Note: A placement exam will be required when you arrive on site.

Intermediate

This course is designed for students who have completed or tested out of a minimum of two semesters (or three quarters) of college-level Spanish. However, students must take a placement exam to determine the course level into which they will be able to enroll.

Overview

This course will give students a general introduction to Spain and its people. The first unit will establish basic knowledge of the territory and its inhabitants (physical, demographic, and geopolitical aspects). The second unit enters into an explanation of the different components of Spanish art and culture. The third unit explains the process of the formation of the modern Spanish state and briefly covers Franquismo and the transition to democracy. The two final units concentrate on economic aspects and integration into the EU, respectively.

Program

UNIT I: Territorial Reality in Spain: geopolitical situation, physical features, and population
Theme 1: Spanish culture and civilization; general introduction
Theme 2: Physical characteristics of the territory: physical regions, climate, and hydrographic web; physicality of territory in literature
Theme 3: Population; historical and current demographic models; distribution of the population and demographic behavior

UNIT II: Spanish Art and Culture
Theme 4: Great ages of hispanic art
Theme 5: Music
Theme 6: Other Spanish literature: catalana, vasca, gallega
Theme 7: Popular culture and festivals

UNIT III: Political History and the Formation of the Plurinational Reality of Spain
Theme 8: Spain as a plurinational state; from the medieval kingdoms to the autonomous communities
Theme 9: Franquismo and the current political system

UNIT IV: The Spanish Economy
Theme 10: Spanish Economics; from agriculture to industry and service

UNIT V: Spain and the European Union
Theme 11: The EU from a Spanish perspective; comparisons between the EU and the US

Bibliography

DE HOYOS SAINS, L.; DE HOYOS SANCHO, N. (1985) Manual de Folklore. La vida popular tradicional en España. Ediciones Istmo.

GIES, D. (ed) (1999) The Cambridge companion to Modern Spanish Culture. Cambridge University Press.

GIL OLCINA, A.; GÓMEZ MENDOZA, J.; (2001) Geografía de España. Ariel Geografía, 675 pp.

IDRISI (1974) Geografía de España: textos medievales. Anúbar, Valencia, 255 pp.

JOVER, J.M.; ASÍN, R. (2001) Historia de España y de la civilización española. Serie mayor. Crítica.

MÉNDEZ, R.; MOLINERO, F.; CALVO PALACIOS, J.L. (1993) Geografía de España. Ariel Geografía, 759 pp.

OLTRA, B.; ARANGUREN, J.L. (1987) Dibujo de España. Instituto de Cultura Juan Gil Albert, Alicante.

PRATS, J. et al. (1991) Geografía e historia de España. Ed. Anaya

QUESADA MARCO, S. (1996) Curso de civilización española. Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 233 pp.

RIBAS, P. (1998) Escritos sobre España. Clásicos de la cultura 1ª Ed. Trotta, Madrid.

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