La especialización
The Spanish MajorDirections for Election of the Spanish Major
General Foreign Language Requirement
Teacher Certification for Spanish
Directions for Election of the Spanish Major
General Foreign Language Requirement
Teacher Certification for Spanish
From Madrid to Mexico City, from Santiago de Chile to Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, and New York, Spanish is one of the most widely spoken of languages in the
United States and the world. The Spanish-speaking world embraces many cultures, from Spain's Judeo-Christian and Islamic heritage to Latin America's Mayan,
Aztec, Inca, and African roots.
Our department embraces diversity and a multicultural vision of the world. Our many majors have found that knowledge of Spanish
and Hispanic culture can be a valuable enhancement to their lives and provides lasting personal fulfillment.
In our language classes we work in small groups to encourage individual expression and to build oral proficiency. We also emphasize cross-cultural awareness and understanding
of other nations.
Literature classes include analyses and discussion of writing from many different periods. Themes range from medieval balladry to Latino literature, contemporary women's writing, and Latin American poetry. We also examine past and present civilizations through culture courses on Spain and Latin America. We organize frequent cultural
activities and opportunities to practice Spanish: "tertulias," lectures, symposia, films, and performances by writers and artists from diverse areas of
Spain and Latin America.
DIRECTIONS FOR ELECTION OF THE MAJOR
A minimum of eight units exclusive of 101-102 and 201-202 must be presented
for the Spanish major. Also required are at least two 300-level units, including
a seminar during the senior year. Normally both of the 300-level courses counted
towards the major must be done at Wellesley. SPAN 350, 360, and 370 do not
count towards the minimum requirement of two 300-level courses for the major. The major in Spanish incorporates considerable flexibility in designing a
program of study, but must include the following elements: foundational work,
breadth,
depth and historical perspective. To ensure oral and linguistic competence,
as well as a basic understanding of how to approach and interpret texts, the
major normally includes at least one of the following two courses: Spanish
241 Oral and Written Communication, Spanish 242 Literary Genres of Spain and
Latin America. Qualified students may begin the major at a level higher than
241 or 242. To attain breadth, majors must take at least one literature and/or
culture course in each of the following areas: (1) Spain (244, 252, 254, 256,
258, 260, 262, 272, 300, 302, 304, 306, 318, 320, 324) (2) and the Americas
(245, 247, 253, 255, 257, 259, 263, 265, 265, 267, 269, 271, 273, 275, 277,
279, 301, 303, 305, 307, 311, 313, 320, 327, 329). In order to achieve depth,
Spanish majors must take two units in a special field of study of their choice,
such as a particular genre, cultural movement or theme (253, 256, 257, 252,
301, 301, 265, 304). We also require Spanish majors to achieve historical perspective
by taking a minimum of one unit in Medieval, Renaissance, Golden Age, or Latin
American Colonial literature and culture (252, 272, 273, 275, 244, 248, 254,
258, 300, 302, 306). One of the two 300-level units required for the B.A. degree
must be a seminar. All majors must take a minimum of two 300-level Spanish
courses at Wellesley College. For students interested in an interdisciplinary approach to the study of Latin
America, also available is the interdepartmental major in Latin American Studies,
which allows students to choose from a list of courses in different departments,
including Spanish. Majors devise their own programs in consultation with the
directors of Latin American Studies (Professors Renjilian-Burgy and Wasserspring).
Students are referred to the Latin American studies interdepartmental program
listing for further information. AP: A student may receive one unit of credit and satisfy the foreign language
requirement with a grade of 5 on either of the AP Spanish exams. She will lose
the AP credit(s) if she takes course lower than SPAN 241. AP credit does not
count toward the major in Spanish. Honors: The only route to honors in the major is writing a thesis and passing
an oral examination. To be admitted to the thesis program, a student must have
a grade
point average of at least 3.5 in all work in the major field above the 100-level;
the department may petition on her behalf if her GPA in the major is between
3.0 and 3.5. See Academic Distinctions. Teacher Certification: Students interested in obtaining certification to teach
Spanish in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts should consult Prof. Renjilian-Burgy,
Department of Spanish, and Prof. Beatty of the Department of Education. A student may receive one unit of credit and satisfy
the foreign language requirement with a grade of 5 on either or both of the
AP Spanish exams. She
will lose the AP credit(s) if she takes SPAN 202 or a lower-numbered course.
AP credit does not count toward the major
in Spanish. A student may also satisfy the foreign language requirement with a grade of 690 or higher on the Spanish SAT II. A student who does not present the above AP or SAT II scores should take the Spanish Placement Test when she arrives at Wellesley College.
By petitioning the Registrar (through the Dean) for exemption from this requirement
if a student's native language is not English and she has been educated in
literature
courses in her native language through high school.
Students interested in obtaining certification to teach Spanish in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts should consult Ms. Renjilian-Burgy
and Ms. Beatty of the Department of Education.
GENERAL FOREIGN LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT
The only route to honors in the major is writing a thesis and passing an oral
examination. To be admitted to the thesis program, a student must have a grade
point average of at least 3.5 in all work in the major field above the 100-level;
the department may petition on her behalf if her GPA in the major is between
3.0 and 3.5. See Academic Distinctions.
LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES: AN INTERDEPARTMENTAL MAJOR
Students are referred to the Latin American Studies Interdepartmental Program Page for further information.
Latin America remains one of the most fascinating regions of the world. Whether focusing upon the region's politics, literature, cultural diversity, history, or economy, the student of Latin America and Latino culture in the U.S. is continually challenged by the rich complexity of Mexico and the nations of Central America, South America, and the Caribbean.
The Latin American Studies major seeks to understand the Latin American experience through an interdisciplinary program of study. Students must submit a plan of study following the requirements listed below for approval by the directors. The Latin American Studies major requires Spanish proficiency at the level of 241 or above. A minimum of nine units (excluding Spanish 241 and 242), with a concentration of four courses in one of the following departments: Art History, Political Science, Sociology, History, or Spanish constitute the major. Of these nine units constituting a minimum for the major, at least two must be taken at the 300 level. It is recommended that one of these two be a seminar. Courses with an asterisk (*) require notifying the instructor that the course is to be counted for Latin American Studies. The asterisk also signifies that a research paper in the course will focus on Latin America.
The student must exhibit a degree of proficiency in the oral and written use of Spanish by successful completion of two Spanish language courses beyond the College’s foreign language requirement (above the intermediate level). In some cases an oral and written proficiency exam may be substituted. In the case where the student’s area of interest is better served by proficiency in another language (e.g. Portuguese), that language may be substituted in consultation with the directors. Qualified juniors are encouraged to spend a semester or a year in Latin America. To be eligible for study in Latin America a student should normally be enrolled in SPAN 241 or higher level language or literature course the previous semester.
Majors may also apply to the Five-Year Cooperative M.A. Program at Georgetown University in Latin American Studies. This program enables the student to apply upper-level Latin American Studies courses taken at Wellesley toward the master’s degree at Georgetown. A summer of study at the Universidad Católica in Santiago, Chile, taken during an undergraduate summer, and a year of academic work at Georgetown are required to earn the master’s degree at Georgetown in one year. Interested students should contact the directors of Latin American Studies or the Center for Work and Service.
[Source for page: First-Year's Guide to Wellesley Life]