SPN 112Y Beginning Spanish (5 Credits)

This course is for students who have had no previous experience with the language and emphasizes speaking, listening, writing, reading and "grammaring". Although it is an "elementary" course, students typically achieve an intermediate proficiency level by the end of the academic year. The course also serves as an introduction to Hispanic culture and a preparation for higher levels. Yearlong courses cannot be divided at midyear with credit for the first semester. Prerequisite: Spanish Placement Exam (https://www.smith.edu/aboutsmith/ registrar/placement-exams) or successful completion of first semester of SPN 112Y. Enrollment limited to 20. First years and sophomores only.

Fall, Spring

SPN 120 Accelerated Beginning Spanish Through Culture (5 Credits)

Aimed at students who have had some basic experience with Spanish, this course prepares them to communicate in the language about themselves and their environment, and to acquaint them with basic socio-historical aspects of the cultures of Spanish-speaking countries. Students participate in activities that involve interacting with others, presenting information and understanding the target language, which allows them to learn about the structure of the language (its grammar). Priority is given to first- and second-year students. Prerequisite: Spanish Placement Exam (https://www.smith.edu/aboutsmith/ registrar/placement-exams). Enrollment limited to 18. {F}

Fall

SPN 178/ WLT 178 Naughty Fictional Translators (4 Credits)

Offered as WLT 178 and SPN 178. This course focuses on fictional portraits of iconoclastic translators and/or interpreters. The first two months are devoted to a (relatively) "slow reading" of Don Quijote as a pioneer text in terms of attributing a central role to a fictional translator. The third month is devoted to international films and short stories--largely, but not exclusively, from the Spanish-speaking world, which has experienced a remarkable upsurge of "transfictions" (i.e., fictions about translators) since the ‘90s. Taught in English. {L}

Fall, Spring, Alternate Years

SPN 200 Intermediate Spanish (4 Credits)

The chief goals of the course are to expand vocabulary and conversational skills, strengthen grammar and learn about key social, cultural and historical issues of the Spanish-speaking world. Vocabulary and grammar are taught within the context of the specific themes chosen to enhance students’ familiarity with the "realities" of Spanish-speaking countries. Prerequisite: SPN 112Y, SPN 120 or Spanish Placement Exam (https://www.smith.edu/aboutsmith/ registrar/placement-exams). Enrollment limited to 20. {F}

Fall, Spring

SPN 210 Artful Spanish Conversation (2 Credits)

Whether or not one considers themself an “artist”, one can engage in and appreciate the meaning that can be expressed and created through engagement with artful texts and pursuits, and in this class, students do so while pursuing the art of understanding and expressing themselves in Spanish. Through engagement with various artistic texts, students work with and respond to the diverse ways a story can be shared. The class explores the art of storytelling and the meaning it carries for individuals and communities. Through this process, students improve their vocabulary, conversational and presentational skills in Spanish. Designed for students at the SPN 200 or SPN 220 level. Other interested students should consult with the instructor. Prerequisite: SPN 112Y, SPN 120 or SPN 200, or by placement. Enrollment limited to 18. (E) {A}{F}

Fall, Spring, Alternate Years

SPN 220 Contemporary Cultures in the Spanish-Speaking World (4 Credits)

This is a high-intermediate course that aims at increasing students’ ability to communicate comfortably in Spanish (orally and in writing). The course explores an array of issues relevant to the Spanish-speaking world and prepares students to think more critically and in depth about those issues, with the goal of achieving a deeper understanding of the target cultures. Materials used in the class include visual narratives (film), short stories, poems, plays and essays. Prerequisite: SPN 200 or Spanish Placement Exam (https://www.smith.edu/aboutsmith/ registrar/placement-exams). Enrollment limited to 20. {F}

Fall, Spring

SPN 225 Colloquium: Muslim Women in Film (4 Credits)

This course provides the student with the academic writing skills necessary to successfully undertake writing assignments in the upper-division Spanish courses. The course focuses on expository and argumentative writing, but some attention is devoted to writing narratives and descriptions. Grammar is reviewed within the context of the writing assignments. Fulfills the writing requirement for the major. Prerequisite: SPN 220 or sufficient proficiency in Spanish. Enrollment limited to 18. Priority given to majors, minors and second-year students planning to study abroad. {A}{F}{L}

Fall

SPN 230cv Topics in Latin American and Peninsular Culture and Society-Climate Voices (4 Credits)

Climate change is a planetary crisis, yet its impacts and the responses to it vary both geographically and culturally. This course examines climate change and cultural-ecological narratives produced in Spanish-speaking regions of the world, with particular interest in alternative, non-mainstream media. These include community radio broadcasts and theater, participatory video, photography, graphic novels and transmedia texts that uplift minority voices. In this course students work independently and collaboratively to explore who creates these narratives, why, and where and how they do so. As a final project, students create their own climate change narratives using the texts studied as examples of alternative ways of communicating knowledge. Enrollment limited to 20. {F}{L}

Fall, Spring, Variable

SPN 230dm Topics in Latin American and Peninsular Culture and Society-Domestica (4 Credits)

This course explores the realities and representation of women’s domestic labor from the thematic perspectives of precariousness (a condition and expression of subjectivity under globalization) and intimacy (understood as both an experience of affect and a condition of labor). This course uses short fiction, documentary and film from the Spanish-speaking world (the Americas and Spain) and the Portuguese-speaking world where appropriate, to explore the ways in which women’s transnational domestic labor has shaped new cultural subjects and political identities in the public as well as the private sphere. Students work on the theme of women’s domestic labor from the perspective of their choosing (for example, human rights, migration policies, racial and gendered labor regimes, neoliberal reforms and resistance). Enrollment limited to 20. Prerequisite: SPN 220 or equivalent. {F}{L}

Fall, Spring, Variable

SPN 230fc Topics in Latin American and Peninsular Culture and Society- Families in Spanish Cinema: Concepts, Theories and Representations (4 Credits)

This is an introductory course in Spanish cinema with a focus on the representation of the family. The objective is to understand how the concept of the family operates in society, and how cinema reflects and shapes the cultural, political, economic, and social understanding of what constitutes family. Studying films from different periods, the course will offer an overview of, amongst others, the role of women and the family in Francoist Spain, new LGBTQ families, immigration and Spain’s plurinational identities, and the deconstruction of the family-state in contemporary Spanish film. It will also offer an introduction to Spain’s film industry. Prerequisite: SPN 220 or equivalent. Enrollment limited to 19. {F}{L}

Fall, Spring, Variable

SPN 230mj Topics in Latin American and Peninsular Culture and Society-Maghribi Jewish Women: Cordoba, Casablanca, Tel Aviv (4 Credits)

This course examines constructions and representations of Maghribi Jewish women from the western Mediterranean to Israel. The first part of the course focuses on Jewish women in Andalusi and Maghribi texts. Students are invited to think critically about concepts such as "tolerance," "convivencia," and "dhimma," as well as what it means to be a woman and a religious minority in Muslim-majority communities. The second half of the course examines representations and realities of Jewish women of Moroccan descent in Israeli society. This part centers on questions of immigration, class, demography, gender, diaspora and identity. Enrollment limited to 19. {F}{L}

Fall, Spring, Variable

SPN 230tm Topics in Latin American and Peninsular Culture and Society-Tales and Images of Travel and Migration in Latin America (4 Credits)

This class investigates questions of contact between people in contemporary Latin American texts and films. Students will analyze how experiences of travel and migration appear in Latin American culture, configuring identities and negotiating conflicts raised by the transit of people, objects and ideas in the region. Assignments include texts written since the late 20th century and films from several countries representing internal and transnational journeys. Some theoretical writings on the cultural means of travel are also included. Prerequisite: SPN 220 or equivalent. {F}{L}

Fall, Spring, Variable

SPN 230ww Topics in Latin American and Peninsular Culture and Society-Creative Writing By and With Spanish Women Writers (4 Credits)

A quest for the self and its relation to otherness through a one-poem per class approach. Readings in modern and contemporary works by poets from both sides of the ocean, complemented by the study of related music and visual art. The course examines the consequences of political exile as a journey to the unknown (Jiménez, Cernuda, Cortázar, Neruda, Alberti) as well as the voluntary exile of the artist in search of a new aesthetic identity (Darío, Lorca, Vallejo). Special attention is given to the problems of subjectivity, gender and sexuality in the works of four women poets: Agustini, Storni, Parra and Pizarnik. {F}{L}

Fall, Spring, Variable

SPN 236 Podcasting: Storytelling and New Production in the Spanish-Speaking World (4 Credits)

Media and news production are ever evolving in our modern, high-tech world. The democratization of media, storytelling and news reporting has provided a platform for more people, with varied perspectives, to be seen and heard. This empowerment, however, has not occurred without its challenges and issues. This course will engage students in the creation of their own podcasts, inviting them to create, write, produce and share their own weekly podcasts, while learning about news production and storytelling. Students will discuss different thematic issues related to social media including ethics, morals and biases. Prerequisite: SPN 220 or equivalent. Enrollment limited to 18. (E)

Fall, Spring, Variable

SPN 241 Culturas de España (4 Credits)

A study of the Spain of today through a look at its past in art, history, film and popular culture. The course analyzes Spain’s plurality of cultures, from the past relations among Jews, Christians and Muslims, to its present ethnic and linguistic diversity. Highly recommended for students considering Study Abroad in Spain. Fulfills the writing requirement for the major. Prerequisite: SPN 220 or equivalent. Enrollment limited to 20. {F}

Spring, Variable

SPN 245fw Topics in Latin American and Peninsular Studies-Latin American Films Made by Women (4 Credits)

An overview of films made by women in Latin America since the early 2000s. The class will study works representing various countries in the region, both from well-established and emerging directors. Students will learn about the general conditions in which these women made their films, reflecting on the various ways in which gender informs the content and determines the production of those films. With the support of theoretical readings, the work of these filmmakers will offer opportunities to reflect on issues of gender and sexuality in Latin America. Enrollment limited to 20. {A}{F}

Fall, Variable

SPN 245qv Topics in Latin American and Peninsular Studies-Queer Hispanics: Queer Voices in the Spanish-Speaking Worlds (4 Credits)

This course examines the representation of gender, sex, and sexuality discourses in Latin America and Spain from the perspective of the non-heteronormative subject. Under the label of ‘queer’, the course engages with a diverse group of voices, experiences, historical and fictional figures, cultural and social representations, as well as social performances whose common denominator is to challenge or divert from patriarchal and heteronormative society. Students will consider the way in which different texts (understanding ‘text’ in a broad sense) articulate the ethics, aesthetics, and politics of gender and sexual difference, and subvert/perpetuate conventional processes and dominant representational tropes. Prerequisite: SPN 220 or equivalent. Enrollment limited to 20. {A}{F}

Fall, Spring, Variable

SPN 245tl Topics in Latin American and Peninsular Studies-SOAP:Spanish History Through Telenovelas (4 Credits)

The protagonists of the cult "hist-fi" Spanish television series "El Ministerio del Tiempo" (2015-2018) travel through the Spanish past to make sure it does not change. We travel with them to learn Spanish language and society through the ages, and how and why History is presently told that way. It fulfills the History requirement for the Spanish Major. Enrollment limited to 20. {F}{H}

Fall, Spring, Variable

SPN 245wc Topics in Latin American and Peninsular Studies-Women in Spanish Cinema (4 Credits)

Focusing on films by and about women in Spain, this transdisciplinary course will explore topics such as gender, sexuality, racism, representation of minorities, social movements and political activism. Students will also examine how digital technology and social media have transformed Spanish film and television production. Prerequisite: SPN 200-level course or placement test. Enrollment limited to 20. {A}{F}{H}

Fall, Annually

SPN 246cv Topics in Latin American Literature and Culture-El Caribe en Vaivén (4 Credits)

This course explores the complex flows of vaivén (coming and going) to, from and within the Caribbean. It examines the global, regional and local forces related to colonialism, racial capitalism and heteropatriarchy that have shaped human movements in this region. Students explore cultural expressions and critiques unveiling the manifold dimensions of race, gender, sexuality, culture and religion in Caribbean societies and diasporas. Key themes encompass undocumented migration within the Caribbean, Caribbean diasporas in the U.S. and Europe, Afro-Asian diasporas in the Caribbean and Latinx immigration to Hawaii. Prerequisite: SPN 220 or equivalent. Enrollment limited to 20. (E) {F}{L}

Fall, Spring, Annually

SPN 246mr Topics in Latin American Literature and Culture-Reinterpreting Magical Realism (4 Credits)

Magical realism has been studied as a way of representing reality that is particularly suited to Latin America. This class explores the origins of this idea in terms of how the representative strategies associated with magical realism developed historically to approach the conflictive realities of Latin America. Students read literary works associated with magical realism, including One Hundred of Solitude, by Gabriel Garcia Márquez, as well as theoretical texts from authors who have reflected on the meaning of this concept. They also learn about how more recent Latin American authors engage critically with magical realism. Prerequisite: SPN 220 or equivalent. Enrollment limited to 20. {F}{L}

Fall, Spring, Variable

SPN 246ta Topics in Latin American Literature and Culture - Transpacific Archive of the Americas (4 Credits)

This course explores literary and cultural productions from the Americas concerning transpacific histories and imaginaries, spanning from the Spanish colonial era to the present. The course discussions approach issues such as imperialism, globalization, modernization, capitalism and race/gender formations by centering transnational connections across Latin America, U.S. Latinx communities and Asia. Students study multiple genres of texts related to historical events, including the Manila galleon trade, Latin American modern nation-building, Asian diaspora in Latin America, Cold War armed conflicts in Korea and Vietnam and East Asian maquiladoras in the U.S.- Mexico border. Prerequisite: SPN 220 or equivalent. Enrollment limited to 20. {F}{H}{L}

Fall, Variable

SPN 246zn Topics in Latin American Literature and Culture-Zapatismo Now: Cultural Resistance on the "Other" Border (4 Credits)

This course explores the social and cultural expression of Zapatismo from its initial revolutionary uprising in the Mexican indigenous borderlands of Chiapas on New Year’s Eve, 1994 through its present-day global vision of an alternative world model. Through close analysis of the movement’s diverse cultural media, including communiqués, radio broadcasts, visual art, web blogs and storytelling, students examine the role of media arts and literary forms in Zapatismo’s cultural and political philosophies, as well as develop a broad understanding of Zapatismo’s influence in popular and indigenous social movements throughout Latin America and the global south. Course taught in Spanish. Prerequisites: SPN 220. Enrollment limited to 19. {A}{F}{L}

Fall, Spring, Variable

SPN 247 Race and Racism in Premodern Iberia (4 Credits)

This course challenges the dominant presentism by exploring understandings of race and racism in the context of premodern Iberia (present-day Spain and Portugal). Themes include intellectual and physical encounters between medieval kingdoms from West Africa and Europe, the construction of sameness and otherness in Iberia, and the intersection of race, class, and indigeneity in the Middle Ages. {F}{H}{L}

Fall, Spring, Annually

SPN 250sm Topics in Iberian Cultural History-Sex and the Medieval City (4 Credits)

This course examines the medieval understanding of sex and the woman’s body within an urban context. We read medieval texts on love, medicine and women’s sexuality by Iberian and North African scholars. We investigate the ways in which medieval Iberian medical traditions have viewed women’s bodies and defined their health and illness. We also address women’s role as practitioners of medicine, and how such a role was affected by the gradual emergence of “modern” medical institutions such as the hospital and the medical profession. Prerequisite: SPN 220 or equivalent. Enrollment limited to 19. {F}{H}{L}

Fall, Spring, Variable

SPN 252 Spanish Colonialism in Africa (4 Credits)

This course examines Spanish colonialism and its aftermath in Morocco and Equatorial Guinea. Topics include the development of Spanish imperialism, the Rif War of resistance (1919-26), the Civil War (1936-39), African immigration, the rise of Spanish right-wing populism, and the so-called “War on Terror” in Spain and in the rest of Europe. {F}{H}{L}

Fall, Spring, Variable

SPN 255 Colloquium: Muslim Women in Film (4 Credits)

Focusing on films by and about Muslim women from Africa, the Middle East, and Europe, this transdisciplinary course will explore one question: What do Muslim women want? Students will watch and study critically films in Farsi, Hebrew, French, Spanish, Dutch, Italian, and different Arabic dialects. Class discussion and assignments will be primarily in Spanish. Enrollment limited to 25. {A}{F}{L}

Fall, Spring, Variable

SPN 260dl Topics in Latin American Cultural History-Decolonizing Latin American Literature (4 Credits)

This course offers critical perspectives on colonialism, literatures of conquest and narratives of cultural resistance in the Americas and the Caribbean. Decolonial theories of violence, writing and representation in the colonial context inform the study of literary and cultural production of this period. Readings explore several themes including indigenous knowledge, land and the natural world; orality, literacy and visual cultures; race, rebellion and liberation; slavery, piracy and power; and the coloniality of gender.  Prerequisite:  SPN 220 or equivalent.  Enrollment limited to 19. {F}{H}{L}

Fall, Spring, Variable

SPN 260mr Topics in Latin American Cultural History-Modernization and Resistance (4 Credits)

This course looks at the ways in which Latin American authors confronted, appropriated and also resisted the paradigms of Modernity, from the post-Independence period to the mid 20th century. Through the study of primary sources and some recent re-interpretations of historical events, the class reflects on how Latin American culture was shaped by the legacy of colonialism and the persistent struggle to leave it behind. Special attention is paid to the clashing interactions between the indigenous populations, creole elites in a conflicted dialogue with the cultures of Europe and North America, and Africans brought to the continent as slaves. Class discussions will center on how cultural practices were traversed by notions of race, gender and social class, as well as by the larger geopolitical world context. Prerequisite: SPN 220 or equivalent. Enrollment limited to 20. {F}{H}{L}

Fall, Spring, Variable

SPN 291/ IDP 291 Reflecting on Your International Experience with Digital Storytelling (3 Credits)

Offered as SPN 291 and IDP 291. A course designed for students who have spent a semester, summer, Interterm or year abroad. After introducing the methodology of digital storytelling, in which images and recorded narrative are combined to create short video stories, students write and create their own stories based on their time abroad. Participants script, storyboard and produce a 3-4 minute film about the challenges and triumphs of their experience and share it with others. Prerequisite: Significant experience abroad (study abroad, praxis, internship, Global Engagement Seminar or other). For 1 additional credit that counts toward the translation concentration, students may translate and narrate their stories into the language of the country where they spent their time. Enrollment limited to 15. {A}{L}

Spring

SPN 299/ FRN 299/ ITL 299/ POR 299 Teaching Romance Languages: Theories and Techniques on Second Language Acquisition (4 Credits)

Offered as FRN 299, ITL 299, POR 299 and SPN 299. The course explores the issues in world language instruction and research that are essential to the teaching of Romance languages. Special focus will be on understanding local, national and international multilingual communities as well as theories, methods, bilingualism and heritage language studies. Topics include the history of Romance languages, how to teach grammar and vocabulary, the role of instructors and feedback techniques. The critical framing provided will help students look at schools as cultural sites, centers of immigration and globalization. Class observations and scholarly readings help students understand the importance of research in the shaping of the pedagogical practice of world languages. Prerequisite: At least 4 semesters (or placement to equivalent level) of a Romance language taught at Smith (Italian, Portuguese, Spanish or French). Enrollment limited to 25. {F}{S}

Fall, Spring, Annually

SPN 332iw Seminar: Topics in the Middle Ages Today-Islam in the West (4 Credits)

This transdisciplinary course examines the intimate, complex and longstanding relationship between Islam and the West in the context of the Iberian Peninsula from the Middle Ages until the present. Discussions focus on religious, historical, philosophical and political narratives about the place of Islam and Muslims in the West. Students are also invited to think critically about “convivencia,” “clash of civilizations,” “multiculturalism” and other theories that seek to make sense of the relationship between Islam and the West. Enrollment limited to 14. Juniors and seniors only. Instructor permission required. {F}{L}

Fall, Spring, Variable

SPN 335 Seminar: Minorities in North Africa and the Middle East (4 Credits)

Focusing on religious, ethnic, and sexual minorities, this course explores questions about belonging, rights, justice and their relevance for the study of North Africa and the Middle East. It draws from different disciplines including history, philosophy, religion, anthropology, sociology, literature, and politics to think about majority-minority relations and the making of citizens. Prerequisite: SPN255 or equivalent, and permission of the instructor. Prerequisite: SPN 255 or equivalent. Enrollment limited to 12. Juniors and seniors only. Instructor permissions required. {F}{H}{L}

Fall, Spring, Variable

SPN 337 Seminar: Difference (4 Credits)

This course examines the construction and representation of difference in Spanish cinema, focusing on class, gender, sexuality, age, religion and national origin. Students study the works of directors such as Pedro Almodóvar, Llorenç Soler, Carla Simón, Icíar Bollaín, Chus Gutiérrez, Gerardo Olivares and Montxo Armendáriz, among others. Enrollment limited to 14. Juniors and Seniors only. Instructor permission required. {F}{H}{L}

Fall, Spring, Variable

SPN 372sb Seminar:Topics in Latin American and Iberian Studies-Blackness in Spain (4 Credits)

We investigate the lives of Spaniards of African origin or individuals who lived in Spain such as: painter Juan de Pareja (Velazquez’s slave) in the 17th century, whose unique portrait by Velazquez hangs at the New York Metropolitan Museum; volunteers of the Lincoln Brigade in the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s, for example poet Langston Hughes, and nurse Salaria Kea; migrant workers; Smith alumna Lori L. Tharp, author of a travel memoir of her Junior Year Abroad, Kinky Gazpacho (2008), which she describes as a “racial coming of age.” The ultimate goal is to gain understanding of racial relations in Spain and to explore the geology of Western racism. Enrollment limited to 14. Juniors and seniors only. Instructor permission required. {A}{F}

Fall, Spring, Variable

SPN 373ds Seminar: Topics in Cultural Movements in Spanish America-Defiant Screens: Latin American Cinema After Neoliberalism (4 Credits)

The sweeping neoliberal reforms of the 1980s and 1990s had a dramatic effect in the social fabric of all Latin American countries. They also deeply impacted the region’s cinema, with many directors throughout the continent confronting head on the challenges of neoliberalism. This seminar will look at the many ways in which Latin American filmmakers explored and contested the difficult social conditions created by this market-based system of governance. The class will discuss films dealing with topics such as societal fragmentation and political agency, shifts in notions of family and gender, violence and conflict, resignifications of space, and indigeneities and social ecologies. As the continent sees political forces shifting away from the radical neoliberalism of the turn of the century, we will explore how and if these films participated in such transformations. Enrollment limited to 12. Juniors and seniors only. Instructor permission required. {A}{F}

Fall, Spring, Variable

SPN 373pl Seminar: Topics in Cultural Movements in Spanish America-Embodied Politics in Latin American Films (4 Credits)

This course examines recent Latin American films in their portrayal of bodily identities and practices that carry political weight.  Students interrogates these films' attention to issues of race, gender and sexuality, as well as their portrayal of people's interaction with the spaces they inhabit.  Most of the films are from Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Peru but are studied within the broader regional film landscape. By the end of the semester students have a general understanding of that landscape and of the way in which films dealing with embodied histories encourage political reflections. Enrollment limited to 14. Juniors and seniors only. Instructor permission required. {F}{L}

Fall, Spring, Variable

SPN 373rw Seminar: Topics in Cultural Movements in Spanish America-Radical Words: Latin American Women and the Struggle for Livable Worlds (4 Credits)

When your world is on fire, what can words do? This course explores how Latin American women intellectuals, dissidents and cultural revolutionaries (20th and early 21st centuries) have confronted unlivable realities and imagined radical alternatives. Students read works crafted on the front lines of social upheaval and in the face of ecological catastrophe, analyzing different modes of representation: testimonial, memoir, experimental fiction, visual narrative, and political manifestos. They will also gain understanding of social forces shaping the cultural imaginaries of the time: Black and Queer liberation and Indigenous sovereignty movements, struggles against state violence, and ecological, anarchist and revolutionary feminisms. Enrollment limited to 12. Juniors and seniors only. Instructor permission required. {F}{L}

Fall, Variable

SPN 400 Special Studies in Spanish and Spanish American Literature (1-4 Credits)

By permission of the department. Normally for senior majors.

Fall, Spring

SPN 430D Spanish Honors Project (4-8 Credits)

Fall, Spring

SPN 431 Spanish Honors Project (8 Credits)

Fall