Spanish Courses

SPAN/GWS/LALS 192 – From the Convent to the Streets: Latin American Women Writers in Translation
On Campus, TR 11:00-12:15
Instructor: Dr. Margarita Saona
Since Colonial times Latin American women have been negotiating their role in society through their writing. In this class we will approach a variety of authors, from Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, the 17th Century Mexican nun whose writings challenged the situation of women in the Church and in society, to contemporary authors such as Claudia Salazar Jiménez and Samantha Schweblin, who deal with gender violence and the complexity of the technological intrusions in our relationships. Class discussion and readings are in English.
Taught in English

These courses meet on campus MWF. Asynchronous online work outside of class is required.

Days and times listed for these courses indicate required, on campus sessions. No online/remote attendance options are available.

SPAN 101 – Elementary Spanish I
MWF 8:00-8:50, 9:00-9:50, 10:00-10:50, 12:00-12:50, 1:00-1:50, 2:00-2:50, & 3:00-3:50
Extensive computer use required. Field work required. Class is taught in Spanish, at a level appropriate for the course; the main purpose is communication. Course includes: regular in-classroom interactions, substantial reading and listening for homework, regular class presentations, and one exploratory visit to a Hispanic neighborhood in Chicago. One credit hour takes place online, plus homework. Prerequisite(s): Appropriate score on the department placement test. Classes are on campus.

SPAN 102 – Elementary Spanish II
MWF 8:00-8:50, 9:00-9:50, 10:00-10:50, 11:00-11:50, 12:00-12:50, 1:00-1:50, & 2:00-2:50
Extensive computer use required. Field work required. Class is taught in Spanish, at a level appropriate for the course; the main purpose is communication. Course includes: regular in-classroom interactions, substantial reading and listening for homework, regular class presentations, and one exploratory visit to a Hispanic neighborhood in Chicago. One credit hour takes place online, plus homework. Prerequisite(s): SPAN 101; or appropriate score on the department placement test. Classes are on campus.

SPAN 103 – Intermediate Spanish I
MWF 8:00-8:50, 9:00-9:50, 10:00-10:50, 11:00-11:50, 12:00-12:50, 1:00-1:50, 2:00-2:50, & 3:00-3:50
Extensive computer use required. Field work required. Class is taught in Spanish, at a level appropriate for the course; the main purpose is communication. Course includes: regular in-classroom interactions, substantial reading and listening for homework, regular class presentations, and one exploratory visit to a Hispanic neighborhood in Chicago. One credit hour takes place online, plus homework. Prerequisite(s): SPAN 102; or appropriate score on the department placement test. Classes are on campus.

SPAN 104 – Intermediate Spanish II
MWF 8:00-8:50, 9:00-9:50, 10:00-10:50, 11:00-11:50, 12:00-12:50, 1:00-1:50, 2:00-2:50, & 3:00
Extensive computer use required. Field work required. Class is taught in Spanish, at a level appropriate for the course; the main purpose is communication. Course includes: six 30-minute face-to-face interactions with native speakers of Spanish from Latin America and Spain via TalkAbroad; regular in-classroom interactions, substantial reading and listening for homework; regular class presentations; and one exploratory visit to a Hispanic neighborhood in Chicago. One credit hour takes place online, plus homework. Prerequisite(s): SPAN 103; or appropriate score on the department placement test. Classes are on campus.

SPAN 113 – Spanish for Heritage Speakers I
MWF 8:00-8:50, 9:00-9:50, 10:00-10:50, 11:00-11:50, 12:00-12:50, 1:00-1:50, & 2:00-2:50
Introduction to reading and writing for students who already possess basic to intermediate communicative skills in the language. Content focuses on the Latino experience in the U.S. Emphasis on critical language awareness. Course Information: Extensive computer use required. Class is taught entirely in Spanish. One credit hour takes place online, plus homework. Use of a computer and internet access is required. Prerequisite(s): Appropriate score on the department placement test or the equivalent AP or IB test score.

SPAN 114 – Spanish for Heritage Speakers II
MWF 8:00-8:50, 9:00-9:50, 10:00-10:50, 11:00-11:50, 12:00-12:50, 1:00-1:50, & 2:00-2:50
Reading and writing for students who already possess advanced communicative skills in the language. Content focuses on the Latino experience in the U.S. Emphasis on critical language awareness. Course Information: Extensive computer use required. Class is taught entirely in Spanish. One credit hour takes place online, plus homework. Use of a computer and internet access is required. Prerequisite(s): Appropriate score on the department placement test; or the equivalent AP or IB test score; or successful completion of Spanish 113.

SPAN 202 – Spanish Grammar in Practice
On Campus, MW 9:30-10:45
Instructor: Jeff Imbaquingo

SPAN 202 – Spanish Grammar in Practice
On Campus, TR 9:30-10:45
Instructor: Dr. Jennifer Cabrelli

SPAN 202 – Spanish Grammar in Practice
On Campus, TR 12:30-1:45
Instructor: Dr. Kim Potowski

SPAN 202 – Spanish Grammar in Practice
On Campus, TR 2:00-3:15
Instructor: Dr. Angela Betancourt-Ciprian

SPAN 203 – Extensive Reading and Writing for Non-Native Speakers of Spanish
On Campus, TR 9:30-10:45
Instructor: TBD

SPAN 204 – Extensive Reading and Writing for Heritage Speakers of Spanish
On Campus, TR 8:00-9:15
Instructor: TBD

SPAN 204 – Extensive Reading and Writing for Heritage Speakers of Spanish
On Campus, MWF 2:00-2:50
Instructor: Dr. David Rodriguez

SPAN 206 – Introduction to Hispanic Linguistics
On Campus, MW 9:30-10:45
Instructor: Dr. David Miller
Words–and the rules that bring them to life–are at the core of the human experience. Linguistic sounds (phonology and phonetics), structure (syntax), meaning (semantics), and context (pragmatics) help us understand why hit is as trivial as a word can be, but adding an s- to the front will get your mouth washed out with soap; how a lawyer can crack a cold case based on a criminal’s use of tense; how “mere semantics” can cost us billions of dollars; or how lying, as terrible as it can be, is as commonplace to our linguistic repertoire as any other of the games we play with language. SPAN 206 will be a lens through which we come to understand these and other language-related phenomena as a wonderful feat of human cognition and, therefore, the human experience.

SPAN 206 – Introduction to Hispanic Linguistics
On Campus, TR 12:30-1:45
Instructor: Dr. Liliana Sánchez
Do you speak Spanish at home? Have you studied Spanish for many years? If that is the case, you may have had some moments when you have asked an instructor or a Spanish speaker a question about some quirky aspect of Spanish that received an answer that left you with more questions. In this course, we will provide answers for those questions by exploring the sounds of Spanish and their properties, the way in which meaning is conveyed, and the way in which words and sentences are formed. We will also look at how varieties of Spanish and Latin American sign languages are used by different speech communities in different contexts as well as how it is learned by children and adults.

SPAN 206 – Introduction to Hispanic Linguistics
On Campus, TR 2:00-3:15
Instructor: John Escalante Martinez

SPAN 210 – Introduction to the Formal Analysis of Hispanic Texts
On Campus, TR 11:00-12:15
Instructor: Dr. Tatjana Gajic

SPAN 210 – Introduction to the Formal Analysis of Hispanic Texts
On Campus, TR 12:30-1:45
Instructor: Dr. Keith Budner

SPAN 210 – Introduction to the Formal Analysis of Hispanic Texts
On Campus, TR 2:00-3:15
Instructor: Dr. Dianna Niebylski

SPAN 212 – Cultural and Literary Studies in Spain and/or Latin America
On Campus, MW 3:00-4:15
Instructor: Dr. Gabriel Riera

SPAN 220 – Spanish for Business and Law I
On Campus, MWF 12:00-12:50
Instructor: Stephanie Muñoz-Navarro

SPAN 221 – Spanish for Health Personnel I
On Campus, MWF 12:00-12:50
Instructor: Dr. Diana Gonzalez-Cameron

SPAN 221 – Spanish for Health Personnel I
On Campus, MWF 1:00-1:50
Instructor: Dr. Diana Gonzalez-Cameron

SPAN 228 – Introduction to Translation Theory
On Campus, TR 3:30-4:45
Instructor: Dr. Dianna Niebylski

SPAN 302 – Exploring Spanish Grammar
On Campus, TR 9:30-10:45
Instructor: Dr. Inma Taboada

SPAN 303 – Advanced Oral Presentation, Writing, and Analysis
Online Synchronous, TR 11:00-12:15
Instructor: Dr. Silvia Rosman

SPAN 362 – Sounds of Spanish
On Campus, TR 12:30-1:45
Instructor: Dr. Jennifer Cabrelli
Have you ever wondered why English words like ‘sport’ and ‘spring’ are often pronounced by Spanish speakers as ‘esport’ and ‘espring’? Or why the ‘d’ in ‘cada’ is ‘softer’ than the ‘d’ in ‘digo’? In this course we will study the sound system of Spanish and examine how sounds are produced, how they form different patterns, and how they change depending on where they fall in a word or phrase. Over the course of the semester, you’ll also become an expert in phonetic transcription using the International Phonetic Alphabet and gain experience in acoustic analysis using the software program Praat, all while learning about dialectal differences in pronunciation across the Spanish-speaking world.

SPAN 366 – Topics in Spanish Linguistics: Language and Discrimination
On Campus, TR 11:00-12:15
Instructor: Dr. Inma Taboada
This course analyzes how language is used to discriminate in education, policy, law, work, media, hospitals, and other fields using a wide range of texts and authentic examples from both global and local perspectives.
We will reflect on our own language biases (how we judge others for the way they speak), analyze linguistic displays of power, privilege, and discrimination, and consider how discrimination can be addressed locally and systemically.

SPAN 375 – Spain and the Arab World: The novela morisca from medieval Al-Andalus to modern Morocco
On Campus, TR 2:00-3:15
Instructor: Dr. Keith Budner
For eight-hundred years Muslims called Spain their home, the lands of “Al-Andalus.” This Golden Age of Arabic culture in Spain came to an end when the last Islamic kingdom of Granada fell in 1492 to the Catholic Kings. In the decades that followed, the Inquisition rooted out Islam as a religion as well as Arabic culture and language wherever they could find it. And yet, memories of this Hispano-Arab world lasted through some of Spain’s most important authors in what are known as novelas moriscas (“Moorish novels”). In this class, we will read various novelas moriscas from the decades following 1492 to the modern era. We will consider both the lasting legacy of Al-Andalus within Spanish culture and Spain’s interaction with the broader Islamic world, from North Africa to Ottoman Turkey. Against the backdrop of political rivalry and religious persecution, military conflict and colonial expansion, novelas moriscas tell stories at once entertaining and subversive, about love and adventure, mistaken identities and cultural reconciliation.

SPAN 378 – Topics in Hispanic Cultural and Media Studies
On Campus, TR 12:30-1:45
Instructor: Dr. Steven Marsh

SPAN 380 – Professional Development
On Campus, W 3:00-3:50
Instructor: Dr. Inma Taboada

SPAN 409 – Semantics and Pragmatics in Spanish
On Campus, TR 11:00-12:15
Instructor: Dr. Luis López

SPAN 440 – Theory and Methods in Teaching Heritage Speakers
Synchronous Online, W 6:00-8:30
Instructor: Dr. Kim Potowski

SPAN / FR / GER 448 – Foundations of Second Language Teaching
On Campus, R 3:30-6
Instructor: Dr. Kara Morgan-Short

SPAN 451 – Educational Practice with Seminar I
On Campus, W 4:00-5:50
Instructor: Dr. Inma Taboada

SPAN 494 – “Memory Matters”
On Campus, T 3:30-6
Instructor: Dr. Margarita Saona
This class will reflect about the meanings and uses of memory in recent Latin American literature and film. We will analyze how the texts, images and other cultural products of Latin America stimulate memory. In some cases we will find an intention to fix the past. In others we will see a distrust regarding its reconstructions. Among the texts that we will analyze there will be autobiographical memoirs, testimony, historical fiction, photography, and documentary and fictional cinema.

SPAN 501 – Introduction to Literary Analysis and Criticism for Teachers of Spanish
Online Synchronous, R 6:30-9
Instructor: Dr. Diana Gonzalez-Cameron

SPAN 505 – Hispanic Heritage Bilingualism: Linguistics Theories and Language Policy Approaches
On Campus, T 3:30-6:00
Instructor: Dr. Liliana Sánchez
The seminar will examine current debates on how to define a framework for Heritage Language Linguistic Theories. Two approaches found in the literature will be presented and discussed: Input-based accounts (Montrul 2016, Dominguez et. al 2019) and grammatical restructuring approaches (Scontras et. al 2018, Polinsky 2018, Montrul 2023). The discussion will also include alternatives to the notion of “incomplete” acquisition based on recent proposals favoring the interaction of factors such as intake, frequency of activation for receptive and productive tasks, as well as lexical access and inhibition in the development of heritage grammars. Emerging proposals on differential access to grammatical representations among heritage speakers as an important source of the variability found in receptive and production data will also be introduced (Perez Cortés et al. 2019). The notion of bilingual alignments (Sanchez, 2019.) as the first step in the restructuring of heritage grammars will also be discussed. Finally, we will cover language policies that focus on heritage languages and their speakers as way of unraveling the (mis)-conceptions behind some of these policies.

SPAN 511 – Spanish Syntax
On Campus, TR 12:30-1:45
Instructor: Dr. Luis López

SPAN 525 – “El surrealismo y los saberes del siglo”
On Campus, M 4:30-7
Instructor: Dr. Gabriel Riera
El surrealismo ha marcado al siglo XX. Este año se cumple el centenario del programático y fundacional Manifiesto del surrealismo y, para celebrarlo, se están organizando una serie de exposiciones a lo largo del mundo (ver “Surrealism is 100. The World’s still surreal”, NYT, 3/13/2024). Esta coyuntura es la de una reevaluación de los aportes del movimiento y, en línea con esta, nuestro objetivo este semestre es pensar la relación del surrealismo, como práctica de la escritura y de la pintura, con los saberes de su época. Nos interesa estudiar en detalle las posciones que el movimiento toma con respecto a la poética y la retórica, a la psiquiatría y el psicoanálisis, a la filosofía (hegelianismo y marxismo), a la etnología y a las artes no occidentales, a las formas del deseo. Las preguntas que organizán nuestro seminario son: ¿Qué nuevas intersecciones de dichos saberes produce el surrealismo? ¿Qué nuevas posibilidades abre? ¿Qué formas de la escritura y qué registros de la imagen hace posible? ¿Cómo las neovanguardias latinoamericanas dan cuenta de la función y alcance de la imagen poética y pictórica? Prestaremos especial atención a la recepción surrealista de S. Freud, a la crítica del discurso psiquiátrico, a los aportes de S. Dalí a J. Lacan y los aportes del surrealismo a la formulación de una estética materialista en W. Benjamin. Proyectando su legado hacia los años sesenta, estudiaremos los impactos que tuvo en en las filosofías de M. Foucault y G. Deleuze.

SPAN 535 – Concepts and Methodologies in Hispanic Literary and Cultural Studies: “Geo-configuraciones: Modos de relacionarse con la Tierra en la literatura y el arte”
On Campus, R 5:00-7:30
Instructor: Dr. Tatjana Gajic
Una de las características del Antropoceno, término empleado para denominar la época más reciente en el transcurso de la historia humana y la del planeta, es la borrosidad de sus límites. Dejando aparte las polémicas sobre su comienzo y la dificultad de imaginar su desenlace—en forma de un futuro radicalmente distinto o como el fin mismo de la humanidad— lo que los debates sobre el Antropoceno ponen en el primer plano es la interconexión entre la temporalidad humana (con todas las fracturas y exclusiones que ese concepto implica) y los procesos geológicos, biológicos, químicos que hacen posible la vida no–o más que–humana.
Enfocándose en ejemplos de la producción literaria y artística española y latinoamericana de las últimas décadas, este curso examina la correlación entre la literatura/el arte y la Tierra entendida como un ente dinámico compuesto de distintas escalas y estratos, físicos (la superficie, el subsuelo y la atmósfera) y culturales, y como un archivo viviente de prácticas materiales y discursivas. El corpus de obras primarias, creadas mayormente por mujeres, está orientado hacia una serie de preguntas: ¿Cómo la literatura y el arte construyen los imaginarios de mundos no-humanos –las plantas, las piedras, el agua? ¿Cómo configuran los archivos de la violencia extractivista, pasada y presente? ¿Cómo articulan distintas maneras de relacionarse con la Tierra y habitarla?
Textos literarios incluyen obras de Juan Rulfo, Juan Benet, Marosa di Giorgio, Gabriela Jáuregui, Verónica Gerber Bicecci, Pilar Adón, Irene Solá, Begoña Huertas et al. El arte visual incluye trabajos de Ana Mendieta, Regina de Miguel, Ana Alenso, Denise Ferreira da Silva y Abelardo Gil Fournier.