Course Descriptions

SPA 219 - Independent Study: Language and Linguistics

Study under the direction and supervision of a faculty member who approves the topic(s) and determines the means of evaluation.

Prerequisites & Notes
(Not offered in 2016-17)

SPA 241 - Latin American Literature in Translation

Selected works of Latin American literature in English translation. Readings and class discussions are in English.

Students entering before 2012 and after: satisfies the Literature distribution requirement.
Satisfies the cultural diversity requirement.

Prerequisites & Notes
(Not offered in 2016-17.)

SPA 244 - U.S. Latino Literature in English

Reading and discussion of a variety of texts to develop a general idea of the complex experience of people of Latin American background living in the United States. Readings and instruction in English. 

Students entering before 2012 and after: satisfies the Literature distribution requirement.

Prerequisites & Notes
(Not offered in 2015-2016.)

SPA 260 - Conversation and Composition

Writing-intensive course in Spanish. Training and practice to develop fluency, accuracy, and expressiveness in oral and written communication. Requires conversation session with an Assistant Teacher once a week. Strongly recommended for students planning to study abroad. This course should be taken before 270. Conducted in Spanish.

Counts towards the major and minor in Hispanic Studies.

Prerequisites & Notes
Spanish 201 or its equivalent. (Fall and Spring)

SPA 261 - Introduction to Latin American Culture and Globalization

This is a one-year Living and Learning Community Course in which all participants live together on a floor in Duke, commit to a language pledge, and attend events together with the professor in addition to completing readings and assignments and meeting weekly. Course conducted entirely in Spanish.

Satisfies a major requirement in Hispanic Studies.
Satisfies a requirement in the Ethnic Studies Interdisciplinary Minor.

Prerequisites & Notes
All students must be at least at the Spanish 260 level. (Not offered in 2016-17.)

SPA 270 - Textual Analysis

Reading and discussion of works by Spanish, Latino, and Latin American writers. Introduction to cultural, historical, and textual analysis of Hispanic literatures and cultures. Research papers in the target language. Conducted in Spanish.

Required of all majors and minors.
Counts towards the interdisciplinary minor in Global Literary Theory.
Students entering 2012 and after: satisfies the Literary Studies, Creative Writing, and Rhetoric distribution requirement.
Students entering before 2012: satisfies the Literature distribution requirement.

Prerequisites & Notes
Spanish 260 or its equivalent. (Fall and Spring)

SPA 272 - Intermediate Seminar in Spanish Cultures

(Not offered in Summer 2016)

SPA 302 - Advanced Grammar

Problems in Spanish grammar and idiom-building, particularly those faced by English-speaking people; problems of translation; an overview of Spanish phonetics; and a brief study of the evolution of the Spanish language. Conducted in Spanish.

Counts towards the major and minor in Hispanic Studies.

Prerequisites & Notes
Spanish 260 or its equivalent.  Placement exam is required. (Not offered in 2016-17)

SPA 303 - Advanced Grammar and Composition

Writing-intensive course. Review, expansion, and fine-tuning of grammatical knowledge; building and use of a growing body of vocabulary and idiomatic expressions. Conducted in Spanish.

Counts towards the major and minor in Hispanic Studies.

Prerequisites & Notes
Spanish 260 or its equivalent.  Placement exam may be required. (Not offered in 2016-17.)

SPA 304 - Spanish Sociolinguistics

This class explores language as a social and dynamic phenomenon that reflects the idiosyncrasies of those who produce it. Drawing on both theory and direct analysis of primary sources, we will study the linguistic behavior of Spanish speaking communities in Latin America, Spain and the United States as determined by sociocultural factors that influence linguistic production: historical, ethnic and cultural factors, contexts of production, and individual features such as gender, age, social class, economic status, or professional occupation. Conducted in Spanish.

Satisfies a major requirement in Hispanic Studies.
Satisfies a minor requirement in Hispanic Studies.

Prerequisites & Notes
Spanish 260 and Spanish 270. (Not offered in 2016-17)

SPA 311 - Teaching Spanish in the Elementary School

In this course, students will read theoretical material about language learning and language pedagogy as specifically related to children learning Spanish as a foreign language and put the readings into practice through participation in the Davidson FLES (Foreign Language in the Elementary School) program. Students will learn how to plan a curriculum, develop lesson plans, implement lessons, and assess their students’ learning. Teaching in the  Davidson FLES is required. Conducted in Spanish with readings in English and Spanish; counts toward the Major and Minor in Hispanic Studies. 

Prerequisites & Notes
SPA 260 or equivalent required. Students concurrently enrolled in SPA 260 are eligible.
(Fall 2016)

SPA 320 - Spanish Literature Through the Golden Age

Major works from medieval times through the seventeenth century, studied against a background of historical developments and literary currents. Conducted in Spanish.

Satisfies Area I for the major in Hispanic Studies and counts towards the interdisciplinary minor in Global Literary Theory.
Students entering 2012 and after: satisfies the Literary Studies, Creative Writing, and Rhetoric distribution requirement.
Students entering before 2012: satisfies the Literature distribution requirement.

Prerequisites & Notes
Spanish 260 and 270 or their equivalents. (Fall 2016)

SPA 321 - Theater of Spain’s Golden Age

Development of 16th and 17th century Spanish theater, including works by Lope de Vega, Cervantes, Tirso de Molina, Ruiz de Alarcón, and Calderón de la Barca. Conducted in Spanish.

Satisfies Area I for the major in Hispanic Studies and counts towards the interdisciplinary minor in Global Literary Theory.
Satisfies the Literary Studies, Creative Writing, and Rhetoric distribution requirement.

Prerequisites & Notes
Spanish 260 and 270 or their equivalents.

SPA 322 - Cervantes

Advanced study of Don Quixote and the literary criticism it has generated. Other works by Cervantes may be included. Conducted in Spanish.

Satisfies Area I for the major in Hispanic Studies and counts towards the interdisciplinary minor in Global Literary Theory.
Students entering before 2012: satisfies the Literature distribution requirement.

Prerequisites & Notes
Spanish 260 and 270 or their equivalents.
(Not offered in 2016-17)

SPA 323 - Spanish Picaresque Novel

This course principally examines Spain’s Golden Age Picaresque Novels in conjunction with specific socio-historico-cultural contexts.  We begin by defining genre and the picaresque, as well as by exploring the times in which these great works of social criticism were written by studying the circumstances of early modern Spain. Later, we read texts less often referred to as “picaresque” to explore the continuity of the picaresque in Hispanic Letters and in world literature. Conducted in Spanish.

Satisfies Area I for the major in Hispanic Studies and counts towards the interdisciplinary minor in Global Literary Theory.

Prerequisites & Notes
SPA 260 and 270 or equivalents. (Not offered in 2016-17)

SPA 329 - Independent Study: Spanish Literature prior to 1700

Independent study under the direction and supervision of a faculty member who approves the course content, and the research project, and determines the means of evaluation.

Prerequisites & Notes
(Not offered in 2016-17)

SPA 330 - Cultural Production and Crisis in Contemporary Spain

The global financial crisis of 2008, from which Spain still struggles to recover, has also revealed itself as a deep crisis in the realms of social relations and cultural production. Popular initiatives such as the Occupy movement on a global scale or the 15-M in Madrid’s central Sol Square have unveiled the need of new models of coexistence and expression, from both an ethical and an aesthetic point of view. In this course, we will study a selection of visual and verbal texts from a wide array of cultural domains and literary genres (including cinema, music or graphic novel), which reflect and at the same time contribute to this change in cultural sensibility. With the support of critical texts, we will explore key concepts such as mass culture, cultural resistance or poetic commitment/consciousness; furthermore, we will pay attention to the role that emotions and affect play within the texts object of study as elements of social struggle and mobilization.

Satisfies Area II for the major in Hispanic Studies and counts towards the interdisciplinary minor in Global Literary Theory.
Students entering 2012 and after: satisfies the Literary Studies, Creative Writing, and Rhetoric distribution requirement.
Students entering before 2012: satisfies the Literature distribution requirement.

Prerequisites & Notes
Spanish 260 and 270 or their equivalents.

SPA 331 - Twentieth and Twenty-first Century Spain

Writers of the early decades, the Generation of 1927 and the Spanish Civil War, the Franco and democratic years, into the 1980s, 1990s, and the new century films.  Study and analysis of socio-historical, ideological, and cultural contexts. Conducted in Spanish.

Satisfies Area II for the major in Hispanic Studies and counts towards the interdisciplinary minor in Global Literary Theory.
Students entering 2012 and after: satisfies the Literary Studies, Creative Writing, and Rhetoric distribution requirement.
Students entering before 2012: satisfies the Literature distribution requirement.

Prerequisites & Notes
Spanish 260 and 270 or their equivalents. (Not offered in 2016-17)

SPA 339 - Independent Study: Spanish Literature since 1700

Independent study under the direction and supervision of a faculty member who approves the course content and the research project, and determines the means of evaluation.

Prerequisites & Notes
Spanish 260 and 270 or their equivalents.
(Not offered in 2016-17)

SPA 340 - Latin American Literature I

Satisfies Area IV for the major in Hispanic Studies.
Counts towards Latin American Studies as well as the interdisciplinary minor in Global Literary Theory.
Students entering before 2012: satisfies the Literature distribution requirement.

Prerequisites & Notes
Spanish 260 and 270 or their equivalents. (Fall)

SPA 341 - Latin American Literature II

Ideas, aesthetics, and theoretical interpretations that have shaped modern Latin American literature and other cultural expressions from 1900 to the present. Conducted in Spanish.

Satisfies Area V for the major in Hispanic Studies.
Counts towards Latin American Studies as well as the interdisciplinary minor in Global Literary Theory.
Students entering 2012 and after: satisfies the Literary Studies, Creative Writing, and Rhetoric distribution requirement.
Students entering before 2012: satisfies the Literature distribution requirement.

Prerequisites & Notes
Spanish 260 and 270 or their equivalents. (Spring)

SPA 342 - The Latin American City: Historical Narratives & Cultural Representations (= LAS 342)

This course will study the Latin American city through historical and cultural perspectives. Students will learn about the history of select cities and then analyze the relationship between historical context and cultural production through texts offering historical, cultural and literary representations of the cities. The course will emphasize comparison of cities over time, with attention to the phehispanic city, the modern city and the contemporary Latin American City, as well as US cities with a strong Latino influence.

Satisfies Area III for the Hispanic Studies major and counts as an upper-level elective in Latin American Studies.

Prerequisites & Notes
Cross-listed with LAS 342. (Not in 2016-17)

SPA 343 - Contemporary Latin American Novel

Most important literary works of major contemporary writers from Latin America studied against a background of recent history and relevant ideologies and theoretical interpretations. Conducted in Spanish.

Satisfies Area V for the major in Hispanic Studies.
Counts towards Latin American Studies as well as the interdisciplinary minor in Global Literary Theory.
Students entering before 2012: satisfies the Literature distribution requirement.

Prerequisites & Notes
Spanish 260 and 270 or their equivalents. (Fall 2016.)

SPA 344 - Latino Culture in the U.S.

This survey course explores the development of a distinctly Latina/o culture in the U.S. Topics covered include: the changing nature of geographic and economic borders from the nineteenth to the twenty-first century; the history and legacy of racism and xenophobia; the construction of canons; the politics of bilingualism; Chicana and Latina feminisms; culturally specific manifestations of gender and sexuality; and the exoticization and marginalization of Latina/o culture. Conducted in Spanish.

Satisfies Area III for the major in Hispanic Studies.
Satisfies the cultural diversity requirement.
 

Prerequisites & Notes
Spanish 260 and 270 or their equivalents. (Spring)

SPA 346 - Latin American Theatre

Study of the most important Latin American playwrights, plays, and performances within the ideologies and aesthetics that have shaped contemporary Latin American theatre. Conducted in Spanish.

Satisfies the Literature distribution requirement.

Prerequisites & Notes
Spanish 260 and 270 or their equivalents. (Not offered in 2016-17.)

SPA 347 - Imperial Cities

Focused study of the way urban space becomes the staging ground for the conquest of the New World, and ultimately, the administration and consolidation of global imperial order throughout the viceregal period. Although much of the semester focuses on Mexico City, this course develops a general vocabulary to talk about the ways urban literary and intellectual culture were inextricable from a discourse about empire and the increasingly urban character of imperial modernity. Conducted in Spanish.

Satisfies Area IV for the major in Hispanic Studies and counts towards Latin American Studies.

Prerequisites & Notes
SPA 260 and 270 or their equivalents. (Not offered in 2016-17)

SPA 348 - Hispanic Theatre and Performance

The course expands the communicative, interpretive, and analytical Spanish language skills of the students by using the most recent studies about contemporary Hispanic theatre theories and practices. Conducted in Spanish.

 

Prerequisites & Notes
Spanish 260 and 270 or their equivalents. (Not offered in 2016-17.)

SPA 349 - Latin American Literature - Independent Study

Study under the direction and supervision of a faculty member who approves the course content and the research project, and determines the means of evaluation.

 

Prerequisites & Notes
(Not offered in 2016-17)

SPA 350 - García Lorca and His Generation

Satisfies Area II for the major in Hispanic Studies and counts towards the interdisciplinary minor in Global Literary Theory.
 

Prerequisites & Notes
Spanish 260 and 270 or their equivalents. (Not offered in 2016-17)

SPA 352 - Contemporary Latin American Cinema

Exploration of the cinema and film-making traditions of Latin America since the 1950s with specific attention to the aesthetic media, political debates, and histories of national film industries.  Conducted in Spanish.

Satisfies Area III for the major in Hispanic Studies.
Counts towards the Film & Media Studies as well as Latin American Studies.
Satisfies the Visual and Performing Arts distribution requirement.

Prerequisites & Notes
Spanish 260 or 270 or their equivalents. (Fall 2016)

SPA 353 - Contemporary Spanish Film

Study of Spanish film from the 1950s into the new century, within the complex matrix that is twentieth- and twenty-first-century Spain.  Cinematic theory and the lexicon of film analysis.  Spain’s cinematic response to the Spanish Civil War and the subsequent exile and dictatorship years, gender definitions, and changing national identity during the democratic era. Conducted in Spanish.

Satisfies Area III for the major in Hispanic Studies.
Counts towards Film & Media Studies.

Prerequisites & Notes
Spanish 260 and 270 or their equivalents. (Not offered in 2015-16)

SPA 354 - Dying of Love in Medieval Iberia

This course examines literary and iconographic representations of love and death during the Iberian Middle Ages, with special emphasis on the 15th century sentimental novel.  Within the artistic tradition of the cults of love and death that characterize the Iberian Middle Ages, this course reflects upon the ways in which authors and artists created a distinctive tradition depicting the attitudes towards love and death that have ultimately shaped the modern Hispanic collective imaginary of these concepts.  Interdisciplinary theoretical approaches.  Conducted in Spanish.

Satisfies Area I for the major in Hispanic Studies.
 

Prerequisites & Notes
Spanish 260 and 270 or their equivalents. (Not offered in 2016-17)

SPA 356 - Seminar on Special Topics

Special Topics represent an area in literature or culture outside the content of other core courses.

 

Prerequisites & Notes
Spanish 260 and 270 or their equivalents. (Not offered in 2016-17)

SPA 357 - Women in Contemporary Spanish

Satisfies Area II for the major in Hispanic Studies,
Satisfies the Literary Studies Creative Writing and Rhetoric distribution requirement.

Prerequisites & Notes
Spanish 260 and 270 or the equivalents. (Spring)

SPA 358 - “Writing the Amerindian Americas”

This course examines the European imperial project in the Americas through the lens of Indigenous writing and cultural responses. By examining indigenous texts from throughout the Americas, we will trace the way native orality and writing has negotiated the impact of imperialism, as well as the various ways in which these responses have helped to shape hybrid, autochthonous cultures throughout the western hemisphere. Although the bulk of the materials will be from the 16^th through the 19^th centuries, we will also examine more contemporary texts and cultural artifacts.

Satisfies an area IV requirement for the major.
Satisfies the Literary Studies distribution requirement.

 

Prerequisites & Notes
(Spring)

SPA 359 - Contemporary Latin American /Latino Short Story

This upper level course is designed to engage the student in a complex process of critical thinking and cross cultural interpretation as we explore a relevant body of milenio Latin American/Latino short narratives. Concentrating on analytical, creative, and argumentative reading practices, we will identify relevant textual, ideological, and cultural representational strategies of postmodern short narratives, sudden fiction, micro-fiction, film and animation adaptations. Conducted in Spanish.

Satisfies Area V for the major in Hispanic Studies. Satisfies the Literary Studies, Creative writing, and Rhetoric distribution requirement.

Prerequisites & Notes
Spanish 260 and 270 or the equivalents. (Not in 2016-17)

SPA 360 - Cultures of Southern Spain

Interdisciplinary seminar that examines the concept of the South in 21st Century Spain as an ideological construction of hierarchical dichotomies such as the real and the imagined, tradition and modernity, the native and the foreign, cliché and factual, the African-Oriental and the European: the old South and the new South. By the end of the semester students will have an appreciation of cultural nuances and distinctions that will allow them to understand why Spanish Southerners are the way they are, how they see the world and themselves, and how they are imagined by others. Additionally, we will adopt a comparative approach in order to uncover connections and patterns between the South in Spain and the South in the United States. Conducted in Spanish. 

Satisfies Area III for the major in Hispanic Studies and the cultural diversity requirement.

Prerequisites & Notes
(Spring 2017)

SPA 361 - Civilization of Spain

Reading, discussion, visual representations, and student research on Spain’s social, economic, political, and religious life, and the fine arts. May follow a thematic or historical model. Conducted in Spanish.

Satisfies Area III for the major in Hispanic Studies.

Prerequisites & Notes
Spanish 260 and 270 or their equivalents. (Not offered in 2016-17.)

SPA 369 - Hispanic Cultures - Independent Study

Independent study under the direction and supervision of a faculty member who approves the course content and the research project, and determines the means of evaluation.

Prerequisites & Notes
Spanish 260 and 270 or their equivalents.
(Not offered in 2016-17)

SPA 374 - Caribbean Peoples, Ideas, and Arts

Literature and arts, ideas, and socio-economic structures in the Caribbean islands and rimlands (Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Colombia, and Central America). Conducted in Spanish.

Satisfies Area III for the major in Hispanic Studies.
 

Prerequisites & Notes
Spanish 260 and 270 or their equivalents. (Not offered in 2016-17.)

SPA 375 - Latin American Women Writers

An examination of genre, gender, and representation in women’s writing in Latin America from the 20th century to the present.  Latin American women’s textual and visual narratives: Practices and Theoretical Frameworks. Conducted in Spanish.

Satisfies Area V for the major in Hispanic Studies.
Counts towards Gender & Sexualities Studies, the interdisciplinary minor in Global Literary Theory, and Latin American Studies.
Students entering 2012 and after: satisfies the Literary Studies, Creative Writing, and Rhetoric distribution requirement.
Students entering before 2012: satisfies the Literature distribution requirement.

Prerequisites & Notes
Spanish 260 and 270 or their equivalents. (Not offered in 2016-17)

SPA 390 - Course in Special Topics

This course will not only guide students in developing cultural analyses of key Spanish films, but also ask them to learn how film works by practicing some filmmaking techniques (equipment provided).  Our study of Spanish film will be enhanced by experiential travel that will deepen our understanding of several films’ cultural context.  Putting into practice the principle that creating is a means of understnading, we will reinforce and expand our understanding of film’s visual language by making short films. Our on-site experiences in different Spanish cities and towns will also give us several different opportunities to think about and arrange mise-enscène, and our use of iMovie will give us the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of film editing. Conducted in Spanish.

Counts as a course in residence towards the major and minor in Hispanic Studies.

Prerequisites & Notes
SPA 260 or its equivalent.  (Not offered in 2016-17)

SPA 393 - Advanced Language Seminar

(Summer Program in Cadiz, Spain) Advanced language and composition course. Students will take advantage of their immersion experience for their writing and discussion. Conducted in Spanish.

Counts as a course in residence towards the major and minor in Hispanic Studies.

Prerequisites & Notes
Spanish 260 and concurrent enrollment in Spanish 394.
(Summer 2016)

SPA 394 - Advanced Seminar in Spanish Cultures

(Summer Program in Cadiz, Spain) An advanced course in Spanish culture studied through film, literature, music, and periodicals with a focus on contemporary culture. Conducted in Spanish.

Satisfies Area III for the major in Hispanic Studies.

Satisfies the Liberal Studies distribution requirement.

Prerequisites & Notes
Spanish 260 and concurrent enrollment in Spanish 393.

(Summer 2016)

SPA 400 - Seminar on Special Topics, SPA 401-410

Research-oriented advanced seminar in an area of literature or culture outside the content of other core courses. Specific topics listed as 401-410. A substantial final research project will be conducted.

Prerequisites & Notes
Any two literature or culture courses. Limited to juniors and seniors. Priority will be given to majors, then minors. (Fall and Spring)

SPA 401 - U.S.- Mex Border Cultures

US/Mexico Border Culture will explore the ways in which artists have depicted the diversity of experiences of crossing, settling or living in the border regions between the U.S. and Mexico.  We will focus on fiction poetry, essays, and films from the beginning of the 20^th century to the present. We will reflect on: How and why have representations of the border changed over time?  How are political, social and economic events influencing artistic representations of it? How does national identities are constructed in the border context? What alternative cultural discourses have emerged from the contemporary of border artists?

A substantial final research project will be conducted.  Conducted in Spanish.

Prerequisites & Notes
Any two literature or culture courses. Limited to juniors and seniors. Priority will be given to majors, then minors. (Not in 2016-17)
 

SPA 402 - Transformation and Travel in Spain

This interdisciplinary seminar examines the concept of travel, migrations, and pilgrimages in Spain as transformational experiences for the individual. By the end of the semester students will have an appreciation of travel as a process through which an individual leaves the familiar and the comfortable and joins a liminal world of transition as he or she moves towards an experience which ultimately transforms the self. Interdisciplinary primary materials and theoretical approaches from the field of pilgrimage studies. A substantial final research project will be required. Conducted in Spanish.

Satisfies Area III for the major in Hispanic Studies and the cultural diversity requirement.
Students entering 2012 and after: satisfies the Philosophical and Religious Perspectives requirement.

Prerequisites & Notes
Any two literature or culture courses. Limited to juniors and seniors. Priority will be given to majors, then minors. (Spring 2017)

SPA 403 - Latino American Sexualities

This course explores theories of gender and sexuality from both North and South and their dialogue with transnational American cultural production. Throughout the semester, we will consider a diverse group of U.S. Latina/o and Latin American literary texts, films, and performances and investigate their construction of sexual, gendered, national, and ethnic identities.

A substantial final research project will be required. Conducted in Spanish.

Prerequisites & Notes
Any two literature or culture courses. Limited to juniors and seniors. Priority will be given to majors, then minors. (Not in 2016-17)

SPA 404 - Writing and Rewriting the Hispanic Tradition

This course explores one of the most basic, yet complicated concepts of story-telling: re-telling. Using various literary theories–from Renaissance imitation to the neobarroco–this class examines two (or more) texts in tandem to better appreciate various interpretations of some of the foundational figures, texts, and myths of the Hispanic literary tradition. 

A substantial final research project will be required. Conducted in Spanish. 

Prerequisites & Notes
Any two literature or culture courses. Limited to juniors and seniors. Priority will be given to majors, then minors. (Not offered in 2015-16.)

SPA 405 - Law, Letters, and Empire

An exploration of the points of contact between humane letters and law, as disciplines that examine, shape and challenge normative claims about the world. Through close analysis of literary and theoretical texts, we will ask ourselves if justice is a faculty with identifiable structural, philosophical and aesthetic characteristics present in both literature and law, as well as how the underlying complementarity of the legal and literary shapes the emergence of the Atlantic early modern world.

A substantial final research project will be required. Conducted in Spanish.

Prerequisites & Notes
Any two literature or culture courses. Limited to juniors and seniors. Priority will be given to majors, then minors. (Not offered in 2016-17)

SPA 406 - Life-writing, Gender, Performativity

Interdisciplinary research oriented seminar designed to engage students in the politics of unsettling modes of life-writing, gender, and representation. Life-writing theory and cultural analysis of contemporary Latin American/Latino fictional and non-fictional narratives.

A substantial final research project will be required. Conducted in Spanish.

Prerequisites & Notes
Any two literature or culture courses. Limited to juniors and seniors. Priority will be given to majors, then minors. (Spring 2017)

SPA 407 - Gender and Memory in Television and the Novel

What can prime-time television teach us about gender? What can a novel teach us about Fascism? What can a film teach us about memory? We’ll consider these questions and more as we examine representations of women in Spanish media from the Second Republic through today. We’ll also explore gender construction at different moments in recent history, including differences between the “ideal woman” of the early 20th century and the early 21st century. Discussion of the supporting roles of male characters will also inform our analyses. Course conducted in Spanish. Counts for Major & Minor in GSS and Hispanic Studies.

 

Prerequisites & Notes
Completion of a 300-level course in Spanish, or permission of the instructor. Limited to juniors and seniors. Priority will be given to majors, then minors. (Fall 2016)

SPA 408 - Sem: Spain and the Holocaust

 

Prerequisites & Notes
(Spring) an Area II course from the Hispanic Studies Major, though a student need not be a Hispanic Studies major to enroll in the course. The course will be conducted in Spanish.
(Not in 2016-17)

SPA 429 - Independent Study

Special topics, themes, genre, or a single figure in literature, history, or culture, outside the content of other courses under the direction and supervision of a faculty member who approves the topic(s), the research project, and determines the means of evaluation. Open to Senior Majors.

Prerequisites & Notes
Any two literature or culture courses, or approval of the chair and the instructor.
(Not in 2016-17)

SPA 490 - Senior Seminar: Rewriting the Hispanic Tradition

Required of all majors in Hispanic Studies.

Prerequisites & Notes
Limited to senior majors in Hispanic Studies. (Fall)

SPA 498 - Senior Honors Thesis and Tutorial, SPA 498-499

Both SPA 498 and 499 are required to be eligible for Honors. Research and writing of the honors thesis begins in SPA 498 (in the spring of the junior year or the fall of the senior year) and is completed in SPA 499 during the last semester of the senior year. SPA 498 requires a thesis outline, annotated bibliography, progress reports, and an introductory chapter. An oral defense of the honors thesis proposal is held at the end of SPA 498. An oral presentation of the completed honors thesis is conducted at the end of SPA 499. Details of these requirements can be found on the department website.

THE 011 - Applied Theatre

THE 012 - Applied Theatre

THE 021 - Applied Theatre

THE 022 - Applied Theatre

THE 031 - Applied Theatre

THE 032 - Applied Theatre

THE 041 - Applied Theatre

THE 042 - Applied Theatre

THE 045 - Applied Theatre

THE 101 - Introduction to Theatre Arts

Satisfies the Visual and Performing Arts distribution requirement.
 

Prerequisites & Notes
First-year and sophomore students only until first day of class.

THE 201 - Exercises in Playcrafting and Performance

Satisfies the Visual and Performing Arts distribution requirement.

Prerequisites & Notes
(Fall)

THE 221 - Creating Devised Theatre

The course is an experiential and critical study of contemporary devised theatre. Students will develop and create original theatre work in an ensemble setting through a series of exercises, documentary research, basic film techniques, acting and creative writing.
 

Prerequisites & Notes
Offered every other year

THE 242 - Women’s Work: 21st Century Female Playwrights

This course provides a close look at work created for the stage by women since 2000. The analysis of plays written and produced in the 21st century will be set in the context of feminist and queer theory which has offered insights into the cultural function of “women’s work.”

Prerequisites & Notes
(Fall) Offered every other year

THE 245 - Acting I

Study and application of the psycho-physical and emotional bases of performance. Emphasis on relaxation of the actor’s body, ensemble improvisation, freeing the natural voice, acting on impulse. The training will culminate in realistic scene work.

Satisfies the Visual and Performing Arts distribution requirement.

THE 250 - Play Analysis for Production

Examination of traditional methods of play analysis and their application in the development of production plans with a wide variety of theatrical scripts.

Satisfies the Visual and Performing Arts distribution requirement.

THE 261 - Modern Drama (= ENG 261)

THE 270 - Designing in the Digital Age

THE 285 - Performance & Politics in the 20th Century: World Theatre & Drama

The course is a study of plays and theatrical theory from a range of geographic regions.  The course explores ways practitioners experimented with form and content in articulating their reactions to the human condition of the 20th century.

Satisfies the Visual and Performing Arts distribution requirement.

THE 325 - Production Dramaturgy

This course is an examination of the art, craft, and practice of production dramaturgy. Students will learn how to bring research, script analysis, and interpretation into the theatrical process to support a theatre production’s creative team. Focusing specifically on production dramaturgy, students will gain experience creating materials typically delegated to a production dramaturg.

Satisfies a major requirement in Theatre

Satisfies a minor requirement in Theatre

Satisfies the Visual and Performing Arts requirement

THE 335 - Fundamentals of Stage Design

Students entering 2012 and after:  satisfies the Visual and Performing Arts distribution requirement.
Students entering before 2012:  satisfies the Fine Arts distribution requirement.

Prerequisites & Notes
Class includes a once a week lab.  (Fall)

THE 345 - Acting II

THE 355 - Directing I

Fundamentals of directing for the stage, focusing on text analysis, blocking principles, the director-actor relationship, the director-designer conceptual process and scene work.

Satisfies the Visual and Performing Arts distribution requirement.

Prerequisites & Notes
Theatre 245 (Fall)

THE 362 - Theatre for Social Justice

THE 371 - World Theatre History

Satisfies the Visual and Performing Arts distribution requirement.

Prerequisites & Notes
(Spring)

THE 380 - Special Topics in Theatre, THE 380-385

Satisfies the Visual and Performing Arts distribution requirement.
 

THE 381 - Advanced Acting Seminar

Advanced acting seminar exploring a variety of dramatic forms.

Prerequisites & Notes
Theatre 245.

THE 383 - Contemporary Theatre and Performance: Trends in Theatre Studies

This course introduces students to current artists, working methodologies, and scholarship within the field of theatre and performance.  The course focuses on ways broader cultural dialogues about identity-sexuality, race, gender, class, ability-and technological innovation influence what appears on-stage, and the ways that audiences and critics think and write about these performances.  Course includes field trips to see live performances.

Prerequisites & Notes
One previous THE course required or permission of instructor

Offered every other year.

THE 386 - Voice and Movement for the Actor I

Foundations of vocal technique and movement analysis for the actor.  Provides a working knowledge of anatomical and kinesiological principles pertinent to strong and healthy vocal production.

Prerequisites & Notes
Theatre 245 (Offered every other year.)

THE 390 - Independent Study, THE 390-398

THE 391 - Independent Study - Advanced Acting

THE 392 - Independent Study - Advanced Directing

THE 393 - Independent Study - Advanced Design

THE 394 - Independent Study - Dramaturgy

THE 395 - Independent Study - Stage Management

THE 396 - Independent Study - Playwriting

THE 397 - Independent Study - Production Management and Advanced Design

THE 399 - Non-Profit Arts Management

THE 435 - Advanced Scene Design

Instructor
Gardner

Advanced study of the design and implementation of scenic design for the stage.  Continuation of principles covered in THE 335, with special emphasis on multi-scene solutions for specific plays.  Process work, including research and play analysis, will be emphasized. Rendering techniques will include scale models and computer graphics. THE 250 is highly recommended but not required. 

Prerequisites & Notes
THE 335 (Additional lab hours required.) (Offered every other Spring.)

THE 436 - Lighting Design and Technical Production

THE 445 - Acting III

THE 455 - Directing II

Advance study of directing principles and their implementation for the stage.  Continuation of developing the director’s aesthetic that began in THE 355, with special  emphasis on directing rhythmic,  comedic and contemporary non-realism scenes.  The course concludes in the student directing a one-act play in The Barber Theatre with a design team.

Prerequisites & Notes
Theatre 355  (Spring)

THE 486 - Voice and Movement for the Actor II

Advanced study of vocal technique and movement analysis for the actor. Provides an in-depth analysis of individual habits and fosters healthy expansion of movement vocabulary and vocal production.

Prerequisites & Notes
Theatre 245 and 386 (Meets for extra hours; please consult with the instructor.) 

THE 499 - Honors Tutorial and Thesis

WRI 101 - Course list for Writing in the Liberal Arts, Spring 2017

Spring 2017 Writing 101 Courses

WRI 101 [A]: Lost in Translation
TR 9:40 - 10:55
Denham

Translation is everywhere and nowhere - ubiquitous in our daily lives, yet rarely acknowledged. “Lost in Translation” offers an opportunity to explore the history, theory, and process of literary translation, and grapple with the legacies of colonialism, the negotiation of power, and the dynamics of domestication and foreignization inherent in all literary translation. We will explore translation across languages and cultures, including but not limited to issues of genre, adaptation, register, period, colonial and post-colonial literary and cultural relations, canonicity and innovation. Students are neither expected nor required to have a second language to succeed in this course.

As a WRI 101 seminar, “Lost in Translation” adheres to the goals of Davidson’s Writing Program: reading texts closely and critically for analytic and rhetorical purposes; making fair and effective use of the work of others; drafting and revising arguments; and drawing upon multimodal and archival resources (visual, auditory, textual, digital) to serve specific rhetorical goals.

The two sections of “Lost in Translation” (Denham & Ewington) will share some common assignments, meet occasionally as a larger group, and engage in peer-review across sections.

WRI 101 [B]: Lost in Translation
TR 9:40 - 10:55
Ewington

Translation is everywhere and nowhere - ubiquitous in our daily lives, yet rarely acknowledged. “Lost in Translation” offers an opportunity to explore the history, theory, and process of literary translation, and grapple with the legacies of colonialism, the negotiation of power, and the dynamics of domestication and foreignization inherent in all literary translation. We will explore translation across languages and cultures, including but not limited to issues of genre, adaptation, register, period, colonial and post-colonial literary and cultural relations, canonicity and innovation. Students are neither expected nor required to have a second language to succeed in this course.

As a WRI 101 seminar, “Lost in Translation” adheres to the goals of Davidson’s Writing Program: reading texts closely and critically for analytic and rhetorical purposes; making fair and effective use of the work of others; drafting and revising arguments; and drawing upon multimodal and archival resources (visual, auditory, textual, digital) to serve specific rhetorical goals.

The two sections of “Lost in Translation” (Denham & Ewington) will share some common assignments, meet occasionally as a larger group, and engage in peer-review across sections.

WRI 101 [C]: The Art of Prose
MWF 9:30 - 10:20
Nelson

This course helps students develop the skills of writing in the liberal arts: critical analysis of texts, exploration of and deliberation about public and intellectual issues; familiarity with research strategies; understanding the conventions for using with integrity the work of others; and crafting of inventive, correct, and rhetorically sophisticated prose.

WRI 101 [D]: Writing about World Music
TR 12:15 - 1:30
Weinstein

This course explores musical cultures from around the world through a focused study of how those cultures are represented in journalistic and ethnographic writing. While the course will obviously not be a comprehensive look at “world music”-this is not a survey course-it will nonetheless engage with a wide range of non-Western musical values and practices. Further, as a writing course, it aims to unpack the conventions of writing about musical cultures: how research is executed, how arguments are structured, and how the discourse of ethnomusicology unfolds historically and culturally. To that end, the course will be organized in four thematic units, each centered on an ethnographic monograph and supplemented with appropriate reading and writing assignments.
 

WRI 101 [F]: Astrobiology - Life in the Universe
MWF 8:30 - 9:20
Thompson

Are we alone?  Is there life elsewhere in the Universe?  These questions have much public interest, and the answers to them would have profound scientific, religious, and philosophical implications.  To fully appreciate any answer that may be found, we must first explore a different question:  what is life?  The answer to this seemingly straightforward question is not simple at all and has been one of great debate among scientists.  Is there one definitive answer as to what constitutes life?  Does the answer to this question depend upon where in the Universe the life in question resides?  In this course, we will explore life on a variety of scales, including life on Earth, life in Earth orbit, life on Mars, life in the Solar System, and life in the Universe.  As we move farther into space away from our Earthly home, science has provided less evidence and we therefore must rely more heavily on our own beliefs, knowledge, and creativity to formulate meaningful stances about the possibility of life on the grandest of scales.  In this course, we will discuss the current state of knowledge about what life is, where we believe it may exist, and how we hope to search for it.  The course will be organized in five sections, each exploring the meaning and current understanding of life on the scales mentioned above, from Earth to the Universe at large, with students completing writing projects that complement each topic.

WRI 101 [G]: Luck & Chance
MWF 12:30 - 1:20
McKeever

Our lives are shaped by luck and require us to manage chance and uncertainty.  Our talents and abilities are due to, among other things, our genetics, our parents, and the economic and social circumstances into which we are born.  Yet none of these things are within our control, nor can they be awarded on the basis of desert.  Those born healthy to loving parents and times of peace and plenty can count themselves lucky; not everyone is.    And however lucky we should count ourselves, navigating the world requires managing chance and uncertainty.   In this course, we will explore the practical significance of luck and chance; we will touch on issues of psychology, philosophy, ethics, mathematics, and public policy. 

WRI 101 [H]: The Trial of Jesus
MWF 12:30 - 1:20
Krentz

This course will focus on the historical question: Why was Jesus executed? We will examine the canonical and non-canonical evidence for Jesus’s life, as well as the history of Roman Palestine. The course aims to engage students as active learners, emphasizing the close reading of texts, extensive writing and revision, and meaningful conversations with each other both in and out of class. You should improve your ability to read critically, think analytically, and articulate your ideas clearly, confidently, and creatively. You will gain experience critiquing other written work. You will write, in various formats, for almost every class, and in many classes as well. Some assignments will ask you to prepare to write. Others will ask for various kinds of essays, including a researched paper on some aspect of the trial. Still others will focus on revision

WRI 101 [I]: Religion in the Public Square
MWF 8:30 - 9:30
Blum

The role of religion in society has reemerged as a flashpoint of public debate. This class will examine a variety of questions concerning the proper role of religion in contemporary American culture and politics, such as: is our democracy healthier when people keep their religion “privatized” (i.e., out of public debate)? Does religion play a special role in providing a moral compass for politics or society? Should religious individuals or groups receive special legal protections? The class will draw on a variety of philosophical, religious, ethical, and political perspectives (many of which disagree with each other) that speak to these fundamental questions about the rights, freedoms, and responsibilities that citizens have, and the role that religion plays in those challenging questions.

WRI 101 [K]: The U.S. in an Age of Fracture
TR 8:15 - 9:30
Wertheimer

Many observers worry that the sense of national community in the United States has declined over the past several decades.  In the eyes of some critics, as political debate has polarized, and as wealth has concentrated, the nation’s commitment to community responsibility, eroded by such forces as identity politics and market-based individualism, has shrunk to ever-smaller circles.  This course will explore the so-called “Age of Fracture” in recent U.S. history, paying close attention to debates among public thinkers on both the political right and the political left.

WRI 101 [L]: Religion in the Public Square
MWF 11:30 - 12:20
Blum

The role of religion in society has reemerged as a flashpoint of public debate. This class will examine a variety of questions concerning the proper role of religion in contemporary American culture and politics, such as: is our democracy healthier when people keep their religion “privatized” (i.e., out of public debate)? Does religion play a special role in providing a moral compass for politics or society? Should religious individuals or groups receive special legal protections? The class will draw on a variety of philosophical, religious, ethical, and political perspectives (many of which disagree with each other) that speak to these fundamental questions about the rights, freedoms, and responsibilities that citizens have, and the role that religion plays in those challenging questions.

WRI 101 [M]: Evaluating News and Commentary
TR 8:15 - 9:30
Perry, D.

Thomas Jefferson among the Founders was one of the strongest proponents of freedom of the press. He worried greatly about the tendency of government authorities to censor and control the news to suit their purposes, and saw independent journalists as a vital bulwark against tyranny. But he also knew that objective news reporting was futile if citizens were unable to read critically, and lamented “the mass of the people who have no means of distinguishing the false from the true paragraphs of a newspaper.” Today we are in both a better and worse situation than were Jefferson’s contemporaries. Although the vast majority of Americans are fairly literate and have ready access to news and commentary in multiple media (newspapers, magazines, television, radio, blogs etc.), the quality of news reporting and the objectivity of commentary are often woefully poor, and we are daily at risk of being overwhelmed with too much information, or swayed by irresponsible pundits who have no interest in sincere, constructive dialogue. We also worry today not only about the power of overweening government, but also about the ability of wealthy individuals, corporations, and interest groups openly or covertly to push narrow agendas-political, economic and social. So it remains vitally important for citizens in democracies to acquire the knowledge and critical thinking skills necessary to evaluate news and commentary with the care required for responsible civic engagement in public life, which is vital to preserving and promoting basic individual rights.
 

WRI 101[N]:  Injustice in the American Justice System
MWF 1:30 pm
Boddery

This course examines the disproportionate impact the American justice system has on certain segments of society.  The course begins with a discussion on the meaning of justice and the government’s role in fostering it and then transitions to in-depth analyses of various aspects of the present-day justice system, including government procedure, individual civil rights and liberties, and the law.  Throughout the semester students will have informed debates and will draft intellectually rigorous and compelling arguments on the system’s shortcomings and the need for proposed reforms.