latinx world. In the second part of the seminar, students will be expected to write and share their JP-in-progress, as well as comment on their peers' ongoing work. By the end of the semester, students should have completed about eighty percent of their independent work.

Instructors
Rafael Cesar
Rachel L. Price