2013-2014 Catalog - Virginia Wesleyan College

114 FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND LITERATURESFOREIGN LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES115HISPANIC STUDIES COURSES(SPAN)The program in Hispanic Studies is designed toprepare students for participation and interculturalexchange at the local, national, and internationallevels. In keeping with the college’s liberal artstradition, and in view of today’s global demands,majors develop proficiency in the Spanish language ata professional level, along with a rich andcomprehensive understanding of Hispanic culture,origins and history, and their impact on our nationand the world. A major in Hispanic studies providescompetitive communication skills in Spanish and astrong knowledge base that can support a career inbusiness, education, communications, politicalscience, journalism, criminal justice, law, and manyother fields.100/200/300 Spanish Study Abroad (1-6)Students study Spanish and live with Mexicanfamilies in a beautiful, historically rich city during athree-week stay in Puebla, Mexico. Students attendclasses daily from 9 a.m. to noon and then return totheir families for meals, excursions, and activities.Visits to all sites of cultural interest in and aroundPuebla, as well as weekend excursions to Veracruz,Oaxaca, and Tlaxcala are provided. This is anopportunity for total immersion in the Spanishlanguage, culture, and life. Prerequisite for SPAN200: SPAN 112. Prerequisite for SPAN 300: SPAN213 (proficiency). Offered each summer.104 Beginning Spanish forthe Adult Learner I (4)Designed for students in the Adult StudiesProgram. Prerequisite: admission to the Adult StudiesProgram. No previous instruction in Spanish. Offeredevery year.105 Beginning Spanish forthe Adult Learner II (4)Designed for students in the Adult StudiesProgram. Prerequisites: admission to the AdultStudies Program and SPAN 104 with a grade of C orhigher, or proficiency as determined by instructor.Offered every year.111 Beginning Spanish I (4)An introduction to the Spanish language andculture. Focuses on cultural aspects. Emphasizes thedevelopment of basic listening, speaking, reading, andwriting skills. Audiovisual materials supplement theprogram. Prerequisite: no previous instruction inSpanish. Offered each year.112 Beginning Spanish II (4)An introduction to the Spanish language andculture. Focuses on cultural aspects. Emphasizes thedevelopment of basic listening, speaking, reading, andwriting skills. Audiovisual materials supplement theprogram. Prerequisite: SPAN 111 with a grade of Cor higher or proficiency as determined by theinstructor. Offered each year.213 Intermediate Spanish (4)Development of conversational and writing skillsthrough review of familiar and complex structures,and extensive oral-aural practice. Students attainfluency at a secondary level and the ability to interpretwritten material adequate for the level. The coursealso looks at general aspects of the Spanish-speakingworld relevant to the understanding of its culture.Prerequisite: SPAN 112 with a grade of C or higher.Corequisite: consent determined by placement orother type of evaluation tool.265/365 U.S. Latino Culture (4) SStudies the Latino phenomenon in the U.S. aspeculiar to a diaspora strongly united by language andadherence to a common cultural legacy. Studentsexamine the circumstances causing the migration ofspecific groups entering the U.S. Emphasizes socialissues such as labor, health, education, diversitywithin the Latino community, the acculturationprocess, and the overall impact of the Latino minorityin U.S. society today. Prerequisite for SPAN 265:consent. Prerequisite for SPAN 365: SPAN 213 orconsent. Offered fall of even-numbered years. SPAN365:(S).270/370 Latin American Musicand Dance (4)ACovers the history of dance beginning in ancientEurope and the Middle East and ends with thehistory of dance in Latin America, particularly that ofthe development of dance in the Hispanic society.Also studies the importance of Latin music and dancein Latin America and the U.S. In the practical portionof this course, students have the opportunity to learna variety of Latin dances such as salsa, merengue, andbachata, which have become very popular incontemporary American society. This course is taughtin English and does not fulfill the Foreign Languagerequirement. Offered in selected Winter Sessions.307 Topics in AdvancedConversation and Composition (4) WEmphasizes reading for comprehension and thearticulation of ideas in Spanish. An introduction toSpanish Civilization and Culture through the analysisand discussion of carefully chosen publicationswritten by Latin American and Peninsular writers.Can be taken more than once for credit. Prerequisite:SPAN 213 or consent.312 Survey of Latin American Literature (4)The most important works of Spanish Americanprose, poetry and essay from the Conquest to thepresent are studied against the cultural background.Introduces students to Latin American civilization aswell as the literature. Prerequisite: SPAN 307. Offeredalternate years or on demand.313 Seminar in Hispanic Cultures (4)A travel course focusing on the contrastingdiversity and unifying elements of the Spanishspeakingworld. Topic varies depending on the chosendestination. Students visit museums, historicallandmarks, and important cultural and natural sitesto examine the historical, ethnic, and geographicfeatures that make Hispanic societies distinctive. Maybe repeated for credit as assignments and/or itineraryvaries. Satisfies the study abroad requirement in theSpanish major. Prerequisite: consent. Offered inselected Winter and Summers Sessions.316 Studies in Hispanic Poetry (4)Studies representative poets, periods, and poetictraditions and styles of Spain and Spanish America.Critical analyses of the texts in their original form iscomplemented with discussion of the author’s workin translation. Prerequisite: SPAN 213. Offered inrotation.317 Civilization of Spain (4) WStudies the history of Spain and its rich culturallegacy. Students become familiar with the mosttranscendental events in this nation’s past. Focuses ondistinct artists and their work, iconic figures,traditions, and popular trends that have had animpact in and outside Spain’s national borders.Taught in Spanish. Prerequisite: SPAN 213recommended. Offered in rotation.318 Civilization of Latin America (4)Students learn about Latin American countries,their people, and their civilizations through the studyof major works of literature, art and music. Ideaspresented in class are reinforced through films, slidepresentations, and guest speakers. Prerequisite: SPAN306 or consent. Offered alternate years.321 Political Writings of Latin America (4)Focuses on readings from the political writings ofselected Latin American thinkers. Students analyzewritings that range in time from the SpanishConquest to the present, providing a historicaloverview of the development of the political thoughtin Latin America. Offered each fall.329 Latin America through the Cinema (4) AAnalyzes a selection of Latin American featurefilms and documentaries in order to understand thepolitical, social, and economic conditions thatcharacterize this region. Students explore theconstitution of national identities, questions ofideology, class, race, ethnicity, and gender. Theyaddress the conditions of film production in light ofglobalization and Hollywood’s competition and useof film as a tool for social change. Films are screenedoutside of class. Taught in Spanish. Prerequisite:SPAN 307 recommended. Offered intermittently.333 Commercial Spanish (4)Designed for students and professionals who wishto learn Spanish for use in a practical businesscontext. Prerequisite: SPAN 212 or equivalent orconsent.345 Seminar in Spanish Literature (4)Focuses on specific topics of Spanish literatureto offer students the opportunity of in-depthexamination. Students are encouraged to explore thetopics comparatively and through other forms ofcultural and artistic productions such as theatre andfilm. Offered in rotation.350 Hispanic American Women Writers (4)An overview of the history of Hispanic Americanwomen writers from the Colonial period to thepresent. Includes an analysis of key economic, social,and political conditions in the development of theirwriting. Poetry, short story and the novel areincluded. Prerequisite: SPAN 307 or consent. Offeredfall of odd-numbered years.355 Myths, Rituals, and Reality in theHispanic Syncretic Imagination (4) SExamines the Hispanic culture throughideological notions, myths, iconic figures, traditions,and religious manifestations such as rituals.Discussion centers on the key issues that have resultedfrom the meeting of the two worlds and adaptation ofthe American first nations to the transformativereality of colonialism. (Includes travel componentwhen taught during summer or Winter Sessions.)Prerequisite: consent for travel. Offered on demand.360 The Latin American Short Story (4)The Latin American short story is one of therichest manifestations of contemporary LatinAmerican narrative. A study of its evolution from theorigins to the present, paying close attention to theprincipal literary, social and political movements thatproduced those stories: Romanticism, Realism,Naturalism, Regionalism, Existentialism, the Boom,the post-Boom and Feminism, among others.Prerequisite: SPAN 307.