Goucher College

Goucher College 2013-2014 Undergraduate Catalogue

Nov 23, 2024

Goucher College 2013-2014 Undergraduate Catalogue PLEASE NOTE: This is an archived catalog. Programs are subject to change each academic year.

Hispanic Languages, Literatures, and Cultures Department

Why take Spanish? There are 50.5 million Hispanics currently living in the U.S. and by the year 2050, that number is expected to grow to over 100 million and make up approximately 29 % of the total U.S. population! Spanish is the most widely taught foreign language in this country, but it is also spoken in 44 different countries, with 329 million speakers.

Why take Spanish at Goucher College? Our courses have been designed for the 21st century student, with on-line components, in which students Skype with native Spanish speakers from Mexico City; or with community-based learning components, in which students interact and learn the with local Latino community on campus and in Baltimore City. We offer courses cross-listed with departments and programs such as History, Women’s Studies, Peace Studies, Sociology, Education, Environmental Studies, and World Literature, and a wide variety of interdisciplinary Intensive Courses Abroad (ICA) in Uruguay and Argentina, Spain, Costa Rica and Ecuador. Our curriculum is broad and diverse, with courses in a variety of topics, including: Spanish and Latin American media and press, narratives of the Spanish Civil War, queer studies, crime and punishment in Latin American cinema, Spanish-speaking cultures and language varieties, Latin American theater and performance, the Latino presence in the U.S., studies in translation and interpreting, and classes on literary production, from pre-Hispanic poetry and the origins of the modern novel to the magic realism of the Boom and the contemporary literary movements.

What can you do with a Spanish major? Once you graduate, you might follow the footsteps of our distinguished alumni. Recent majors have chosen top-notch graduate schools to continue their formal education, others are working at international NGOs, or have joined the Peace Corps. Spanish graduates work in rural communities focusing on environmental issues, some work as translators and interpreters, in Mental Health Centers and as Legislative Aides for Council members. Some work for the media, and film industries for national and international companies, others are actors, actresses and singers. Spanish graduates are also teaching all over the world from China and Thailand to Spain, Argentina, and California; or as close as Baltimore County.

General Education Requirement

The study of a foreign language is an essential part of a general education requirement at any liberal arts college. At Goucher, all students are required to complete the 100-level language sequence through the last semester of the intermediate level (

, or

). To fulfill their language requirement, students may enroll in different language class models depending on their learning styles. In the traditional track, students may enroll in language classes that meet four hours a week face-to-face. In the new model, students can either enroll in V-classes (Virtual classes) that meet three hours a week face-to-face and conduct one-contact hour a week on-line with native speakers living abroad, or in S-classes that meet three hours a week face-to-face and conduct one-contact hour a week of service in Goucher’s Futuro Latino Learning Center and Latino organizations in Baltimore City. We also offer students the opportunity to fulfill the language requirement abroad through intensive programs in Cusco (Peru) and Alicante (Spain). In addition to increasing cultural awareness through these experiences, all courses are designed to develop the four language learning skills – listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

Students must complete a placement test before enrolling in a language class or taking language courses abroad. On the basis of a placement test and interview, students may be exempt, but not receive credit for certain courses, and enter the language sequence at a higher level. Transfer credits are awarded pending placement test results. These results have an expiration date of one year—i.e., students need to retake their placement test after two or more semesters if they have not taken the language course in which they were placed, unless they have opted to satisfy their language requirement with the study of another language altogether. Regardless of an AP score, students cannot receive credit for Spanish without taking the Spanish placement exam and consulting the chair in order to be placed in the appropriate Spanish course.

Study-Abroad Programs

To provide students an experience of immersion in the language, the department offers a variety of interdisciplinary ICAs in different countries, such as Astronomy in Granada, Spain; Environmental Studies in Ecuador; Multicultural Education in Costa Rica; and Peace Studies in Bilbao, Spain. Spanish majors are required to spend a semester in one of the department-approved study-abroad programs in Argentina or Spain. If students wish to spend a semester in one of the department approved semester-long programs in Latin America, they should speak to Dr. Jeanie Murphy, director of Study of Abroad.

Spain and Argentina—Program Objectives and Description

The objective of the study-abroad semester is to provide Spanish majors an opportunity to advance their knowledge of the Spanish language and to pursue their specialized fields of academic interest while developing cross-cultural competency. High-quality instruction by distinguished local professors is combined with immersion in Spanish speaking societies with the goals of improving understanding of a variety of cultures and allowing students to explore the world from more than one perspective. Students majoring in Spanish must spend at least one semester abroad in Spain or Argentina, where they will live with local families, attend classes and explore the country and culture through fieldtrips. Eligibility: Students must have completed SP 235 or its equivalent to go to Spain and Argentina. Abroad, students will take a placement exam which will determine the level of the courses they will be eligible to take.

Course Load and Credits in Spain and Argentina

Students will attend local universities taking tailor-made courses taught entirely in Spanish by accomplished local university professors, and they will have the opportunity of taking courses alongside local students if they show sufficient proficiency in the placement exam abroad. Students will have a complete immersion experience with home stays and participation in the cultural life of the region. Upon satisfactory completion of the program abroad, students will return to Goucher having earned a minimum of 12 credits.

For more information, visit The Center for Cross-Cultural Study: http://www.spanishstudies.org

The Language House, the Thormann International Center and the Futuro Latino Learning Center

Outside the classroom, opportunities to practice Spanish and attend international cultural events are provided through the Language House program, the Thormann International Center and the Futuro Latino Learning Center.

The Language House is staffed by native speakers, and aims at promoting the daily practice of foreign languages outside the classroom by organizing a variety of events throughout the semester, such as plays, a weekly language table, teas, colloquia, film series, and guest speakers. To further enrich students’ awareness of the Spanish-speaking cultures, the Language House and the Department sponsor an annual celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month. These events often take place throughout the campus and in particular, in the Thormann International Center, a space dedicated to the promotion of international cultural awareness. For information about the Language House, contact María Teresa Gomis-Quinto, coordinator of the Spanish programs in the Language House.

Since its inception in the Fall of 2009, the Futuro Latino Learning Center (FLLC) has provided unique educational opportunities on campus to Goucher students and to the Latino community of Baltimore County. The center offers computing classes in Spanish and English as a Second Language classes for adults, a cultural enrichment program in Spanish for kids, and other programs. The FLLC provides a distinct learning experience to Goucher students, who teach the classes for adults and run the programs for kids. For more information on how to get involved, contact Frances Ramos-Fontán, director of the Futuro Latino Learning Center.

Department Faculty

Associate Professors

Florencia Cortés-Conde, chair (sociolinguistics, Latin American media), Isabel Moreno López, director of Latin American Studies (critical pedagogy, queer studies, literature and technology), Jeanie Murphy, director of Study Abroad (Latin American literature)

Assistant Professors

Viki Zavales Eggert, scheduling director (Spanish peninsular literature), Alison Tatum-Davis, S.I. and library resources coordinator (Spanish peninsular literature), Aida Ramos-Sellman, placement exam and ICA coordinator (community-based learning, language, and culture), Citlali Miranda-Aldaco, assessment coordinator and department webmaster (language, culture and technology)

Instructors

Maria Teresa Gomis-Quinto, Language House coordinator (language and culture), Frances Ramos-Fontán, community-based learning coordinator (language and culture, community-based learning)