Courses

We tell stories for many reasons: to entertain; to seduce; to complain; to think. This course draws upon the literatures and cultures of the romance languages to explore the role of narrative in our construction and understanding of the world.

Full details for ROMS 1102 - FWS: The Craft of Storytelling

What kind of information do images - in photography, painting, and/or film - convey?  What kind of impact do they have on the minds and the bodies of their audiences?  This course foregrounds the role of visual culture in the societies where Spanish, French, Portuguese, and/or Italian is spoken, and it asks students to dwell upon how visual material interacts with spoken and written language.

Full details for ROMS 1109 - FWS: Image and Imagination

Some of the most important and intriguing thinkers, from the Middle Ages to postmodernity, have done their thinking in the romance languages.  This course explores a body of work that would be called philosophical by some, theoretical by others, and that, beyond these names, struggles to articulate fundamental concepts, problems, discourses, and situations.

Full details for ROMS 1113 - FWS: Thinking and Thought

In this class, students will learn about animal welfare and conservation through international films. We will discuss wildlife, companion and farm animals in conjunction with human cultures and politics. The course will cover various animal species, e.g. pangolins, dogs and sheep in fiction films, documentaries and animated movies. Students will learn how to compose film reviews, do research and write a research assignment. The class includes guest speakers, a visit to Cornell barn, library and museum. All films are available for streaming through Blackboard for students to watch them in their free time.

Full details for ROMS 1120 - FWS: Animals in Global Cinema: Human and Nonhuman

Topic:  Simone de Beauvoir & Moral Philosophy.

Full details for ROMS 4261 - Topics in 20th C. Philosophy

This seminar explores Latin American political violence since the 1970s, focusing on the role technology played in internal conflicts called "Dirty Wars," in which the state employed extrajudicial violence to halt leftist or communist "subversion." These responses by police, military, and paramilitary groups left hundreds of thousands of civilians dead. Reports from large-scale investigations called truth commissions, first-person testimonies, fiction, and films underscore the employment of technology in these conflicts—electrical torture, the destruction of electrical towers, foreign-made weapons and vehicles, and seizures of media stations and newspapers. The seminar emphasizes the history of technology in human rights violations more broadly, from the 1994 Rwandan genocide to the United States' responses to extremism after 9/11. For longer description and instructor bio, visit societyhumanities.as.cornell.edu/courses

Full details for ROMS 4641 - Technologies of Power in Latin American Dirty Wars

This course explores the philosophical concept of biopolitics and its diverse translations and/or adaptations across multiple disciplines and across the globe (Africa, Far East, South East Asia, and the Americas). We will trace the concept of biopolitics and its attendant notions-Biopower, Sovereignty, Governmentality-as they emerge in the work of Michel Foucault and analyze the multiple disciplinary and geographical directions in which they have travelled. Throughout the semester, we shall examine 1. the innovative thinking around biopolitics in the works of Arendt, Esposito, Agamben, Hardt and Negri, 2. the connections and entanglements of the concept with postcolonial theory in Mbembe, Samaddar, Sakai, Mezzadra, 3. the extension and complication of biopolitical logistics over to non-human bodies in Uexküll, Sloterdijk, Wolfe, Shukin. Additionally, we will examine theorizations of new stylistics of power as well as emerging forms of agency and political organizing in the biopolitical sphere. Key terms include race, postcoloniality, animality, capture, embodiment, agency, technology.

Full details for ROMS 4944 - Biopolitics: New Directions

This practicum is designed to better enable the TAs to meet the needs of their students in the understanding and acquisition of the linguistic forms, notions, and functions covered in their course.

Full details for ROMS 5080 - Pedagogy Practicum

Designed to give insight into how to formulate projects, conduct research, and publish one's work, the colloquium offers a venue for faculty-graduate student dialogue in a collegial, intellectual setting.  Meetings are biweekly, 2-3 hours, and are open to all students and faculty in Romance Studies, but required for first year students in the program.  Each meeting, two faculty members will be invited to discuss their scholarship and also a short text of their choice, to be distributed beforehand.

Full details for ROMS 6100 - Romance Studies Colloquium

Topic: Simone de Beauvoir & Moral Philosophy.

Full details for ROMS 6261 - Topics in 20th C. Philosophy

This seminar investigates the productive relationship that ties literary criticism to media studies in the North-American and European humanities—for the latter we will especially focus on the German-language context. We will trace the exchange that in recent decades has drawn on literature as a heuristic point of reference for appraising the rhetorical performativity and ideological effects of communication in both analog and digital media. In so doing we will develop a cross-disciplinary framework for examining the evolving relation between literary practices, technological developments, and conceptions of media within significant historical junctures and by drawing on influential methodological paradigms. Topics include reading and writing as cultural techniques and as spatialized processing of text/image dynamics; literary practice, materiality, and embodiment; Critical Theory and the digital humanities.

Full details for ROMS 6481 - Literature, Media, Form

This seminar explores Latin American political violence since the 1970s, focusing on the role technology played in internal conflicts called "Dirty Wars," in which the state employed extrajudicial violence to halt leftist or communist "subversion." These responses by police, military, and paramilitary groups left hundreds of thousands of civilians dead. Reports from large-scale investigations called truth commissions, first-person testimonies, fiction, and films underscore the employment of technology in these conflicts—electrical torture, the destruction of electrical towers, foreign-made weapons and vehicles, and seizures of media stations and newspapers. The seminar emphasizes the history of technology in human rights violations more broadly, from the 1994 Rwandan genocide to the United States' responses to extremism after 9/11. For longer description and instructor bio, visit societyhumanities.as.cornell.edu/courses.

Full details for ROMS 6641 - Technologies of Power in Latin American Dirty Wars

This course will examine Giorgio Agamben's recently completed nine-volume Homo Sacer project. Beginning with Homo Sacer: Sovereign Power and Bare Life (1995) and ending with The Use of Bodies (2015) we will follow Agamben's thought as it addresses such topics as biopolitics, the legal order, political theology, oikonomia, work and inoperativity, form-of-life, and others. We will also read Agamben in relation to a number of his influences and interlocutors, such as Arendt, Benjamin, Benveniste, Derrida, Foucault, Heidegger, Kantorowicz, and Schmitt. 

Full details for ROMS 6739 - Agamben's Homo Sacer

This course explores the philosophical concept of biopolitics and its diverse translations and/or adaptations across multiple disciplines and across the globe (Africa, Far East, South East Asia, and the Americas). We will trace the concept of biopolitics and its attendant notions—Sovereignty, Governmentality—as they emerge in the work of Michel Foucault and analyze the multiple disciplinary and geographical directions in which they have travelled. Throughout the semester, we shall examine 1) the innovative thinking around biopolitics in the works of Arendt, Esposito, Agamben, Hardt and Negri, Wolfe, 2) the connections and entanglements of the concept with postcolonial theory/black studies in Mbembe, Weheliye, Comaroff, Mezzadra, 3) the extension and complication of biopolitics in gender, feministand sexuality studies, and new media studies.  Ultimately, we will examine theorizations of new stylistics of power as well as emerging forms of agency and political organizing in the biopolitical sphere. Key terms include race, postcoloniality, feminism, agency, and new media.

Full details for ROMS 6944 - Biopolitics: New Directions

FREN 1210-FREN 1220 is a two-semester sequence.  FREN 1210 is the first half of the sequence designed to provide a thorough grounding in French language and an introduction to intercultural competence.  French is used in contextualized, meaningful activities to provide practice in speaking, listening, reading, and writing.  Development of analytical skills for grammar leads students toward greater autonomy as language learners.  Students develop their writing skills by writing and editing compositions.  Readings are varied and include literary texts.  Daily preparation and active participation are required.

Full details for FREN 1210 - Elementary French

FREN 1230 is an all-skills course designed to improve oral communication, listening comprehension, and reading ability; to establish a groundwork for correct writing; and to provide a substantial grammar review. The approach in the course encourages the student to see the language within the context of its culture.

Full details for FREN 1230 - Continuing French

This intermediate conversation and composition French course is designed for students interested in business fields such as Hospitality, Business Management, and Marketing, those looking for an internship or a job in French-speaking businesses or students interested in exploring the language and cultures of the French-speaking business world.  The course will focus on improving oral and written skills through the acquisition of specific vocabulary and the review of essential grammatical structures commonly used in business.  Students will use authentic written, visual and listening materials and engage in interactive activities relevant to the professional world and its intercultural dimension.

Full details for FREN 2080 - French for Business

This intermediate-level course is designed for students who want to focus on their speaking and writing skills. Emphasis is placed on strengthening of grammar skills, expansion of vocabulary and discourse levels to increase communicative fluency and accuracy. The course also provides continued reading and listening practice as well as development of effective language learning strategies.

Full details for FREN 2090 - French Intermediate Composition and Conversation I

This one-credit course is focused on oral communication in French; to take this course students must be concurrently enrolled in FREN 2090.  Because the course is designed especially to encourage students to study abroad in France, it focuses on the colloquial use of French in that country.

Full details for FREN 2091 - Oral Practice for Study Abroad

This advanced-intermediate course is highly recommended for students planning to study abroad as it aims to develop the writing and speaking skills needed to function in a French speaking university environment.  A comprehensive review of fundamental and advanced grammatical structures is integrated with the study of selected texts (short stories, literary excerpts, poems, articles from French periodicals, videos) all chosen for thematic or cultural interest.  Students write weekly papers, participate in class discussions of the topics at hand, and give at least one oral presentation in class.

Full details for FREN 2095 - French Intermediate Composition and Conversation II

In this course, furthering oral communication skills and writing skills is emphasized.  A comprehensive review of fundamental and advanced grammatical structures is integrated with short stories, literary excerpts, videos, poems, and articles from French magazines or newspapers, all chosen for thematic or cultural interest.  Students write weekly papers (essays and translations), have daily conversations focusing on the topics at hand, and give at last one presentation in class. This course is highly recommended for students planning to study abroad in a French speaking university.

Full details for FREN 2180 - Advanced French

This course, designed to follow FREN 2095, introduces students to an array of literary and visual material from the French and Francophone world.  It aims to develop students' proficiency in critical writing and thinking, as well as presenting students with the vocabulary and tools of literary and visual analysis.  Each section of FREN 2310 will have a different focus-for example, colonialism and the other, or the importance of women and sexual minorities in French and Francophone history, performance in literature and film, or image and narrative-but all sections of FREN 2310 will emphasize through writing assignments and in-class discussions, the development of those linguistic and conceptual tools necessary for cultural and critical fluency.

Full details for FREN 2310 - Introduction to French and Francophone Literature and Culture

In the turbulent and violent years from 1789 to 1815, France experienced virtually every form of government known to the modern world. This course explores the rapidly changing political landscape of this extraordinary period as well as the evolution of Revolutionary culture (the arts, theater, songs, fashion, the cult of the guillotine, attitudes towards gender and race). Whenever possible, we will use texts and images produced by the Revolutionaries themselves.

Full details for FREN 2860 - The French Revolution

This 1-credit optional course aims to expand the students' vocabulary, and advance their speaking and reading skills as well as enhance their knowledge and deepen their cultural understanding by supplementing non-language courses throughout the University.

Full details for FREN 3020 - French Foreign Language Across the Curriculum (FLAC)

Part theory, part textual analysis, and part creative writing, this course aims to help students develop a richer, more nuanced understanding and command of both the spoken and written language.  As students refine their understanding of style and learn techniques for characterizing stylistic varieties, they apply these concepts both to the reading of a singular (and yet very plural) literary text.  Raymond Queneau's Exercices de style, and to the writing of new exercices de style of their own.  We also consider the relevance of stylistics to translation and of translation to Queneau's text.  Seminar-style participation in class discussions and activities is expected.

Full details for FREN 3120 - French Stylistics

A survey of literary and cultural creations from the Francophone world, this course will explore the representations of the long and complex relationship-colonial, postcolonial, of wars and migrations-between Algeria and France through diverse aesthetic works (novels, short stories, films, visual arts, poetry, graphic novels, music). With a special emphasis on questions of race, gender, exile and acculturation, as well as on the interplay between individual and collective memory, we will also focus on art, humor and creativity.  Cultural productions by Taos Amrouche, Kadar Attia, Baya, Maïssa Bey, Albert Camus, Hélène Cixous, Mohammed Dib, Tahar Djaout, Assia Djebaar, Frantz Fanon, Médine, Ernest Pignon-Ernest, Leila Sebbar, Joann Sfar, René Vautier and Kateb Yacine will be considered, among others.

Full details for FREN 3410 - Between Two Shores: Algeria/France

Beginning in the early days of silent cinema, a rich tradition of what are called "city films," combines technological innovation with the exploration of specific urban spaces.  Students in this class will learn how to think about the possibilities of limits of cinema as a way of "knowing" a city and its cultures, including linguistic cultures.  This course will be offered in English and is open to all students.  The focus will be on the relationship between the cinema and the development of urban centers, including Madrid, Rome, Paris, Barcelona, Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, and Venice.  Films will be shown outside of regular class meeting times, in the original languages with English subtitles.

Full details for FREN 3485 - Cinematic Cities

Full details for FREN 3565 - Nasty Women: The Politics of Misogyny in Ancient France

Practice makes perfect, the old saying goes, but the nature of that connection remains opaque.  This course, conducted in English and intended as a sequel to FREN 3540 - On Paying Attention, gives students the opportunity to engage with everyday material and spiritual practices, and to reflect upon the kids of things these practices "make."  What is the place of routine and repetition in our lives?  How can we open a conversation about our habits?  We'll look for models to the long history of writing on the subject, largely but not exclusively by Christian thinkers (e.g. Augustine, Benedict, Aelred, Francis, Ignatius), even as we develop new ways of accounting for, and developing, the practices that make our lives meaningful.  Artists, athletes, and introverts especially welcome.

Full details for FREN 3770 - On Practice and Perfection

When Jean-Jacques Rousseau introduced the concept of the "general will" in his classic text The Social Contract, he made what was then an unprecedented and scandalous claim: that the people as a whole, and not an individual agent, could be the subject of political will and self-determination.  This claim was all the more revolutionary in that historically "the people" [ie peuple] named those poor masses who had no political representation, and who were subjects of the state only to the extent that they were subject to the will of a sovereign monarch.  What then is "the people," and how is it constituted as a collective subject?  How does a people speak, or make its will known?  Can that will be represented or institutionalized?  Do all people belong to the people?  How inclusive is the social contract?  This course will examine crucial moments in the constitution of the people from the French Revolution to the present day, considering the crisis of political representation they have alternately exposed or engendered and the forms of the social contract to which they have given rise.  Our discussions will range from major political events (the French and Haitian Revolutions, the Paris Commune, colonialism and decolonization, May '68) to contemporary debates around universalism, secularism, immigration, and "marriage for all."  Readings by Rousseau, Robespierre, L'Ouverture, Michelet, Marx, Freud, Arendt, Balibar, and Rancière.

Full details for FREN 3780 - What is a People? The Social Contract and its Discontents

Guided independent study of special topics.

Full details for FREN 4190 - Special Topics in French Literature

Consult director of undergraduate studies for more information.

Full details for FREN 4290 - Honors Work in French

The course will propose a parallel reading of some of the most famous texts of romantic literature with texts less known in order to develop and challenge both the canon of literary history but also to extend the field of romantic studies beyond purely literary concerns and geographies.  Taking as a starting point Harold Bloom's famous definition of Romanticism as "the internalization of romance, particularly of the quest" we propose to scrutinize some of these canonical works.  Texts to be read could include Stendhal's Le rouge et le noir, Germaine de Staël's Corinne ou l'Italie, Chateaubriand's Atala, Flora Tristan PéIrégrinations d'une noir, George Sand's Indiana, Suzanne Voilquin, Mémoires d une fille du peuple en Egypte,  Louise Michel's L'ère nouvelle.

Full details for FREN 4745 - Romantic Quests, Imperial Conquests

In this course we will focus on a number of writers, d'ici ou d'ailleurs-from here and elsewhere- for whom French remains, beyond their mother tongue, the other tongue.  There is a name for these writers: exophonic.  From the Greek words exo-outside, and phonic-voice.  Writers who, bilingual or multilingual, have deliberately chosen (sometimes forced) to write in French, inventing what Edouard Glissant has qualified as "hybrid writings."  Drawing on three overlapping concepts-language, identity and memory-we will explore furthermore notions such as mother tongue, foreign language, monolingualism, bilingualism, multilingualism, creoleness, hybridity or translation (transfer), self-translation and untranslatable, trying to get a little closer to the crative process at the origin of the act of writing, through textx by Vassilis Alexakis, Samuel Beckett, François Cheng, Gilles Deleuze, Assia Djebar, Jacques Derrida, Marguerite Duras, Abdelfattah Kilito, Lise Gauvin, Julien Green, Nancy Huston, Pascl Quingnard, Zahia Rahmani, and Régine Robin, among others, as well as documentaries by Nurit Aviv, Robert Bober and Georges Perec.

Full details for FREN 4910 - Fictions of the Mother Tongue

Guided independent study for graduate students.

Full details for FREN 6390 - Special Topics in French Literature

This course offers an opportunity to read (in French) some large sections of Marcel Proust's celebrated masterwork À larecherche du temps perdu. We'll read extensive excerpts from every single volume of La recherché. Questions of reflexive interpretation will also be pursued through a study of some key essays on Proust. 

Full details for FREN 6830 - Marcel Proust: In Search of Lost Time

This introductory course provides a thorough grounding in all the language skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing, with practice in small groups.

Full details for ITAL 1110 - Elementary Italian In Rome I

Full details for ITAL 1113 - FWS: Writing Italy, Writing the Self: Jewish-Italian Lit and the Long 20th Century

This introductory course provides a thorough grounding in all the language skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing, with practice in small groups.

Full details for ITAL 1120 - Elementary Italian In Rome II

ITAL 1201 is a fast-paced, introductory-level course, designed for students with no previous knowledge of Italian.  Students will be guided in developing four language skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) in the context of everyday topics (school, housing, travel personal preferences, simple exchanges about past, future and possible events, etc.).  They will also be introduced to culturally acceptable modes of oral and written communication in Italian, some fundamentals of Italian history, and select current social and political issues.

Full details for ITAL 1201 - Italian I

This is an all-skills course designed to improve speaking and reading ability, establish a groundwork for correct writing, and provide a substantial grammar review.

Full details for ITAL 2110 - Italian Intermediate Composition and Conversation I in Rome

This course provides a review of composition, reading, pronunciation, and grammar review, as well as guided practice in conversation.  It emphasizes the development of accurate and idiomatic expression in the language.

Full details for ITAL 2130 - Italian Intermediate Composition and Conversation II in Rome

An intermediate-level course that aims to further develop intercultural, reading, listening, speaking, and writing abilities.   Students will be guided in perfecting their communications skills, improving their cultural proficiency, and developing a critical eye toward printed and visual material drawn from literature, history, politics, arts in the Italophone world.  Conversation skills will be practiced in daily discussions and in individual or group projects and presentations.  A variety of written assignments will help students increase the range, accuracy, and stylistic appropriateness of their writing.  Review of  select grammar topics is part of this course, as is reading parts of contemporary novels.

Full details for ITAL 2201 - Italian III

This course aims to introduce students to Italian literature mainly through readings in prose and poetry from the 20th and 21st century. The course includes significant practice in grammar, vocabulary building, and composition. Course Topic: Living Together in a multicultural society. Our principal reading will be Scontro di civiltà per un ascensore a piazza Vittorio, a 2006 award-winning novel by Algerian-Italian writer Amara Lakhous who came to Italy in 1995 as a political refugee; with this novel, he invites Italian readers to examine their 21st-century reality through the eyes of the immigrant.

Full details for ITAL 2203 - Languages/Literatures/Identities

Topics for FA19: Dante's Inferno.  This 2-credit course will introduce students to sustained study of one Italian masterpiece (a literary, philosophical, historical, or scientific work, or a major achievement in the visual, performance, or media arts).

Full details for ITAL 2240 - One Italian Masterpiece I

Between 1880 and 1920, 4 million Italians moved to the United States in search of better fortunes. As a result, today there are 17 million US citizens of Italian descent, among them famed artists and celebrities such as Martin Scorsese, John Turturro, Madonna, and Lady Gaga.  Italian-Americans have left their mark on art, food, music, cinema, and television, creating a new vibrant culture. In this course, we will look at different cultural products that result from this cultural hybridity, chronicling the Italian-American journey from Ellis Island to show business.  The examined texts will include novels, memoirs and films, with particular emphasis on the work of female authors such as Helen Barolini, Kym Ragusa, and Louise de Salvo. Throughout the course, we will grapple with questions of gender and race, hybridity and identity, and we will explore the linguistic and visual strategies used by the authors to suggest a feeling of displacement.

Full details for ITAL 2400 - The Italian-American Experience

Full details for ITAL 3020 - Italian Practicum

This 1-credit optional course aims to expand the students' vocabulary, and advance their speaking and reading skills as well as enhance their knowledge and deepen their cultural understanding by supplementing non-language courses throughout the University.

Full details for ITAL 3050 - Italian Foreign Language Across the Curriculum (FLAC)

This 2-credit course will introduce students to sustained study of one Italian masterpiece (a literary, philosophical, historical, or scientific work, or a major achievement in the visual, performance, or media arts).

Full details for ITAL 3240 - One Italian Masterpiece II

Beginning in the early days of silent cinema, a rich tradition of what are called "city films," combines technological innovation with the exploration of specific urban spaces.  Students in this class will learn how to think about the possibilities of limits of cinema as a way of "knowing" a city and its cultures, including linguistic cultures.  This course will be offered in English and is open to all students.  The focus will be on the relationship between the cinema and the development of urban centers, including Madrid, Rome, Paris, Barcelona, Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, and Venice.  Films will be shown outside of regular class meeting times, in the original languages with English subtitles.

Full details for ITAL 3485 - Cinematic Cities

Guided independent study of special topics.

Full details for ITAL 4190 - Special Topics in Italian Literature

Consult director of undergraduate studies for more information.

Full details for ITAL 4290 - Honors in Italian Literature

Guided independent study for graduate students.

Full details for ITAL 6390 - Special Topics in Italian Literature

In this course, students work on their ability to speak, write, read, and understand contemporary Polish. Students will also develop their intercultural competency. The instructor uses communicative language teaching with emphasis on structured input. Students use the textbook and workbook "Hurra! Po polsku 1" supplemented by Polish-English chapter dictionaries. This class covers chapters 0-9. If a student is not sure of his or her language level, he or she can contact the Polish instructor, Ewa Bachminska, at eb583@cornell.edu.

Full details for POLSH 1131 - Elementary Polish I

In this course, students work on their ability to speak, write, read, and understand contemporary Polish. Students will also develop their intercultural competency. The instructor uses communicative language teaching with emphasis on structured input. Students use the textbook and workbook "Hurra! Po polsku 1" supplemented by Polish-English chapter dictionaries. This class covers chapters 10-20. If a student is not sure of his or her language level, he or she can contact the Polish instructor, Ewa Bachminska, at eb583@cornell.edu.

Full details for POLSH 1132 - Elementary Polish II

In this course, students continue working on their ability to speak, write, read, and understand contemporary Polish.  Students will also enhance their intercultural competency.  The instructor uses communicative language teaching with emphasis on structured input.  Students use the textbook and workbook "Hurra!  Po polsku 2" supplemented by Polish-English chapter dictionaries.  This class covers chapters 1-10.  If a student is not sure of his or her language level, he or she can contact the Polish instructor, Ewa Bachminska, at eb583@cornell.edu.

Full details for POLSH 2033 - Intermediate Polish I

In this course, students continue working on their ability to speak, write, read, and understand contemporary Polish.  Students will also enhance their intercultural competency.  The instructor uses communicative language teaching with emphasis on structured input.  Students use the textbook and workbook "Hurra!  Po polsku 2" supplemented by Polish-English chapter dictionaries.  This class covers chapters 11-20.  If a student is not sure of his or her language level, he or she can contact the Polish instructor, Ewa Bachminska, at eb583@cornell.edu.

Full details for POLSH 2034 - Intermediate Polish II

In this class, students master their language skills: oral communication, listening and reading comprehension as well as creative and formal writing.  Students also deepen their cultural competence.  Classroom discussions include issues of contemporary Poland and various aspects of Polish culture.  Students have writing assignments and one oral presentation in class.

Full details for POLSH 2103 - Advanced Polish I

PORT 2010-2020 is a full year course intended for students who have already taken the first level of Portuguese, or as an intensive introductory course for those who are native/near native speakers of Spanish.  An all-skills course with particular emphasis on Brazilian Portuguese spoken within the contexts of its culture, it presents a fast-paced review focused on improving grammatical accuracy, pronunciation and on enriching vocabulary.

Full details for PORT 2010 - Intermediate Brazilian Portuguese for Spanish Speakers I

Intended for students who have already taken the first level of Portuguese, or as an intensive introductory course for those who are native/near native speakers of Spanish.* An all-skills course with particular emphasis on Brazilian Portuguese spoken within the contexts of its culture, it presents a fast-paced review focused on improving grammatical accuracy, pronunciation and on enriching vocabulary.

Full details for PORT 2020 - Intermediate Brazilian Portuguese for Spanish Speakers II

While building language proficiency and accuracy through communicative activities, the course encourages students to actively interact with one another. The instructor facilitates communication and provides feedback and language learning strategies that guide students to take responsibility for their own learning and become active participants in the process. The course also introduces students to the many peoples and cultures of the Spanish-speaking world, prompting them to make comparisons with their own culture. Additionally, lectures provide students with opportunities to reflect on relevant grammar topics and assist students in developing language learning strategies. Class discussions are conducted entirely in Spanish. After SPAN 1120, students may take SPAN 1230, SPAN 2070, or SPAN 2090 depending on their LPS score at the end of the course.

Full details for SPAN 1120 - Elementary Spanish: Review and Continuation

While building language proficiency and accuracy through communicative activities, the course encourages students to actively interact with one another. The instructor facilitates communication and provides feedback and language learning strategies that guide students to take responsibility of their own learning and become active participants in the process. The course also introduces students to the many peoples and cultures of the Spanish-speaking world, prompting them to make comparisons with their own culture. Additionally, lectures provide students with opportunities to reflect on relevant grammar topics and assist students in developing language learning strategies. Class discussions are conducted entirely in Spanish. After 1210 students may take SPAN 1120 (fall) or SPAN 1220 (spring).

Full details for SPAN 1210 - Elementary Spanish I

The goal of this low-intermediate course is to achieve a higher level of comprehension as well as to advance oral and written expression in a cultural context. Classes are in Spanish and the language is actively used in communicative and creative activities. Students engage in linguistic and literary analysis of texts to acquire new vocabulary, complete analytical exercises, and develop reading strategies. Students continue developing writing skills through composition, and review grammatical structures independently with some clarification by the instructor as needed. After this course, students may take SPAN 2000, SPAN 2070, or SPAN 2090.

Full details for SPAN 1230 - Continuing Spanish

This innovative course focuses on oral communication in Spanish for students who will do special projects abroad or short term study abroad trips.  Emphasis is placed on developing speaking and listening skills and strategies in a culturally relevant context.  It is intended for students with limited or no knowledge of Spanish and active class participation is required.

Full details for SPAN 1501 - Strategies for Spanish Abroad

Designed to expand bilingual Heritage students' knowledge of Spanish by providing them with ample opportunities to develop and improve each of the basic language skills, with a particular focus on writing vocabulary. The heritage student has at least one parent of Hispanic origin and grew up speaking Spanish at home; s/he also finished high school here in the US. After this course students may take SPAN 2140, SPAN 2150, SPAN 2170, or SPAN 2095.

Full details for SPAN 2000 - Spanish for Heritage Speakers

This intermediate course develops accurate and idiomatic oral and written expression in a cultural context. Students achieve a higher level of syntactical and lexical competence through reading and discussing literary texts and viewing films. Particular emphasis is on writing and editing academic essays with peer/instructor feedback. Classes are in Spanish and the language is actively used in oral presentations and communicative, creative, and critical-thinking activities. Students review grammar structures on their own, with clarification and support of the instructor. After this course, students may take SPAN 2140, SPAN 2150, SPAN 2170, or SPAN 2095.

Full details for SPAN 2090 - Intermediate Spanish I (Composition and Conversation)

This advanced-intermediate course is designed to prepare students for study abroad and is required for any Cornell CASA program in a Spanish speaking country.  It also serves as an entryway into the major, and advanced-level courses. Students study stylistics, analyze and discuss texts, view films, and acquire advanced reading strategies. Continued emphasis is on writing and editing academic essays with peer and instructor feedback. Classes are in Spanish, and the language is actively used in oral presentations and communicative, creative, and critical-thinking activities. Students review grammar structures on their own, although the instructor may clarify as needed. Check with the instructor if you intend to take this course concurrently with SPAN 2140, SPAN 2150, or SPAN 2170.

Full details for SPAN 2095 - Spanish Intermediate Composition and Conversation II

Introductory survey of modern Spanish literature. Students develop their analytical skills and learn basic literary concepts such as genre (drama, lyric, short story, and novel) and style (romanticism, realism, etc.) as well as male/female perspectives and the translation of literature to film language. The survey introduces students to Spain's cultural complexity through readings of works by authors representative of its diverse linguistic and literary traditions.

Full details for SPAN 2140 - Modern Spanish Survey

Readings and discussion of representative texts of the 19th and 20th centuries from various regions of Latin America. Among the authors considered are Sarmiento, Hernández, Martí, Darío, Agustini, Cortázar, García Márquez, Poniatowska, and Valenzuela.

Full details for SPAN 2150 - Contemporary Latin American Survey

This course explores major texts and themes of the Hispanic tradition from the 11th to the 17th centuries. We will examine general questions on literary analysis and the relationship between literature and history around certain events, such as medieval multicultural Iberia, the creation of the Spanish Inquisition in the 15th century and the expulsion of the Jews in 1492; the encounter between the Old and the New Worlds; the 'opposition' of high and low in popular culture, and of the secular and the sacred in poetry and prose. Readings may be drawn from medieval short stories and miracle collections; chivalric romances, Columbus, Lazarillo de Tormes, Cervantes, Lope de Vega, Calderón, and Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, among others.

Full details for SPAN 2170 - Early Modern Iberian Survey

This course, which is required for the major, is designed to help the learner develop increased accuracy and sophistication in writing in Spanish for academic purposes and continued oral practice in Spanish. To this end, there will be ample writing and revising practice, with a focus on specific grammatical and lexical areas, customized to the needs of the students enrolled in the course.  All writing will be based on a particular theme relating to Latin America with a focus on film, literary texts, newspaper readings and conducting an interview.

Full details for SPAN 2180 - Advanced Spanish Writing Workshop

An introduction to Spain's history, plural cultures, and present-day society. Through a series of key literary works, films, and other visual representations we will explore such topics as the place of tradition, religion, and the family in modern Spain. Our focus will be on the transformation of Spain from an authoritarian state under General Franco's dictatorship (1939-1975) into a remarkably diverse and pluralistic nation in which linguistic, cultural, political, and gender differences have been consecrated in a very progressive legislation. This course satisfies the main requirement for the minor in Spanish, may be used as an elective for the major, and is crucial to those planning to study abroad in Spain in the near future.

Full details for SPAN 2230 - Perspectives on Spain

This course offers a broad introduction to Iberian cultures from the Middle Ages to the present.  Focusing on three main themes-space, culture, and everyday life-our main objective throughout the term will be to explore different perspectives unique to the ever-evolving place we now call "Spain." The first half of the term will concentrate on aspects of space, culture, and everyday life in the medieval and early modern context, while the second half of the term will examine the same themes, questions, and concepts but from a modern and contemporary point of view using a wide variety of disciplines and media to explore them, from history, newspapers and music, to painting, film, and television.

Full details for SPAN 2235 - Perspectives on Spain in Spanish

This 1-credit optional course aims to expand the students' vocabulary, and advance their speaking and reading skills as well as enhance their knowledge and deepen their cultural understanding by supplementing non-language courses throughout the University.

Full details for SPAN 3020 - Spanish Foreign Language Across the Curriculum (FLAC)

Focuses on the practice of narrative writing in Spanish. Explores what makes a novel and a short story work, paying close attention to narrative structure, plot, beginnings/endings, character development, theme, etc. Students read classic novels and short stories as points of departure for the discussion. Because the course is a workshop, students are expected to write their own fiction.

Full details for SPAN 3170 - Creative Writing Workshop (in Spanish)

Latin American culture has always been very receptive to outside influences; its intense participation in global networks has been a way to be modern. At the same time, throughout the twentieth century, Latin American culture has also spread globally and influenced people outside the region. In this course we will explore this complex cultural exchange, showing how the idea of modernity in the continent was born out of this relation with the rest of the world. We will read Latin American authors of world literature (Borges, Bolaño, Garcia Márquez, Lispector), and we will explore some Latin American icons and cultural phenomena popular abroad: Frida Kahlo, Che Guevara, soccer, Rigoberta Menchú, telenovelas, magical realism.

Full details for SPAN 3440 - Global Latin America

Beginning in the early days of silent cinema, a rich tradition of what are called "city films," combines technological innovation with the exploration of specific urban spaces.  Students in this class will learn how to think about the possibilities of limits of cinema as a way of "knowing" a city and its cultures, including linguistic cultures.  This course will be offered in English and is open to all students.  The focus will be on the relationship between the cinema and the development of urban centers, including Madrid, Rome, Paris, Barcelona, Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, and Venice.  Films will be shown outside of regular class meeting times, in the original languages with English subtitles.

Full details for SPAN 3485 - Cinematic Cities

This course is intended to provide a survey of the cultural history of the Jews in Spain from the late Visigothic period until the converso crisis of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries and the expulsion. It will focus on the interaction of Jewish with Muslim and Christian cultures and the stable yet evolving sense of a Sephardic identity. The course will establish historical and literary-critical frames for reading primary sources in translation, including secular and synagogal poetry, philosophy and kabbalah, biblical hermeneutics, historiography and polemics.

Full details for SPAN 3639 - Cultural History of the Jews of Spain

Guided independent study of special topics. For undergraduates interested in special problems not covered in courses.

Full details for SPAN 4190 - Special Topics in Spanish Literature

Consult director of undergraduate studies for more information.

Full details for SPAN 4290 - Honors Work in Spanish

"Crisis" has become a buzzword, an umbiquitous term that tries to explain contemporary historical conditions.  Nevertheless, it is difficult to pin down the time frame of crisis and its nature: when does a crisis begin and when does it end?  Is it an historical event or an enduring condition of life?  In this course we will look at the crisis as an object of knowledge in the context of Spain by exploring its different manifestations (financial, economic, political, ecological crisis) and its mode of expression (literature, journalistic essays, films, art).  Materials will include works by Janet Roiman, Reinhart Koselleck, Rafael Chirbes, Pablo Gutierrez, Cristina Pallarás, Isabel Coixet, Alex de la Iglesia.

Full details for SPAN 4400 - Narrating the Crisis in Spain

This course explores how the digital has shaped narratives of memory in contemporary Latin America. We will look at works of literature, film, and performance that mobilize the digital in order to re-represent and re-activate the past, challenge authorityty, create new forms of political activism, and establish new relationships between bodies. In discussing these works, we will also consider the ethical questions that they ask: Who owns our digital remains? What are the limitations of "hashtag" social movements?  How far should we push the boundaries of the body? As we ask these questions, we will revisit key concepts regarding memory in connection with the political events that took place in Latin America in the second half of the 20th century, and consider the digital alongside the emergence of 21st century populism.

Full details for SPAN 4600 - Techno Ghosts, Social Movements, and Archives in Motion

This course explores how the vocabulary (words like price and credit), structure (such as one of loss and gain), and tropes of medieval (and early modern) Spanish fiction speak to the emergence of different economic figures, reading texts from the 13th through the 17th centuries, and critical texts by Mauss, Derrida, Shell, Bataille, and others.

Full details for SPAN 6060 - Medieval Literary Economics

Guided independent study of specific topics. For graduate students interested in special problems not covered in courses.

Full details for SPAN 6390 - Special Topics in Spanish Literature