Department of Spanish UCDavis

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    SPANISH Course Descriptions


    Undergraduate - Upper Division - WINTER QUARTER  2008



    Spanish 100      Cristina Martínez-Carazo, Assoc. Professor
    (sec. 1 - MW 10:00-11:20 - 163 OLSON) CRN 41028
                                                                                       Discussion (MW 11:30-11:50 - 163 OLSON)
                               Linda Egan, Assoc. Professor (sec. 2 - TR 12:10-1:30 - 108 HOAGLAND) CRN 41029
                               Charles Oriel, Lecturer (sec. 3 - MWF 10:00-10:50 - 251 OLSON) CRN 41030                      


    Principles of Hispanic Literature and Criticism

    This course is an introduction to textual analysis with readings from Spanish and Spanish American literature and culture. The course will deal with basic genres: narrative, poetry, drama and essay and will provide students with the opportunity to acquire the basic technical vocabulary of the Hispanic literary and cultural critic.
    Lecture-3 hours; extensive writing or discussion-1 hour. Prerequisite: course 24 or 24S or 33.

    Textbooks: Check at the bookstore, books will vary with each section.


    Spanish 110    Charles Oriel, Lecturer (sec. 1 - MWF 2:10-3:00 - 101 OLSON) CRN 41031

    Advanced Spanish Composition
    Practice in expository writing with emphasis on clarity, structure and idiomatic expression, focusing on a variety of topical and practical issues.  Practical application and review of selected grammar topics
    Lecture-3 hours; frequent writing assignments.  Prerequisite: course 24, 24S or 33.

    Textbooks: Maria Dominicis and John Reynolds, Repase y escriba: curso avanzado de gramática y composición.


    Spanish 111N             Travis Bradley, Asst. Professor (sec. 1, MWF 1:10-2:00 - 101 OLSON) CRN 41032

    The Structure of Spanish: Sounds & Words
    This course provides an introduction to the sound system of Spanish.  After an initial overview of the goals of contemporary linguistic theory, we will explore how speech sounds are produced from an articulatory point of view.  By exploring the structuralist notions of phoneme versus allophone, complementary distribution versus free variation, and contrast versus neutralization, we will see how sounds are organized and represented as part of the linguistic competence of Spanish speakers.  The course also introduces generative phonology, which permits a deeper understanding of systematic, rule-governed nature sound patterns.  Throughout the course, theoretical and practical comparisons will be made with English and other Romance Languages as appropriate.
    Lecture-3 hours.  Prerequisite: Linguistics 1 and course 24, 24S or 33, or consent of instructor.

    Textbooks:  José Ignacio Hualde, Antzon Olarrea & Anna María Escobar, Introducción a la linguística hispánica.


    Spanish 118                Ann Delforge, Lecturer (sec. 1, MWF 9:00-9:50 - 147 OLSON) CRN 43389

    Spanish Dialectology
    In this class we will explore the tremendous dialectal diversity of the Spanish language.  We'll examine the phonetic, syntactic and lexical characteristics of major Spanish varieties of the Iberian Peninsula, and South America.  We will also discuss the role of historical factors, language contact and natural language change in the formation of these dialects.
    Lecture - 3 hours; term paper.  Prerequisites:  Linguistics 1.   Basic knowledge of Spanish phonetics and morphosyntax highly desirable.

    Textbook:  Course reader.


    Spanish 130     Samuel Armistead, Professor (sec. 1, TR 3:10-4:30 - 140 PHYGEO) CRN 41035

    Medieval
    A goal of the course is to familiarize the student with Spanish literature of the Middle Ages and its sociocultural background.  A survey of various masterworks, Cantar de Mio Cid, Berceo, Juan Ruiz, Celestina, the Romancero, will be presented in relation to the distinctive cultural traditions that coexisted in Spain (Christian, Muslim, Jewish).  At the conclusion of the quarter, the student should be able to read a text from the period and to identify its main characteristics, both from a literary and from a sociocultural point of view.  The assigned readings will also be an important tool in the enhancement of the students' vocabulary and syntactical repertoire.
    Lecture-3 hours.  Prerequisite:  course 100 or 100S.

    Textbook: A. Sánchez-Romeralo and F. Ibarra, Antología de autores españoles, Vol. I.


    Spanish 134A             Adrienne Martín, Assoc. Professor (sec. 1, TR 1:40-3:00 - 223 OLSON) CRN 43390

    Don Quijote
    Este curso parte de una lectura detallada de la primera parte de Don Quijote de la Mancha de Miguel de Cervantes. Analizaremos la novela en relación con la tradición literaria y los movimientos culturales renacentistas, situándola también en los contextos ideológico, sociológico y filosófico de la España del Siglo de Oro. El trabajo de clase consistiré en una interpretacón de la obra, con especial atención también a cómo la novela ha sido recreada en otras manifestaciones artísticas.
    Lecture-3 hours; term paper.  Prerequisite: course 100 or 100S.

    Texto: Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quijote; Lathrop, Don Quijote Dictionary.


    Spanish 137N   Marta Altisent, Assoc. Professor (sec. 1 - TR 3:10-4:30 - 1344 STORER) CRN 44085

    20th Century Spanish Fiction                                              
    This course will focus on the narratological aspects of  Spanish fiction in its historical development and cultural context.  We will analyze five novels and a selection of short stories from major Spanish authors which represent the evolution from traditional to more innovative and subversive modes, focusing on aspects such as authorial presence, status of narrative voice, setting, rhythm, tone, subjective vs. objective reception and feminine perspective, among others.  These works will serve as models for a variety of fictional modes (lyrical, fantasy narrative, metafiction, allegory and autobiographical novel).  The students will be responsible for a term paper (6-8 pages), 2 examinations and 1 oral presentation.
    Lecture-3 hours; term paper.  Prerequisite: course 100, 100S or 131N. 

    Textbooks: Miguel de Unamuno, Niebla; Carmen Laforet, Nada; Merce Rodoreda, La plaza del diamante; Ramón Sender, Réquiem por un campesino español; Juan José Millas, La soledad era esto.


    Spanish 142    Sam Armistead, Professor Lecture (sec. 1 - TR 6:10-7:30 - 261 OLSON) CRN  41038

    El libro de buen amor                                              
    El libro de buen amor, by Juan Ruiz, Archpriest of Hita, Steven V. Kirby (ed.) is one of the masterpieces of Medieval Spanish literature. Amusing, ambivalent, scandalous, and crucially important to an understanding of Hispanic culture and how it developed, El libro de buen amor, has evoked a variety of conflicting critical opinions. In this course, we will read a selection of key episodes and, hopefully, reach tentative conclusions about John Ruiz's artistic and didactic intent and the origins of this complex, enigmatic, and eminently important work.  The course will also provide practice in reading Medieval Spanish.
    Lecture-3 hours; term paper.  Prerequisite: course 100 or 100S.  May be repeated twice for credit when topic differs.

    Textbooks:  Steven V. Kirby (ed.), Libro de buen amor.


    Spanish 142  Marta Altisent, Assoc. Professor (sec. 2 - TR 7:30-8:50 a.m. - 1344 STORER) CRN 44086                   

    The Life and Works of Federico García Lorca
    This course will offer an overview of Federico García Lorca's work in its regional, historical and biographical context.  We will also consider Lorca's position in the emergence of the Spanish Avant-Garde renaissance or "Edad de Plata" in the 1920s and 1930s and the international resonance of his art; as well as the political readings of Lorca's literary iconography and biography (in the last 70 years).

    We will analyze three of Lorca's most representative plays, more than 30 poems selected from Lorca's early poemaries, "El romancero Gitano" and "Poeta en Nueva York"; and Lorca's essays on creative writing.
    Lecture-3 hours; term paper.  Prerequisite: course 100 or 100S.  May be repeated twice for credit when topic differs.

    Textbooks:  Federico García Lorca, Antología poética; Federico García Lorca, Yerma; Federico García Lorca, La zapatera prodigiosa; Federico García Lorca, Bodas de sangre; Federico García Lorca, Doña Rosita la soltera.


    Spanish 148  Cristina Martínez-Carazo, Asst. Professor (sec. 1- MWF 12:10-1:00 - 205 OLSON) CRN 43391
                                                                         Film Viewing (W 6:10-9:00 p.m. - 205 OLSON)
                        

    Cinema in the Spanish-Speaking World in Translation
    This course will analyze the construction of Spanish identity and the socio-historical events that have shaped it through film.  The selection of movies and texts presented in this class will help the students to improve their ability to read films aesthetically, culturally, and historically.  Cultural aspects such as gender differences, the role of women in Spanish society, the political situation, social structures, economical aspects, power institutions, religion - will be studied through movies.  The emphasis will be on the cultural information illustrated by these films.  No prior knowledge of cinematography techniques and principles will be required.
    Lecture-3 hours; film viewing-3 hours.  Prerequisite: 24, 24S or 33.
    GE credit: ArtHum, Div.

    Textbooks:  Barry Jordan and Mark Allison, Spanish Cinema: A Student's Guide.


    Spanish 151N             Ana Peluffo, Assoc. Professor (sec. 1, TR 9:00-10:20 - 223 OLSON) CRN 41040

    Survey of Spanish-American Literature to 1900 to Present
    In this course we will study the history of Latin American literature from the time of modernization, at the turn of the nineteenth century, to the last two decades of the twentieth century.  Particular attention will be given to the socio-historical contexts in which essays, short stories, and poems from different cultural areas of Latin America, were produced.  Topics to be discussed include: discourses of gender, national identity and ethnicity; the relationship between literature and politics; and the interaction between literature and the other arts.
    Lecture-3 hours; discussion-1 hour. Prerequisite: course 100 or 100S.

    Textbooks: There will be a class reader.


    Spanish 153             Ana Peluffo, Assoc. Professor (sec. 1, TR 12:10-1:30 - 1 WELLMAN) CRN 43405

    The Latin American Short Story
    This course will examine formal and ideological aspects of the Latin American short story while tracing its genealogy. We will do close readings of representative works by authors such as Horacio Quiroga, José Martí, Silvina Ocampo, Jorge Luis Borges, Julio Cortázar, Juan Bosch, and Juan Rulfo, among others. We will also read essays by practitioners who have reflected, in their theoretical writings, about the cultural and political implications of the form. Topics to be discussed include: literature and visual arts, civilization and barbarism, and the ways in which the short story is used to construct identity.
    Lecture-3 hours; term paper.  Prerequisite: course 100 or 100S.

    Textbooks: There will be a class reader.


    Spanish 157    Michael Lazzara, Asst. Professsor (sec. 1 - TR 10:30-11:50 - 223 OLSON) CRN 43392

    20TH Century Masters in Spanish-American Literature: Identidades latinoamericanas: utopías y distopías estáticas
    How can we tackle intellectually the question of "Latin America" and its identity/ies? How have writers imagined and constructed the idea of Latin America throughout the 20th century and into the 21st? This course will examine the complexity of these questions, taking into account the heterogeneity of voices that speak to us as Latin American. Through the study of a wide range of cultural objects (short stories, novels, poems, essays and films) we will seek to understand how the question of identity bridges onto related topics such as social class, race, ethnicity, gender and ideology. Among the critical concepts that will frame our readings are mestizaje, hibridez, transculturación, utopía and distopía. Readings will include selections from authors such as Julia de Burgos, José; Martí, José; Vasconcelos, Pablo Neruda, Enrique Lihn, Octavio Paz, José María Arguedas, Ernesto Che Guevara, Clarice Lispector, Fernando Vallejo, Diamela Eltit and Gabriel García Márquez.
    Lecture-3 hours; term paper. Prerequisite: course 100 or 100S.

    Textbooks:  Clarice Lispector, La hora de la estrella; Fernando Vallejo, El desbarrancadero; Ernesto Che Guevara, Diarios de motocicleta: Notas de viaje; Gabriel García Márquez, Cien años de soledad.   A Course Reader containing a few supplementary readings will be available at Davis Copy Shop.


    Spanish 170  Robert Irwin, Assoc. Professor (sec. 1 - TR 1:40-3:00 - 205 OLSON) CRN 43393                      

    Latin American Culture: El recurso de la cultura en México: Industrias culturales, política cultural, participación cultural
    This course explores the deployments of culture and dynamics of cultural struggles in the 20th century, with a special focus on Mexico from 1925 to 1975.  It applies cultural theory to some of the most memorable examples of Mexican cultural production and participation in that period.  It focuses on Mexico's cultural industries: Golden Age cinema (the films of Emilio "el Indio" Fernández), comic books (La familia Burrón), and television (the classic telenovela, Los ricos también lloran) as artistic as well as commercial and political phenomena.  It looks at state sponsored culture as seen in postrevolutionary muralism, as well as the relationship between high art and popular culture, through the expression of Frida Kahlo.  Culture's function as a social resource is seen in examples that originate not only from mass media, but from the direct participation of the masses, as is the case of the popular spiritual icon, el Niño Fidencio.  Although set firmly within a Mexican context, the class also takes into account the international impact of Mexican culture, and the changes that occur in processes of cultural signification as Mexican culture is reterritorialized abroad.
    Lecture-3 hours; term paper.  Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.
    GE credit: ArtHum, Div.

    Textbooks:  There will be a Course Reader.


    Spanish 174  Francisco Alarcón, Lecturer (MWF 11:00-11:50 - 206 OLSON) 
                                                            Discussion
    (sec. A01 - M 3:10-4:00 - 148 PHYGEO) CRN 43394
                                                           Discussion (sec. A02 - W 3:10-4:00 - 146 ROBBINS) CRN 43395
                                                          Discussion
    (sec. A03 - W 4:10-5:00 - 146 ROBBINS) CRN 43396
                                                         Discussion
    (sec. A04 - F 1:20-2:00 - 261 OLSON) CRN 43397
                                                        Discussion (sec. A05 - F 2:10-3:00 - 261 OLSON) CRN 43398              

    Chicano Culture                                           
    An interdisciplinary survey of Chicano culture. Topics include literature, art, folklore, oral tradition, music, politics, as well as "everyday" cultural manifestations. The course is conducted in Spanish. This is a survey of the culture of the Mexican people from the pre-Hispanic period to the present. Pre-Hispanic concepts, myths, symbols, and legends present in Chicano culture are traced to their Mexican origins. The concept of Fifth Sun, Luis Valdez's "Pensamiento Serpentino," the myths of Quetzalcoatl and Aztlán, and the Aztec homeland are examined, as well as the Mesoamerican concept of self and time. The period of conquest of Mexico by Spain is examined, both as presented by historians and interpreted by Octavio Paz in his book, El laberinto de la soleded. The turmoil of the first half of the nineteenth century in Mexico and implications of the annexation of the southwest to the U.S., by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 are studied. Also examined are the origins of the stereotypes of the Mexican/Chicano found in American society, such as the pocho, the pachuco, and the cholo. The literary and artistic expressions of the Chicano Movement of the past twenty-five years are also analyzed as part of this course. 

    The course format consists of lectures by the instructor, occasional guest speakers, screening of a few films and class discussions based on the assigned readings. A term paper is a course requirement. This research paper should be on a topic illustrating an aspect of Chicano culture. Students are required to attend a one-hour discussion session every week.
    Lecture-3 hours; term paper/discussion-1 hour. Prerequisite: course 24, 24S or 33.
    GE credit: ArtHum, Div.

    Textbooks: Octavio Paz, El Laberinto de la Soledad; Gloria Anzaluda, Borderlands/ La Frontera: The New Mestiza; Tomás Rivera, Y no se lo trago la tierra; Francisco Alarcón, From the other Side of Night / Del otro lado de la noche: New and Selected Poems; Manuel Martín-Rodríguez, La voz urgente: antología de la literatura chicano en español.


    Spanish 198  Ernesto Ortíz-Díaz, Graduate Student (MWF 2:10-3:00 - 267 OLSON) CRN 41087                      

    Portuguese for Spanish Speaking Students
    This is a Portuguese language course for qualified Spanish-speaking students. During this course students will learn basic principles of the Portuguese grammar with emphasis on oral expression, vocabulary expansion, and writing in the context of cultural and literary readings.

    Textbooks: Klobucka, et al, Ponto de Encontro: Portuguese as a World Language (Student Edition); Klobucka, et al, Ponto de Encontro: Portuguese as a World Language (Video/DVD).

    618 Sproul Hall - Phone: (530) 752-0835 - Email: ljbarrera@ucdavis.edu (Laura Barrera)
    UCDavis - UCDavis Undergraduate Admissions - College of Letters and Science - Languages & Literatures