Department: Latin American, Latino and Iberian Studies

CodeNameDescription
LAIS 121Intensive Elementary SpanishFor students with no prior experience studying the Spanish language. Stresses development of skills in speaking, listening, reading, and writing in a fast-paced environment, which includes an introduction to the cultures of the Spanish-speaking world...
LAIS 151Spanish for Advanced BeginnersAdvanced beginner's course is designed for students who took 1-3 years of Spanish in the past and now need a review of elementary Spanish before continuing on to Spanish 221. This need should be established by a placement exam, because many students...
LAIS 221Intensive Intermediate SpanishMeant for students who have completed LAIS 121 or LAIS 151 and/or who have approximately 3-4 years of prior Spanish study and have placed into 221 via a placement exam. LAIS 221 stresses further development of language production and reception skills...
LAIS 231Intensive Intermediate PortugueseReinforcement and further development of listening, speaking, reading and writing skills in Portuguese; detailed survey/study of Lusophone cultures.
LAIS 301Spanish in the CommunityDevelopment of aural, oral, and written communication skills through the study of the Latin American immigrant experience. In addition to the classroom study of Hispanic immigrant literature, newspapers, and films, students will participate in an out...
LAIS 302Spanish in FictionDevelopment of aural, oral, and written communication skills through literary texts of the Hispanic world. Reading of poems, short stories, plays, and short novels and interpretion through class discussions and regular writing assignments. This is no...
LAIS 303Spanish in the MediaDevelopment of aural, oral, and written communication skills through a focus on mass media in Spanish and Latin American culture. Spanish will be taught through direct contact with newspapers, journals, TV programming, and films. Students are expecte...
LAIS 304Spanish in the TheaterDevelopment of aural, oral, and written communication skills through the study and performance of contemporary plays from Latin America. Special attention will be given to the discussion of social, cultural, historical, and political aspects of the t...
LAIS 305Spanish in Politics and SocietyDevelopment of aural, oral, and written communication skills through the study and discussion of current events and issues in the Spanish-speaking world.
LAIS 306Spanish in BusinessDevelopment of aural, oral, and written communication skills relative to commercial documents and transactions commonly used in the Hispanic world. Practice in writing based on materials needed for conducting business in Spanish.
LAIS 307Medical Spanish: Health and Medicine in the CommunitySelection of readings and conversational practices in Spanish from the medical and health care fields with a professional, historical, linguistic and cultural perspective focused on Spanish speaking communities will form the basis of this course.
LAIS 308Let's Talk About FilmDevelopment of aural, oral, and written communication skills in Spanish through the study of representative films, fiction and documentary.
LAIS 309Spanish Writing WorkshopAnalysis of grammatical structure of Spanish. Writing practice.
LAIS 310Spanish for Heritage SpeakersSpanish instruction for students with at-home Spanish-language experience (heritage speakers). Covers a variety of topics relevant to Spanish speakers in the United States, including, but not limited to, immigration, hybrid identity and Spanglish. Me...
LAIS 311Perspectives on Peoples and Cultures of SpainStudy of society, cultures, arts, history, and ideas of Spain.
LAIS 312Introduction to Latin American StudiesStudy of society, cultures, arts, history, and ideas of Latin America.
LAIS 313Building Brasilia: From Idea to RealityThrough engaging with a selection of analytical, historical, archival, and fictional texts that provide context, this course is an in-depth exploration of the various processes that led to the construction of Brazil’s capital city. Readings and disc...
LAIS 314Luso-Brazilian Studies: A Global PerspectiveA comprehensive overview of the many cultures that comprise the Luso-Brazilian world, with attention to texts that have played significant literary, cultural, social, and historical roles in the construction of Lusofonia. Taught in English. Students...
LAIS 321Literary Spain: Poetry, Drama, FictionIntroduction to literary analysis within the cultural context of Spain. Critical tools for approaching specific literary genres: short story, novel, poetry, and drama. Readings are selected for their literary, cultural, and historical significance.
LAIS 322Spain on Stage500 years of theatre in Spain, with a framework and methodology for reading and interpreting dramatic texts and for contemplating their transference to the stage and the screen. Special attention devoted to the evolution of performance practices, as...
LAIS 329The African NovelA selection of novels fiction from Portuguese and Spanish speaking countries in Africa. Critical and theoretical tools for engaging these literary texts, with a focus on the 20th and 21st centuries. Readings and discussions in English; students may o...
LAIS 331Introduction to Latin American Literature IIntroduction to Spanish-American literature and critical literary analysis. Focus on primary texts dating from the 15th through 19th centuries (331); 20th century (332).
LAIS 332Introduction to Latin American Literature IIIntroduction to Spanish-American literature and critical literary analysis. Focus on primary texts dating from the 15th through 19th centuries (331); 20th century (332).
LAIS 339Stories from Elsewhere: Africa, Asia, Brazil, PortugalAn election of short fiction from Portuguese and Spanish speaking areas in Africa, Asia, America, and Europe. Critical and theoretical tools for engaging these literary texts, with a focus on the 20th and 21st centuries. Readings and discussions in S...
LAIS 350Sociolinguistic approaches to SpanishThis course presents the basic concepts, insights, debates, and research methodologies present in the field of sociolinguistics, which is concerned with the study of language in relation to society. Students will learn how to approach the study of so...
LAIS 357Seville in History and FantasyAn introduction to Seville as one of the most important cities in the history and culture of Spain, from its ascendancy during the Roman Empire to its decline in the 18th century. The course focuses on Seville as [1] an ideal entry point to learn abo...
LAIS 361Spanish MisfitsStudy of the character of the outsider in the short fiction of 19th and early 20th century Spain, with special emphasis on the cultural and political history of the Iberian Peninsula.
LAIS 371Introduction to Latin American FilmStudy of prominent examples of Latin American film production with special attention paid to aesthetic aspects of cinematographic language and cultural questions embodied in the films examined (same as FMST 371).
LAIS 386Community Translation and InterpretationTheory and practice of community translation and interpretation by engaging with local agencies and organizations. Practice communicative skills with sociocultural competency through Community-Based Translation Projects (CBTP) in fields as distinct a...
LAIS 388Individual InternshipNot to be counted as credit toward the major or minor. No more than 1.5 units of internship in any one department and 3.5 units of internship overall may be counted toward required degree units.
LAIS 389Practice AssistantshipStudents lead practice sessions associated with the elementary and intermediate language sequences in Spanish. The practice assistantship does not count as course credit toward the major or minor. Up to one unit can be applied toward graduation credi...
LAIS 390Portuguese for Romance Language SpeakersAccelerated introduction to Brazilian Portuguese language and culture for students already proficient in Spanish. Focus on developing listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills through the study of grammar and selected readings.
LAIS 391Conversations on Luso-Brazilian FilmA selection of films from Portuguese-speaking areas in Africa, Asia, America, and Europe, with a focus on the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. In depth analysis of films to develop reading and speaking skills in Portuguese. Films, readings, and...
LAIS 397Selected TopicsSpecial interest topics offered at department's discretion.
LAIS 406Summer Undergraduate ResearchDocumentation of the work of students who receive summer fellowships to conduct research [or produce a creative arts project] in the summer. The work must take place over a minimum of 6 weeks, the student must engage in the project full-time (at leas...
LAIS 411Bilingualism in the U.S., Latin American, and SpainExamines phenomena related to societal bilingualism (e.g. language shift, policies, and education) in various communities within the US, Latin America, and Spain, as well as phenomena related to individual bilingualism (e.g. acquisition, processing,...
LAIS 412The Sounds of SpanishTaught in Spanish. Salient differences between the sound systems of English and Spanish to improve pronunciation of Spanish. How sounds are represented in the mind and why first languages impact accent in second languages. Analysis of a variety of re...
LAIS 413SpanglishTaught in Spanish (and “Spanglish”). Investigates the linguistic practices (e.g., code-switching, lexical borrowing) commonly known as “Spanglish,” with a particular emphasis on understanding both (a) why bilingual speakers employ these linguistic pr...
LAIS 421Christians, Jews and Muslims from Frontier to Empire: Medieval Spanish LiteratureAnalysis of the interaction between Christians, Jews, and Muslims in the Spanish Peninsula from the establishment of Al-Andalus to the consolidation of the Spanish Empire. An analysis of this cultural period in light of the attention given (or not gi...
LAIS 431Imperial Spain: The Age of ConflictStudy of literary responses to the new constitution of Spain as Empire and new definitions of Spanish identity.
LAIS 432True Lies: Fiction and Truth in Don QuijoteStudy of Cervantes' successful formula for the novel. Analyzes conflict between fiction and truth as the basis for a new realist novel proposed by Cervantes.
LAIS 451Literature of ExileStudy of Spanish exile literature and multiple constructions of the exilic imagination in relation to Spanish cultural and political history.
LAIS 452Spanish-American Poetic TextsStudy of the communicative power of poetic language with special emphasis given to identification of basic tools for interpreting poetic texts in relation to individual and general contexts
LAIS 453Romantic SpainAn examination of Spanish romanticism, a cultural movement that was as artistically rich as it was intellectually contentious. Our perspective will be enhanced by the work of writers, painters, and composers from beyond Iberian borders (i.e., England...
LAIS 454Modern Literature of GaliciaAn interdisciplinary approach to the study of modern Galician literature and culture (Galician traditions, visual art, film) and their relevance within a global context.
LAIS 455Barcelona: Text and CityThe cultural, intellectual, and urban history of the city of Barcelona from the mid 19th century to the present, with special attention to how the city is portrayed in literature and other works of art.
LAIS 462Visions of Contemporary SpainStudy of the cultures of contemporary Spain since the transition to democracy with special attention given to literature, film, theatre, art, popular culture, and mass media.
LAIS 463Modern Spanish NarrativeStudy of representative narrative texts from the 19th to the 21st century. Emphasis on the technical and thematic innovations of the novel and short story as well as the social and historical contexts that have shaped literary production.
LAIS 464Modern Theatre in SpainStudy of written dramatic texts and performance traditions from Spain. Selections may include works from the 18th century to the present.
LAIS 465Cinema of SpainStudy of significant Spanish films with special attention to their relationship to politics, culture, society, and history.
LAIS 472Latin American TheaterStudy of leading contemporary theatrical movements in Spanish America with focus on universal aspects of language of the theater and uniqueness of Spanish-American themes and trends.
LAIS 474Contemporary Writing in Latin AmericaAn interdisciplinary approach to the study of the literary movements currently taking place in Latin America. Special attention devoted to the literature published during the last decade of the 20th century as a defining period in which new trends be...
LAIS 475Writing Sex and Gender in Latin AmericaQuestion of representation and self-representation of women in selected Spanish-American texts. Attention given to recently developed theories relevant to women's writing and concerns.
LAIS 476Literary Journalism in Latin AmericaExplores the intersections between journalism and literature through the reading and analysis of crnicas, a very popular genre in Latin America since the end of the nineteenth century. Discussion, readings, and assignments will focus on: 1) the chron...
LAIS 477Literature of the Spanish-Speaking CaribbeanStudy of texts representative of multiple ethnic and cultural influences (indigenous, European, and African) at play in the Caribbean basin.
LAIS 483The Art of Embodiment: Space and Body in Colonial Spanish AmericaProvides a framework for the articulation of colonial theories of space, body, and materiality through the analysis of a variety of textual and artistic traditions coming from both sides of the ocean. Themes include: indigenous and European cosmograp...
LAIS 486U.S. Latino/a LiteratureComprehensive study of Hispanic-Americans' struggle for identity in light of their historical, ethnic, economic, and cultural positions in the United States.
LAIS 487Latin America: Encounter and ConflictThematic study of representative Spanish-American texts, focusing on the search for identity and confrontation occurring between different societies, systems of thought, and cultures.
LAIS 495Independent StudySpecial research projects pursued individually under faculty supervision. Project proposal must be fully developed in conjunction with a faculty member prior to presentation for department approval.
LAIS 496Senior SymposiumPresentation at the Latin American and Iberian Studies Spring Symposium of research project carried out within the context of an LAIS seminar. Offered in spring semester only.
LAIS 497Selected TopicsSpecial interest topics offered at discretion of the department.