Spanish in spring 2008

Course                                    Title                                                     Instructor                     Time

SPAN 313-01-02   Spanish Conversation          Zlotchew            MWF 1:00-1:50

            All work is oral, no written work.  The only textbook has pictures that form a story without words.  Students are to provide the words for the story.  Other times, students will speak of common occurrences (i.e. earthquake, vacation, etc) or  about a topic (campus life, family and hometown, product advertising, etc.).  Students will further develop their conversational skills while improving grammar and pronunciation, gaining confidence in public speaking.  Pre-requisite: SPAN 216 or equivalent.

SPAN 314-01 & 02         Spanish Composition             Huerta                MW 3:00-4:20

            Students will explore writing as a process rather than a product.  They will analyze characteristics and process involved in 4 different types of writing: description, narration, exposition, and argument.  It will also include a look at Spanish grammar, range of vocabulary, rhetorical techniques for organizing information, strategies for getting started, characterizing the reader, reading critically, revising and rewriting.  Pre-requisite: SPAN 216 or equivalent.

SPAN 314-03 & 04         Spanish Composition             Zlotchew            TR 3:30-4:50

            Course will help students improve their ability to express their thoughts in written Spanish, as they focus on grammar, vocabulary, and syntax.  Prerequisite: SPAN 216 or equivalent.

SPAN 320-01                  Survey of Spanish Literature II      Urda                MW 3:00-4:20

            Literary works will provide students incentive to improve their language skills and a window to Spanish culture and history.  The stories, novels and poetry from 18^th century to Post-Civil War are powerful tools to understand Spanish society and its evolution.   Prerequisite: SPAN 315 or equivalent.

SPAN 421-01                  Advanced Phonetics  &Diction      Zlotchew            MWF 2:00-2:50

          Students will study the principles of the phonemes and the allophones, and how the English and Spanish systems contrast.  They will also discuss the question of Spanish dialects and will practice the actual sounds involved.  Aside from the oral exercises in class, students will attend the lab where they will listen and then record their own utterances.  Prerequisite: SPAN 216 or equivalent.

SPAN 423-01        Senior Seminar:                     Rivera                 TR 2:00-3:20  Politics of Space in Hispanic Literature

            Politics and socioeconomics determine how we create and use space.  We will examine spaces and their functions in literary works such as Cárcel de Amor, Fuenteovejuna, La Casa de Bernarda Alba, Historia de una Escalera, House on the Lagoon, and The House on Mango Street. Reading and class discussion will be in English but all other work will be in Spanish. Pre-requisite: Span 315 or equivalent.  Crosslisted with LANG 400 and INDS 489-01. 

SPAN 424-01                  Creative Writing                           de Urda               MWF 1:00-1:50

            Plain communication is perfectly fine but do you want to go further with Spanish?  Starting with simple activities and growing to more difficult tasks, you can develop your creativity to a deeper understanding of the language.  Try yourself!  Prerequisites: SPAN 314 and SPAN 315 or equivalent.

SPAN 427-01                  Art & Craft of Translation        Zlotchew             TR 12:30-1:50

            Students will explore translation theory and the problems of translation due to cultural differences, lack of equivalence of vocabulary between languages, idioms, range of denotation and connotation, tone and register, and the dangers of literal translation.  They will also look at translation as interpretation and as criticism.  They will then translate prose and poetry from Spanish to English, and from English to Spanish.  Prerequisite: SPAN 314, SPAN 315, and either SPAN 320 or 325.