SPAN3015W: Spanish Composition and Communication

Via a wide variety of fascinating contemporary texts, SPAN 3015W provides a lens into Hispanic civilizations and cultures, their past and present, and the global flows of ideologies, technology, media, and peoples that shape society and function as constant drivers of change. Throughout the course we may explore topics such as social and cultural legacies, racial capitalism, power/knowledge, and democracy in crisis. In SPAN 3015W, students will use their Spanish skills to analyze an assortment of authentic texts (literature, films, essays, podcasts, etc.), to talk with each other and native speakers, and to share their own experiences and ideas in writing. Students use their Spanish to delve into the history, cultures, and diversity of the Spanish-speaking world. As they do this, they revisit and refine specific structures known to pose a challenge to learners of Spanish. The first in a series of writing-intensive courses in the major and minor programs, Spanish 3015W focuses upon the acquisition of composition skills with an emphasis on the thesis-fronted, expository writing strategies (i.e. statistical report, literary interpretation, academic essay, etc.) essential for success in more advanced coursework in Spanish Studies. 3015W moves in the direction of a more advanced-level discourse by providing crucial critical and analytical writing experiences to students through the careful scrutiny of authentic Hispanic texts, the composition of three original essays, and the production of a writing portfolio prefaced by a self-evaluative essay (autorreflexión). Regular engagement with reading primary sources and writing about these materials is fundamental to the development of the writer's critical “voice” and the attainment of a style and vocabulary usage appropriate to writing analytically about literary and other key sociocultural issues of the Hispanic world. Through the SPAN 3015W process writing program, students work together on a series of peer edits to help each other elegantly formulate ideas and draft coherent arguments, resolving perplexity through collaborative critical thinking. Pass on any 3 of the 4 SPAN LPE sections (listening, reading, writing, or speaking); evidence of passing 3 sections must be provided to instructor during the first week of class.

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