SPANISH UNDERGRADUATE STUDIES

WELCOME |

Spanish currently accounts for over 53% of all foreign language enrollments nation-wide, and that percentage is growing. Furthermore, Spain is quickly becoming the favorite destination of study abroad students nationwide. Cornell students are no exception to these national trends, recognizing the value of proficiency in the language and the importance of knowledge about the cultures of Spanish-speaking peoples.

Spanish at Cornell boasts a highly recognized faculty in both Spanish American and Peninsular literatures and cultures, making it one of the top programs in the nation in terms of both teaching and research excellence .

We are housed in the oldest department building on campus, Morrill Hall, named after the U.S. Senator who sponsored the 1862 Land Grant College Act that made possible the founding of Cornell University in 1865. Faculty with expertise in Spanish can be found not only here, however, but also in many other departments and programs, from City and Regional Planning to International Agriculture, to Visual Studies.

The range of faculty interests and departmental activities is enormous, allowing students to design their own personalized curricula after a few core requirements are met. You will know that there is a “Hispanist” in you if you have ever considered how wonderful it would be to become engaged in any of these intellectual pursuits:

• Reading and discussing some of the most exciting new fiction being published today by young Latin American and Spanish writers
• Studying the literature and the art of multicultural Spain
• Taking a creative writing seminar -in Spanish- with an award-winning author
• Exploring the history of cultural exchanges between Spain and Latin America, and between the United States and the Spanish-speaking world
• Becoming acquainted with the great political and social revolutions of modern Latin America through its literatures, from José Martí and Pablo Neruda to Rigoberta Menchú and Ariel Dorfman
• Reading Cervantes
• Discovering the perennial appeal of such powerful cultural myths as La Malinche, Don Juan Tenorio, and Don Quijote de La Mancha
• Enjoying the exciting cinematic productions of Spain, México, Argentina, Cuba, and other Latin American countries
• Participating in the full-scale theatrical productions of Spanish-language plays through Teatrotaller
• Getting involved in research internships in Bolivia, Costa Rica, Mexico, or the Dominican Republic
• Studying two other languages spoken in certain Spanish-speaking countries: Portuguese and Quechua

Chances are that you have already taken a class with someone who is also a collaborator or a friend of our program and/or our department. The number of professors with an ongoing interest in everything “Spanish” continues to grow at Cornell at a steady pace. It is also worth noting that many of our students and faculty enjoy a privileged relation with colleagues in History, Anthropology, Art History, Near Eastern Studies, or Comparative Literature (to name a few related areas of study within the College of Arts and Sciences), as well as the Latin American Studies Program and the Latino Studies Program , where concentrations rather than majors can be obtained. LASP has taken upon itself the responsibility of centralizing and distributing the information about the numerous events related to Latin America that are held at Cornell almost every week; likewise, LSP informs the Cornell community about events related to US Latinos, and the European Studies Program frequently cosponsors events on Spain.

Other large academic and non-academic units which are committed to supporting the work of advanced students in Spanish are the Institute for European Studies, the Language House, and Teatrotaller, an amateur theater group directed by Prof. Debra Castillo in which you can have fun perfecting your Spanish skills in contact with heritage speakers and foreign students from Latin America also involved with the production of plays. And best of all, you get credit for your contribution to each semester’s production!

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MAJOR |

Inquiries of a general nature may first be directed to the Undergraduate Assistant, Cal Hile.

Students who wish to major in Spanish are advised to fill out and print the worksheet for the major and make an appointment to review it with the Director of Undergraduate Studies, Professor Kathleen Long, kpl2@cornell.edu, in Morrill Hall 320. She will take into account the student's interest, preparation, and career goals and she will assign the student to an adviser.

After achieving proficiency in Spanish, students typically test their interest in the field with classes such as:

• Spanish Intermediate Composition and Conversation II (SPAN 2190).
• Advanced conversation and composition courses (SPAN 3100, 3110).
• Spanish or Latin American literature survey courses (SPAN 2140, 2150).

The major

The major in Spanish is designed to give students proficiency in the oral and written language, to acquaint them with some of the many different Spanish and Latin American cultures, and to develop their skills in literary analysis and critical thinking. It has three elements: a language core, a literature core, and an elective group of courses that allows students to tailor the major to their individual interests.

Language core

Both of these courses are required. They may be taken in any order.

SPAN 3100, Advanced Conversation
SPAN 3110: Advanced Spanish Writing Workshop

Literature core

All three courses are required. They may be taken in any order.

SPAN 2140 The Spanish Difference: Readings in Modern Iberian Literatures
SPAN 2150 The Tradition of Rupture: Latin American Writing from Modernism to the Present
SPAN 2170 Early Hispanic Modernities: Reading in Medieval and Early Modern Iberian and Spanish-American Literatures

Elective group

In consultation with his/her advisor, each student designs his/her own special focus area. The student will need to complete another 15 credits. All graduating seniors will need to take a senior seminar designed specifically for them. This means that roughly half of the courses that constitute the major will be requirements while the other half will be of the student’s own choosing.

The major currently features two options or tracks to serve as a guide for students in focusing their electives:

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LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE |

This option normally includes at least 15 credits of Spanish literature and/or linguistics beyond the core courses. Literature majors are strongly urged to include in their programs courses in all the relevant periods of Hispanic literature. This would be the normal course of study for those who are thinking of a teaching career or just love to read and think critically about literature, film, and the arts.

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AREA STUDIES | (Spanish, Latin American, or U.S. Latino Studies)

This option is especially attractive for students who wish a broad-based cultural background. It requires at least 15 credits of courses at the 3000 level beyond the core, focusing on Spanish, Latin American and/or US Latino cultures, and can be satisfied both by courses in Romance Studies and in other related fields such as History, Anthropology, English, Government, or Industrial and Labor Relations. All courses must be approved through consultation with the major adviser. A longer description of this option is published in the Courses of Study.

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MAJOR WORKSHEET |

These are typical schedules intended to suggest how some students complete their majors. They are intended as guides. They do not represent all students and do not substitute for consultation with the major advisor. Note: Courses marked with * are recommended rather than required.

Students beginning with intermediate level:

Starting from zero:

No study abroad:

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HONORS |

Superior students who wish to undertake a guided research project are encouraged to do an honors thesis in the area of their choice during Fall and Spring of their senior year. Students select a member of the Spanish faculty to direct the writing of the essay on the research topic of their choice.

Guidelines for Senior Honors Thesis Spanish Majors:

Students wishing to write an honors thesis should have a GPA of at least 3.0 in all subjects and 3.3 in the Spanish major.

The honors thesis allows the student to synthesize readings and perspectives acquired during the course of an undergraduate education. The thesis topic should extend the student's work already begun in a course or a sequence of courses taken before the senior year.

Students should consult with the Honors Program Supervisor late in the Spring of their junior year, or very early in the Fall of their senior year if they are considering enrolling in the year-long honors thesis course. Among other things, the Honors Program Supervisor can provide them with a list of potential faculty supervisors.

Only a faculty member in Romance Studies may approve the topic and supervise the thesis. For students engaged in interdisciplinary work, co-supervisors are strongly encouraged. It is the responsibility of the student to identify and contact potential co-supervisors outside the Department of Romance Studies. Experience suggests that supervision works best when the student has already taken a course from the faculty member and knows his/her expectations and approach. The nature and extent of contact between the student and the supervisor depend upon mutual agreement. If possible, the Honors Program Supervisor will from time to time call a meeting of all seniors doing honors theses to allow students to share ideas about their work.

An honors thesis may take many forms, mutually agreed upon by the student and the supervisor. In one common scenario, the student will write an essay of approximately fifty pages in length, drafted and revised in a series of carefully planned stages. Timetables may vary, but the following deadlines have proved useful to other students in the past: September 15, outline; October 15, bibliography; November 15, first chapter or subdivision; February 15, second chapter or subdivision; March 15, third chapter or subdivision; April 15, completed first draft.

Honors theses are normally written in Spanish. Exceptions can be made on a case-by-case basis.

Projects will be read by a second faculty member (which could be the co-supervisor), selected by the student in consultation with the supervisor and the Honors Program Supervisor. The second reader may belong to a department other than Romance Studies. The supervisor and the second reader will determine the final grade and the level of honors. All students receive a grade of "R" for the first semester's work.

The final version of the thesis must be submitted to the supervisor and the second reader by May 1. A copy of the final version of the thesis should also be handed in to the department for their archives. No flexibility with regard to the May 1 deadline is possible, because of strict university regulations for submission of grades and honor designations.

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CONCENTRATION IN SPANISH |

Information about the concentration can be found at http://www.arts.cornell.edu/romance/spanish/sp_concentration.html

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STUDY ABROAD |

All Spanish majors are strongly encouraged to study abroad, and popular ways to do so include the semester or year in Spain program at the University of Seville, or the Summer program in Bolivia. Other students study abroad through other recognized programs in such attractive locations as Barcelona, Madrid, Buenos Aires, Lima, or Quito. Course work completed in Spanish literature, linguistics, history, and art is given credit toward the major after it has been approved by both your Spanish adviser and the Director of Undergraduate Studies. If you plan ahead your semester or year abroad and know exactly what course you need and wish to take abroad, you can get this approval before you leave for Spain.

• Spain Program: The Seville program is co-sponsored by Cornell, The University of Michigan, and the University of Pennsylvania. Students enrolled in this program spend the first three weeks in a residential college located on the campus of the University of Madrid, where they take a course in Spanish language and contemporary society and take advantage of special lectures and field trips in Madrid and Castile. The program then moves to Seville, where students enroll in as many courses at the University as their language competency and interests permit. These courses are supplemented by courses designed especially for the program by Seville faculty as well as a seminar offered by the resident director, who is chosen from the faculty of Cornell, Michigan, or the University of Pennsylvania. In Seville students live with selected families, or, in a few cases, in the colegios mayores.

• Bolivia Program: The Summer program in Cochabamba, Bolivia is sponsored by the Latin American Studies Program and accepts both undergraduate and graduate students. Students live with Bolivian families and normally take two courses with Cornell faculty who participate in this program. In addition to course work in Bolivian culture, politics, and social movements, the program features the opportunity to do intensive study in Quechua--the native language spoken by many Bolivians--as well as Spanish, and to participate in research and internships with grass-roots communities, government offices, and businesses.

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UNDERGRADUATE INTERESTS |

A Degree in Spanish: At Cornell and Beyond

Spanish majors typically pursue a second major in such departments as Government, Psychology, History, International Relations, and Economics. They often go on to do graduate work in Spanish or other related disciplines, teach in secondary schools, or enter into government, diplomacy, social agencies, and business corporations. Others work in publishing, hospitals, legal firms, and banks, where knowledge of Spanish is increasingly important both for tapping into local resources as well as developing global connections. Many of the Spanish majors combine their work in this field with professional training that prepares them for careers in law or medicine.

Profiles of our graduates

Calie Santana (Arts 1998) came to Cornell from Carolina, Puerto Rico, and is the first person from her high school ever to go to Cornell. While in Ithaca, she did a double major in Spanish literature and the College Scholar program. Her curriculum included classes in Spanish literature, history, human biology, nutrition, anthropology, and biochemistry, and a semester abroad in Spain during her junior year. She also had the opportunity to get involved with Teatrotaller, the Spanish theater troupe on campus, and capped off her career by directing the production of the classic Golden Age play, La vida es sueño. She has recently completed her MD degree from Harvard Medical School (2002). Her emphasis is on public health, dealing with issues of access to health care and integrative models of care and prevention. She is especially interested in issues affecting minority communities and in HIV/AIDS.

Calie finds her major in Spanish gave her the opportunity to tap into research, analytical, and artistic abilities she did not even know she had. She says it was also a wonderful contrast to Chemistry 207-208 and all of the other science courses that dominated her curriculum.

Calie writes: "I wanted to pursue my interest in health in a way that took into account the cultural context of those affected by the diseases I was trying to understand. I dove into nutrition and social anthropology classes, but my literature classes allowed me to grasp important historical events, and the celebrated and anonymous players that made them possible. Most importantly, these works reminded me of the human component to every story, of the great pain and joy that lies behind every one of our experiences as human beings. There is no mistaking the connections between the chilling accounts I read in The Underdogs or Santa Evita and the health issues that have afflicted the countries that gave us Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz and Borges. It seemed to me that a good way to construct solutions to health problems was to learn more about the events, institutions, and traditions that facilitate them.... The communication skills and knowledge that I attained through my studies in the Romance Studies Department are an integral part of my daily life as a medical doctor. Indeed, my best learning comes when I am able to listen closely to a patient and read between the lines. A patient encounter is like opening One Hundred Years of Solitude for the first time--the patient narrates a complicated, somewhat circular story, and I have to try to understand how it affects them and decide how best to help them."

Nina Englander ( Arts 2002) graduated with an independent degree entitled Gender, Culture and Social Change in Latin America. Her undergraduate coursework included courses in Romance Studies, Anthropology, Latin American Studies, Women’s Studies, Government and City and Regional Planning. Nina spent a semester abroad in Ecuador, where she further explored anthropological field research and Latin American culture.

After graduation, Nina moved to Cochabamba, Bolivia for seven months, and continued to utilize her ability to speak Spanish as an intern at a human rights organization called the Andean Information Network (AIN). At AIN, Nina examined the impact of U.S. drug policy on peasant coca-growing families, interviewed human rights victims, and contributed to action alerts articles, press releases and Congressional letters in an effort to critique and change drug policy. Upon her from Bolivia, Nina went on to work as editorial intern at The Nation magazine, a leading progressive political publication, in New York City. She wrote articles for The Nation magazine and its website, including a piece about human rights violations in Colombia and a review of two new studies of U.S. involvement in state repression regimes in South America. Currently, Nina is working as a legislative intern for New York State Assemblyman Vito Lopez, in Brooklyn. She regularly utilizes the ability to speak Spanish, as a significant portion of the legislative district population is Latino.

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