Please note: The information displayed here is current as of Friday, May 27, 2016, but the official Course Catalog should be used for all official planning.
2015-2016 Course Catalog
Required for the Spanish major
Ten standard courses (or a minimum of 60 units) above SPAN 202, including one 300-level course, one 400-level course, four 500-level courses, and four electives. These can include one 300-level course. The remaining electives must be taken at the 400-level and above. They may include up to six units of internship and up to six units from approved courses outside the department, chosen from the following offerings:
- ARHI 230: Baroque Art
- ARHI 270/271: Latin American Visual Art
- EDUC 563: Foreign Language Methods
- HIST 155: Gender in Latin American History 1490-1800
- HIST 178: Colonial Latin American History
- HIST 179: Modern Latin American History
- HIST 260: Culture and Power in Renaissance Europe
- HIST 261: Rebellion and Discipline in Reformation Europe
- HIST 371: The Rise and Fall of American Empires
- HIST 374: Visions of the Conquest
- HIST 378: Ethnicity in Latin America
- HIST 422: Revolt and Revolution in Latin America
- LING 150: Introduction to Linguistics
- ENG 150: Literary Analysis
- Approval of the completed Senior Experience: Spanish Multimedia Portfolio.
- A grade average of C is required for the major. At least four of the advanced Spanish courses must be taken on the Appleton campus.
Required for the Spanish minor
Six standard courses (or a minimum of 36 units) above SPAN 202, including one 300-level course, one 400-level course, two 500-level courses, and two electives. These can include one 300-level course. The remaining elective must be taken at the 400-level and above. They may include up to six units of internship or up to six units from approved courses outside the department. A grade average of C is required for the minor. At least three of the advanced Spanish courses must be taken on the Appleton campus.
The Spanish department offers a course of study that prepares its majors to teach Spanish at the elementary and secondary level. Students interested in becoming licensed to teach Spanish, K-12, should plan to complete the major and should consult with the Education department about certification requirements.
The Spanish department strongly advises majors and minors to participate in off-campus programs in Latin America or Spain to fulfill program requirements and complement departmental offerings. Non-majors with sufficient linguistic preparation are also encouraged to participate in sponsored programs. Lawrence University offers a variety of off-campus courses in various disciplines, such as Biology, Psychology, Government, Art, History, Music, etc. Please contact the department chair or the off-campus programs office for additional information.
At the beginning and intermediate levels, courses are numbered to indicate relative difficulty. Courses numbered 101-201 are primarily language courses and require the least proficiency in Spanish. They introduce students to the most important grammatical concepts and linguistic skills, making gradual progress to an intermediate level of competency. Any SPAN 200-level class satisfies the General Education Requirement in Foreign Language Competency. SPAN 202 is a gateway course to advanced offerings in the major. It provides intensive practice in the linguistic and analytic skills that students will need to succeed in subsequent classes. Courses numbered in the 300s provide linguistic development through the study of specific academic subjects (literature, media, linguistics). They introduce the student to the analyses of literature, film, media, and advanced grammatical concepts. The 400-level courses provide continued practice in linguistic and academic skills through the exploration of a variety of cultural, socio-political, artistic and literary topics. Courses at the 500-level are seminars for advanced majors. They explore a variety of topics and materials pertinent to our faculty’s fields of research and expertise. Students are expected to participate fluently in high-level academic discussions and produce superior scholarly work appropriate for this last stage in their education.
Capstone courses (600s) allow students to delve into highly advanced topics that connect with the contents of SPAN 500-level courses. They bring together all the areas of knowledge and proficiency in order to research a particular issue in depth. Other tutorial studies and independent projects can be pursued in courses numbered in the 390s and 590s, subject to faculty availability and approval by the chair of the department.
Native speakers are strongly encouraged to only take Spanish courses above 400; they will only be allowed to take 300-level courses with instructor’s approval. Note: The department does not offer DS/Tutorials/IS below the 300-level.
Senior Experience in Spanish
The Spanish Department’s Senior Experience consists of a Multimedia Portfolio that provides measurable evidence demonstrating that students have developed the intellectual qualities, knowledge and linguistic skills essential to their future success. The portfolio is a requirement for completion of the major. It presents a collection of evidence sufficient to prove that a student has achieved the learning goals established by the program. The portfolio also serves as a measure of students’ steady progress towards those goals by allowing comparisons between early class assignments (audio or written) and later ones, so that students can gauge their improvement and focus on the development of specific skills. Students are encouraged to provide a title for their portfolio that is appropriate and descriptive of its content.
Students pursuing double majors, double degrees, and education certification are strongly encouraged to consult with their advisors and department chairs to plan their overall senior experience as early as possible, especially if they are interested in pursuing an interdisciplinary capstone that integrates both majors, or combines their student teaching with a project in their major.
Spanish majors are required to submit their multimedia portfolio in the required format to the Spanish Department by Friday of the third week of their final term at Lawrence. Spanish faculty members assigned by the chairperson will assess the portfolio and communicate the outcome of their evaluation to the students by the seventh week of the term. Unapproved portfolios must be revised and resubmitted before the last day of classes in order for students to graduate.
The portfolio must include the following components:
- A cover letter*, in Spanish, which will specify the following:
- an Individualized Portfolio Theme,
- a description of the content of the portfolio
- a reflective statement (in Spanish) of at least two pages, in which the student
- evaluates his/her development during the years as Spanish majors,
- justifies the selection of materials for the portfolio,
- links the samples to their interests, and
- reflects on the improvement gained throughout their careers at LU.
*This part of the portfolio is expected to be error free
- A list of the courses completed for the major.
- A minimum of 15 pages written in Spanish from 3 different courses of the student’s choice at the 300-level and above. One of the three samples must be in the condition in which it was originally submitted, while the other two must be revised and thoroughly edited in order to reflect the student’s current level of proficiency.
- Two spoken samples (two-minutes each) prepared and recorded independently by the student in a computer lab.
- Audio Sample 1: A reading of a text in Spanish
- Audio Sample 2: A presentation with the recommended multimedia software (see Moodle site).
This presentation must be about an off-campus experience such as a study abroad, internship or immersion program away from the Appleton campus (at a Spanish-speaking location or internship assignment). It should include no fewer than 5 student-taken photos, accompanied by a recorded, voice-over commentary in Spanish done by the student. Students will use their own visuals (photos or short video clips), whenever possible. No third-party visual materials (e.g., photos from commercial guidebooks, or other people's photos from Flickr or Facebook) may be used as part of the project. After the presentation is submitted and approved, it will become part of a rotating showcase of students’ experiences made available to on- and off- campus communities through departmental or Senior Experience websites.
The entire portfolio must be presented in electronic format through the required channels. Students should familiarize themselves with these departmental requirements at the time of declaring the major. Important: Students must register for take an Independent Study for one (1) unit (S/U) with their assigned faculty evaluator during the term when they will submit their Portfolio.