Overview
Marissa Ambio
Jessica Burke, chair
Marcelo Carosi
Luis Miguel dos Santos Vicente
M. Cecilia Hwangpo
Jack Martínez Arias
Edna Rodríguez-Plate (on leave 2023-24)
Joana Sabadell-Nieto
Special Appointment
Claudia Patricia Contreras Mendoza
The goal of the Hispanic Studies Department is to help students employ the methods of literary and cultural analysis to develop an informed understanding of Spain, Latin America, and Hispanic U.S., and to reach oral and written proficiency in the Spanish language.
Students will learn to:
demonstrate oral proficiency in Spanish.
demonstrate written proficiency in Spanish.
utilize their curricular studies of the Spanish language and Hispanic cultures through experiential learning.
demonstrate disciplinary practice by producing literary/film criticism that argues an original thesis.
The Hispanic Studies Department offers a diverse curriculum that includes Spanish language study for both non-heritage and heritage speakers, and Latin American, Spanish and U.S. Latinx literature and culture studies. In our Centro Universitario de Estudios Hispánicos in Madrid we also offer courses in social sciences, art, cinema and dance. The Hispanic studies concentration consists of nine courses numbered 140 or higher, including HSPST-200 or HSPST-201, one elective in the 200 series, three electives at the 300 level or above — including at least one in both Latin American and Peninsular fields (one of these must focus on literature before 1800) — and one course at the 400 level. Concentrators must also fulfill a cultural requirement that can be met through study abroad or a cultural studies course. Any course offered by another department that focuses specifically on Latin America, Spain or U.S. Latinx may satisfy the 200-level requirement but will not count as one of the nine concentration courses. Concentrators may include one course in translation as one of the required courses for the major. Five of the nine courses required for the major must be taken at Hamilton. It is strongly advised that all concentrators study abroad in a Spanish-speaking country. Beginning with the class of 2020, students concentrating in Hispanic Studies must satisfy the Social, Structural, and Institutional Hierarchies requirement by completing HSPST-200: Exploring Hispanic Texts, or HSPST-201: Spanish for Heritage/Bilingual Speakers.
In order to complete the Senior Program, senior concentrators in Hispanic Studies (non-honors candidates) will: 1) enroll in a 300-level or 400-level course in the fall semester, and a 400-level course in the spring semester (in the spring seniors will complete a research project in a 400-level course; spring semester advanced courses are doubly designated as 300/400 [i.e. 310/410], in order to distinguish seniors who are writing the senior research project from other students. Thus if a senior plans to take more than one advanced course in the spring, he/she should take only one course at the 400 level); 2) participate in an assessment of oral proficiency in an interview conducted by outside examiners in the fall semester. Concentrators may not normally fulfill the requirement for the major through the election of a 200-level course during their senior year.
Senior honors candidates will: 1) enroll in a 400-level course in Hispanic Studies in the fall semester; 2) enroll in HSPST-550 and complete a senior thesis in the spring semester; 3) participate in an assessment of oral proficiency in an interview conducted by outside examiners in the fall semester. In order to attain honors in Spanish, students must have an average of 3.7 or better in the nine courses required for the major and must complete HSPST-550 (senior thesis) with an A- or better. Senior honors candidates who are studying in Spain (with HCAYS) during the fall of their senior year are exempt from the fall 400-level course requirement. A complete description of the Senior Program is available in Christian Johnson 202.
The Hispanic studies minor consists of five courses numbered 140 or higher, including HSPST-200/HSPST-201, and at least one course at the 300 level. One of these courses may be taken in translation. Three of the five courses for the minor must be taken at Hamilton.
Note: 200-level courses are not open to students who have previously taken 300-level courses in Hispanic Studies or in a Spanish-language study abroad program. Students with a concentration or minor in Hispanic Studies cannot take HSPST courses on a credit/no credit basis.
THE ACADEMIC YEAR IN SPAIN
The Academic Year in Spain was established in 1974 to offer the highest interdisciplinary academic standards in foreign study programs (distinguished professors, small classes and a rigorous Spanish-only pledge), along with careful attention to the intellectual, cultural and social needs of each student. Directors-in-residence are drawn from the Department of Hispanic Studies at Hamilton College. The program is administered at Hamilton by a general director and by the programs abroad committee, and representatives of Swarthmore and Williams Colleges serve as directing advisors to the program and are instrumental in deciding important curricular and administrative matters and in long range planning. Also affiliated with the program are Amherst College and Princeton University. A board of advisors, drawn from such institutions as Bates, Brown, Bryn Mawr, Bucknell, Colby, Grinnell, Harvard, Reed, Scripps, Smith, Stanford, Wellesley and Yale, further helps in matters of recruitment and student preparation. All courses are taught entirely in Spanish and include language and linguistic studies, culture studies and study in the social sciences. Courses offered include advanced language, the art of translation, the history of Spanish art, cinema, analysis of poetic texts, Cervantes, contemporary theater, 19th- and 20th-century Spanish and Latin American narrative, contemporary Spanish and Latin American history, the economy of Spain, anthropology, sociology, contemporary Spanish politics, flamenco and studio art. The program also offers internships sculpted to each student’s area of interest and preparation. Students are taught by faculty members from leading universities in Madrid. Language and civilization classes form part of the fall orientation program in Galicia, while a similar orientation for spring students takes place in Andalucía. Frequent group excursions throughout Spain complement the rich academic and social opportunities offered to students in Madrid. The program is open to sophomores, juniors and first-semester seniors. Although the program is designed for a full-year, application may be made for either the fall or spring sessions. To be eligible, students must normally have completed at least one 200-level Hispanic studies course and have a strong academic average.