Global Arc

After the COVID crisis, illness, contagion and healing became central figures of a new global reality. This course will provide a collective space for conversation and analysis in Spanish to help navigate the anxieties that the new virus brought to our lives and societies. We will discuss sickness, infection, immunity and epidemics from a historical, political and cultural perspective using media, literary texts and films.

This is an introductory course to modern culture in Spain that will address its main topics through texts produced by relevant authors, belonging to different artistic trends, from 1700 to 2020. It will devote special attention to subjects such as the configuration of Nation-State ideologies; the politics of language and public, cultural and literary discourse, which deeply determines social life at many levels; and the political, cultural and countercultural role of bodies (both individual and collective) by their actions in the social and public spaces, from a gender studies and feminist perspective.

Through selected texts from Spain and colonial Latin America, the course will explore the formation of a literary tradition in Spanish. The main objective is to foster comparative studies within literatures and cultures of the Spanish-speaking world so as to identify points of contact and differentiation currently defining this field of studies. Two lectures, one preceptorial. Prerequisite: one 200-level Spanish course.

Poetry, prose, and drama of the Golden Age. Readings might include the works of authors such as Garcilaso, Saint Theresa, Saint John of the Cross, Góngora, Quevedo, Lope de Vega, and Calderón. Two 90-minute classes. Prerequisite: a 200-level Spanish course or instructor's permission.

Spanish literature and culture from the early Middle Ages to the beginning of the 16th century. Emphasis on both literary works (most read in modernized versions) and original documents. Special attention will be given to medieval Spain's pluralistic society of Christians, Muslims, and Jews. Prerequisite: a 200-level course in Spanish or instructor's permission. Two 90-minute seminars.

Key literary works are analyzed in relation to main cultural, political, and social currents in Spain in the last three centuries. The course combines analysis of specific texts with a panoramic view of the complex articulation of cultural forces that have led to the present configuration of contemporary Spain. Two 90-minute classes. Prerequisite: a 200-level Spanish course or instructor's permission.

This course is connected with the Latino Link volunteer program, which brings together Princeton University students and Latino/a youth attending public schools in the Princeton area. This course will enrich the volunteering students' experiences with readings, discussions, ethnographic projects, and visits from experts and members of the community, with the purpose of reflecting critically on Latino communities and Spanish language in the United States. The course will also provide intensive language practice inside and outside the classroom.

Selected literary forms and themes in relation to the major historical, social, and cultural currents of the Golden Age. Possible topics include the function of the theater in the absolutist state; the Inquisition and the literature of alienation; the impact of the Counter-Reformation on artistic activity; the image of woman in literature. Two 90-minute classes. Prerequisite: a 200-level Spanish course or instructor's permission.

Since 1605, Don Quixote has elicited passionate reactions: Faulkner read it once a year, as some read the Bible, while Malraux saw it as the most meaningful book for survivors of concentration camps. Quixote has been construed in disparate ways, from debating good and bad reading and writing, to mocking the medieval world view; from exploring the serious impact of the printing press, to benevolently satirizing the conquistadors; from being a study of deviant social behavior and the nature of madness, to a meditation on human sexuality and ageing. One lecture, two precepts. Prerequisite: a 200-level Spanish course or equivalent.

An advanced language course which develops and reinforces accuracy and fluency in both writing and speaking Spanish. Students will learn to identify linguistic features that characterize different genres, as well as social and cultural factors that aid in the interpretation and understanding of different texts and types of speech. The course also aims at providing the tools for discourse analysis, raising awareness of the social and ideological values that permeate discursive practices, and developing autonomy and proficiency as an advanced learner of Spanish language. Three classes. Prerequisite: One 200-level SPA course.