Undergraduate Spanish and Latin American Studies 2017-2018

This is a fast-paced and intensive language course for students with very little or no previous knowledge of Spanish who have been allocated onto this course by our diagnostic test. It is aimed at students intending to pursue an honours (single or joint) degree in Hispanic Studies but is also suitable for students on other degree programmes.

 

This is a fast-paced language course for students with some previous knowledge of Spanish who have been allocated onto this course by our diagnostic test. It is aimed at students intending to pursue an honours (single or joint) degree in Hispanic Studies but is also suitable for students on other degree programmes.

 

This course focuses on cultural history in the Iberian Peninsula, from the early medieval period to the present day. It explores selected key cultural social and political questions over the course of Spain's history as they are presented in a variety of written and visual texts, such as contemporaneous accounts, narrative fiction, poetry, film, painting and architecture. All texts studied will be available in English translation.

This course follows Spanish Language 1 or can be taken by students who have the required level of Spanish as determined by the placement test (see below).

This is a fast-paced language course and It is aimed at students intending to pursue an honours (single or joint) degree in Hispanic Studies but is also suitable for students on other degree programmes.

This course will introduce students to Latin American history, culture and society from the pre-Hispanic period to the present through a selection of archaeology, historical and contemporary writings, visual culture and music. All texts studied will be available in English translation.

Students being admitted to a Hispanic Studies degree programme, or intending taking a Spanish course, should first take the language diagnostic test. The test can be taken at any time and is completed online. On the basis of this diagnostic test you will be allocated to the appropriate Level 1 language course. The test helps to ensure you are on the course that is most appropriate for your level of knowledge and experience.

Please go to www.abdn.ac.uk/mycurriculum to access the Diagnostic Test.

Having completed the test you should select the appropriate course when making your curriculum choices.

This course follows Spanish Language 2 or can be taken by students who have the required level of Spanish as determined by the placement test (see below).

This course aims to prepare intending Honours students of Hispanic Studies for their compulsory period abroad in a Spanish-speaking country.

The course will develop further Spanish language skills, both receptive and productive. Classes on grammatical and linguistic analysis will contribute to the development of both sets of skills. In addition students will complete a structured self learning programme of audio-visual study and grammatical reinforcement study.

 

This course uses texts, which can include plays, films, novels, music, letters and an etiquette guide, to understand issues, concerns and themes in Latin American history. The course is organised chronologically and each week classes focus on texts from a particular country as a means to discuss bigger questions, such as how to make a new nation after three hundred years of colonial rule and a decade of warfare, how to demonstrate your honourability in an anonymous city and what cultural models are the best source of inspiration. The course also focuses on 'context' shared throughout Latin America.

This course follows Spanish Language 2 or can be taken by students who have the required level of Spanish as determined by the placement test (see below).

This course aims to prepare intending Honours students of Hispanic Studies for their compulsory period abroad in a Spanish-speaking country.

The course will develop further Spanish language skills, both receptive and productive. Classes on grammatical and linguistic analysis will contribute to the development of both sets of skills. In addition students will complete a structured self learning programme of audio-visual study and grammatical reinforcement study.

This course follows Spanish Language 4 and aims to prepare non beginners intending Honours students of Hispanic Studies for their compulsory period abroad in a Spanish-speaking country.

The course will develop further Spanish language skills, expanding on the vocabulary and introducing formal documents and letters. Classes on grammatical and linguistic analysis will contribute to the development of both sets of skills. In addition students will complete a structured self learning programme of aural study and grammatical reinforcement study.

 

This course takes a broad look at different texts spanning from the late 15th century to the present day. We will study these texts in the original language but with the help of English translations, providing a smooth introduction into reading Spanish language literature. The first half of the course concentrates on the late medieval and early modern eras, through two highly entertaining texts: Celestina and Life Is Dream. The second half concentrates on the 20th century through a combination of poetry, short fiction and film.

This course asks what it means to be a citizen in Latin America (though with a focus on Mexico). It will combine history and ethnography. Citizenship is often described as rights-bearing membership in nation-states, and we will see that this has been important in Latin America, past and present. However, we will draw on a variety of readings, including the lecturer's own ethnography, to see that there has been more to citizenship than this.,

This is a core prescribed course open only to Junior Honours Hispanic Studies students and a selected range of other programmes at the appropriate level. This course aims to enable you to identify and use, accurately, fluently, and with an appropriate level of sophistication, a range of vocabulary and linguistic registers at advanced level.

This is a core prescribed course open only to Mode B Junior Honours Hispanic Studies students. This course aims to enable you to identify and use, accurately, fluently, and with an appropriate level of sophistication, a range of vocabulary and linguistic registers at advanced level.

The aim of the Residence Abroad Project is to develop an in-depth understanding of a specific aspect (anthropological, political or cultural) connected with one of the Hispanic countries in which students are staying. Students are expected to study a topic in its socio-and to complete a report in Spanish of c. 4000 words.

In this course we will study contemporary fictional representations of Spain, its present and past. We will focus on the theme of belonging in a country whose recent history was dominated by the imposition of cultural homogeneity. Spain has made a rapid transition to postmodern global society, immersed in the worldwide circuits of people, commerce and communications. Many recent fictions focus on the self's sense of belonging (or not belonging) to surrounding spaces, historical contexts and local communities.

The texts for this course are interesting and varied and will appeal in particular to students with an interest in accurate translation from Spanish to English. 

This course engages in a broad-based analysis of the history, culture and politics of the state of California. It begins with the indifenous and Spanish colonial settlement of the region, followed by the period within the independent Mexican Republic, before California became one of the United States of America. More recent topics will include the fate of the Californios after Independence and mass immigration in the 20th century, especially from Mexico, as well as the status of the Spanish language in contemporary California. The course will include approaches from history, anthropology, cultural studies, and political science.

The texts to be translated are varied and interesting and will appeal in particular to those students with a special interest in translation from Spanish into English.

This course extends and refines your practical translation skills from English into Spanish. It will also introduce you to selected key issues in translation studies and enable you to think critically about linguistic and cultural issues associated with translation from  English into Spanish at an advanced level.

This course will study contemporary Spanish film with reference to both local references and global currents. Spanish artistic production, like all culture, is increasingly tuned into international circuits, where filmmakers find material and inspiration for their creations from a wide range of settings. Therefore, we will think of Spain as a crossroads, a meeting ground of different historical influences, connected to a global network of migrations and communications. In our readings of these films, we will ask how personal and collective subjectivity is defined in relation to both local and global contexts.

The dissertation is a piece of extended independent research (8,000-10,000 words long), structured as a critical evaluation, analysis or argument, about a topic germane to Hispanic Studies. The topic is chosen by the student, in conjunction with the dissertation coordinator and an individual Departmental supervisor. It is a chance for students to carry out in-depth study in Hispanic Studies outside the course programme and to acquire and develop valuable research skills.

This course asks what it means to be a citizen in Latin America (though with a focus on Mexico). It will combine history and ethnography. Citizenship is often described as rights-bearing membership in nation-states, and we will see that this has been important in Latin America, past and present. However, we will draw on a variety of readings, including the lecturer's own ethnography, to see that there has been more to citizenship than this.,

This is the final Spanish language course within the degree that will provide students with advanced comprehension and writing skills in general and specialised registers.

This is the final Spanish language course within the degree and will provide students with advanced comprehension and writing skills in general and specialised registers.

In this course we will study contemporary fictional representations of Spain, its present and past. We will focus on the theme of belonging in a country whose recent history was dominated by the imposition of cultural homogeneity. Spain has made a rapid transition to postmodern global society, immersed in the worldwide circuits of people, commerce and communications. Many recent fictions focus on the self's sense of belonging (or not belonging) to surrounding spaces, historical contexts and local communities.

This course engages in a broad-based analysis of the history, culture and politics of the state of California. It begins with the indigenous and Spanish colonial settlement of the region, followed by the period within the independent Mexican Republic, before California became one of the United States of America. More recent topics will include the fate of the Californios after Independence and mass immigration in the 20th century, especially from Mexico, as well as the status of the Spanish language in contemporary California. The course will include approaches from history, anthropology, cultural studies, and political science.

This course extends and refines students' practical translation skills from English into Spanish. It will also enable students to think critically about linguistic and cultural issues associated with translation from English into Spanish at an advanced level. Students will translate texts on a variety of topics using a variety of discourses; evaluate published translations; discuss, analyse and apply different translation strategies; produce critically-annotated translations and an evaluation of a published translation.

 

This course will study contemporary Spanish film with reference to both local references and global currents. Spanish artistic production, like all culture, is increasingly tuned into international circuits, where filmmakers find material and inspiration for their creations from a wide range of settings. Therefore, we will think of Spain as a crossroads, a meeting ground of different historical influences, connected to a global network of migrations and communications. In our readings of these films, we will ask how personal and collective subjectivity is defined in relation to both local and global contexts.