Romance Languages
and Literatures
Director of Undergraduate Studies: Rebecca West, Wb 205D,
702-8481
B.A. Advisers: Larry Norman (French), Wb 226, 702-8793; Mario Santana (Spanish),
Wb 217, 702-8476; Rebecca West (Italian), Wb 205D,702-8481
Department Administrative Assistant: Paula G. Manzuk,Wb 205C, 702-8481
Department Secretary: Norma R. De Yagcier, Wb 205B, 702-8481
The Department of Romance Languages and Literatures offers programs of study leading to the Bachelor of Arts degree in French, Italian, or Spanish literature, or in some combination, which may include Portuguese. Portuguese offerings include a two-year language sequence and selected literature courses. The B.A. programs are designed to give students a knowledge of the literature in their area of concentration and to develop their ability to read, write, and speak one or more of the Romance languages.
Program of Study
Students with advanced standing are encouraged to take special topic courses at the 200- and 300-level. Some of these courses require consent of instructor.
Program Requirements
Students interested in any of the following degree programs are required to speak with the appropriate B.A. adviser.
B.A. Degree Program in a Single Literature. The programs in French, Italian, and Spanish languages and literatures consist of ten courses beyond French, Italian, or Spanish 203. The introductory sequence in the history of the literature is required (French 207 and 208, plus 209 or 210; Italian 207-208-209; or Spanish 207-208-209). Concentrators are also required to take the following courses, all of which stress different approaches to language and literature and focus on a limited number of representative works: French 211 and 215; Italian 211 and 215; or Spanish 211 or 213, and Spanish 215. In addition to these requirements, students must take five courses in the literature of specialization. These courses are aimed at developing a broad knowledge of the field and, through the close study of major works, a proficiency in the critical techniques appropriate to their interpretation.
B.A. Paper. All concentrators write a B.A. paper, which must be submitted to the department no later than three weeks before the College graduation deadline. Students should select a faculty supervisor for the paper early in the autumn quarter of their fourth year. During the winter quarter they should register for French, Italian, or Spanish 299 with the faculty member chosen to direct the writing of the B.A. paper. This course does not count as one of the literature courses required for the concentration. The B.A. paper normally is a research paper with a minimum of twenty pages and a bibliography; it is written in the language of specialization. By the beginning of their fourth year, students must submit a writing sample in the language of their concentration (or, in the case of equal emphasis on two literatures, in both). If the department deems the language proficiency inadequate, there may be additional requirements to ensure that the B.A. paper can be successfully written in the language of concentration.
Summary of Requirements:
Single Literature
|
2 |
French 207 and 208 (literature survey) |
|
1 |
French 209 or 210 (literature survey) |
|
5 |
literature courses (French 217 or above) |
|
1 |
French 211 (advanced French language) |
|
1 |
French 215 (literary analysis) |
|
- |
French 299 (B.A. paper) |
|
10 |
|
3 |
Ital 207-208-209 (literature survey) |
|
5 |
literature courses |
|
1 |
Ital 211 (advanced Italian language) |
|
1 |
Ital 215 (literary analysis) |
|
- |
Ital 299 (B.A. paper) |
|
10 |
|
3 |
Span 207-208-209 (literature survey) |
|
5 |
literature courses |
|
1 |
Span 211 or 213 (advanced Spanish language) |
|
1 |
Span 215 (literary analysis) |
|
- |
Span 299 (B.A. paper) |
|
10 |
B.A. Degree Program in More than One Literature. The programs in more than one Romance literature consist of twelve courses. They are designed to accommodate the needs and interests of students who would like to broaden their literary experience. Linguistic competence in at least one Romance language is assumed. Students must write a B.A. paper under the guidance of a faculty adviser, as is the case in the B.A. program in a single literature. The following programs require completion of French, Italian, or Spanish 203, or the placement or accreditation equivalent of the languages selected, with the addition of two or three courses for each language studied.
Summary of Requirements:
Concentration in More than One Literature
Program with equal emphasis on two literatures
|
6 |
two introductory sequences in two different Romance literatures |
|
6 |
literature courses equally divided between the same two Romance literatures, one of which must be 215 taken in either literature |
|
- |
B.A. paper |
|
12 |
Program with greater emphasis on one literature
|
3 |
introductory sequence in one Romance literature |
|
5 |
courses in the same Romance literature |
|
3 |
courses in a second Romance literature |
|
1 |
215 course in either Romance literature |
|
- |
B.A. paper |
|
12 |
Honors. Students whose overall grade point average is 3.0 or better and who have an average in their major of 3.5 or better may petition the department at the end of their junior year or the beginning of the autumn quarter senior year to be admitted to the honors program. In addition to the regular B.A. requirements, candidates for special honors take an oral examination on a special reading list that is a reduced version of the M.A. list.
Joint B.A./M.A. Degree. The Department of Romance Languages and Literatures has a combined B.A./M.A. program for students with an exceptional background in the language and culture of the discipline. The program has been designed to ensure that the traditional breadth of the B.A. degree and the expertise of the M.A. degree are maintained. Because all requirements for both degrees must be fulfilled, an extra quarter is sometimes necessary to complete the program. Students may petition for admission to the B.A./M.A. program at the beginning of their third year. Graduate registration is required during the three quarters before receipt of the degree to meet the M.A. residence requirement.
Summary of Requirements for B.A./M.A. Degree in French, Italian, or Spanish:
1. Introductory literature sequence (three courses)
2. 300-level literature courses (six in French; seven in Italian; seven in Spanish)
3. B.A. paper (required enrollment in French, Italian, or Spanish 299)
4. M.A. tutorials and seminars (French 311, 315, 358, and 359; Italian 311 and 315; Spanish 311 and 315)
5. Comprehensive examination
Faculty
PAOLO A. CHERCHI, Professor, Department of Romance Languages & Literatures and the College
RENÈ DE COSTA, Professor, Department of Romance Languages & Literatures, Center for Latin American Studies, and the College
PETER F. DEMBOWSKI, Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus, Department of Romance Languages & Literatures, Committee on Medieval Studies, and the College
PHILIPPE DESAN, Howard L. Willett Professor, Department of Romance Languages & Literatures and the College; Associate Dean, Division of the Humanities; Master, Humanities Collegiate Division
NADINE O'CONNOR DIVITO, Senior Lecturer, Department of Romance Languages & Literatures and the College; Director, Romance Languages & Literatures Language Programs
KATHRYN DUYS, Assistant Professor, Department of Romance Languages & Literatures and the College
FRANÇOISE MELTZER, Professor, Departments of Romance Languages & Literatures and Comparative Literature and the College, and the Divinity School; Chair, Department of Comparative Literature
ROBERT J. MORRISSEY, Professor, Department of Romance Languages & Literatures, Committee on General Studies in the Humanities, and the College
LARRY NORMAN, Assistant Professor, Department of Romance Languages & Literatures and the College
PATRICK O'CONNOR, Assistant Professor, Department of Romance Languages & Literatures and the College
THOMAS PAVEL, Professor, Department of Romance Languages & Literatures and the College
MARIO SANTANA, Assistant Professor, Department of Romance Languages & Literatures, Center for Latin American Studies, and the College
ELISSA WEAVER, Professor, Department of Romance Languages & Literatures and the College; Chair, Department of Romance Languages & Literatures; Director, the Bologna Program, 1998-1999
REBECCA WEST, Professor, Department of Romance Languages & Literatures and the College; Acting Chair, Department of Romance Languages & Literatures
Courses
Language (must be taken for a letter grade)
101-102-103. Beginning Elementary French 1, 2, 3. PQ: French 101 or 102, or placement. This three-quarter sequence has as its major objectives the building of a solid foundation in the basic patterns of written and spoken French and their use in everyday communication, as well as an understanding of language and behavior as the reflection of sociocultural norms. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring; Summer (complete sequence offered).
121-122. Continuing Elementary French 1, 2. PQ: French 121 or placement. This two-quarter course sequence has the same objectives as French 101-102-103, but it is reserved for students with enough knowledge of the language to permit a more rapid assimilation of its foundational linguistic and phonetic patterns. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.
201-202-203. Language, History, and Culture 1, 2, 3. PQ: French 103 or 122, or placement. In this intermediate level sequence, students review all major grammar points and develop their skills in description, narration and argumentation. They read and discuss both literary and historical texts in order to understand contemporary French society and its historical roots. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.
211/311. Cours de perfectionnement. PQ: French 203 or placement. This course is designed to help students attain very high levels in reading, writing, speaking, and listening. It also serves as an introduction to literary analysis. Through selected exercises, the close analysis of literary and nonliterary texts, weekly compositions, and class debates and discussions, students are guided in the exploration of the relationships between linguistic expression and literary style while perfecting their spoken and written French. Staff. Autumn.
212/312. Phonétique et phonologie. PQ: French 203 or placement. This course involves a systematic study of the French phonological system, placing equal emphasis on the recognition and the production of French sounds in context. Students also examine the relationships between the French sound system and French orthographic norms and grammatical distinctions. Classroom exercises and homework include examining authentic spoken discourse representing a variety of discourse styles and activities to promote the acquisition of spoken proficiency. Staff. Spring.
213/313. Ecrire en français. PQ: French 203 or placement. The goal of this course is to help students achieve mastery of composition and style through the acquisition of numerous writing techniques. Using a variety of literary and nonliterary texts as models, students examine the linguistic structures and organization of several types of written French discourse and are guided in the acquisition of the rules underlying each discourse type. This course is strongly recommended for Paris Program-bound students. Staff. Winter.
Literature and Culture
All literature courses are conducted in French unless otherwise indicated. French concentrators do all work in French. With prior consent of the instructor, nonconcentrators may write in English.
207. Introduction à la littérature française 1. PQ: French 203 or equivalent. This course is designed to give a historical overview of French literature in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. There are close readings and discussions from representative works of this period. Among the authors studied are Rabelais, Ronsard, Montaigne, Descartes, Pascal, Corneille, Racine, Molière, La Fontaine, and Mme. de La Fayette. L. Norman. Spring.
208. Introduction à la littérature française 2 . PQ: French 203 or equivalent. Readings of major authors of the eighteenth century, including Montesquieu, Prévost, Marivaux, Voltaire, Diderot, Rousseau, and Beaumarchais. R. Morrissey. Winter.
209. Introduction à la littérature française 3. PQ: French 203 or equivalent. Readings from major writers of the nineteenth century. Among the authors studied are Chateaubriand, Michelet, Balzac, Flaubert, and Baudelaire. Not offered 1998-1999; will be offered 1999-2000.
210. Intro à la littérature française 4. PQ: French 203 or equivalent. Readings from major writers of the nineteenth and twentieth century, including Balzac, Flaubert, Stendhal, Baudelaire, Mallarmé, Proust, and Sartre. T. Pavel. Autumn.
215/315. La Stylistique. PQ: French 211 or consent of instructor. This course concentrates on linguistic and literary problems of textual analysis. It examines literary and stylistic techniques in poetry and prose with concentration on the explication de texte method of literary study. R. Morrissey. Autumn.
216. Topics in French Culture: La France d'aujourd'hui à travers la presse. We read current selections from the press (Nouvel observateur, L'Express, Le Monde and Le Figaro), exploring major questions facing today's France and their historical and social origins. This course is designed for students who are interested in French history, culture, and politics. It is of particular interest to students planning to study in Tours or Paris because it provides an understanding of current sociopolitical situations and a working vocabulary for French daily life. M. Caravati. Winter.
220/320. Le lyrisme française au Moyen Âge (=French 220/320, GendSt 220, GS Hum 208/315). Through their songs, we examine the lives of medieval poets, asking how a culture of performance required goliards, minstrels, and starving scholars to invent poetic identities and assert their authority before patrons and public. We also explore how the archetypal lady of medieval poetry compares with what we know of women's lives as poets, patrons, and objects of desire. Finally, we consider how the poet's identity in the late Middle Ages became both more idealized and realistic and evolved into a poetic construct in itself. K. Duys. Winter.
264/364. Stendhal (=French 264/364, Fndmtl 280, GS Hum 216/316). Ce cours portera sur Stendhal (Le Rouge et le noir, La Chartreuse de Parme) comme romancier et comme témoin de son temps. A cheval sur les Lumiéres et l'époque romantique, à la fois inspiré et hanté par la figure de Napoléon, cet auteur à mille masques ne cesse de se déguiser pour s'imposer aux "Happy few." A travers ses personnages il formule un commentaire puissant sur son époque. Lectures et discussion en français; written work in French or English. R. Morrissey. Autumn.
277. The "Golden Ages" of French Cinema: From Renoir through Godard (=CMS 238, French 277). Between the 1930s and the 1960s, French cinema had two great movements: Poetic Realism and the New Wave. Both movements assumed specific positions concerning the relationship between art and reality, and on film aesthetics. This course focuses on exemplary filmmakers such as Renoir, Duvivier, and Carné for Poetic Realism; and Godard, Truffaut, Chabrol, and Varda for the New Wave. We analyze both films and writings by these filmmakers and discuss them in relation to their historical (political, social, and cultural) context and in relation to the organization of film production during the respective periods. We also try to assess their originality by comparing them with some examples of the mainstream production of their time. All work in English; French concentrators must have permission from the B.A. adviser to count this course as a required literature course and must do all work in French. M. Lagny. Spring.
281. Le Roman en France d'aujourd'hui. PQ: French 203 or equivalent. The last ten years have given rise to a whole new generation of novelists in France. In this course we read some of the best of new French fiction. Daniel Pennac, a renowned novelist, teaches part of the course, and we read some of his works. In addition to Pennac, we explore such other writers as Echenoz, Toussaint, Rouaud, and Makine. D. Pennac, Staff. Autumn.
297. Readings in Special Topics. PQ: French 203 or consent of instructor. Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. Directed readings in special topics not covered by courses offered as part of the program in French. Because registration in French 297 is subject to departmental approval, the subjects treated and work done in the course must be chosen, in consultation with the instructor, no later than the end of the preceding quarter. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.
299. B.A. Paper Preparation: French. PQ: Consent of B.A. adviser. This course offers a structure for students writing their B.A. papers. Students work with a faculty member of their choice who directs their paper and supervises their writing. Staff. Winter.
Some 300- and 400-level courses are open to advanced RomLL concentrators with consent of instructor. Other courses of interest follow:
CMS 262. The Films of Louis Buñuel. J. Lastra. Spring.
French 317. Le Roman de la Rose. K. Duys. Autumn.
French 358. M.A. Tutorial I. Staff. Autumn.
French 359. M.A. Tutorial II. Staff. Winter.
French 390. Vie intellectuelle et vie litteraire en France au 20e siècle. T. Pavel. Spring.
German 381. Theory and Practice of Literary Translation. P. Jansen. Autumn.
RomLL 388. Foreign Language Acquisition Research and Teaching. N. DiVito. Autumn.
Language (must be taken for a letter grade)
101-102-103. Elementary Italian 1, 2, 3 (Var A). Knowledge of Italian not required. This three-quarter sequence has as its basic objectives proficiency in speaking, listening, writing, and reading skills. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.
111-112-113. Elementary Italian 1, 2, 3 (Var B). Knowledge of Italian not required. This intensive introductory Italian course emphasizes grammatical competence and reading and writing skills. The readings for this course, of particular interest to humanities students, focus on music, literature, and art. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.
201-202-203. Language, History, and Culture 1, 2, 3. PQ: Ital 103 or 113; or placement. In this intermediate level sequence, students review all major grammar points and develop their skills in description, narration, and argumentation. They read and discuss both literary and historical texts in order to understand contemporary Italian society and its historical roots. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.
211/311. Corso di perfezionamento. PQ: Ital 203 or placement. The goal of this course is to help students achieve mastery of composition and style through the acquisition of numerous writing techniques. Using a variety of literary and non-literary texts as models, students examine the linguistic structure and organization of several types of written Italian discourse and are guided in the acquisition of the rules underlying each discourse type. Staff. Autumn.
Literature and Culture
All literature and culture courses are conducted in Italian unless otherwise indicated. Italian concentrators do all work in Italian, while nonconcentrators may write in English.
207. B.A. Survey 1: Letteratura italiana dal Duecento al Quattrocento. PQ: Ital 203 or consent of instructor. This course is an introduction to the notion of literary history and a consideration of the interrelationship of literary works, their historical and cultural contexts, their authors, their immediate reading public, and their modern reader. In the first quarter, which is devoted to the literature of feudal society and the early city states, we focus on three genres: (1) the novella, (2) lyric poetry, and (3) the epic poem. F. Nasi. Autumn.
208. B.A. Survey 2: Letteratura italiana dal Cinquecento al Settecento. PQ: Ital 203 or consent of instructor. We read and analyze representative texts from the beginning of Renaissance court society and throughout the ancien regime, focusing on the following genres: lyric poetry, treatises, essays, epic poetry, and drama. We study the correspondences of texts and contexts, paying special attention to the context of the visual arts and architecture. F. Nasi. Winter.
209. B.A. Survey 3: Letteratura italiana dall'Ottocento al Novecento. PQ: Ital 203 or consent of instructor. We read texts published during the last two hundred years documenting the rise of bourgeois society and culture and the advanced industrial age. Where possible, we seek to analyze complete works and to consider them in the context of other literatures. Our focus is on lyric poetry and novels. F. Nasi. Spring.
215. Introduzione alla stilistica: tipologie e varietà testuali. PQ: Ital 203 or consent of instructor. This course covers the basic types of prose writing as defined by rhetoric: narration, description, exposition, and argumentation. We examine texts of each type, and students are asked, through writing exercises, to put into effect what they have learned. We also study a variety of popular prose genres: letters, diaries, and journalistic pieces such as obituaries, advertisements, sports, and crime news. F. Nasi. Autumn.
216. Topics in Italian Culture 1: Favole e fiabe: analisi e scrittura. PQ: Ital 203 or consent of instructor. Fables offer good examples of narrative texts on which to apply the categories of narratology, especially the functions and segmentation of texts. The syntax of such texts is usually simple; but they have an interesting lexicon, and they employ verb tenses not frequently used in spoken Italian. We adopt the collection of Italian fairy tales compiled by Italo Calvino; we read Collodi's Pinocchio and stories by Rodari. The main objectives of the course are the improvement of language skills and the acquisition of techniques for the analysis of short narrative prose texts. F. Nasi. Winter.
217. Topics in Italian Culture 2: La canzone in Italia nel secondo Novecento, analisi linguistica e culturale dei testi. PQ: Ital 203 or consent of instructor. Looking at the "canzone d'autore" from the end of World War II to the present allows us to review in an amusing way important moments in the history of the Italian Republic. Song lyrics can serve not only as an example of a category of text, but also as an introduction to elements of style and rhetorical conventions (meter, rhythm, rhyme, figures of speech, etc.) that can be applied to a more advanced study of poetry. F. Nasi. Spring.
219/319. Divina commedia: Part 1. PQ: Ital 203 or consent of instructor. Uno studio approfondito della Commedia di Dante in cui sono messi in evidenza le fonti, lo stile poetico, e le tematiche dantesche. Nell'autunno si leggono l'Inferno e la prima metà del Purgatorio. Si considerano anche i diversi approcci al poema elaborati nel contesto critico sia italiano sia anglo-americano dai "singletoniani" alle letture "postmoderne." R. West. Autumn.
220/320. Divina commedia: Part 2. PQ: Ital 203 or consent of instructor. Continuazione di Ital 219 in cui si leggono la seconda metà del Purgatorio e il Paradiso. R. West. Winter.
285/385. Mastroianni and Keitel: Comparative Masculinities and Ethnicities (=CMS 236, GendSt 285/385, Ital 285/385). PQ: Ital 203 or consent of instructor. Using films in which Mastroianni and Keitel star, we study the diverse concepts of masculinity and ethnicity that these actors have embodied. Theoretical approaches to filmic representations of maleness and ethnic "types," to comparative cultural assumptions and stereotypes regarding men, and to Italian and American styles of filmmaking are employed in the analysis of these stars. All work in English; Italian concentrators read critical materials and write a final paper and a book review in Italian. R. West. Spring.
297. Readings in Special Topics. PQ: Ital 103 or 203, depending upon the requirements of the program for which credit is sought. Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. This course provides directed readings in special topics not covered by courses offered as part of the program in Italian. Subjects treated and work done in the course must be chosen, in consultation with the instructor, no later than the end of the preceding quarter. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.
299. B.A. Paper Preparation: Italian. PQ: Consent of B.A. adviser. This course examines problems and methods of research, concentrating on a literary topic of the student's choice, as preparation for the B.A. paper. Individual tutorial sessions are arranged. Staff. Winter.
Some 300- and 400-level courses are open to advanced RomLL concentrators with consent of instructor. Other courses of interest follow:
German 381. Theory and Practice of Literary Translation. P. Jansen. Autumn.
Ital 372. Teatro del Settecento: Metastasio, Goldoni, Alrieri. P. Cherchi. Winter.
RomLL 388. Foreign Language Acquisition Research and Teaching. N. DiVito. Autumn.
Language (must be taken for a letter grade)
101-102-103. Elementary Portuguese 1, 2, 3. This is the basic three-quarter sequence of Portuguese language instruction. The course stresses oral communication and conversational expression in the first quarter, leading to gradual acquisition of reading and writing skills in the second and third quarters. Strong emphasis is placed on classroom activities throughout the sequence; these center increasingly on Brazilian and Portuguese cultural themes as the course progresses. Reading and writing tasks also increase in complexity, accompanying students' growing knowledge of the spoken language. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.
201/301. Intermediate Portuguese. PQ: First-year Portuguese or consent of instructor. While maintaining emphasis on spoken expression, this course incorporates grammar review with selected readings from the Luso-Brazilian literary tradition. Writing assignments stress the culture and civilization of Portugal and Brazil. Students enrolled in Portu 201 have the option of attending an extra weekly meeting designed to provide additional practice and review. A.-M. Lima. Autumn.
202/302. Advanced Portuguese. PQ: Portu 201/301 or consent of instructor. Careful reading of a broad range of texts in conjunction with selective grammar review supports students' increasing awareness of literary style. At least one major work from the Portuguese and Brazilian literary traditions is chosen for closer study and analysis; past choices include Jorge Amado and Machado de Assis. Students enrolled in Portu 202 have the option of attending an extra weekly meeting designed to provide additional practice and review. A.-M. Lima. Winter.
215/315. Estilística da língua portuguesa. PQ: Portu 202/302 or consent of instructor. The principal aim of this course is to advance knowledge of written Portuguese while creating awareness of grammatical and stylistic patterns that characterize the more complex registers of the language. Special consideration is given to the major differences between continental and Brazilian Portuguese. In addition to reading, analyzing, and commenting on advanced texts, both literary and nonliterary, students practice and extend their writing skills in a series of compositions. A.-M. Lima. Spring.
Literature and Culture
297. Readings in Special Topics. PQ: Portu 103 or 202/302, depending upon the requirements of the program for which credit is sought. Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. Directed readings in special topics not covered by courses offered as part of the program in Portuguese. Subjects treated and work done in the course must be chosen, in consultation with the instructor, no later than the end of the preceding quarter. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.
Language (must be taken for a letter grade)
101-102-103. Beginning Elementary Spanish 1, 2, 3. This three-quarter sequence emphasizes the development of communicative (linguistic, sociolinguistic, and cultural) competence in Spanish. Students develop listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills by practicing specific language functions in context and by communicating in Spanish. Classroom activities are supplemented by individualized listening and speaking exercises in the language laboratory and by structured communication and review tasks undertaken with peers. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.
121-122. Continuing Elementary Spanish 1, 2. PQ: Placement. This course provides a complete review of the essential semantic and syntactic structures of Spanish. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.
201-202-203. Language, History and Culture 1, 2, 3. PQ: Span 103 or 122, or placement. In this intermediate level sequence, students review all major grammar points and develop their skills in description, narration, and argumentation. They read and discuss both literary and historical texts in order to understand contemporary Hispanic societies and their historical roots. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.
211/311. Curso de perfeccionamiento. PQ: Span 203 or consent of instructor. The goal of this course is to help students achieve mastery of composition and style in Spanish through the acquisition of numerous writing techniques. Using a variety of literary and nonliterary texts as models, students examine the linguistic structure and organization of several types of written Spanish discourse and are guided in the acquisition of the rules underlying each discourse type. Staff. Autumn.
212/312. Fonética y fonología. PQ: Span 203 or consent of instructor. This advanced language course is devoted to the acquisition of competence in spoken Spanish. There is special emphasis on problems in phonetics particular to Anglophones. To help students expand their linguistic competence, class work focuses on frequent oral presentations that exemplify the use of patterns in the spoken language. Staff. Spring.
213. Curso de perfeccionamiento para hablantes nativos. PQ: Span 203 or consent of instructor. This advanced language course is devoted to those areas that present the most difficulties for native speakers of Spanish, with particular emphasis on the use of language in formal spoken and written contexts. To help students improve their writing skills, class work focuses on frequent writing exercises, including orthographic conventions. Reading is also stressed to introduce and exemplify the use of different styles and levels of writing. Staff. Winter.
Literature and Culture
All literature and culture courses are conducted in Spanish unless otherwise indicated. All written work is in Spanish. With prior consent of instructor, nonconcentrators may write in English.
207. Literatura hispánica: textos clásicos. PQ: Span 203 or consent of instructor. This course involves careful reading and discussion of a limited number of significant texts from writers of the Spanish Renaissance and the Golden Age, including Garcilaso, the mystics, Cervantes, Góngora, Quevedo, and plays of Lope de Vega, Tirso de Molina, and Calderón. R. de Costa. Spring.
208. Literatura hispánica: textos españoles contemporáneos. PQ: Span 203 or consent of instructor. Close reading and discussion in Spanish of selected texts from the nineteenth century to the present. Authors may include Larra, Espronceda, Zorrilla, Bécquer, Pardo Bazán, Galdós, Unamuno, Valle-Inclán, Machado, Lorca, Cela, Laforet, and Matute. Staff. Winter.
209. Literatura hispánica: textos hispanoamericanos. PQ: Span 203 or consent of instructor. This course examines Latin American literature from 1890 to 1990. Authors studied may include Quiroga, Darío, Borges, Cortázar, García Márquez, Paz, Neruda, Pacheco, Ferré, Sábato, and Skármeta. P. O'Connor. Autumn.
215/315. Introducción al análisis literario. PQ: Span 203 or consent of instructor. This course introduces the principles of textual analysis through close readings of selected Hispanic works. Staff. Autumn.
233/333. Drama del Siglo de Oro. PQ: 203 or consent of instructor. At the height (and also the decline) of the political power of the Spanish Empire, Spanish theater produced a generation of glittering playwrights. We focus on current debates about "the society of the spectacle" and the formation of the first European mass publics, but also on specularity and spectacularity as themes in the plays themselves in this Baroque world; and on representations of king, people, nation, and individual; but also on anarchy, despair, treason, and madness; and on love, honor, witchcraft, hatred, and death. Plays by Lope, Cervantes, Tirso, and Calderón are studied; theoretical and secondary texts include Maravall, Benjamin, Lacan, and Baudrillard. Staff. Winter.
248/348. Literatura y crimen. PQ: Span 203 or consent of instructor. The production of crime fiction in the Hispanic literary world has a long tradition that dates back to the mid-nineteenth century and has recently gained critical attention as postmodern literary theories focus on fictional forms that are both popular and self-conscious. This course studies the historical development of the genre in Hispanic letters, as well as its formal and ideological foundations. Authors likely to be discussed include Pedro Antonio de Alarcón, Emilia Pardo Bazán, Jorge Luis Borges, Francisco García Pavón, Maria Antònia Oliver, Manuel Vázquez Montalbán, Luisa Valenzuela, and Paco Ignacio Taibo. M. Santana. Winter.
254/354. El ensayo hispanoamericano. PQ: Span 203 or consent of instructor. This is a lecture/discussion course on the essay as a genre, a vehicle of ideas, and an exercise in ethic-esthetical persuasion. The course includes representative readings of authors from the colonial period to the present, covering a history of changing ideas, esthetics, and topics. R. de Costa. Autumn.
263/363. La poesía del siglo XX. PQ: Span 203 or consent of instructor. This course examines the changing forms and topics of poetic expression in the Spanish-speaking world from Modernismo to the present day, with an emphasis on the mechanics of poetry and on what makes certain poems affective and/or effective. R. de Costa. Spring.
266/366. Teatro contemporáneo. PQ: Span 203 or consent of instructor. This course is a survey of contemporary Spanish drama from the aftermath of the Civil War to the present and includes close reading and discussion of plays by, among others, Miguel Mihura, Antonio Buero Vallejo, Alfonso Sastre, Fernando Arrabal, José Martín Recuerda, Ana Diosdado, and Antonio Gala. M. Santana. Autumn.
270/370. Violencia, fantasía, y la literatura argentina, 1930 to 1956. PQ: Span 203 or consent of instructor. This course poses the question of the relationship between fantasy and violence in a specific historical and cultural moment, Argentina/Uruguay from the years of the first dictatorship until the fall of the Peróns. Together with some readings of political and social history (Sarlo, Taylor, Naipaul) we read literature by writers from the whole range of the political spectrum (Borges, Lugones, Arlt, Storni, S. Ocampo, F. Hernández, and Cortázar) in an era which (from our perspective of the so much more terrible years of dirty war and exile) was aware of sociocultural movements of great violence, but which sought literary forms to express, contain, or escape it. P. O'Connor. Autumn.
297. Readings in Special Topics. PQ: Span 203 or consent of instructor. Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. Directed readings on special topics not covered by courses offered as part of the program in Spanish. Subjects treated and work done must be chosen, in consultation with the instructor, no later than the end of the preceding quarter. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.
299. B.A. Paper Preparation: Spanish. PQ: Consent of B.A. adviser. This is a study of problems and methods of research, concentrating on a literary topic of the student's choice, as preparation for the B.A. paper. Individual tutorial sessions arranged. Staff. Winter.
Some 300- and 400-level courses are open to advanced RomLL concentrators with consent of instructor. Other courses of interest follow. Please contact the department for further information.
CMS 262. The Films of Louis Buñuel. J. Lastra. Spring.
German 381. Theory and Practice of Literary Translation. P. Jansen. Autumn.