Mar 28, 2024  
Catalogue 2021-2022 
    
Catalogue 2021-2022 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Hispanic Studies Department


Chair: Nicolás Vivalda;

Professors: Andrew K. Bush, Lizabeth Paravisini-Gebertab, Eva Woods Peiró;

Associate Professors: Michael C. Aronna, Mario Cesareo, Nicolás Vivalda;

Visiting Assistant Professor: Marcela Romero Rivera;

Adjunct Assistant Professor: Augusto Hacthoun;

Adjunct Instructor: Eduardo Rodriguez.

 

Study Away: Majors are expected to study, usually during the junior year, in a Spanish-speaking country. The department sponsors the Vassar-Wesleyan Program in Madrid (academic year) study abroad program, open to all qualified students.

Advisers: The department.

Programs

Major

Correlate Sequence in Hispanic Studies

Courses

Hispanic Studies: I. Introductory

  • HISP 105 - Elementary Spanish Language

    Semester Offered: Fall
    1 unit(s)
    Fundamentals of the grammar and structure of the Spanish language with emphasis on oral skills and reading. Marcela Romero Rivera.

    Open to students with no previous instruction in Spanish.

    Yearlong course 105-HISP 106 .

    Four 50-minute periods; one hour of drill.

    Course Format: CLS
  • HISP 106 - Elementary Spanish Language

    Semester Offered: Spring
    1 unit(s)
    Fundamentals of the grammar and structure of the Spanish language with emphasis on oral skills and reading. Marcela Romero Rivera.

    Open to students with no previous instruction in Spanish.

    Yearlong course HISP 105 -106.

    Four 50-minute periods; one hour of drill period.

    Course Format: CLS
  • HISP 110 - Latin American and Spanish Literacy and Cultural Topics


    1 unit(s)
    Two 75-minute periods.

    Not offered in 2021/22.

    Course Format: CLS

Hispanic Studies: II. Intermediate

  • HISP 205 - Intermediate Spanish

    Semester Offered: Fall or Spring
    1 unit(s)
    Intensive study and review of Spanish grammar at the second-year level with emphasis on oral practice and writing skills. Augusto Hatchoun, Eva Woods.

    Prerequisite(s): HISP 105 -HISP 106  or three years of high school Spanish.

    Three 50-minute periods and one hour of conversation.

    Course Format: CLS
  • HISP 206 - Reading and Writing about Hispanic Culture

    Semester Offered: Fall and Spring
    1 1 unit(s)


    Reading, writing and speaking skills are developed through study of cultural and literary texts and audiovisual materials. 

     

    Topic for 2021/22a: Reading, writing and conversational skills are developed through the study of literary texts, dramatic writing and theatrical performance. Andrew Bush.

    Topic for 2021/22a: A Specter Haunts Latin America: The Culture of Revolution and Counterrevolution Over the last century, Latin America has seen several revolutions surge and triumph, radically changing the lives of entire nations. Inspiring as they were, these revolutionary processes also triggered devastatingly violent counterrevolutionary efforts orchestrated both internally and transnationally by the defenders of the capitalist status quo, and fanning, in turn, new revolutionary discontent. This complex process has marked the recent history of the region, leaving an indelible mark in its cultural production—literature, music, art and film. In this course we explore the rich culture that has been produced both in the name of the revolutionary spirit and by insidious counterrevolutionary fervor. We analyze short stories, poems, photography, songs and films created in the wake of the revolutionary processes in Mexico, Cuba, Chile, Argentina, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. All materials, instruction, and assessment will be in Spanish. Marcela Romero Rivera.

    Topic for 2021/22b: This section is designed as an introduction to significant contemporary issues in Latin American cultures (Human rights, LGBT and Women’s movements, Indigenous peoples and other topics.). It allows a first exposure to this problematic in Spanish, providing a space for reading, viewing, listening, speaking and writing in the target language. Mario Cesareo.

    Prerequisite(s): HISP 205  or four years of high school Spanish.

    Two 75-minute periods and one hour of conversation.

    Course Format: CLS

  • HISP 216 - Topics in Multidisciplinary Analysis

    Semester Offered: Fall and Spring
    1 unit(s)


    This course develops a set of methodological and theoretical tools for the investigation of cultural practices such as literature, popular and mass culture, social movements and institutions in Spanish-speaking countries.

    Topic for 2021/22a: Reading Latin America through its Horror and Fantastic Short Stories. In Latin America, terror stories comprise not only the narration of paranormal and psychological delusions but also a very effective mirroring of specific social and political conditions. This course introduces students to literary analysis through the lens of horror and fantastic fiction. Materials for analysis include literary texts by Rubén Darío, Leopoldo Lugones, Horacio Quiroga, Mariana Enríquez, and Samanta Schweblin. We also examine films by Guillermo del Toro, Jorge Michel Grau, and Adrián García Bogliano. Nicolas Vivalda.

    Topic for 2021/22a: Reading and Writing Short Stories. This course explores ways of reading the Latin American short story in the context of its historical development, while unctioning as a creative writing workshop in Spanish. Mario Cesareo.

     

    Topic for 2021/22b: Fiction and Non-Fiction in the Multidisciplinary Classroom. This course develops the theoretical and methodological tools for the study of the ambiguous boundaries of the fictional and scientific representation of social reality in Latin American cultural discourse and practice. Through the examination of hybrid texts that combine elements of fiction, science, journalism, photography, and art the course explores assumptions underlying different conceptions of documentary and imaginary representation.  Students consider models of analysis originating in cultural studies with others from the social sciences in order to arrive at an integral and multidisciplinary understanding of the formal and social characteristics of these diverse texts and practices. Michael Aronna.

    Prerequisite(s): HISP 206  or permission of the instructor.

    Two 75-minute periods.

    Course Format: CLS

  • HISP 219 - Advanced Grammar and Composition


    1 unit(s)
    This course offers an in-depth coverage of Spanish grammar with emphasis on reading and writing skills. A more traditional approach in grammar explanations is combined with the study of numerous examples and exercises based on everyday life. The objectives of this course are 1) to provide a thorough review of major topics of Spanish grammar—ser and estar, por and para, the preterit and the imperfect, sequence of tenses, conditional clauses, etc.; 2) to explore in-depth the different mechanics of writing in Spanish (punctuation, written accents, etc.); 3) to work on writing skills in Spanish through the use of various writing techniques and strategies—the art of writing narratives, dialogue, descriptions, letters, and reports; 4) to improve reading skills and knowledge of vocabulary and idiomatic expressions in Spanish; 5) to continue to increase cultural knowledge of the Spanish-speaking world. Through the use of the target language in class, this course also contributes to the general language acquisition process. Some translation work is required as well—contextualized passages in English translated into Spanish are used to illustrate a variety of grammatical principles. Nicolas Vivalda.

    Prerequisite(s): HISP 216  or permission of the instructor.

    Two 75-minute periods.

    Not offered in 2021/22.

    Course Format: CLS
  • HISP 225 - Creative Writing Workshop


    1 unit(s)
    This year’s workshop provides a space for the development of the student’s ability as a writer of fiction in Spanish. Writing projects could include short stories, drama, poetry and miscellany, depending on the student’s individual interests. Workshop members share, read and critique each other’s writing. We also engage some readings and exercises designed to enrich the student’s ability to give form, texture, and voice to their writing. Mario Cesareo.

    Prerequisite(s): HISP 216  or HISP 219  or permission of the instructor.

    Two 75-minute periods.

    Not offered in 2021/22.

    Course Format: CLS
  • HISP 226 - Medieval and Early Modern Spain

    Semester Offered: Fall and Spring
    1 unit(s)
    Topic for 2021/22b:  PícarasBusconas and Celestinas: Reading the Discourse on Female Behavior and in Early Modern Spain. This course considers how the discourse on early modern female behavior presents itself in literary and legal sources. The objective of the course is to explore the larger social framework that regulates women’s behavior in sixteenth and seventeenth century Spain. Through the study of a variety of legal measures and moral treatises that define the boundaries of “sin” in Early Modern Spain, we trace the rich symbolic and literary trajectory of the pícara (she-rogue). From this sociological perspective, our focus explores the reasons behind the popularity of the female picaresque genre, paying special attention to the anxieties that the regulation of prostitution caused in Spanish society. Materials for analysis include selections of legal texts, moralist writings and literary works by Francisco Delicado, Miguel de Cervantes, and María de Zayas. Nicolas Vivalda.

    Prerequisite(s): One course above HISP 206 .

    Two 75-minute periods.

    Course Format: CLS
  • HISP 227 - Colonial Latin America

    Semester Offered: Fall or Spring
    1 unit(s)
    (Same as LALS 227 ) Studies in Latin American literary and cultural production from the European invasion to the crisis of the colonial system. Michael Aronna

    Topic for 2020/21a: Natural and Moral History of the Spanish Empire. This course explores the interrelated development of scientific observation, geographic mapping, writerly expression, artistic rendering, moral legitimization, and in the exploration and colonization of Spain’s transatlantic and transpacific empire. Readings and class discussion examine the epistemological and political challenges early modern Spanish and Latin American scientists, historians, and writers encountered in describing, classifying, understanding and assigning value to what was for them “new” scientific phenomena and civilizations. Course texts address such figures as Gonzálo Fernández de Oviedo, José de Acosta, El Inca Garcilaso, José Celestino Mutis, Alexander Von Humboldt, and Alejandro Malaspina, among others. Michael Aronna.

    Prerequisite(s): One course above HISP 206 .

    Two 75-minute periods.

    Course Format: CLS
  • HISP 228 - Modern Spain


    1 unit(s)


    Studies in Spanish literary and cultural production from the beginning of the Bourbon monarchy to the present.

    Topic for 2020/21a: Road Trips. A survey of modern Spanish literature from the 18th century to the present, organized around the topic of travel within the Peninsula, exploring both regional differences in the itineraries and also the mode of experimental learning represented by travel. Andrew Bush. 

     

    Prerequisite(s): HISP 216 .

    Two 75-minute periods.

    Not offered in 2021/22.

    Course Format: CLS

  • HISP 229 - Postcolonial Latin America

    Semester Offered: Fall or Spring
    1 unit(s)
    (Same as LALS 229 ) Studies in Latin American literary and cultural production from the emergence of the nation states to the present. Thematically structured, the course delves into the social, political, and institutional processes undergone by Latin America as a result of its uneven incorporation into world capitalist development. Mario Cesareo.

    Topic for 2020/21a: Animals in Caribbean and Mexican Literature and Visual Culture. The course examines the presence and role of animals in the colonial and postcolonial histories, literatures, and cultures of the Caribbean and Latin America, from Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo to Homero Aridjis. We look at how interactions between humans and other animals have significantly shaped narratives and visual cultures in the region and work through the methodological implications of centering animals within narrative and artistic representations. Topics include indigenous cosmologies, the politics of hunting, the commodification of animals and animal parts, the protection of animals and the environment, posthumanism, and notions of wildlife. Lizabeth Paravisini-Gebert.

    Topic for 2020/21b: Post- Human Futures: New Latin American Literature. In Latin America, as anywhere else, we begin the third decade of the 21st century with an uneasy eye on the horizon. The future—of the region, politics, literature, the planet, the human—lies ahead as an open question that requires a speculative imagination to be answered. In this class, we read a series of works of literature from the last 15 years coming from the Caribbean, as well as North, Central and South America that have imagined possible paths to the future, where, after “all that is solid melts into air,” new forms of the human and their relation to each other, technology, and the planet can be conjured. We read poetry and fiction by Rita Indiana, Dolores Dorantes, Verónica Gerber Bicecci, Lina Meruane, and Samantha Schweblin, among others. Instruction, materials, and evaluation in this class are in Spanish. Marcela Romero Rivera.

    Prerequisite(s):  HISP 216  or HISP 219 .

    Two 75-minute periods.

    Course Format: CLS
  • HISP 252 - Building Inclusive Communities in Latino-a-x Poughkeepsie


    0.5 unit(s)


    (Same as LALS 252 ) This course is intended for students who wish to learn from and support that process, notably connecting with local Latino-a-x high school students with the goal of helping empower them to be leaders in the process.

    The course offers students a chance to engage with and learn more about the local Latino-a-x community, meet local community leaders, and learn about the most pressing issues impacting the community at the local, state, and national levels. This course also allows students to experience best practices when it comes to developing and sustaining an inclusive community – developing intimacy, exploring social identity and power, using effective communication and conflict resolution skills, and attending to the well-being of the individual members of the community – specifically in the context of Latino-a-x community.

    Spanish-speaking and Latino-a-x students are encouraged to enroll, but all students are most welcome! Both English and Spanish are used, but always in a way that is inclusive and accessible to non-Spanish speakers. Eva Woods.

    First six-week course.

    Not offered in 2021/22.

    Course Format: CLS

  • HISP 274 - Writing Workshop

    Semester Offered: Fall or Spring
    1 unit(s)
    (Same as LALS 274 ) It admits of three modes, according to each student’s preference. The course includes periodic meetings where the texts are collectively discussed (Previous Requisite: one course at the 220 level or special permission by me.). A) Chronicle: the course hinges around an ongoing event (political, historical, etc.) chosen by each student. Such event will be researched as it develops during the semester, in depth and thoroughly. The end result will be an annotated dossier of primary and secondary sources and the writing of a chronicle based upon some of the models studied (García Márquez, Rodolfo Walsh, Germán Castro Caycedo, Alma Guillermo Prieto, etc.) B) Fiction: the course is geared toward completion of a piece of writing previously agreed upon between each student and me (collection of poems or short stories, novelistic fragment, journal, short film and so on). Writing models and problematics will be discussed and serve as a springboard for each student’s project. C) Testimonial Writing: the course will allow for crafting a piece of testimonial writing (of one’s own or someone else’s experience). Writing strategies will be derived from an understanding of the genre’s logic and its problematization. In all modalities, the final text can take the form of an audiovisual product (the student’s technical knowledge for carrying on such a project is presupposed).  Mario Cesareo.

    Prerequisite(s): HISP 216  or HISP 219  or permission of the instructor.

    Course Format: INT
  • HISP 275 - The Oviedo Project

    Semester Offered: Fall or Spring
    0.5 to 1 unit(s)
    The Oviedo Project at Vassar College aims at translating the 50 books of Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo’s Natural History of the Indies–the first comprehensive description of the New World, written between 1524 and 1548—in time for the 500th anniversary of the publication of an abridged version of the first book in 1526. The collaborative project has been developed as part of Vassar’s new curriculum to work with student translators to produce the first complete English-language translation of the celebrated text. Students study and put into practice translation theory and editing skills as they complete their section of the project, under the guidance of profs. Michael Aronna, Nicolás Vivalda.

    Prerequisite(s): HISP 216  or HISP 219  or permission of the instructor.

    Course Format: INT
  • HISP 276 - Close Watching of Latin American Cinema


    1 unit(s)
    This course focuses on one relevant Latin American or Spanish film director dealing with Latin American topics, and involves concentrated readings, research, and small group discussions on themes like race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, religion, poverty, nationalism, liberalism, development, and modernity(ies). Student learn to identify and analyze the intersection between form and content in a select number of relevant Latin American films by situating them in contexts that are simultaneously national, regional, and global. Proposed directors: Luis Buñuel, Arturo Ripstein, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Leonardo Favio, Pablo Larraín, Patricio Guzmán.  Nicolas Vivalda.

    Prerequisite(s): One course above HISP 206 .

    Not offered in 2021/22.

    Course Format: INT
  • HISP 277 - Study Abroad Follow-up


    0.5 unit(s)
    Through frequent conversations and writing opportunities, this course offers students the opportunity to analyze and gain a deeper understanding of their study abroad experience in a Spanish-speaking country. Through storytelling, memoirs and the creation of a final project, students reflect critically on tourism, knowledge production, global citizenship and their plans to integrate their study away experience into current learning opportunities or professional aspirations. Taught in Spanish. Eva Woods.

    Prerequisite(s): HISP 206  or permission of the instructor.

    Second six-week course.

    One 2-hour period.

    Not offered in 2021/22.

    Course Format: INT
  • HISP 290 - Community-Engaged Learning


    0.5 to 1 unit(s)
    Individual projects or internships. The department.

    Prerequisite(s): One unit of HISP 205  or above.

    Special permission.

    Not offered in 2021/22.

    Course Format: INT
  • HISP 298 - Independent Work

    Semester Offered: Fall or Spring
    0.5 to 1.5 unit(s)
    The department.

    Prerequisite(s): Two units of HISP 226  or above, and permission of the instructor.

    Does not fulfill the requirement for 200-level work in the major or the correlate sequence.

    Course Format: OTH

Hispanic Studies: III. Advanced

  • HISP 300 - Senior Thesis

    Semester Offered: Spring
    1 unit(s)
    The department.

    Course Format: INT
  • HISP 374 - Writing Workshop

    Semester Offered: Spring
    1 unit(s)
    (Same as LALS 374 ) It admits of three modes, according to each student’s preference. The course includes periodic meetings where the texts are collectively discussed (Previous Requisite: one course at the 220 level or special permission by me.). A) Chronicle: the course hinges around an ongoing event (political, historical, etc.) chosen by each student. Such event is researched as it develops during the semester, in depth and thoroughly. The end result is an annotated dossier of primary and secondary sources and the writing of a chronicle based upon some of the models studied (García Márquez, Rodolfo Walsh, Germán Castro Caycedo, Alma Guillermo Prieto, etc.) B) Fiction: the course is geared toward completion of a piece of writing previously agreed upon between each student and me (collection of poems or short stories, novelistic fragment, journal, short film and so on). Writing models and problematics will be discussed and serve as a springboard for each student’s project. C) Testimonial Writing: the course allows for crafting a piece of testimonial writing (of one’s own or someone else’s experience). Writing strategies are derived from an understanding of the genre’s logic and its problematization. In all modalities, the final text can take the form of an audiovisual product (the student’s technical knowledge for carrying on such a project is presupposed).  Mario Cesareo.

    Prerequisite(s): HISP 216  or HISP 219  or permission of the instructor.

    Course Format: INT
  • HISP 375 - The Oviedo Project

    Semester Offered: Fall or Spring
    0.5 to 1 unit(s)
    The Oviedo Project at Vassar College aims at translating the 50 books of Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo’s Natural History of the Indies–the first comprehensive description of the New World, written between 1524 and 1548—in time for the 500th anniversary of the publication of an abridged version of the first book in 1526. The collaborative project has been developed as part of Vassar’s new curriculum to work with student translators to produce the first complete English-language translation of the celebrated text. Students study and put into practice translation theory and editing skills as they complete their section of the project, under the guidance of profs.  Michael Aronna.

    Prerequisite(s): HISP 216  or HISP 219  or permission of the instructor.

    Course Format: INT
  • HISP 376 - Close Watching of Latin American Cinema


    1 unit(s)
    This course focuses on one relevant Latin American or Spanish film director dealing with Latin American topics, and involves concentrated readings, research, and small group discussions on themes like race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, religion, poverty, nationalism, liberalism, development, and modernity(ies). Student learn to identify and analyze the intersection between form and content in a select number of relevant Latin American films by situating them in contexts that are simultaneously national, regional, and global. Proposed directors: Luis Buñuel, Arturo Ripstein, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Leonardo Favio, Pablo Larraín, Patricio Guzmán.  Nicolas Vivalda.

    Prerequisite(s): HISP 216  and one course above 216.

    Not offered in 2021/22.

    Course Format: INT
  • HISP 387 - Latin American Seminar

    Semester Offered: Fall or Spring
    1 unit(s)
    (Same as LALS 387 ) A seminar offering in-depth study of topics related to the literary and cultural history of Latin America. This course may be repeated for credit when the topic changes.

    Topic for 2021/22b: Women, Power, and the Borderlands. In this seminar we examine the connection between women and power, specifically in the geopolitical context of northern Mexico, in the zone of influence of the Mexico-US border. Instead of framing this examination by the discussion of violence against women, we turn our attention to the work that female-identifying artists and thinkers have produced to shed light on the struggles for power that have produced the hyper-violent conditions of the lives of most Mexicans, on the one hand, and also the ones that are opening the path to an emancipatory horizon. We analyze films, literature, and visual art produced by female artists from the north of Mexico like Natalia Almada, Teresa Margolles, Dolores Dorantes, and Valeria Luiselli. Instruction, materials, and evaluations are in Spanish. Marcela Romero Rivera.

    Prerequisite(s): HISP 216  and one course above 216.

    One 2-hour period.

    Course Format: CLS
  • HISP 388 - Peninsular Seminar

    Semester Offered: Fall
    1 unit(s)
    A seminar offering in-depth study of topics related to the literary and cultural history of Spain and the Hispanic Transatlantic. This course may be repeated for credit when the topic changes. Nicolás Vivalda.

    Prerequisite(s): HISP 216  and one course above 216.

    One 2-hour period.

    Course Format: CLS
  • HISP 399 - Senior Independent Work

    Semester Offered: Fall or Spring
    0.5 to 1 unit(s)
    Special permission. Does not fulfill the requirement for 300-level work in the major or correlate sequence.

    Course Format: OTH