UWM Undergraduate Catalog 2008-09

College of Letters and Science

Spanish and Portuguese

Web Home Pages:
- College of Letters and Science
- Spanish and Portuguese

The program of courses in Spanish and Portuguese is designed to encourage a liberal education and to orient students in the study of the Hispanic and Luso-Brazilian experience, as manifested in language, literature, and culture.

Spanish

Students who have had no previous training in Spanish should enroll in Spanish 103. Those who have studied Spanish in high school should take the placement examination in Spanish (grammar and reading comprehension) before enrolling; the examination is required for those who have had two or more years of high school Spanish. After consultation with the department, a student may enroll in a course one level higher or lower than the one recommended by the placement examination. If, after having been placed in a certain course, the student passes it with a grade of at least B, s/he can receive retroactive credit, to a maximum of 14 credits, for the courses leading to the one into which s/he placed.

The basic sequence of courses in Spanish and Portuguese is designed to make students proficient in the four basic language skills: reading, writing, speaking, and listening comprehension. The 300-level courses continue developing students’ language skills through a coordinated sequence of courses in conversation and composition. Three hundred-level courses also cover the entire range of Hispanic experience and introduce students to the study of literature; this is pursued in depth in 400- and 500-level courses. Advanced language and culture courses offer students the possibility of perfecting their command of Spanish and of developing professional skills, including those of translation and interpretation.

Course of Study: Major

The major in Spanish requires 33 credits in Spanish courses at the 300-level and above, at least 15 of which must be taken in residence at UWM. Students must complete the following requirements:

LANGUAGE: 6 cr

Spanish 308

Advanced Writing and Reading

One of the following two courses

Spanish 318	Advanced Speaking and Listening I	3
Spanish 319	Advanced Speaking and Listening I for Heritage Speakers	3

LINGUISTICS: 3 cr

Spanish 341

Introduction to Hispanic Linguistics

LITERATURE: 12 cr

Spanish 350	Introduction to Literary Analysis	3
Spanish 470	Survey of Hispanic Literature and Civilization	3
Spanish 472	Survey of Spanish-American Literature and Civilization	3
Spanish 474	Survey of Spanish Literature and Civilization	3

CAPSTONE/RESEARCH REQUIREMENT: 3 cr

Students must complete a research experience within the context of one of the following courses:

Spanish 447	Seminar in Advanced Translation: Spanish to English	3
Spanish 448	Seminar in Advanced Translation: English to Spanish	3
Spanish 506	Seminar in Spanish Literature: (Subtitle)	3
Spanish 507	Seminar in Spanish-American Literature: (Subtitle)	3
Spanish 508	Seminar in Hispanic Literature: (Subtitle)	3
Spanish 545 (445)	Topics in Hispanic Linguistics: (Subtitle)	3
Spanish 570 (405)	Spanish Golden Age Literature	3
Spanish 571 (453)	Spanish-American Colonial Literature	3
Spanish 572 (409)	Cervantes: (Subtitle)	3
Spanish 575 (455)	Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Spanish-American Literature and Civilization: (Subtitle)	3
Spanish 577 (457)	Modern Spanish-American Literature and Civilization: (Subtitle)	3

Spanish 578 (417)	Modern Spanish Literature and Civilization: (Subtitle)	3
Spanish 580 (415)	Spanish Romanticism and Realism: (Subtitle)	3

Both the oral presentation and written components of the research conducted by the student will be evaluated and rated in the areas of language acquisition/usage as well as research ability/synthesis.

Electives: 9 cr. Students must take a minimum of 9 additional credits at the 300-level or above, with at least 3 of these credits at the 400-level or above.

All majors are required to take an advanced language proficiency examination. It is recommended strongly that they do this after the semester in which they complete 18 credits in the major.

All Spanish majors should consider taking at least one course in comparative literature and Spanish 213 "Grammar for Students of Foreign Languages" (or equivalent).

Students should consult the web version of the undergraduate catalog for the most current major requirements.

Honors in the Major

Students majoring in Spanish whose performance in the proficiency exam is above average may apply to enter the Spanish "Honors in the Major" program. Students will be awarded honors in the major upon graduation if they do the following:

1. maintain at least a 3.5 GPA in all credits that count toward the major;

2. take at least two 400- or 500-level courses;

3. write, for an advanced course, a paper that is at least 20 pages long, in Spanish or in English, on an original topic that has been well researched. The course instructor and another member of the teaching staff chosen by the Department’s undergraduate advisor will evaluate the paper. The student will present the paper in Spanish at an informal department gathering.

Course of Study: Minor in Spanish

The minor in Spanish consists of 18 credits above 204. Fifteen credits must be taken at the 300 level or above, at least 9 of these in residence at UWM. These credits may include Spanish 371 or 373 (but not both) and Portugs 360 or 380. With the exception of Portugs 380, no lit-in-trans courses may count toward the minor.

Course of Study: Minor in Business Spanish

The minor in Business Spanish requires the completion, with a GPA of 2.5 or above, of 18 credits, at least 9 of which must be at the 300 level or above taken in residence at UWM. Students in the Business School must complete the requirements in the Business Students Track. All other students complete the Non-Business Students Track. Students are responsible for completing any prerequisite courses as well.

Business Students Track

Spanish 203	Third-Semester Spanish	3
Spanish 204	Fourth-Semester Spanish	3

Note: Students who test beyond one/both of these courses must substitute a course or
courses from among Spanish 341, 347, 348, 350, 461 (365).

Spanish 332	Business and Legal Spanish I	3
Spanish 442 (342)	Business and Legal Spanish II	3

Electives - 6 cr
Spanish courses numbered 300 and above

Non-Business Students Track

Bus Adm 330	Organizations	3
Spanish 332	Business and Legal Spanish I	3
Spanish 442 (342)	Business and Legal Spanish II	3

Either of the following two courses:

Bus Adm 201	Understanding and Using Financial Statements	3
Bus Adm 360	Principles of Marketing	3

Electives - 6 cr
Spanish courses numbered 300 and above

An appropriate internship experience (for example, with a firm doing business in Latin America or Spain) may substitute for one of the required courses in the minor. Such substitutions must be approved by the Department of Spanish and Portuguese in consultation with the School of Business Administration, which will assist students in finding an internship.

After completing all course work for the minor in Business Spanish, students may opt to take an exam prepared by the Madrid Chamber of Commerce to test students’ levels of proficiency in Business Spanish. Students who pass the exam are certified as having completed training in Business Spanish. There is a modest fee for taking the exam.

Related Programs

For the teaching major and minor, see the School of Education section of this catalog. Related certificate programs are Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Ethnic Studies, and Latino Studies.

Portuguese

Jeffrey Oxford, Professor, Coordinator,
Contact department office

The Portuguese program offers a minor in Portuguese and a study abroad program in Brazil.

Course of Study: Minor

The minor in Portuguese consists of 18 credits of Portuguese taken in courses numbered 203 or above. Nine credits must be taken at the 300-level or above in residence at UWM.

Students with no previous Portuguese language experience should enroll in Portugs 103. After consultation with the Portuguese coordinator, a student may enroll in a course higher than 103, if appropriate. Students placed into a course beyond the 103 level, who complete their first course with a grade of at least B, may receive retroactive credits, to a maximum of 14 credits, for the courses leading to the one into which they are placed.

Faculty and Staff

Nancy Bird-Soto, Asst. Prof., Ph.D.
University of Wisconsin-Madison

Santiago Daydi-Tolson, Prof. Emeritus, Ph.D.

César Ferreira, Assoc. Prof., Ph.D.
University of Texas-Austin

Stellia Jordán, Lect., M.A.
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Ismael Márquez, Prof. Emeritus, Ph.D.

R. John McCaw, Assoc. Prof., Ph.D.
Princeton University

María del Pilar Melgarejo Acosta, Asst. Prof., Ph.D.
University of Pittsburgh

Isabel Méndez Santalla, Sr. Lect., M.A.
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Jeffrey Oxford, Prof., Ph.D., Chair
Texas Tech University

Gabriel Rei-Doval Grela, Assoc. Prof., Ph.D.
Universidad de Santiago de Compostela

Julio Rodríguez-Luis, Prof. Emeritus, Ph.D.