ADVANCED AND SPECIAL PROGRAMS

SPA. CONVERSACION Y COMPOSICIÓN AVANZADA 1

This course is designed for students who have completed two or more years of Spanish study. The goal of the course is to improve the level of both oral and written communication by reading newspapers, discussing local news, watching videos and by use of other materials. The subtle details of Spanish will be reviewed and vocabulary will be enriched. .

SPA CONVERSACIÓN Y GRAMÁTICA AVANZADA 1

This course is for students who have completed the language requirement and who wish to continue to improve their level of Spanish. It is expected that the student will develop competence in complex social situations such as understanding dialogue between Spanish speakers, understanding films, the news, soap operas, etc. Grammar work will focus on the correction of errors in oral and written work. All activities include research and discussion, readings, didactic game and listening materials.

SPANISH FOR NATIVE SPEAKERS Course Description:

This is a basic-intermediate course designed specifically to satisfy the needs and expectations of students that speak Spanish as their native language however are unfamiliar with how it works structurally, this means students that can communicate their ideas but don’t have enough grammar knowledge and thus feel unsure when writing or talking. The purpose of the course is to give more confidence to students through study and deep analysis of Spanish so that by the end of the course, the student will master his/her native language and to be able to correct their own errors. The class is designed to use materials that will make it entertaining/fun to learn, with many activities that involve the student in sociocultural areas.

SPA. CONTEMPORARY MEXICAN LITERATURE Course Description:

In this course, you will critically read and discuss short stories by the most important contemporary Mexican authors, focusing particularly on the second half of the 20th and the first few years of the 21st century. Through readings, lectures, and class discussions you will develop knowledge regarding the distinctive traits of Mexican literature, significant authors, and important trends and developments in the contemporary period. You will become familiar with the different aesthetic and ideological movements that characterize contemporary Mexican literature as you learn about the historical, cultural, and literary contexts of this period and engage in textual analysis of each work you read. The course will be taught in Spanish and all class conversations will be conducted in Spanish.

Contemporary Mexican Authors to be Studiied:

• • Juan José Arreola
• • Rosario Castellanos
• • Beatriz Escalante
• • Carlos Fuentes
• • Mónica Lavín
• • Elena Poniatowska
• • Juan Rulfo
• • José Revueltas
• • Sergio Pitol
• • José Emilio Pacheco

LATIN AMERICAN LITERATURE SIGLO XX Course Description:

The purpose of this course is to explore the development and present status of the many indigenous and other cultural groups in Mexico from pre-Colombian times to the present. This course will examine the origins, beliefs, and cultural expressions, the main indigenous groups that formed the great cultures and civilizations of ancient Mexico, as well as the contemporary indigenous groups of modern Mexico. We will also learn about the Spanish conquest and colonization, the consequences of the Conquest, the development of Mestizaje, and Spanish influences on diverse cultural groups, as well as the ongoing indigenous cultural influences on diverse cultures within Mexico, including the descendants of Mexican slaves. Primary emphasis will be on contemporary Mexican cultures. It is important to note that throughout the course we will talk about Mexican civilizations and cultures a plural because Mexico is a large and diverse country that is made up of diverse civilizations and cultures. Therefore, we cannot discuss Mexican culture in the singular form because to do so would be to overlook the complexity of Mexican cultures. Given that the course is taught in Mexico, required readings will be enriched by multiple excursions to ancient indigenous temples, museums, and historical monuments, as well as trips to indigenous villages where we will learn directly from indigenous people regarding their current economic, political, social, and cultural conditions. We will also watch films and attend cultural events to supplement our learning in this course.

LSPA. CONVERSATIONS IN CULTURAL CONTEXT Course Description:

This class is designed to meet the needs of advanced Spanish students who have already completed at least two years of college level Spanish. The goal of the course is for students to improve their oral fluency through discussion, debates, and oral reports through discussion of contemporary issues in Latin America. One of the special features of this course is the use of both classic and contemporary Mexican and other films to stimulate discussion of Latin American history, culture, and contemporary issues. Students will read articles from local newspapers, magazines, and journals in order to expand their vocabulary and deepen their understanding of political, economic, and social issues in the host country and throughout Latin America. During class they will discuss and debate the issues that they read about. Students will engage in many listening exercises on radio and t.v.. They will also be expected to engage in conversations and conduct informal interviews with members of Mexican Society and record new vocabulary.

SPA. CONTEMPORARY LATIN AMERICAN WOMEN: TEXTS & VOICES Course Description:

The purpose of this course is to learn about the social construction of gender within Mexico and other Latin American countries and to address key issues faced by Latin American women today. You will accomplish these goals by reading and discussing poems, excerpts of important literature, essays, testimonies, interviews, and newspaper articles by and about Latin American women. By studying this wide range of texts while living in Mexico and hearing directly from a wide variety of Latin American women, you will develop an appreciation for the complexity of diversity of Latin American women’s experiences.The writers studied in this course include Rosario Castellanos (Mexico), Gioconda Belli (Nicaragua), Bokhara de Angelica Gorodischer (Argentina), and Angela Hernandez (Republica Dominicana). However, rather than studying their works just from a literary perspective, you will explore their writings to develop a more profound understanding of key issues facing women of diverse racial, ethnic, and class backgrounds throughout Latin America.

SPA. PRE-COLUMBIAN, COLONIAL, AND CONTEMPORARY MEXICAN ART Fine Arts LAF Statement:

All peoples everywhere, have an abiding need for meaning - to connect time and space, experience and event, body and spirit, intellect and emotion. People create art to describe, define and deepen human experience. Because the arts are one of humanity's deepest rivers of continuity, the study of the Fine Arts is fundamental in a liberal arts education. As a liberal arts foundation course in the Fine Arts, this course will examine the arts as creative expression of the human imagination through activities such as creation, historical study and critical analysis. The Fine Arts are traditionally defined in include dance, music, theatre and visual arts. Augsburg's Fine Arts departments are Art, Music, and Theatre. There is also an emerging Film Studies program. These four disciplines engage very different realms of knowledge, sets of skills, techniques and modes of discourse, but all share a common goal of rigorous inquiry into the ways artistic expression can record, discover and creatively express the truths of human experience.

Course Description:

This course enables students to develop an understanding and appreciation of Mexican art from its origins to the contemporary period. The study of Pre-Columbian civilizations is a key element of the course, as it enables students to understand the development of diverse cultures and their abilities to transform their environment. Through the study of neo-indigenous colonial art, students will be able to observe the ways in which the indigenous assimilated Spanish colonial art influences in their own particular and unique forms.

During the colonial period, the Spanish influence was dominant and imposed over native art forms. Many artists arrived from Spain to the New World and created workshops and taught the native inhabitants the models and styles of the Iberian Peninsula, including gothic, renaissance, baroque, neoclassic styles.

During the contemporary period of Mexican art, students will study the great Mexican muralists, such as Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and Jose Clemente Orozco, as well as other artists, such as Frida Kahlo. They will analyze the influences of earlier periods on the contemporary artists and identify key characteristics of Mexican art.

SPA. LATIN AMERICAN CIVILIZATION AND CULTURE Course Description:

The primary purpose of this course is to explore the history of cultural inheritance of Latin American countries from pre-Columbian times to the present. Due to the fact that the course is taught in Mexico, we will focus primarily on Mexican history, although students will be exposed to common historical developments and cultural characteristics shared throughout Latin America.

This course will focus on the history of Latin American cultures and civilization from pre-Columbian times to the present, starting from the premise that we need to know where we come from in order to know where we are and where we are going. Particular emphasis will be placed on contemporary cultural issues and cultural media, including murals and other visual arts, theatre, dance, music, and film.

Since the course will be taught in Mexico, we have rich opportunities to enhance learning from text books and films by listening to guest lectures by Mexican historians and anthropologists and participating in excursions to museums, archeological sites, historical monuments, and local cultural events, as well as talking directly with many Mexicans and other Latin Americans from diverse backgrounds with regard to race, ethnicity, socio-economic class, religion, gender, and sexual orientation. Students will also be asked to read Mexican newspaper articles and analyze them with regards to themes discussed in this course.

SPANISH FOR HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS Course Description:

This course is a basic-intermediate course created to satisfy the needs and expectations of nursing students, pre-med students, public health students, and others health care fields who seek to develop strong speaking and oral comprehension skills with a focus on vocabulary that would be useful in their fields. The main focus will be on developing specialized vocabulary and learning grammar within the context of daily situations relevant to different aspects of health care.

Class sessions will include excursions to public and private institutions devoted to health care, including private clinics and hospitals, public hospitals, nursing homes, orphanages, and alternative health clinics. Students will engage in conversations with diverse Mexican health care professionals, including nurses, doctors, public health specialists, midwives, and other health care practitioners. They will learn about issues such as doctor-patient relationships, nutrition, hospitalization, diagnosis, prevention, rehabilitation, alternative medicine, herbal medicine, among others.

BUSINESS SPANISH Course Description:

The primary purpose of this course is to enable intermediate and advanced Spanish language students develop proficiency in the vocabulary, grammar, and cultural competencies necessary to successfully conduct business in Spanish-speaking countries.Students will develop an understanding of business and culture in Mexico, as well as in several other Spanish-speaking countries. While learning about similarities and differences in conducting business in Spanish-speaking countries, students will develop the following five language skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and cultural sensitivity. Throughout the course, students will explore a wide variety of business topics such as advertising, business culture, environmental issues, ethics, human resource management and personnel issues, information technology, law, tourism, and travel. Particular emphasis will be placed on topics related to doing business in Mexico, such as exchange rates; tariffs and trade barriers, the impact of T-MEC on small, medium, and large businesses; and Mexican idiosyncrasies in marketing.

SPANISH FOR MINISTRY Course Description:

Are you interested in working in a Spanish-speaking ministry? If so, this course is for you. The primary purpose of this course is to enable you to develop proficiency in the vocabulary, grammar, and cultural competencies necessary to successfully engage in youth ministries and/or pastoral ministries with Spanish-speaking people from Latin American countries. At the same time, the course will explore the mission of Roman Catholic and Protestant churches in Latin American contexts. It will examine the historical development of missionary movements in Latin America, as well as the current issues and challenges facing mission today. Special attention will be given to the cross-cultural issue that impact evangelism, preaching, and worship in Latin America. This course will use one of the most popular Latin American translations of the Bible as a primary texts, along with practical Bible study, mission, ministry, and youth group resources from both Catholic and Protestant churches in Latin America. By studying materials used in different types of ministry within Latin America today you will learn about diverse perspectives and approaches to ministry among Spanish-speaking peoples.