Courses

Spanish & Hispanic Studies Courses

A beginning course intended for students with no previous knowledge of the language. The skills of comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing are taught at the elementary level, with an emphasis on oral proficiency in everyday situations encountered in Spanish-speaking countries. A student cannot receive credit for both SPAN 10113 and SPAN 10103. (No credit given to native or heritage speakers.)

A beginning course taught at an accelerated rate for eight weeks intended for students with no previous knowledge of the language. The skills of comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing are taught at the elementary level, with an emphasis on oral proficiency in everyday situations encountered in Spanish-speaking countries. A student cannot receive credit for both SPAN 10113 and SPAN 10103. (No credit given to native or heritage speakers.)

Prerequisite: SPAN 10103 or SPAN 10113 or equivalent. A beginning course intended for students with minimal formal study and very limited knowledge of Spanish grammar and culture. The skills of comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing continue at the elementary level, with an emphasis on oral proficiency in everyday situations encountered in Spanish-speaking countries. Equivalent to SPAN 10213. A student cannot receive credit for both SPAN 10213 and 10203. (No credit given to native or heritage speakers.)

Prerequisites: SPAN 10103 or 10113 or equivalent. Continuation of SPAN 10103 or 10113 taught at an accelerated rate for eight weeks intended for students with minimal formal study and very limited knowledge of Spanish grammar and culture. The skills of comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing continue to be taught at the elementary level, with an emphasis on oral proficiency in everyday situations encountered in Spanish-speaking countries. A student cannot receive credit for both SPAN 10213 and 10203. (No credit given to native or heritage speakers.)

An introduction to flamenco in Spain, beginning with the arrival of the art form in Spain, its history, various musical forms, instruments, and some dance elements. Flamenco as represented in literature and film. Hands-on activities bring flamenco to life in the classroom.

Prerequisites: SPAN 10103 or 10113 or equivalent. Occasional course on a selected topic related to the Spanish language or the culture of Spanish-speaking countries. Different course titles may be repeated for credit.

Prerequisite: SPAN 10203 or SPAN 10213 or equivalent. Further development of the integration of comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing skills on an intermediate level. A student cannot receive credit for both SPAN 20113 and 20103. (No credit given to native speakers; heritage speakers may receive credit with permission of the department.)

Prerequisites: SPAN 10203 or 10213 or equivalent. Course is taught at an accelerated rate for eight weeks following the study of beginning Spanish with focus on the integration of comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing skills on an intermediate level. A student cannot receive credit for both SPAN 20113 and 20103. (No credit given to native speakers; heritage speakers may receive credit with permission of the department.)

Prerequisite: SPAN 20103 or SPAN 20113 or equivalent. Continuation of SPAN 20103 or 20113 with focus on the integration of comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing skills on an intermediate level. A student cannot receive credit for both SPAN 20203 and SPAN 20213. (No credit given to native speakers; heritage speakers may receive credit with permission of the department.)

Prerequisites: SPAN 20103 or 20113 or equivalent. Course is taught at an accelerated rate for eight weeks and is a continuation of SPAN 20103 or SPAN 20113 with an integration of comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing skills on an intermediate level. A student cannot receive credit for both SPAN 20203 and SPAN 20213. (No credit given to native speakers; heritage speakers may receive credit with permission of the department.)

This course will study an important city in the Spanish-speaking world, such as Buenos Aires or Madrid, from a variety of perspectives, ranging from history to geography to literature to architecture. Especially recommended for students who plan on careers in the global community, for which they will need to understand the roles and dynamics of urban life in Hispanic cultures. Taught in English.

This course represents credit earned through a semester study abroad experience with an institution or program with which Texas Christian University has an official agreement to accept credit. The site and specific content will be identified on the official transcript. Courses appearing on a student's official transcript have been included in the student's grade point average.

Prerequisites: SPAN 10213 or 10203 or equivalent. Occasional course on a selected topic related to the Spanish language or the culture of Spanish-speaking countries. Different course titles may be repeated for credit.

A preparatory course in which a student selects a topic and carries out exploratory research under faculty guidance. The finalized project is completed in SPAN 43103.

Prerequisites: SPAN 20203 or 20213. A Spanish language course in a TCU Spanish faculty-led summer abroad program. Designed to increase communicative and cross-cultural skills significantly for personal and professional applications. May be repeated for credit at a different site.

Prerequisites: SPAN 20203 or 20213. A course on the culture of the host country in a TCU Spanish faculty-led summer abroad program. Designed to increase communicative and cross-cultural skills significantly for personal and professional applications. May be repeated for credit at a different site.

Prerequisites: SPAN 20203 or 20213 or equivalent. This course aims to develop Spanish skills within narrative and descriptive rhetorical modes while fostering cultural awareness through authentic materials. Written, oral, listening, and reading practices will serve to strengthen communicative competencies and move from a personal to a public intercultural expression.

Prerequisites: SPAN 20203 or 20213 or equivalent. This is an advanced course that aims to develop Spanish skills within the expository and persuasive rhetorical modes while fostering cultural awareness through numerous authentic materials. Written, oral, listening, and reading practice, as well as the inclusion of grammar study, will serve to strengthen communicative abilities from a local to a global intercultural expression.

Prerequisites: SPAN 30503, 30603, or 31703. This course explores the techniques and strategies necessary for the study and appreciation of literary texts in Spanish. This objective will be realized through the analysis of representative works in each of the four basic genres (drama, poetry, narrative, and essay) and their variations, paying close attention to the historical and cultural contexts within which authors and their works are placed. The selected texts cover a variety of literatures produced in Spanish-speaking societies. This course is a prerequisite for all 40000-level literature courses.

Prerequisites: SPAN 20203 or 20213. The purpose of this course is to provide basic knowledge of various fields within Spanish linguistics. Students will be exposed to linguistic structures such as phonology (pronunciation), morphology (word formation), syntax (sentence formation), semantics (meaning) and other linguistic subfields, including sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, and dialectology.

Prerequisites: SPAN 20203 or 20213 or equivalent. Course provides the student with basic oral, written and reading skills for Spanish for health care purposes, as well as an understanding of cultural differences. Students will learn to communicate with patients, focusing on the critical areas of acquiring basic patient information, understanding symptoms, dispensing medical advice, and discussing treatment and medication. Taught fall semester only.

Prerequisites: SPAN 20203 or 20213 or equivalent. This course provides the student with necessary oral, written and reading skills in Spanish for business purposes and with cultural understanding of how business is conducted within the geographic and cultural context of the Spanish-speaking world. Taught fall semester only.

A comprehensive Spanish course for heritage students with proficiency in spoken Spanish but whose formal education has been in English. The course covers all basic language skills, with emphasis on reading and writing taught through literary and cultural readings, compositions, and exams.

Prerequisites: SPAN 30503, SPAN 30603, or SPAN 31703. Course emphasizes increasing fluency in comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing skills as well as understanding of cultural issues while performing service in a Spanish-speaking atmosphere in the community. Students are required to spend several hours providing service for a community partner to improve their language skills and appreciation for the Latino community.

Prerequisites: SPAN 30503, SPAN 30603, or SPAN 31703. Course explores the theory, methods, and practice of translation. Students will be exposed to the complexities of translation. Texts are drawn from multiple fields, such as advertising, journalism, business, travel, health, and politics.

Prerequisites: SPAN 30503, SPAN 30603, or SPAN 31703. Students gain an understanding and appreciation of the development of Spain as a nation from historical, political, geographical, and cultural perspectives.

Prerequisites: SPAN 30503, SPAN 30603, or SPAN 31703. A study of the development and cultural achievements of Latin America's major civilization, from pre-Hispanic times to the present.

Prerequisites: SPAN 30503, SPAN 30603, or SPAN 31703. Latin American and Spanish cultures as manifested in performance, music, dance, soap operas, and film. Discussion of the politics of everyday practices associated with these expressions, within sociopolitical processes of which they are a part.

Prerequisites: SPAN 30503, SPAN 30603, or SPAN 31703. Analysis of contemporary issues as expressed through selected films from Spain.

Prerequisites: SPAN 30503, SPAN 30603, or SPAN 31703. Analysis of contemporary issues as expressed through selected films from Latin American countries.

Prerequisites: SPAN 30503, SPAN 30603, or SPAN 31703. Course provides students with an introduction to the theory and practice of the Spanish sound system. Course enhances students' awareness of the interferences of their mother tongue with their spoken Spanish. Students are exposed to the variety of Spanish dialects.

Prerequisites: SPAN 30503, SPAN 30603, or SPAN 31703.This course is a survey of flamenco in Spain, beginning with the arrival of the art form in Spain, its history, various musical forms, instruments, and some dance elements. Flamenco as represented in literature and film will also be studied. Hands-on activities bring flamenco to life in the classroom.

Prerequisites: SPAN 30503, SPAN 30603, or SPAN 31703. A study of the cultural institutions, both historical and contemporary, that distinguish Brazilian society.

Prerequisites: SPAN 30503, SPAN 30603, or SPAN 31703. Occasional course on a selected topic related to the literature, history, and culture of Spanish-speaking countries. Different course titles may be repeated for credit.

Prerequisites: SPAN 30803. A study of the literary culture and representative works of prose, poetry, and drama of major writers in Spain in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Prerequisites: SPAN 30803. A study of the works of Miguel de Cervantes, with special attention to the Quijote and the Novelas ejemplares within the context of the Renaissance.

Prerequisites: SPAN 30803. A study of the literary culture and of outstanding writers from the Generation of 1898 to the present. Course may focus on a specific genre, group of authors, or themes associated with Spanish society since the early twentieth century.

Prerequisites: SPAN 30803. The study of poetry and theatre in Latin America in the post-1900 era. Includes works by well-known authors, but also works written by less known ones, particularly women, indigenous, and Afro-Hispanic authors.

Prerequisites: SPAN 30803. Exploration of major fictional trends in the contemporary short story in Latin America. Development of writing and analytical skills based on the study of the works of authors.

Prerequisites: SPAN 30803. A study of the literary culture and representative contemporary novels of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries from Latin America.

Prerequisites: SPAN 30803. A study of Mexico's multicultural reality as reflected in the prose, poetry, and drama of writers from major cultural groups: Mayans, Nahuas, Zapotecs, among others.

Prerequisites: SPAN 30803. A study of literary works by Spanish-speaking writers of African descent from the Caribbean and other parts of Latin America. Course also explores Hispanic literary productions in the West African nation of Equatorial Guinea.

Prerequisites: SPAN 30803. An overview of literary works written by women in the Spanish-speaking world, beginning in the 16th century, with an emphasis on the post-1900 era. The course places women's literary imaginings within the context of their situation in society.

Prerequisites: SPAN 30803. An exploration of literary expressions of the Hispanic cultural community in the United States, especially the Chicano, Cuban-American, and Puerto Rican. Emphasis is laid on issues involving gender, identity, religion, and cultural conflict. Readings, discussions, and examinations are in Spanish.

Prerequisites: SPAN 30803. A comparative study of the literature of the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking worlds. Emphasis could be on Europe, Latin America, Africa, or any combination of Spanish and Portuguese-speaking peoples.

Prerequisites: SPAN 30803. A survey of varied cultural productions related to the borderlands--especially U.S.-Mexico-- including short stories, poems, film, documentaries, music, and performance. Through this course, students will gain general knowledge on cultural representations on the specified geopolitical frontiers and their relation to the spatial context of the border as a territory with particular social, political, economic, and cultural practices.

Prerequisite: SPAN 31503. This course builds on knowledge acquired in the introductory course on Spanish for the Health professions. Course provides the student with advanced oral, written and reading skills in Spanish for health care purposes, as well as an understanding of cultural differences. Students will develop lexical knowledge related to the medical field and discuss current medical events. Experiential/service-learning in local hospitals is part of the course whereby students will begin to apply the information learned in the course to enhance their communication with patients.

Prerequisites: SPAN 31603. This course builds on knowledge acquired n the introductory course on Spanish for Business Professions. Course provides the student with advanced oral, written, and reading skills in Spanish for business purposes, as well as an understanding of cultural differences. Course enhances lexical knowledge related to the business field and current business events. Opportunities are provided for experiential learning in the local Latino community.

Prerequisites: SPAN 30503, SPAN 30603, or SPAN 31703. This course introduces skills for English-to -Spanish medical translation and interpretation. Course exposes students to standard medical terminology, medical phraseology, and specialty terms. Emphasis is placed on translation and interpretation as tools to build language skills and intercultural competence in the medical field. Contrastive analyses between Spanish and English as a way of gaining competence in the Spanish language.

Prerequisites: SPAN 30803.Independent projects in literature or linguistics or cultural studies resulting in a Senior Honors Thesis.

Prerequisites: At least one 40000-level literature course in Spanish. The Spanish capstone course, bringing together the student's study of language, culture, and literature. In-depth study of a pre-announced topic that varies each semester. Required for Spanish majors, this course must be taken in residence at TCU during the senior year. May be repeated for credit under different topics.

Occasional course on a selected topic related to the history, literature, and culture of Spanish-speaking countries. Taught in English.

Prerequisites: SPAN 30803. Occasional course on a selected topic related to the literature, history, and culture of Spanish-speaking countries. Different course titles may be repeated for credit.

A beginning course intended for students with no previous knowledge of the language. The skills of comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing are taught at the elementary level, with an emphasis on oral proficiency in everyday situations encountered in Portuguese-speaking countries. No prerequisite. (No credit given to native or heritage speakers.)

Prerequisite: PORT 10103 or equivalent. Continued study of beginning Portuguese. (No credit given to native or heritage speakers.)

Prerequisite: PORT 10203 or equivalent. Completion of the beginning-level survey of the Portuguese language. (No credit given to native or heritage speakers.)

Prerequisite: PORT 20103 or equivalent. Review, reinforcement, and integration of the skills at the beginning level. This course bridges the beginning level and the next level of intensive study. (No credit given to native speakers; heritage speakers may receive credit with permission of the department.)

Prerequisites: SPAN 20203, 20213, or equivalent. Native Spanish speakers and heritage speakers are welcome with departmental approval. An intensive beginning Portuguese course designed for Spanish speakers and learners. The course focuses on the similarities and differences between Spanish and Portuguese, especially Brazilian Portuguese. The course comprehends basic vocabulary and fundamentals of grammar through practice in speaking, listening comprehension, reading and writing. The use of different media to explore cultural aspects of the Portuguese-speaking world is an integral part of the course.

Prerequisites: PORT 20503 or equivalent. This course focuses on the language and culture of Brazil. Through exposure to authentic material such as essays, chronicles, short stories and film, students will use the Portuguese language to explore a variety of topics ranging from personal anecdotes to societal and cultural issues that are relevant to understanding Brazil. Class is taught entirely in Portuguese.

Prerequisite: PORT 20203 or equivalent. A study of the cultural institutions, both historical and contemporary, that distinguish Brazilian society.

Electives from other departments are shown below. See Latin American Studies degree requirements for details.

The course examines expressive culture that reflects and shapes the way people think, behave, and give their lives meaning. The expressive culture includes history, literature, and lore considered as resources for people to address their needs and circumstances, especially in relation to social positions, gender, self-identification, politics, and ethics. Other topics include U.S. Mexico relations, social conflict, resistance movements, religion, and cultural poetics. Student cannot receive credit for ENGL 55713 and ENGL 30713.

Analysis and methods in the study of traditional customs and beliefs of Mexican-Americans. Topics may include storytelling and joking, popular religion, ethnomedicine, ethnic identity rituals, and folk art.

*when the topic of the course focuses on Latin America

Prerequisites: ANTH 20623, RELI 10023 or RELI 10043 or consent of the instructor. Anthropological findings in the comparative study of religion and culture across a broad range of societies. Studies of sacred experience, myth, ritual, magic, witchcraft, religious language, gender and religion, healing, and relationships between social and religious change.

An archaeological survey of the ancient cultures of Mexico and Andean South America, from the first human migrations into the Americas to the Aztec and Inka empires. Anthropological perspectives on developmental sequences and achievements of major indigenous civilizations in both culture areas are discussed and compared.

*when the topic of the course focuses on Latin America

Origin and distribution of the native populations of selected areas. The historical development and current perspectives of institutions, belief and value systems, and comparative organization of cultural areas. Possible areas to be examined include Native North Americans, peoples of South America, and peoples of Africa.

Prerequisite: ANTH 20623 or consent of instructor. Anthropological perspectives on the relationship of Latin American pop culture to Latin American societies. Examines everyday cultural productions, such as dance, music, soccer, television, soap opera, Carnival, and other festivals. Particular attention given to popular culture as a key site where national, racial, gender, sexual, and class identities are constructed, commodified, contested, and globally circulated. Cultural case studies may include: Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, and Cuba.

The course surveys the art and architecture of the major cultures of the Pre-Columbian central Andes (Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Chile).

This course surveys the art and architecture of the major cultures of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica (Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras), ranging from the Olmec, whose great tradition in stone sculpture emerged in about 1200 B.C., to the Triple Alliance of the Mexica Aztec, which the Spaniards conquered in the mid-sixteenth century. All major media are covered.

This course is an in-depth study of the art and architecture of the ancient Maya.

*when the topic of the course focuses on Latin America

Prerequisites: A 'C-' or better in ECON 10223 or 30223, and 10233 or 30233. Survey of development experience in a country or group of countries or analysis of general development experiences such as external finance, foreign trade and payments, development policy sets, or other experiences typical of developing countries.

Prerequisites: ENGL 10803, ENGL 20803 and at least one 10000- or 20000-level ENGL/WRIT/CRWT course. Study of literary works in English on various genres by U.S. authors of Puerto Rican, Mexican, Nicaraguan, Cuban, Dominican, and/or Chicano/a backgrounds. Historical emphasis will be limited to the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Topics of analysis include race, gender, class, nationality, migration, immigration, and urban studies.

An analysis of the human and physical geography of a specific region. Examples of regions include Texas, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Eastern Europe. Regional characteristics investigated may include economic, political, historical, and cultural components as well as topography, climate, and natural resources. May be repeated for credit provided the specified region changes.

An exploration of the human and physical geography of Latin America. This course analyzes Latin America from a geographical perspective and addresses topics such as landforms, climate, environmental hazards, indigenous peoples, culture, ethnicity, religion, agriculture, political geography, population, cities, and economic production.

An intensive field study in the regional and systematic geography of a selected area. Examples include France, Central America, and the American West. May be repeated for credit provided the selected area changes.

Survey of Central America from colonial times to the present with emphasis on the region's economic and political development and the emergence of revolutionary movements in the twentieth century. (LA)

Early diplomatic relations among the independent republics; the Monroe Doctrine in Hemispheric politics; the movement for Pan American union; the Big Stick and Dollar Diplomacy; the Good Neighbor Policy and the Alliance for Progress. (LA or US)

This undergraduate seminar examines the ways in which societies from the ancient world to the present acquire, order, and assign value to material artifacts. From ethnographic remains to natural specimens, and from works of art to antiquities, people have plundered, collected, and displayed objects across time and space. Special attention to circulation will help students analyze the processes by which objects were detached from their natural context and reinserted into thematic sets based on aesthetic, religious, political or scientific priorities that gave rise to the modern museum. Topics include the culture of learning at the Library of Alexandria, relics and devotional practices in medieval Europe, collecting exotica during Renaissance, sensory museums of the Enlightenment, and black market trade of antiquities in the present. Class includes fieldtrips to local museums, libraries, and private collections.

This course surveys the history of the modern Chicano/a civil and immigration rights movement and explores Latino/a politics and immigration policy as ways to understand the nature of social movements and the role of grassroots activism; the connections between civil rights and other struggles for social justice, past and present; and the origins and persistence of structural racial and ethnic inequality in the United States. (Offered as POSC 31543 or HIST 30823 credit)

This course examines Native American movements in modern Latin America and their impact on conceptions of nation and citizenship, focusing on the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. (LA)

The growth of the Brazilian nations and civilization from colonial plantation beginnings through experiments with monarch and republic, to the rank of major nation. (LA)

Examination of a selected period of colonial or modern history through biography of prominent individuals. Individuals will include people such as Sor Juana or Fidel Castro although biographies and periods will vary with each semester. (LA)

The native peoples, the Spanish Conquest and cultural conflict, evolution of colonial society, the movement for independence, 19th century efforts at modernization, revolutionary Mexico and U.S.-Mexican relations. (LA)

Examination of the political, ideological, religious, social, economic and institutional development of colonial America from the earliest discoveries and settlements to the end of the French and Indian War in 1763. Emphasis is on the English colonies that became the United States with some consideration given to other empires. (US)

The political, social, and economic study of Texas from the coming of the Spaniards in 1528 to the present. The role of ethnic groups in the development of Texas is emphasized, and a study of the state constitution is made. (US)

This class will examine Cuban history, from pre-Hispanic times to the present. Major themes will include the evolution of Spanish colonial rule, sugar and the rise of African slavery, the wars of independence, and the role of U.S. interventionism. Special emphasis will be placed on the Cuban Revolution and the causes and results of this historical process. How did Fidel Castro manage to take power, and what have been the most significant effects of his regime? A second major goal of HIST 41903 is to improve students' writing and critical thinking skills. Students will be required to develop theses and to defend their positions using evidence from their readings, lectures, and their own research. Analysis and argument will be the central elements of the course. (LA)

Examination of Afro-Latin American experience, from colonial times to the present. Class activities emphasize analytical thinking and writing.

*when the topic of the course focuses on Latin America

European politics, Asian politics, Latin American politics, Middle Eastern politics, developing political systems, etc.

The course examines key factors (patterns of conquest, inter-American relations) that have shaped Latin American politics historically and then focuses concentrated attention to the factors that affect Third Wave democratization in the region. Much of the course is centered on case studies.

Explores the experiences of women in American religion with attention to the interplay between women's religious identities and their roles in the work force, families, and racial, ethnic and/or minority groups. Readings will be drawn from historical, sociological and theological works.

This course surveys the role of religion in various social, cultural and political movements in Latin America beginning in the 18th century through present day. Primary and secondary documentary sources, spiritual autobiographies, multimedia productions, and news media help students consider how religion intersects with politics, economy, race, gender, and power throughout Latin American's history.

Suggested Course Sequence

First Year
Fall: SPAN 30503, SPAN 30603, or SPAN 31703*

Spring: SPAN 30503, SPAN 30603, or SPAN 31703*

Sophomore Year
Fall: Culture (SPAN 32003, SPAN 32103, SPAN 32203, or SPAN 33103) or SPAN 30803

Spring: Culture (SPAN 32003, SPAN 32103, SPAN 32203, or SPAN 33103) or SPAN 30803

Junior Year
Fall: Two electives (choose from PORT 20503, 30000-level SPAN electives, or 40000-level SPAN electives)

Spring: 40000-level literature course

Senior Year
Fall: Senior Seminar** or Elective (choose from PORT 20503, 30000-level SPAN electives, or 40000-level SPAN electives)

Spring: Senior Seminar** or Elective (choose from 30000-level SPAN electives or 40000-level SPAN electives)

* Heritage speakers are encouraged to take SPAN 31703. A heritage speaker is someone who was primarily educated in U.S. schools but who speaks Spanish in the home and with friends and co-workers. Non-heritage speakers should not take SPAN 31703.

** The Senior Seminar must be taken during the final year of the student’s completion of the Spanish major.

First Year
Fall: 10113-10213 or 20103

Spring: 20113-20213 or 20203

Sophomore Year
Fall: SPAN 30503 or SPAN 30603

Spring: SPAN 30503 or SPAN 30603

Junior Year
Fall: (6 credits) SPAN 30803 or Culture (SPAN 32003, SPAN 32103, SPAN 32203, or SPAN 33103); Elective (choose from PORT 20503, 30000-level SPAN electives, or 40000-level SPAN electives)

Spring: (6 credits) SPAN 30803 or Culture (SPAN 32003, SPAN 32103, SPAN 32203, or SPAN 33103); Elective (choose from 30000-level SPAN electives or 40000-level SPAN electives)

Senior Year
Fall: (6 credits) 40000-level literature course; Elective (choose from PORT 20503, 30000-level SPAN electives, or 40000-level SPAN electives)

Spring: Senior Seminar**

** The Senior Seminar must be taken during the final year of the student’s completion of the Spanish major.