Spanish Courses
NoteThe department reserves the right to transfer a student to a higher‑level language course if it is deemed that the course for which the student has registered is not appropriate for the extent of his or her knowledge of the language.
Description:
This course provides a comprehensive introduction to the Spanish language, completing the fundamental aspects of grammar in one term.
Component(s):
LectureNotes:
Description:
This course provides an introduction to the basic elements of Spanish for the student with no knowledge of the language.Component(s):
LectureNotes:
Students who have received credit for SPAN 200 may not take this course for credit.
Prerequisite/Corequisite:
The following course must be completed previously: SPAN 201 with a grade of C or higher.
Description:
The objective of this course is to complete the study of fundamental aspects of Spanish Grammar.Component(s):
LectureNotes:
Students who have received credit for SPAN 200 may not take this course for credit.
Prerequisite/Corequisite:
The following course must be completed previously: SPAN 200 or SPAN 202 with a grade of C or higher.
Description:
This course provides a review of Spanish grammar in a single term and furnishes additional details not dealt with in the introductory courses. Practice is provided through readings, discussions, and composition.
Component(s):
LectureNotes:
Prerequisite/Corequisite:
The following course must be completed previously: SPAN 200 or SPAN 202 with a grade of C or higher.
Description:
This course provides a review of Spanish grammar and deals with additional details not covered in the introductory courses. Practice is provided through short readings, discussions, and composition.Component(s):
LectureNotes:
Students who have received credit for SPAN 240 may not take this course for credit.
Prerequisite/Corequisite:
The following course must be completed previously: SPAN 241 with a grade of C or higher.
Description:
This course is a continuation of SPAN 241. It completes the review of the grammar and includes additional details not covered in the introductory courses. Practice is provided through short readings, discussions, and composition.Component(s):
LectureNotes:
Students who have received credit for SPAN 240 may not take this course for credit.
Description:
Specific topics for this course, and relevant prerequisites, are stated in the Undergraduate Class Schedule.Description:
Specific topics for this course, and relevant prerequisites, are stated in the Undergraduate Class Schedule.Prerequisite/Corequisite:
The following course must be completed previously: SPAN 240 or SPAN 242 or equivalent with a grade of C or higher.
Description:
This course offers a practical analysis of the conventions that govern grammar, spelling, punctuation, and syntax in Peninsular and Latin‑American Spanish. It also focuses on the means of identifying, analyzing, and using effective stylistic resources in different forms of writing such as summaries, notes, journals, and short stories.Component(s):
LecturePrerequisite/Corequisite:
The following course must be completed previously: SPAN 301 or equivalent.
Description:
This course continues the practical analysis of grammar and focuses on using effective stylistic resources and formal conventions in writing, especially for essays and related texts.Component(s):
LecturePrerequisite/Corequisite:
The following course must be completed previously: SPAN 301.
Description:
This course offers a survey of the major rhetorical devices and methodological tools for the critical reading of literary and other texts, and for the production of well‑founded and persuasive writing in Spanish. The course covers notions of narratology and poetics, as well as discourse analysis and critical thinking. Activities include close reading of Hispanic texts and practical work in research and documentation, as well as the presentation of well‑organized, analytical prose.Component(s):
LecturePrerequisite/Corequisite:
The following course must be completed previously: SPAN 240 or SPAN 242 or equivalent with a grade of C or higher.
Description:
This course is offered to non‑native speakers of Spanish only. Its main goal is for students to improve their oral production in Spanish. This course also encourages improved levels of competence in the other language skills: listening, reading, and to some extent writing.Component(s):
LectureNotes:
Students who have received credit for this topic under a SPAN 398 number may not take this course for credit.
Prerequisite/Corequisite:
The following course must be completed previously: SPAN 240 or SPAN 242 or equivalent with a grade of C or higher.
Description:
This course examines Spanish and English grammar in a comparative context in order to provide a sound basis for translation between the two languages. It also aims to develop lexical and semantic knowledge of the Spanish language through analysis of textual materials. Students translate short texts from a variety of fields such as literature, business, journalism, politics, and science. Translation is primarily from English to Spanish (some reference to French is included).Component(s):
LecturePrerequisite/Corequisite:
The following course must be completed previously: SPAN 306 or equivalent.
Description:
This course continues the examination of Spanish and English grammar in a practical context as a basis for translation between the two languages. It also enhances the students’ lexical and semantic knowledge of the Spanish language through direct, practical experience in translation. Students translate texts from a variety of fields, with a particular emphasis on business, finance, tourism, journalism, and the arts. Translation is primarily from English to Spanish (some reference to French is included).Component(s):
LecturePrerequisite/Corequisite:
The following course must be completed previously: SPAN 240 or SPAN 242 or equivalent with a grade of C or higher.
Description:
This course is designed to give students a solid foundation in business vocabulary and basic business practices, as well as the cultural concepts necessary to enable them to function in the Spanish‑speaking business world. Activities may include the elaboration of different types of business documents, oral group activities and simulations, and the development of strategies needed for comprehension through visual and/or aural material.Component(s):
LectureNotes:
Students registered in an Honours in Spanish, Hispanic Cultures and Literatures program may not take this course for program credit.
Prerequisite/Corequisite:
The following course must be completed previously: SPAN 240 or SPAN 242 or equivalent with a grade of C or higher.
Description:
This course introduces students to medieval and early modern Hispanic literature by examining the complex roles of art and literature in the relationship between political expansion and cultural and ethnic heterogeneity.Component(s):
LecturePrerequisite/Corequisite:
The following course must be completed previously: SPAN 240 or SPAN 242 or equivalent with a grade of C or higher.
Description:
This course introduces students to modern Spanish literature and examines the relationship between these cultural manifestations and Spain’s difficult transition towards modernity, with special emphasis on the Generation of ’98 and its role in the debates that culminated in the Spanish Civil War. Students are also introduced to literary analysis and its relation to socio‑cultural issues through activities that may include small group discussions, close readings, short analytical papers, and essay exams.Component(s):
LecturePrerequisite/Corequisite:
The following course must be completed previously: SPAN 240 or SPAN 242 or equivalent with a grade of C or higher.
Description:
This course introduces students to the richly varied texts of colonial Spanish America and the early independence era. It examines how from its very beginnings Spanish‑American discourse attempts to distinguish itself from Peninsular traditions throughout the various cultural eras and within its socio‑political contexts. Readings include letters, chronicles, poetry, and essays. Activities may include critical reading, oral discussions and presentations, summaries, and brief essays.Component(s):
LecturePrerequisite/Corequisite:
The following course must be completed previously: SPAN 240 or SPAN 242 or equivalent with a grade of C or higher.
Description:
This course introduces students to the literature of the period following independence. It examines how the literature defines Spanish‑American identities in urban and rural perspectives, in different genres and genders, throughout the cultural eras of the period, and within its socio‑political contexts. Readings include poetry, essays, short stories, and excerpts from novels. Activities may include critical reading, oral discussions and presentations, summaries, and brief essays.Component(s):
LecturePrerequisite/Corequisite:
The following course must be completed previously: SPAN 240 or SPAN 242 or equivalent with a grade of C or higher.
Description:
This course introduces students to the cultural manifestations of the nations of these regions within an historical framework. Emphasis is on the interaction between the events that shape the area, the wide variety of cultures that arose there, and the forms of artistic endeavour through which the peoples express themselves. Mexico, Cuba, and Colombia are given special importance; the history and culture of the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, and the Central American countries are also highlighted. Activities may include oral discussions and presentations, analysis of written and visual texts, use of relevant Internet resources, summaries, and brief essays.Component(s):
LecturePrerequisite/Corequisite:
The following course must be completed previously: SPAN 240 or SPAN 242 or equivalent with a grade of C or higher.
Description:
This course introduces students to the cultural achievements of the nations of the region within an historical framework. Emphasis is on the interaction between the events that shape the area, the wide variety of cultures that arose there, and the forms of artistic endeavour through which the many different peoples express themselves. Argentina, Peru, and Chile are given special importance; the history and culture of Uruguay, Ecuador, and Bolivia are also highlighted. Activities may include oral discussions and presentations, analysis of written and visual texts, use of relevant Internet resources, summaries, and brief essays.Prerequisite/Corequisite:
The following course must be completed previously: SPAN 240 or SPAN 242 or equivalent with a grade of C or higher.
Description:
This course examines important linguistic, literary, and artistic developments of Spanish culture as they relate to the invention, consolidation, and critique of a unique Spanish identity. Activities may include oral discussions and presentations, analysis of written and visual texts, use of relevant Internet resources, summaries, and brief essays.Component(s):
LecturePrerequisite/Corequisite:
The following course must be completed previously: SPAN 301. If prerequisites are not satisfied, permission of the Department is required.
Description:
Students in this course gain knowledge to describe the sound system of Spanish and to contrast it with English. Practical applications stemming from this course include: (a) gaining awareness and improving one’s Spanish pronunciation; (b) learning to efficiently perceive and describe different varieties of Spanish; and (c) learning to identify pronunciation problems of learners of Spanish as a foreign language.Component(s):
LectureNotes:
Students who have received credit for this topic under a SPAN 398 number may not take this course for credit.
Description:
Specific topics for this course, and relevant prerequisites, are stated in the Undergraduate Class Schedule.Description:
Specific topics for this course, and relevant prerequisites, are stated in the Undergraduate Class Schedule.Prerequisite/Corequisite:
The following courses must be completed previously: SPAN 303, SPAN 310.
Description:
This course examines the socio-cultural and artistic complexity of medieval Iberian cultures as well as how emerging institutions attempt to link artistic performance and expression to a nascent concern with Hispanic identity. Topics may include the social and political functions of oral poetry, public ritual, the growth of vernacular literature, the transition from artisan to artist, and the process of canon formation.Component(s):
LecturePrerequisite/Corequisite:
The following courses must be completed previously: SPAN 303, SPAN 310.
Description:
This course examines narrative texts from early modern Spain with an eye towards the relationship between the reader and an emergent mass culture. Through close textual analysis and critical discussion, students explore representative works by authors such as Cervantes, Quevedo, Alemán, and Zayas. Topics may include theories of reader reception, the role of censorship, the construction of gender, and the representation and critique of sexual, religious, and ethnic violence.Component(s):
LecturePrerequisite/Corequisite:
The following courses must be completed previously: SPAN 303, SPAN 310.
Description:
This course focuses on varied modes of poetic performance, from street theater to courtly wit to the Comedia Nueva. Students also consider the conflictive role of poetry in the creation of an early modern subject of mass culture. Textual analysis and critical discussions focus on Spanish poets and playwrights such as Garcilaso, Lope, Góngora, Quevedo, Caro, Sor Juana, and Calderón de la Barca. Students examine the literary and political uses of pictorial perspective, the relationship between identity and theatricality, the aesthetic performance and institutional legitimization of sexual violence, among others.Component(s):
LecturePrerequisite/Corequisite:
The following course must be completed previously: SPAN 303 or equivalent.
Description:
This course examines the debates that arose during Spain’s problematic transition towards cultural, political, and economic liberalism in the 19th century, from the outbreak of the Independence War against France until the fall of the Empire in the Americas. Content may vary from year to year and may include authors such as Zorrilla, Bécquer, Galdós, and Clarín. Topics may include competing visions of rationalism and Romanticism, the interplay of literary, scientific, and economic discourses, photography and new ways of seeing reality, and the relationship between the rise of the bourgeoisie and the reconceptualization of private space.
Component(s):
LectureNotes:
Students who have received credit for SPAN 416 or 417 may not take this course for credit.
Prerequisite/Corequisite:
The following course must be completed previously: SPAN 303 or equivalent.
Description:
This course examines the cultural and ideological conflicts that took place in Spain between the fall of the Spanish Empire and the Civil War. Through close readings and critical discussions of works by authors such as Unamuno, Ortega, García Lorca, and Buñuel, students consider topics that may include the ethics of violence in cultural conflict, the relationship between culture and ideology, the role of emotions in the shaping of national identity, and the tension between humanism and technical progress.Component(s):
LectureNotes:
Students who have received credit for SPAN 419 may not take this course for credit.
Prerequisite/Corequisite:
The following course must be completed previously: SPAN 303 or equivalent.
Description:
This course examines literary and cultural discourses in Spain during Franco’s dictatorship. Content may vary from year to year and may focus on the literature produced under the dictatorship or in exile. Through close readings and critical discussions of works by authors such as Bergamín, Erice, Aub, and Matute, students consider topics that may include the impact of censorship on cultural history, cultural hegemony and exile, reactionary ideologies of modernity, and the role of silence and fragmentary discourse against official constructions of the nation.Component(s):
LectureNotes:
Students who have received credit for SPAN 419 may not take this course for credit.
Prerequisite/Corequisite:
The following course must be completed previously: SPAN 303 or equivalent.
Description:
This course examines Spanish literature in the context of the country’s evolution towards cultural post‑modernity, since the final years of Franco’s dictatorship until today. Through close readings and critical discussions of works by authors such as Brossa, Goytisolo, Almodóvar, and the Novísimos group, students consider topics that may include the intertwining of official history and personal memory, the emergence of pop culture, the destabilization of modern identities, and nationalism at the turn of the century.Component(s):
LecturePrerequisite/Corequisite:
The following course must be completed previously: SPAN 303 or equivalent.
Description:
This course examines Spanish‑American literature and culture of the 19th century in terms of the efforts to define national character through discourses on nature, the peoples, history, and traditions. The relationship of these discourses with Romanticism, the role of the writer, and the image and function of the feminine are particularly examined. Students study representative works by authors such as Heredia, Sarmiento, Gómez de Avellaneda, and Hernández. Students are introduced to the formulation of critical discourse through a series of short essays and oral presentations.Component(s):
LecturePrerequisite/Corequisite:
The following course must be completed previously: SPAN 303 or equivalent.
Description:
Through the study of representative literary and other cultural texts, as well as the critical debates of the era (such as those concerning industrialization, U.S. hegemony and feminism), this course examines the various phases in the development of a Spanish‑American consciousness towards modernity and cultural autonomy. Students study representative works by authors such as Martí, Gutiérrez Nájera, Darío, Lugones, and some women authors of the period. Students are introduced to the formulation of critical discourse by writing a series of short essays and delivering oral presentations.Component(s):
LecturePrerequisite/Corequisite:
The following course must be completed previously: SPAN 303 or equivalent.
Description:
This course examines a selection of Spanish‑American novels and essays of the period between approximately 1950 and 1975, known as the Boom. Through close textual analysis and a study of critical debates, the course considers literary and extra‑literary issues representative of this period, including lo real maravilloso and magical realism as Latin‑American specificities, the relationship between history and fiction, and the debate between regionalism and cosmopolitism. Authors studied may include Carpentier, García Márquez, Puig and Allende.Component(s):
LecturePrerequisite/Corequisite:
The following course must be completed previously: SPAN 303 or equivalent.
Description:
From its beginnings as an independent genre in the 19th century to the most recent minifiction, this course examines the short story in light of different theories of narratology, specifically as relating to the short narrative. Texts are taken from representative authors from either or both Spain and Spanish America, within their cultural context. Students are introduced to the formulation of critical discourse through a series of short essays and an oral presentation; students also write their own short fiction.Component(s):
LecturePrerequisite/Corequisite:
The following course must be completed previously: SPAN 303 or equivalent.
Description:
This course introduces students to fundamental concepts in the study of Hispanic drama and film, as well as to wider issues of theatricality and performance. It deals with the cultural and historical relation between literature and the visual arts, and presents some basic tools and techniques of research and criticism as related to Hispanic theatre and cinema. The course may include student representations of scenes from plays studied.Component(s):
LecturePrerequisite/Corequisite:
The following course must be completed previously: SPAN 303 or equivalent.
Description:
This course introduces texts from different historical periods from various theoretical perspectives. Particular attention is given to theoretical perspectives pertinent to Spain and Spanish America. The function of gender in Hispanic discourse, representation of women, and strategies of expression in women writers are some of the topics that may be examined.Component(s):
LecturePrerequisite/Corequisite:
The following course must be completed previously or concurrently: SPAN 303.
Description:
This course provides students with basic knowledge of and structured practice in the principal approaches to the teaching of Spanish to speakers of other languages. Topics may include a selection of approaches to the teaching of Spanish, such as task‑based learning, communicative methods, process writing, grammar for teachers of Spanish, the use of computer technology and Internet resources for the teaching of Spanish, the development of didactic material, as well as the incorporation of Hispanic cultural material.Component(s):
LectureNotes:
Students who have received credit for this topic under a SPAN 498 number may not take this course for credit.
Prerequisite/Corequisite:
The following course must be completed previously: SPAN 371. If prerequisites are not satisfied, permission of the Department is required.
Description:
This course examines the historical and cultural evolution of the Spanish language. Topics to be considered may include the phonological and morphological development of Vulgar Latin, the development of variants between Peninsular and Spanish‑American expression, and the dialogic and conflictive nature of linguistic change. In‑class and take‑home activities may include the translation of medieval and early modern Spanish texts into their modern equivalents.Component(s):
LecturePrerequisite/Corequisite:
The following course must be completed previously or concurrently: SPAN 303.
Description:
This course provides an introduction to the basic concepts and analytical techniques of linguistics as applied specifically to the Spanish language. It covers the main areas of Hispanic linguistics, including phonetics and phonology, morphology and syntax of the Spanish language. It may also cover topics related to semantics, pragmatics, dialectology, sociolinguistics and second language acquisition of Spanish. Activities include linguistic analysis of the sounds, words and sentences of Spanish, as well as comparisons to the structure of English and/or French when applicable. This course provides the basis for further study in the field.Component(s):
LectureNotes:
Students who have received credit for this topic under a SPAN 498 number may not take this course for credit.
Prerequisite/Corequisite:
The following courses must be completed previously: SPAN 301; SPAN 362 or SPAN 363, or equivalent.
Description:
This course explores current newsworthy events and affairs in the political, social, and cultural spheres of Spanish America as seen through various media sources such as newspapers, magazines, radio and television, and the Internet. It includes a systematic study of techniques of oral expression. As such, activities emphasize oral skills and may include team‑based class work and presentations, brief summaries, journal, and oral exams. Format and content vary from year to year.Component(s):
LecturePrerequisite/Corequisite:
The following courses must be completed previously: SPAN 301, SPAN 365.
Description:
This course explores current newsworthy events and affairs in the political, social, and cultural spheres of Spain as seen through various media sources such as newspapers, magazines, radio and television, and the Internet. It includes a systematic study of techniques of oral expression. As such, activities emphasize oral skills and may include team‑based class work and presentations, brief summaries, journal, and oral exams. Format and content vary from year to year.Component(s):
LecturePrerequisite/Corequisite:
The following course must be completed previously: SPAN 303 or equivalent.
Description:
Starting from an introduction to major currents of the historical Avant‑garde (1920‑1940), such as Futurism, Cubism, Dadaism, and Surrealism, the course traces the impact of the avant‑gardes throughout 20th‑century Hispanic poetry and the visual arts. Students explore particular manifestations of these currents in the art and poetry of Spanish America (Creacionismo and Negrismo) and Spain (la Generación del ’27). Emphasis is placed on the role of the artist‑poet as engaged actor of radical change in all dimensions of social and political life.Component(s):
LecturePrerequisite/Corequisite:
The following course must be completed previously: SPAN 303 or equivalent.
Description:
This course examines poetic discourse in Hispanic culture. Through close readings and critical discussions of works by Spanish and/or Spanish‑American poets, students consider topics that may include the rhetorical and linguistic strategies of poetic discourse, poetry as ideology, poetry and the body, and the relationship between poetry and other written and oral forms of discourse.Component(s):
LecturePrerequisite/Corequisite:
The following courses must be completed previously: SPAN 303; and SPAN 362 or SPAN 363; or equivalent.
Description:
This course offers a comprehensive study of the struggle between subaltern voices and mainstream culture, as manifested in testimonio discourse. The study includes an examination of the controversy surrounding testimonio with respect to its status as a literary genre and the question of appropriation of marginalized voices. Texts may include journalistic prose, essay, biography, and oral manifestations of subaltern groups. Authors may include Burgos/Menchú, Barnet/Montejo and Davis/Pablo.Component(s):
LecturePrerequisite/Corequisite:
The following course must be completed previously: SPAN 303 or equivalent.
Description:
This course examines the genre of essay writing in Spain and/or Spanish America. A concise historical overview traces the development of this genre to the present. The study of different types of rhetorical strategies, discourse, and objectives in essay writing focuses on contemporary texts. Students learn to develop their own skills towards the writing of effective persuasive prose.Component(s):
LecturePrerequisite/Corequisite:
The following courses must be completed previously: SPAN 303, SPAN 310.
Description:
This course examines the colonial subject as s/he appears in early modern articulations of the imperial centre and its relation to the colonial periphery, as well as in the emerging centres of Spanish America. Through close textual analysis and critical discussions of representative works by Peninsular and Colonial authors such as Columbus, Las Casas, Sor Juana and el Inca Garcilaso, students investigate topics that may include the rhetorical and legal tropes of discovery and their construction of an abject “other,” the historical conditions that inform the chronicles of conquest, and strategies of cultural resistance employed by criollo and Amerindian subjects.Component(s):
LecturePrerequisite/Corequisite:
The following course must be completed previously or concurrently: SPAN 303. The following course must be completed previously: SPAN 306.
Description:
This course examines the history and principles of literary translation with reference to translation between the Spanish‑ and English‑speaking worlds. Literary translations both from Spanish to English and vice versa are analyzed within a critical context, and students translate essays, short stories, and poetry into both languages. Equal attention is paid to Spanish and English stylistics.Component(s):
LecturePrerequisite/Corequisite:
The following course must be completed previously or concurrently: SPAN 303. The following course must be completed previously: SPAN 306.
Description:
This course concentrates on the technical and stylistic elements of translation of texts from a variety of fields such as business, journalism, tourism, telecommunications, and international trade. Material to be translated includes actual texts, and activities involve analysis of translation strategies and of terminological challenges pertinent to effective written communication in each domain. Translation is from both Spanish to English and English to Spanish.
Component(s):
LecturePrerequisite/Corequisite:
The following course must be completed previously or concurrently: SPAN 303. The following course must be completed previously: SPAN 306.
Description:
The goal of this course is to critically revise the cultural, literary, and aesthetic role of translation in Latin American culture, particularly with regard to its textual production. Through reading and discussion of theoretical authors such as F. Schleiermacher, J. Ortega y Gasset, L. Venuti, H. K. Bhabha, and W. Mignolo, students analyze representative texts of Latin American culture which practically and aesthetically incorporate different problems and/or strategies of translation in the transcultural context of a globalization process of more than five centuries.Component(s):
LecturePrerequisite/Corequisite:
Permission of the Department is required.
Description:
This course consists of guided readings in Spanish language and/or Hispanic literature, culture, and translation, to meet the individual student’s needs.Component(s):
TutorialPrerequisite/Corequisite:
Permission of the Department is required.
Description:
This course consists of guided readings in Spanish language and/or Hispanic literature, culture, and translation, to meet the individual student’s needs.Component(s):
TutorialPrerequisite/Corequisite:
Permission of the Department is required.
Description:
This course consists of guided readings in Spanish language and/or Hispanic literature, culture, and translation, to meet the individual student’s needs.Component(s):
TutorialPrerequisite/Corequisite:
Permission of the Department is required.
Description:
This course consists of guided readings in Spanish language and/or Hispanic literature, culture, and translation, to meet the individual student’s needs.Component(s):
TutorialPrerequisite/Corequisite:
Honours status.