Document Type

Syllabus

Publication Date

Spring 2024

Course Description

What does it mean to be an Other? In this course, we will explore literary representations of otherness as it relates to language, culture, ethnicity, and national identity, as well as the themes of poverty, youth, alienation, illness, and the non-human. Literacy in the Spanish Speaking World: Reading Otherness is also designed to reinforce your command of advanced grammatical structures in the Spanish language. Throughout the semester, we will undertake close readings of a number of different literary texts written by authors from around the Spanish-speaking world, using each as a cultural lens on the critical issues of otherness at play in these contexts. By honing your skills in critical reading, you will be prepared for more advanced literary course offerings in the Spanish curriculum. Our study of grammar in the course will be contextualized by the readings and afford us the opportunity to explore some of the deeper nuances of the Spanish language as they arise on the page and in class discussion. As this will likely be the last Spanish course you take that explicitly addresses grammar, you will be encouraged to diagnose and remedy your own challenges in the language and to advance your metalinguistic awareness of complex syntactic structures. Given the breadth and quantity of material to be covered over the course of the semester, Literacy in the Spanish-Speaking World: Reading Otherness will require a significant investment of time and effort outside of class in order to master the concepts and meet the expectations of the course. The student’s daily preparation and commitment will be even more crucial considering the cumulative nature of the foreign-language learning process, as well as the fact that class time will be devoted primarily to putting into practice what you have already read about and studied beforehand. In other words, following contemporary research findings of the most effective means of mastering a foreign language, we will adopt a ‘flipped classroom’ approach to Spanish through which, instead of merely lecturing on grammatical concepts or introducing new material, our time in class will consist of conversation, hands-on tasks, and the practice of communicative strategies tailored to a number of different learning styles. Prerequisite: Spanish 232 or qualifying placement. A note on course content: We will be reading and discussing texts and events with which it may be emotionally and intellectually challenging to engage. I will do my best to ensure our classroom be a space in which we can approach difficult material with courage, empathy, and critical rigor. If you would like to meet to discuss any concerns in advance of or after any particular class meeting, I welcome such discussions as an appropriate part of our coursework.

Student Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to 1) understand and appreciate several short writings and authors from the Spanish-speaking world; 2) connect them to issues in Hispanic culture, history, and politics, particularly as they relate to various forms of otherness; 3) demonstrate skills in close reading and literary and cultural analysis; and 4) possess a deeper knowledge of complex grammatical structures of the Spanish language.

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