SYLLABI
The following are examples of syllabi I have created for elementary- through advanced-level courses in Hispanic and / or comparative literary and cultural studies. These courses operate according to the principles of interdisciplinary research in the humanities, multiliteracies, and content-based language teaching. Through the use of a broad range of theoretical approaches and authentic materials (including literary texts, films, artworks, advertisements, and other cultural artifacts), the courses are intended to activate students’ intercultural communicative competence and engage them in critical reflection as to the cultural constructs that influence personal, regional, and national identities (as well as social, political, and economic hierarchies) in the Spanish-speaking world.
Elementary Spanish I: Cities in the Spanish-Speaking World (content-based / multiliteracy)
An elementary-level content-based course designed to introduce vocabulary and grammatical functions, as well as to heighten students’ sociocultural awareness and intercultural communicative competence, through the study of texts and cultural artifacts related to cities in Spain and Latin America.
An intermediate-level continuation of the above course that explores the intersections of language, culture, and identity throughout the Spanish-speaking world.
Constructing Identity in the Early Modern Hispanic World
An advanced-level course that considers linguistic, cultural, individual, and gender identities in early modern Spain and Spanish America through an interdisciplinary and transatlantic framework.
Building the Early Modern World: Architecture in Renaissance Ibero-American Literature
An interdisciplinary advanced-level course that introduces students to interdisciplinary research in Hispanic literary and cultural studies. Includes a study of works by Spanish and Spanish-American writers through the lens of Renaissance architectural theories and practices.
Body and Mind in Early Modern Hispanic Literature and Culture
An advanced-level interdisciplinary course (taught in Spanish) that considers scientific, aesthetic, and political interpretations of “mind” and “body” as interconnected entities, and the way these interpretations are reflected and/or contested in Spanish and Spanish American literature and culture. Themes explored include the representation of “mind” and “body” in debates over the Spanish right to rule in the Americas, the poetic blazon of the female body, and the nature of insanity in the early modern period.
Representations of Mental Health in Hispanic Cultural Production
An advanced-level interdisciplinary course that examines the concepts of mental health and illness in the cultural production of Spanish-speaking communities and nations from early modernity to the present.
