Spanish


Faculty List

Professors Emeriti
J.F. Burke, MA, PhD 
K.A.A. Ellis, MA, PhD, Dr Fil, FRSC 
R.J. Glickman, AM, PhD 
J. Gulsoy, MA, PhD, D Honoris Causa, FRSC 
O. Hegyi, MA, PhD (UTM) 
P.R. Len, MA, PhD (S) 
E.G. Neglia, MA, PhD (UTM) 
A. Percival, MA, PhD 
W.L. Rolph, MA, Phil M (I) 
R. Skyrme, MA, M Litt, PhD (S) 
R. Sternberg, MA, PhD (SM) 
M.J. Valdés, MA, PhD, FRSC, Miembro Correspondiente de la Academia Mexicana (U) 
J.R. Webster, MA, PhD, FRSC (SM) 

Professor and Chair
A.T. Pérez-Leroux, MA, PhD

Professors
R. Davidson, MA, PhD 
A.T. Pérez-Leroux, MA, PhD 
S. Rupp, MA, M Phil, PhD 
R. Sarabia, MA, PhD 

Associate Professors
S. Antebi, MA, PhD 
M.C. Cuervo, PhD 
Y. Iglesias, MA, PhD 
E. Jagoe, MA, PhD 
S. Munjic, MA, PhD 
N.E. Rodríguez, PhD 

Associate Professor, Teaching Stream
M. Ramírez, MA, PhD 

Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream
J.C. Rocha Osornio, MA, PhD

Lecturer
I. Fernández Peláez, MA, PhD 

Introduction

Overview

Spanish is the most widely spoken language of the Americas, with 130 million speakers in North America alone, more than 400 million worldwide, and with growing numbers in Canada. It is the fourth most widely spoken language in the world, and it is the official language in 21 countries on three continents: Europe, Africa, and Latin America.

Spanish opens the door to the study of a rich range of cultural expressions in literature, film, and art, from medieval and early modern Transatlantic world, to the literary and cultural productions of contemporary Spanish and Spanish American societies. The department offers a wide selection of courses at the introductory (second year), intermediate (third year) and advanced (fourth year) level in literature, culture, and linguistics. Students are encouraged to complement and expand on the training they receive in these courses by taking courses in other academic units. By the time of their graduation, our students acquire skills to read analytically fictional and non-fictional, literary and visual texts. They thus gain a deep knowledge of Hispanic cultures, as well as the skills to reflect critically on the world in which they live.

Spanish also opens the door to the study of the Romance language family. The Department offers students the opportunity to advance their language skills through the systematic reflection on the language structure, from the sound system to the morphology and syntax. Through a variety of courses with a theoretical and experimental focus in linguistics, students acquire basic skills that can be transferred to teaching or research programs. Through collaboration with other language and linguistics programs, students are provided with opportunities and training to conduct research in linguistics with a focus on the Spanish language.

What can I do with a degree in Spanish?

Plenty! Spanish is recognized as one of the four United Nations official languages. A degree in Spanish linguistics, literature, and culture opens up career paths both domestically and internationally. The skills that students acquire through the study of Spanish and of the Spanish-speaking world either prepare them directly for or are an asset in some of the following fields:

  • media, journalism, marketing, public relations
  • domestic government services and NGOs; foreign services and foreign affairs specialist; international development; political aid
  • commerce, finances, tourism, and hospitality
  • post-graduate studies and academic careers; cultural work
  • editing, publishing, translation, education
  • library and information sciences
  • careers in the health profession, including medicine, speech pathology and audiology
  • computational linguistics, speech recognition, and synthesis

For the Portuguese component, please see the Portuguese Program in this Calendar.

For further information, please contact us in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, Victoria College, Room 208.

The Department offers Specialist, Major and Minor programs, as well as language citation certificate.

How is the program structured?

For many students, our program begins with the language sequence.

Language Sequence

  1. The Department reserves the right to place students in the language course best suited to their linguistic preparation.
  2. Students who, in the department's assessment, have adequate knowledge of Spanish may be required to take Spanish literature, culture or linguistics course instead of a language course at any level.

The progression of courses in the language sequence is designed to accommodate a wide range of previous language experience. Students are placed in the appropriate language course based on their proficiency, as determined by the online placement test and departmental assessment.

Placement Test

Students who have studied Spanish before joining the department should take the on-line placement test by going to the following link:

https://www.spanport.utoronto.ca/undergraduate/programs/spanish

Please, read carefully the instructions that explain how to take the test. The placement test can be taken only once. 

If you cannot assess your placement level from the available information, please contact the Associate Chair, Undergraduate Studies and you will receive personal advice for placement in the language sequence.

Students with no previous knowledge of Spanish

Students with no previous knowledge of Spanish enrol in SPA100Y1.

The recommended sequence of language courses for those students who have had little or no previous training in the language is the following:

SPA100Y1 > SPA220Y1 > SPA320Y1 > SPA420H1

Students with previous knowledge of Spanish

Students with previous knowledge of Spanish take the placement test.

Students who have studied Spanish before joining the department may enrol in several courses – beginners’, intermediate or advanced – depending on their background and their level of preparation. This includes those students who have traveled or lived briefly in the Spanish-speaking world. 

The recommended sequence of language courses for those students who join the department having mastered a beginner’s level of Spanish, including those who successfully completed SPA100Y1, is the following:

SPA220Y1 > SPA320Y1 > SPA420H1 or

SPA120Y1 > SPA320Y1 > SPA420H1

The recommended sequence of language courses for those students who join the department having mastered an intermediate level of Spanish, including those who have successfully completed SPA220Y1, is the following:

SPA320Y1 > SPA420H1

Native or bilingual speakers of Spanish

Those students who have native fluency in Spanish because they have had a life-long exposure to spoken Spanish in an informal context (i.e., those who have lived in a Spanish-speaking country, or those who live in a Spanish-speaking family) – should enrol in SPA219Y1. Students who qualify for this course have distinctly different learning needs than those students who learned Spanish as a foreign language. They have a native knowledge of the language and are able to understand and speak Spanish, but they have had little or no exposure to written Spanish. The recommended language sequence for such students is the following: SPA219Y1 > SPA420H1

Students who have completed the equivalent of a high school degree or higher level of education in a Spanish-speaking country can skip the language sequence. However, if they have not studied descriptive grammar, they should enrol in SPA420H1. Please consult the Undergraduate Coordinator for placement advice. 

Throughout the language sequence, stress is laid both on the cultural component of language acquisition and on the range of practical applications to which both the spoken and the written language may be put. Courses in business Spanish and in the structure of the Spanish language provide an array of possible options for students in the upper years.

Literature, Culture and Linguistics Courses

Students are encouraged to enroll early on in their academic career in several second-year courses as they transition from the language sequence (SPA219Y1 / SPA220Y1 / SPA320Y1) into the third and fourth-year courses in literature, culture, and linguistics.

SPA258H1 is a foundational course for the students who plan to pursue a major or a specialist degree in Spanish. While permitting students to advance their skills in reading and composition, this course also introduces information literacy, and the terms and methods of literary analysis through the study of a wide selection of brief literary texts. Intermediate level students (SPA220Y1) who are comfortable reading short texts, and who have well-developed writing and speaking skills for the intermediate level, may take that course while enrolled in SPA220Y1 (preferable in their second semester of SPA220Y1). Others should complete SPA220Y1 before taking SPA258H1.

The other courses offered in the 200-level (SPA221H1 and SPA259H1) are not required for a Specialist or Major degree but are recommended for students who need to hone their language skills before advancing to the upper-level literature, culture and linguistics courses.

SPA221H1 (Spanish Pronunciation) is a companion course to SPA220Y1. Students who are interested in this course are best advised to enroll while taking SPA220Y1.

SPA259H1 is a course that introduces students to the techniques of cultural analysis. Although not a degree requirement, this course is a popular option for students enrolled in the program. It has the same language requirements as SPA258H1 (students can take it either while enrolled in SPA220Y1, or upon completion of SPA220Y1).

Following the language sequence, and upon successfully completing SPA258H1, students pursuing a specialist and major degrees will fulfill in the due course of their university career the remaining degree requirements:

  • One 0.5 credit in Hispanic linguistics at the 300/400-level
  • One 0.5 credit in Spanish peninsular literature at the 300/400-level 
  • One 0.5 credit in Spanish American literature at the 300/400-level
  • SPA420H1
  • SPA454H1 or SPA489H1 

SPA420H1 (Advanced Grammar), SPA454H1 (Cervantes: Don Quixote) and SPA489H1 (Latin American Transculturations) are the capstone courses in the Spanish program. Students should plan to take these courses towards the end of their university studies, as by that time they will have acquired language fluency, and become versed in the reading of extended and complex texts in Spanish, and will have honed their skills in textual analysis.

Cognate Courses

  • Spanish Specialist: Up to 2.0 credits may be taken from cognate departmental or college offerings
  • Spanish major: Up to 1.0 credit may be taken from cognate departmental or college offerings
  • Spanish minor: Up to 1.0 cognate credit may be taken in Portuguese.

FAH326H1/ GGR341H1/ HIS291H1/ HIS292H1/ HIS301H1/ HIS336H1/ HIS390H1/ HIS397H1/ JLN327H1/ JLN427H1/ JLP315H1/ LIN101H1/ LIN102H1/ LIN228H1/ LIN232H1/ LIN229H1/ MUS305H1/ NMC376H1/ POL360H1/ POL442H1/ PRT*/ LAS* 

Students should contact the Associate Chair, Undergraduate Studies early on in the course of their university career to receive advice on how to proceed with their studies and to thus assure that they can receive their degree by the time of planned graduation. For further information, please visit us in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, Victoria College, Room 208.

 

Spanish Programs

Spanish Specialist (Arts Program) - ASSPE0623

Enrolment Requirements:

This is an open enrolment program. A student who has completed 4.0 credits may enrol in the program.

Completion Requirements:

Consult the Associate Chair, Undergraduate Studies, at the Department of Spanish and Portuguese:

spanport.undergraduate@utoronto.ca

(10.0 credits, including at least 1.0 400-level credit)

First Year:
SPA100Y1/​ SPA120Y1/​ SPA220Y1, SPA219Y1 (for native/bilingual speakers of Spanish)

Second Year:
SPA220Y1/​ SPA320Y1, SPA420H1 (for speakers who have taken SPA219Y1 in first year)

SPA258H1

Third and Fourth Years:

1. SPA320Y1

2. 0.5 credit in Hispanic linguistics from the 300/400 series

3. 0.5 credit in Spanish peninsular literature from the 300/400 series

4. 0.5 credit in Spanish American literature from the 300/400-series

5. SPA420H1

6. SPA454H1 or SPA489H1

7. Additional SPA courses to make the equivalent of 10.0 credits. Up to 2.0 credits may be taken from cognate departmental or college offerings: EUR, GGR, HIS, LAS, LIN, POL, PRT. A complete list of eligible courses is available at the departmental website.

Spanish Major (Arts Program) - ASMAJ0623

Enrolment Requirements:

This is an open enrolment program. A student who has completed 4.0 credits may enrol in the program.

Completion Requirements:

Consult the Associate Chair, Undergraduate Studies, Department of Spanish and Portuguese.

spanport.undergraduate@utoronto.ca

(7 credits)

First Year:
SPA100Y1/​ SPA120Y1/​ SPA220Y1, SPA219Y1 (for native/bilingual speakers of Spanish)

Second Year:
SPA220Y1/​ SPA320Y1, SPA420H1 (for speakers who have taken SPA219Y1 in their first year)

SPA258H1

Third and Fourth Years:

1. SPA320Y1

2. 0.5 credit in Hispanic linguistics from the 300/400-series

3. 0.5 credit in Spanish peninsular literature from the 300/400-series

4. 0.5 credit in Spanish American literature from the 300/400-series

5. SPA420H1

6. SPA454H1 or SPA489H1

7. Additional SPA courses to make 7.0 credits. Up to 1.0 credit may be taken from cognate departmental or college offerings: EUR, GGR, HIS, LAS, LIN, POL, PRT. A complete list of eligible courses is available at the departmental website.

Spanish Minor (Arts Program) - ASMIN0623

Enrolment Requirements:

This is an open enrolment program. A student who has completed 4.0 credits may enrol in the program.

Completion Requirements:

Consult the Associate Chair, Undergraduate Studies, Department of Spanish and Portuguese.

spanport.undergraduate@utoronto.ca

(4.0 credits)

First Year:

SPA100Y1/​ SPA120Y1/​ SPA220Y1, SPA219Y1 (for native/bilingual speakers of Spanish)

Second Year:

SPA220Y1/​ SPA320Y1,

Third Year:

SPA320Y1

Additional SPA courses to a total of 4.0 credits. Up to 1.0 cognate credit may be taken in Portuguese. No other cognates are permitted for a Spanish Minor.


 

First-Year Foundation Seminars

The SPA195H1SPA196H1/ SPA197H1/ SPA198H1/ SPA199H1 seminars are designed to provide the opportunity to work closely with an instructor in a class of no more than thirty students. These interactive seminars are intended to stimulate the students’ curiosity and provide an opportunity to get to know a member of the professorial staff in a seminar environment during the first year of study.

Faculty of Arts & Science Language Citation

The Department of Spanish and Portuguese participates in the Faculty of Arts and Science’s Language Citation initiative for Spanish.

To obtain a Language Citation in Spanish, students will complete the two language-sequence courses that follow the introductory level: SPA220Y1SPA320Y1, with a minimum of B- in each one of the courses to be considered.

Native and bilingual speakers should complete SPA219Y1 and two additional 0.5 credits in Spanish at the 300- or 400-level.

Students should note that, as explained in this Calendar, the Language Citation is not equivalent to an academic program and that enrolment in a program is not necessary in order to earn the recognition bestowed by the Citation.

To request the citation, e-mail your request with your student ID number to the Associate Chair, Undergraduate Studies. Submit this request as soon as you have completed the courses that will be considered.

 

Spanish: see also European Affairs, Latin American Studies

 

Regarding Spanish Courses

  1. The Department reserves the right to place students in the language course best suited to their linguistic preparation.
  2. Students who, in the department's assessment, have adequate knowledge of Spanish may be required to take Spanish literature, culture or linguistics course instead of a language course at any level.
  3. All courses are taught in Spanish unless otherwise specified.

Spanish Courses

SPA100Y1 - Spanish for Beginners

Hours: 48L/48T

Introduction to the Spanish language for beginning students; overview of basic grammatical structures, development of vocabulary and oral and written expression. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

Prerequisite: No previous knowledge of Spanish, or placement test results.
Exclusion: SPA120Y1, SPA219Y1, SPA319Y1, SPA220Y1, SPA320Y1, SPA420H1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

SPA120Y1 - Accelerated Spanish Through Community Engaged Learning

Hours: 96L

This course is a combination of SPA100Y1 and SPA220Y1 into one year. It is designed for students with prior knowledge of Spanish, but whose level is not appropriate to enroll in SPA220Y1. The focus is on the fundamentals of Spanish grammar and cultural aspects through community service learning with the local Spanish-speaking community of Toronto. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

Prerequisite: High School Spanish; informal knowledge of Spanish
Exclusion: Native and Heritage Speakers, SPA219Y1, SPA100Y1 and SPA220Y1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

SPA195H1 - Barcelona

Hours: 24L

A deep dive into the modern experience of one of the world´s most compelling cities, this course considers Barcelona from a multidisciplinary perspective that includes study of its architecture, foodways, politics and response to mass tourism. Restricted to first-year students. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

SPA196H1 - Class and Work in the Americas

Hours: 24L

This course examines economic and social inequalities in the contemporary Americas. We look at the ways in which class divisions are represented in academic studies, literature, film, and television. From Mexican maquiladoras to indigenous reservations, we consider the global poor and how recent changes in the character of work (automation, outsourcing, free trade zones) have had an impact on class divisions, especially for younger members of society. Can a renewed understanding of class and work help us to negotiate power, privilege, and inequality in this century? Restricted to first-year students. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

SPA197H1 - Cervantes and Imperial Spain

Hours: 24L

During the lifetime of Miguel de Cervantes, the Spanish monarchy governed an empire that extended across the globe, from its traditional lands in Europe to colonies in the Philippines and the Americas. We will examine the advantages and cost of imperial rule through reading a selection of Cervantes's works. Discussions will centre on such questions as the social impact of imperial wealth, the disruptive role of soldiers in civil society, contact with non-European cultures and the sub-cultures of Spanish society. Students will be introduced to the University of Toronto´s outstanding resources for studying the literatures and cultures of early modern Europe. Readings will include some of the Exemplary Stories and selected episodes of Don Quixote. Restricted to first-year students. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

SPA198H1 - A Brief History of Love in the Western World

Hours: 24L

This course introduces students to the ways in which the foremost thinkers in the history of the Western world (Plato, Ovid, St. Augustine, Ficino, Ebreo) conceived the idea of love; how did the notions of sexuality and gender play into that idea, and how did these notions carry on – or not – into our present understanding of love, sexuality and gender. While the background readings pertain to the general Western cultural heritage, the literary texts through which we will observe particular applications of the theories of love were produced by some of the outstanding 16th and 17th century Spanish authors (for ex. Rodríguez de Montalvo; Jorge de Montemayor; Miguel de Cervantes; Tirso de Molina, María de Zayas, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz). All the readings will be in English. Restricted to first-year students. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

SPA199H1 - More than Nachos and Tequila: Mexican History and Culture

Hours: 24L

This course aims at studying the rich history of Mexico from an interdisciplinary perspective. We will cover a wide range of issues, such as identity, modernity race, immigration, gender, sexuality, globalization, and iconic figures. The issue of identity as construed from the inside, but also from the outside and particularly from the English-speaking world (i.e. current US presidential views on the wall), will be widely examined. Course materials will range from chronicles of conquest to modern reflections and representations by historians, philosophers, filmmakers, musicians, writers and artist, among others. Restricted to first-year students. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

SPA219Y1 - Academic Spanish

Hours: 48L/24T

For native (heritage) speakers who have had exposure to spoken Spanish in an informal context (i.e., living in a Spanish-speaking country; or with a Spanish-speaking family), but little to no exposure to written Spanish. The students' ability to speak and understand Spanish may range from basic to relatively high fluency, but they cannot write and/or read Spanish. The course reviews English/Spanish spelling differences; written and spoken registers of Spanish, and basic aspects of the grammatical system. Provides students with the essential understanding of Spanish grammatical system; builds their vocabulary; and trains them to express themselves formally.

Prerequisite: Basic to relatively high native ability to speak and understand Spanish; limited or no formal education in Spanish.
Exclusion: SPA100Y1, SPA120Y1, SPA220Y1, SPA320Y1, SPA319Y1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

SPA220Y1 - Intermediate Spanish

Hours: 48L/48T

Intermediate Spanish for non-native speakers. Intensive grammar review of the structures of Spanish integrated with an introduction to reading authentic Spanish material, with practice designed to build vocabulary and to improve oral and written expression.

Prerequisite: SPA100Y1 or placement test.
Exclusion: SPA120Y1, SPA219Y1, SPA319Y1, SPA320Y1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

SPA221H1 - Spanish Pronunciation

Hours: 24L

A practical introduction to articulatory phonetics, Spanish sound patterns, phonetics, phonology; the basic concepts of phonetic description and transcription; the study of Spanish vowel and consonant systems, stress and intonation.

Prerequisite: SPA100Y1
Corequisite: SPA120Y1 or SPA220Y1
Exclusion: SPA219Y1; native speakers of Spanish; SPA321H1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Thought, Belief and Behaviour (2)

SPA254H1 - Cervantes and Modern Fiction

Hours: 24L

Critical reading of Don Quixote as a canonical text for the novel and other narrative forms, including historical metafiction, the short story, and fictional autobiography. Comparative discussion of Quixotic fictions by modern authors, such as Machado de Assis, Borges, Nabokov, García Márquez, Junot Díaz. Lectures and readings in English.

Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

SPA255Y0 - Introduction to the Hispanic World

Hours: 48L

A survey of Hispanic Culture, with attention to central issues in history, politics, and popular traditions. Course will be taught in English.

Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

SPA258H1 - Introduction to Hispanic Literary Studies

Hours: 36L

Introduction to university literary studies in Spanish and information literacy. Representative selection of Spanish and Spanish American prose, poetry, and drama, with focus on critical terminology and methods of literary analysis. Required for a program degree.

Prerequisite: First semester SPA220Y1
Corequisite: SPA120Y1 or SPA220Y1 or SPA219Y1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

SPA259H1 - Introduction to Hispanic Cultural Studies

Hours: 24L

Forms of cultural expression in Spain, Latin America and Spanish-speaking North America, with study of representative media, including literature, journalism, film, visual art, and the urban environment. Introduction to methods of cultural analysis. (Offered in alternate years).

Prerequisite: Minimum 1st semester of SPA220Y1
Corequisite: SPA120Y1 or SPA220Y1 or SPA219Y1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

SPA275H1 - 21st Century Latin American Cinema

Previous Course Number: SPA375H1

Hours: 12L/12T

This online course examines the social, political, and cultural contexts of recent Latin American Hispanic cinema. Topics include race and indigeneity; poverty, precarity, and inequality; gender and sexuality; and memory and trauma. The representation of these themes in Latin American cinema of the 21st century has contributed to an increase in its transnational and cosmopolitan reception. Lectures in English. Students choose tutorials in Spanish or English.

Exclusion: SPA375H1, SPA275H5
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

SPA299Y1 - Research Opportunity Program

Credit course for supervised participation in faculty research project. Details at https://www.artsci.utoronto.ca/current/academics/research-opportunities/research-opportunities-program. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

Distribution Requirements: Humanities

SPA320Y1 - Advanced Spanish

Hours: 48L/48T

Advanced Spanish for non-natives. Selective review of grammar with emphasis on the complex sentence; intensive practice in written and oral expression to improve proficiency.

Prerequisite: SPA120Y1 or SPA220Y1 or placement test.
Exclusion: SPA219Y1/ SPA319Y1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

SPA322H1 - Introduction to Hispanic Linguistics

Hours: 24L/12T

The basic concepts and analytic tools of linguistics applied to the study of Spanish, with a focus on the Spanish phonological, morphological, and syntactic systems. Theoretical discussion and practical exercises in analytic techniques.

Prerequisite: SPA120Y1 or SPA220Y1 or SPA219Y1; or instructor's permission
Recommended Preparation: SPA221H1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Thought, Belief and Behaviour (2)

SPA323H1 - Business Spanish

Previous Course Number: SPA323Y1

Hours: 24L/48P

Practical uses of spoken and written Spanish for business contexts, with an emphasis on culturally appropriate ways of communication in a Spanish-language work environment. This course builds on grammar and vocabulary knowledge already acquired at the intermediate level. As a part of the course, students will participate in an internship with Spanish-speaking businesses and institutions in the Toronto area. The placements are designed to deepen linguistic, cultural, and analytical skills acquired in the classroom in work-related environments, promote intercultural competency, and foster links to the community.

Prerequisite: SPA120Y1/ SPA220Y1/ proof of comparable Spanish level
Corequisite: SPA320Y1, SPA219Y1 or proof of comparable Spanish level
Exclusion: SPA323Y1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)
Course Experience: Partnership-Based Experience

SPA324H1 - Spanish Bilingualism

Hours: 24L

Spanish bilingualism from three different perspectives: linguistic, sociolinguistic, psycholinguistic. Analysis of typical language contact phenomena with materials from Spanish. Case studies of Spanish in contact and discussion of the psychological consequences of bilingualism. Introduction to survey methods in sociolinguistics and psycholinguistics, and basic techniques for conducting language interviews. (Offered in alternate years)

Prerequisite: SPA120Y1 or SPA220Y1 or SPA219Y1 or Permission of the Department
Recommended Preparation: SPA221H1/ SPA322H1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Thought, Belief and Behaviour (2)

SPA326H1 - Latin American Varieties of Spanish Through the Media

Hours: 36L

This course aims at exposing students to different varieties of Latin American Spanish. Lexical, morpho-syntactic and phonological variation will be discussed and theoretical descriptions will be illustrated by using samples from contemporary cinema and television. (Offered in alternate years)

Prerequisite: SPA120Y1 or SPA220Y1 or SPA219Y1 or Permission of the Department
Recommended Preparation: SPA221H1/ SPA320Y1/ SPA322H1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

SPA327H1 - Catalan

Previous Course Number: SPA327Y

Hours: 24L

Study of Catalan language through an overview of grammatical structures and exercises in proficiency skills, complemented by readings in Catalan history and society to attain interdisciplinary cultural literacy. (Offered every three years)

Prerequisite: SPA120Y1 or SPA220Y1 or SPA219Y1 or any other 200 level Romance Language.
Exclusion: SPA325Y1/ SPA325H1, SPA327Y1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

SPA341H1 - Modernist Movements in Spain

Hours: 24L

Literary and artistic movements in Spain from 1890 to 1940, with special attention to the convergence and mutual mediation of politics and art. Materials to be studied include novels, poetry, the urban environment, graphic art, literary journals and manifestos, and some early Hispanic film. (Offered every three years)

Prerequisite: SPA120Y1 or SPA220Y1 or SPA219Y1 or Permission of the Department
Recommended Preparation: SPA258H1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Society and its Institutions (3)

SPA344H1 - The Spanish Sensorium

Hours: 20L/4P

Pushing back against the primacy of vision, this course approaches modern Spain from the perspective of our other senses. How does the Spanish state and its concomitant nations smell, feel, taste and sound? What do these other forms of knowing tell us about cultural phenomena? In this course we will consider both primary and secondary source texts; that is, we will be touching, smelling, tasting and listening as well as analyzing the textual manifestations of sensory experience.

Prerequisite: SPA258H1/ SPA259H1, SPA219Y1/ SPA220Y1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

SPA345H1 - Spanish Cinema

Hours: 24L

Analysis of the development of Spanish Cinema within its social and political contexts. Directors studied include Buñuel, Bardem, Erice, Saura, Almodóvar and Bigas Luna. (Offered every three years).

Prerequisite: SPA120Y1 or SPA220Y1 or SPA219Y1 or Permission of the Department
Recommended Preparation: SPA258H1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

SPA348H1 - Galdos and the Realist Novel

Hours: 24L

Representative fiction by Galdós, the principal Spanish novelist of the nineteenth century. Detailed study of such texts as Marianela, Doña Perfecta, La desheredada, Realidad, La incógnita, in relation to modernity of realist fiction and contemporary issues in politics, social relations and individual psychology. (Offered every three years)

Prerequisite: SPA120Y1 or SPA220Y1 or SPA219Y1 or Permission of the Department
Recommended Preparation: SPA258H1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

SPA350H1 - Medieval Spain Portrayed Through Visual Arts

Previous Course Number: SPA450H1

Hours: 24S

Through the lens of visual arts, this course will examine the evolution of complex medieval societies in the Middle Ages. We will analyse films, painting, drawing, sculpture, ceramic, images, literature, and architecture as a primary source to explain and study the past. This investigation of visual art allows us an in-depth look at medieval daily life, with a specific focus on family, violence, marriage, childhood, crimes, punishments, markets, towns, and village.

Prerequisite: One of SPA120Y1/ SPA220Y1/ SPA219Y1 + SPA258H1 
Corequisite: SPA320Y1
Exclusion: SPA450H1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

SPA352H1 - Court and Country in Early Modern Spain

Hours: 24L

Representative texts (such as ballads, popular and courtly lyric; chivalry, pastoral and picaresque prose, theater) from the early modern period, studied in relation to the history and society of imperial Spain. Discussion of literary texts as codes of social conduct; issues of urbanization, court culture, social order and disorder, and cultural discourses of identity and difference. Reading from modern authors (Sender, Borges) to illustrate the continuity of court and country in the Hispanic tradition. (Offered every three years)

Prerequisite: SPA120Y1 or SPA220Y1 or SPA219Y1 or SPA258H1.
Recommended Preparation: SPA258H1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

SPA354H1 - Parody and Comedy in Early Modern Spanish Literature

Hours: 24L

Parody and comedy as interrelated literary forms that create humour through conventional character types, the play of language, self-conscious imitation, and the relationship of parodic works to canonical intertexts. Considerations of humour as a response to social anxieties in early modern Spain. Analysis of poems, plays and short prose narratives by representative authors; Garcilaso, Góngora, Quevedo, Tirso de Molina, Cervantes.

Prerequisite: SPA120Y1/ SPA220Y1/ SPA219Y1/ SPA258H1. Students who do not meet the requirements are encouraged to contact the Department.
Recommended Preparation: SPA258H1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

SPA368H1 - Spanish and the Empire: Migration in Language and Literature

Hours: 24L

This interdisciplinary approach considers broad cultural consequences resulting from the contact of Spanish with the American indigenous languages. Current cultural and linguistic theories on language contact are used to analyze sixteenth to eighteenth-century Spanish texts, and invite reflection on language, power, and the emergence of new cultural expressions. (Offered every three years)

Prerequisite: SPA120Y1 or SPA220Y1 or SPA219Y1 or Permission of the Department
Recommended Preparation: SPA258H1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

SPA377H1 - Central American Literature: Narratives of War

Previous Course Number: SPA389H1

Hours: 24L

The 70s and 80s represent a period of armed struggle, civil war, and revolution in most of Central America. Through the study of specific novels, short stories, and films, this course analyzes the representation of violence, and the political repression generated by military conflicts. (Offered every three years)

Prerequisite: SPA120Y1/ SPA220Y1/ SPA219Y1. Students who do not meet the prerequisite are encouraged to contact the Department.
Exclusion: SPA389H1
Recommended Preparation: SPA258H1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

SPA378H1 - Central America Postwar Narrative

Previous Course Number: SPA488H1

Hours: 24L

The end of civil and military conflicts in the last decade of the 20th century reshapes the political landscape of Central America. Through selected readings of novels and short stories from representative writers, issues of immigration, displacement, and globalization are discussed to understand these changes in the region. (Offered every three years)

Prerequisite: 0.5 SPA credit at the 300-level
Exclusion: SPA488H1
Recommended Preparation: SPA258H1/ SPA259H1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

SPA381H1 - Nation, Identity and Modernity in Spanish-America

Hours: 24L

Analysis of poetry, short stories, essays, and graphic art in the context of nation-building and the question of identity during the nineteenth century. (Offered every three years)

Prerequisite: SPA120Y1 or SPA220Y1 or SPA219Y1 or Permission of the Department
Recommended Preparation: SPA258H1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

SPA382H1 - Spanish American Women in Art, Film, and Literature

Hours: 24L

Study of different creative expressions by women in Spanish America from the colonial period to the present; analysis of selected works of visual art, film, essays, poetry, and fiction. (Offered every three years)

Prerequisite: SPA120Y1 or SPA220Y1 or SPA219Y1 or Permission of the Department
Recommended Preparation: SPA258H1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

SPA383H1 - Disability and Embodiment in Spanish American Cultures

Hours: 24L

This course approaches literary, visual, and multi-media texts of twentieth-century and contemporary Spanish America, focusing on the body as site of multiple differences, lived experience, exploitation, and creative expression. We will consider the roles of disability through cultural production and activism, particularly in the Mexican context, the histories that have shaped ongoing inequalities, and relationships between disability, gender, and race in these histories.

Prerequisite: SPA120Y1/ SPA220Y1/ SPA219Y1
Recommended Preparation: SPA258H1
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

SPA384H1 - Avant-Garde Movements in Spanish America

Hours: 24L

Study of representative works of major artistic and literary movements in 20th and 21st century Spanish America: avant-garde poetry, theatre of the absurd, surrealist art, neo-realism, postmodernism. (Offered every three years)

Prerequisite: SPA120Y1 or SPA220Y1 or SPA219Y1 or Permission of the Department
Recommended Preparation: SPA258H1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

SPA385H1 - Literature and Social Change in Spanish America

Hours: 24L

Detailed study of key moments and texts in Spanish American culture from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, focusing on such topics as the creation of new nations, indigenismo, Caribbean anti-slavery literature, and the Mexican and Cuban Revolutions. (Offered every three years)

Prerequisite: SPA120Y1 or SPA220Y1 or SPA219Y1 or Permission of the Department
Exclusion: SPA487H1
Recommended Preparation: SPA258H1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

SPA386H1 - Literary Landscapes of the Mexican Revolution

Hours: 24L

Examines cultural production, including short stories, novels, films and paintings surrounding the socio-political transformations of the revolutionary period. Readings and discussion emphasize general concepts of the landscape, as a visual and spatial mode of interpreting relationships between human subjects, and between these subjects and the territory they occupy. (Offered every three years)

Prerequisite: SPA120Y1 or SPA220Y1 or SPA219Y1 or Permission of the Department
Recommended Preparation: SPA258H1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

SPA387H1 - Latin American Performative Expression

Hours: 24L

Considers continuities and divisions between word and action, art and politics, in short works of fiction, theatre, film and performance projects. Includes work from twentieth-century and contemporary Mexico as well as Latin American cultural production from Canada and the United States.

Prerequisite: SPA120Y1 or SPA220Y1 or SPA219Y1 or Permission of the Department
Exclusion: SPA467H1 (Topics: Latin American Performative Practices), offered in Fall 2009, Winter 2018
Recommended Preparation: SPA258H1
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

SPA398H0 - Research Excursions

An instructor-supervised group project in an off-campus setting. Details at https://www.artsci.utoronto.ca/current/academics/research-opportunities/research-excursions-program. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

Distribution Requirements: Humanities

SPA398Y0 - Research Excursions

An instructor-supervised group project in an off-campus setting. Details at https://www.artsci.utoronto.ca/current/academics/research-opportunities/research-excursions-program. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

Distribution Requirements: Humanities

SPA399Y1 - Research Opportunity Program

Credit course for supervised participation in faculty research project. Details at https://www.artsci.utoronto.ca/current/academics/research-opportunities/research-opportunities-program. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

SPA420H1 - Advanced Grammar

Hours: 36L

Linguistic analysis with the objective of improving students' command of Spanish grammar. Advanced review of traditional grammatical topics, including the verbal and pronominal systems, and Spanish copulas and embedded clauses. This course assumes familiarity with the grammatical terminology introduced in SPA320Y1.

Prerequisite: SPA219Y1 or SPA320Y1, or placement test.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

SPA421H1 - The Structure of Spanish

Hours: 36L

Study of Spanish morphology and syntax: syntactic categories in Spanish, the structure and interpretation of simple and complex sentences. (Offered in alternate years)

Prerequisite: SPA420H1, or permission of department
Recommended Preparation: SPA322H1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Thought, Belief and Behaviour (2)

SPA422H1 - Sociolinguistics of Spanish

Hours: 24L

Study of linguistic variation across the Spanish-speaking world; central issues in phonological, morphological, and syntactic variation, analyzed from a geographical as well as from a social point of view. (Offered in alternate years)

Prerequisite: SPA322H1 or permission of the department
Recommended Preparation: SPA420H1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Thought, Belief and Behaviour (2)

SPA423H1 - Spanish Phonology

Hours: 24L/12T

Theoretical and experimental approaches to Spanish phonology. Topics include: Spanish phonemic inventory, sound patterns, suprasegmentals (stress and intonation), synchronic and diachronic variation. Methods of data collection and analysis in the discipline, with practical applications. (Offered in alternate years)

Prerequisite: SPA322H1 or permission of the Department
Recommended Preparation: SPA420H1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Thought, Belief and Behaviour (2)

SPA424H1 - Experimental Approaches to Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics

Hours: 12P/24S

This course introduces students to theoretically grounded experimental approaches in the field of linguistics, with a particular focus on Hispanic and Lusophone linguistics. Students will receive training in the use of different experimental and corpus analysis techniques and will discuss paradigmatic examples of research papers in the areas of phonetics-phonology and morpho-syntax. Throughout the course, they will conduct their own research project under the supervision of a specialist in the field. The course can be taught in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

Prerequisite: SPA322H1/ PRT322H1
Recommended Preparation: 300-level SPA/PRT linguistic courses
Breadth Requirements: Thought, Belief and Behaviour (2)

SPA425H1 - History of the Spanish Language

Hours: 24L

Have you ever doubted where Spanish came from? Or how did it become the language we know today? This course presents a detailed study of the external and internal history of the Spanish language in which this evolution occurred. Special attention will be paid to the linguistic progress of the language from its Latin roots to Modern Spanish and to the socio-cultural, historical, political and literary influence that have affected its linguistic evolution. The main features of the Spanish language evolution will be put in practice through a close reading of representative Medieval, Renaissance and dialectal texts.

Prerequisite: SPA320Y1 or SPA219Y1 or permission of instructor
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

SPA427H1 - Spanish Language Teaching as Reflective Practice

Hours: 24L/6P

Practical introduction to planning, management, and delivery of academic projects related to teaching of the Spanish language. This course concentrates on core communication skills that students will adapt and apply to various contexts and projects. Through experiential activities, students will be able to deepen their understanding on how we negotiate institutional, societal, and global challenges in multilingual educational contexts.

Prerequisite: SPA320Y1
Corequisite: SPA420H1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Thought, Belief and Behaviour (2)
Course Experience: University-Based Experience

SPA435H1 - Fictions of Contemporary Spain

Hours: 24L

Study of major currents in narrative fiction during the last twenty years, a period of return to democratic government, the relaxing of censorship and the opening up of Spanish culture. Analysis of works from several generations of male and female writers. (Offered every three years)

Prerequisite: At least one 300-series half-course in Spanish.
Recommended Preparation: SPA258H1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

SPA439H1 - Topics in Spanish Studies

Hours: 24S

A course on specific topics in Spanish studies, designed for advanced students. Course content and instructor are established on a yearly basis.

Prerequisite: SPA220Y1/ SPA219Y1
Recommended Preparation: SPA258H1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

SPA454H1 - Cervantes: Don Quixote

Hours: 36L

Detailed study of Don Quixote as a foundational text in the European literary tradition, with attention to the conventions, genres, and literary techniques that inform the text.

Prerequisite: SPA258H1; SPA219Y1 or SPA320Y1 or permission of the department
Exclusion: SPA350Y1
Recommended Preparation: SPA352H1; Another 300-series half course in Spanish
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

SPA467H1 - Topics in Spanish-American Literature and Culture

Hours: 24L

A course on a specific topic in Spanish American culture, designed for advanced students. Course content and instructor are established on a yearly basis.

Prerequisite: At least one 300-series half-course in Spanish.
Recommended Preparation: SPA258H1/ SPA259H1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

SPA475H1 - 21st Century Latin American Culture

Hours: 24L

Contemporary Argentine and Mexican authors and visual artists will be studied through their work, online visibility, and also the institutional and discursive structures that facilitate and shape their production. In-class Skype discussions with some of the artists. (Offered every three years)

Prerequisite: At least one 300-series half-course in Spanish.
Recommended Preparation: SPA258H1/ SPA259H1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities

SPA480H1 - Icons and Iconography in Latin American Culture

Hours: 24L

Production, circulation and meaning of icons through Latin American literary and cultural contexts. Readings are selected from the period of independence to the present, and focus on the transformative ideological charge of cultural objects across geographic space and history. Focuses on political and socio-economic tensions between popular and elite spheres of cultural production, and on the risks and limits of iconographic representation. (Offered every three years)    

Prerequisite: At least one 300-series half-course in Spanish.
Recommended Preparation: SPA258H1/ SPA259H1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

SPA482H1 - 20th-Century Spanish American Narrative

Hours: 24L

Detailed study of the major movements in Spanish-American narrative, including magic realism, fantastic literature, women's writing, and testimonial literature, through analysis of representative novels and short stories. (Offered every three years)

Prerequisite: At least one 300-series half-course in Spanish.
Recommended Preparation: SPA258H1/ SPA259H1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

SPA486H1 - Contemporary Caribbean Literatures and Identities

Hours: 24L

Literature studied as a socio-political space for the articulation of new concepts of cultural identity; examination of cultural change and aesthetic innovation in selected poetic, dramatic, and narrative texts from different national traditions (Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico). (Offered every three years)

Prerequisite: At least one 300-series half-course in Spanish.
Recommended Preparation: SPA258H1/ SPA259H1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

SPA489H1 - Latin American Transculturations

Hours: 36L

This course integrates a series of contemporary debates in Latin American cultural studies with analysis of its transdisciplinary history and global permutations. Key topics of investigation within these debates may include indigeneity; coloniality, transculturation, and subalternity; empire, nation, and globalism; revolution, state discourse, and the popular; gender and sexuality; and the production of race.

Prerequisite: SPA258H1; SPA219Y1/ SPA320Y1
Recommended Preparation: Another 300-series half-course in literature
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

SPA490H1 - Independent Study

Individual study with a member of staff on a topic of common interest including readings, discussion and written assignments. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

Prerequisite: At least one 300-series half-course in Spanish, and written approval of the Undergraduate Coordinator
Distribution Requirements: Humanities

SPA491H1 - Independent Study

Individual study with a member of staff on a topic of common interest including readings, discussion and written assignments. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

Prerequisite: At least one 300-series half-course in Spanish, and written approval of the Undergraduate Coordinator
Distribution Requirements: Humanities

Printer-friendly Version