SP303: Spanish for Heritage Learners.

Course designed for heritage speakers who have been exposed to Spanish at home and via community experiences and cultural traditions. Students will expand their Spanish language proficiency in writing, reading, oral production and listening comprehension through engagement with Latino/Hispanic artistic productions relevant to their bilingual experiences in the U.S. Ultimately, we aim to raise students' critical awareness regarding their role in their community and address the sociopolitical realities of Spanish in the U.S. Meets the Critical Learning: AIM requirement. Meets the Language Requirement requirement. Prerequisite: COD. (2 Units)

Professor: Jessica Sánchez Flores.

SP316: Topics in Hispanic Literature and Culture: Contemporary Spanish Film.

This course focuses on the analysis of cinematographic production in Spain in the last 25 years. By examining Spanish film, students will acquire an informed and critical perspective on contemporary Spanish society. At the same time, students will explore if there is a uniquely Spanish aesthetic of understanding, perceiving, and representing the world. Thus, filmic production will be addressed as a means to explore important questions related to contemporary Spanish society, such as immigration, historical memory, and sexuality, and as an artistic means to explore notions of collective identity, the self, and one's position in the universe. Students will study significant films by key directors such as Pedro Almodóvar, Julio Medem, Alejandro Amenábar, Icíar Bollaín, and Isabel Coixet among others. Aside from the films, our discussions will be informed by relevant historical and cultural readings, fundamental cinematic concepts, and critical theory in order to contextualize the filmic productions. Prerequisite: SP306.

Professor: Carrie Ruiz.

SP350: Transatlantic Studies: Hispanic Border Encounters from the Middle Ages to the 21st Century.

This course will explore the diverse Hispanic reactions, confrontations, reformulations and creations that have occurred due to border encounters among different societies, communities, and individuals from the Middle Ages to the 21st Century. Throughout the course, we will analyze how these encounters shape the definition and understanding of the self, the other, national identities, and the world. To this end, a great variety of transatlantic cultural products will be incorporated; these will consist of an array of texts of different genres as well as films from the Hispanic world. In addition to the primary materials, the discussions will be informed by political, economic, social and cultural readings in order to contextualize the border encounters. Critical theoretical works regarding notions of the border, identity, and the other will be incorporated. Prerequisite: SP306.

Professor: Carrie Ruiz.

SP307: Hispanic Cultures: Resiliencia Maya: Saberes Ancestrales a través de Matemáticas, Ciencias y Medicinas. (Abroad)

Cross-listed as MA110.

In this course, we will highlight how Maya creators and intellectuals are reshaping different STEM fields, demonstrating the resilience and vitality of their knowledge systems in the present day. The presence and contributions of Maya Yucatec communities in the fields of mathematics, science, and medicine is not part of a glorified past, but living practices that continue to thrive today. The ancestral knowledge of the Maya people has long resisted and challenged ongoing forms of colonialism, land dispossession, and cultural erasure. In this class, students will read and analyze literature and art that highlights the Maya contributions to STEM, learn systems of mathematics used by the Maya, visit archaeological sites, engage in conversations with local healers, and bee protectors. Students will engage in hands-on experiences that bring these practices to life. Prerequisite: COD & SP 305 or COI Taught in Spanish & Acceptance into the CC in LA Program.

Professors: Jessica Sánchez Flores & Rebecca Garcia.

SP370: Genre Studies: Afro-Colombian Cinema.

This class will study Afro-Colombian cinema and films showcasing stories from the Pacific region and northern Colombia. Some of these films are pioneers in what's known as "the emergence of Colombian cinema" or "El surgimiento del cine colombiano." Throughout the course, we will analyze the director's role, misconceptions surrounding identities, social stereotypes, and the significance of the "visual" in shaping national history and representations. Prerequisite: SP306.

Professor: Ángela Castro.

PG300: Portuguese for Spanish-speakers. (Abroad)

This course is designed for students who are either native speakers of Spanish or those who have studied Spanish through the intermediate level. This course will rely upon the linguistic skills attained by Spanish-speakers to introduce grammatical structures and vocabulary at an accelerated pace. The focus of the course will be on communication within Brazilian Portuguese including speaking, listening, writing, and reading. Using a communicative and context-based methodology this course will take students through the intermediate level of Portuguese and prepare them for more advanced language study. Prerequisite: Prerequisite: COD & PG101,SP201, or placement into SP305 & Acceptance into the CC in LA Program. (Meets the Language Requirement requirement.)

Professor: Naomi Wood.

PG308/SP316: Culture & Language Across the Curriculum: Ciência ancestral: Technologies of resilience & liberation. (Abroad)

Cross-listed.

This course will study quilombola communities’ histories and contemporary manifestations in Brazil with special attention to technologies of resilience and liberation in Bahia. Quilombola communities are complex configurations formed from formerly enslaved Africans and relatives of those original members. The land that these communities inhabit is disputed and their historical and cultural importance is essential for understanding contemporary Brazilian culture. Students will study the methods and technologies of resistance used by quilombola communities through multidisciplinary arts, spirituality, and land/environment and will be guided to make connections to cimarronaje as it is found in other Latin American nations. Cross-listed. Prerequisite: COD & PG300 or SP 306 & Acceptance into the CC in LA Program.

Professors: Naomi P. Wood & Ángela Castro.

SP308: Against Monolingualism: Languages, Multilingualism, and AI.

Also listed as GR220, GR320, CO200.

What is monolingualism and what are its consequences? This course unpacks what is at stake in a world that is becoming increasingly monolingual by examining how global English-language dominance reinforces privilege, nationalism, and systemic inequities. We will look at a variety of cultural contexts and language hierarchies in the US, Latin America, and Europe. Through literature, film, historical and theoretical readings, and critical discussions, we will explore how language shapes questions of identity, equity, and power. As AI accelerates these challenges, this course will also help students develop critical AI literacy skills, making the case for a deep and engaged study of other languages and cultures as a path to reclaiming multilingualism and diverse perspective. Prerequisite: SP201.

Professors: Andreea Marinescu & Christiane Steckenbiller.