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Spanish and Latin American Studies
MajorYear: 2018
Spanish and Latin American Studies
Contact information
Coordinator
Dr Lara Anderson
Email: laraba@unimelb.edu.au
Currently enrolled students:
Future students:
Overview
The Spanish and Latin American studies program at The University of Melbourne offers language options at all levels together with a growing number of cultural studies subjects in topics as diverse as literature (from Don Quixote to contemporary classics), cinema, popular culture, food studies, gender studies, and area studies in both European and Latin American studies.
The Spanish and Latin American Studies program will allow you to acquire and improve your Spanish language skills and increase your awareness of Spanish and Latin American culture through a variety of authentic written and spoken and visual materials. You will also learn to interact with other Spanish speakers at a sophisticated level. The program also provides opportunities to undertake independent research projects into different multidiscplinary areas of study including language, literature, culture, politics, cinema, theatre, music, food and identity. The program has agreements with universities in Spain and Latin America, which allow students to undertake exchange and study abroad options as part of their Spanish studies.
Spanish language subjects are organised in a progressive sequence (of units) from Spanish 1 to 7 through to the Spanish Electives. Students may enter at any point, subject to placement testing and/or prerequisites, and normally progress through the sequence in consecutive order. Accelerated progression and mid-year entry are also possible in special cases with the permission of the course convenor. Mid-year entry is also possible into subjects with even numbers.
Intended learning outcomes
Students who complete this major will:
- Interpret academic and everyday communication across a number of genres in the target language relative to the entry level;
- Understand the use of Spanish in real-life situations and be aware of the contributions of Spanish-Speakers to the economic, intellectual, cultural and social affairs of the Spanish and Latin American nations.
- Acquire enough intellectual sophistication to appreciate historical, cultural and anthropological differences within the Spanish-speaking communities from Spain and Latin-America;
- Understand and self-reflect on the linguo-cultural acquisition process both in English and Spanish showing autonomous, self-directed and academic-level skills;
- Appreciate and respect diversity and background difference by critically evaluating Spanish-speaking cultures and including the viewpoint of the target culture;
- Be able to confidently interact in intellectually sophisticated conversations with both native and non-native speakers in the target language about historical and contemporary Spanish Speaking Australian, the Eastern Pacific Rim, together with Spanish and Latin American communities;
- Be able to defend arguments in public about the historical linguistic and cultural relevance of indigenous and migrant populations in Latin America and understanding their historical interaction with other European and American cultures;
- Develop a cross-cultural understanding in order to achieve an awareness of contemporary Spanish Speaking Australian, the Eastern Pacific Rim, and the needs of Spanish and Latin American communities.
Last updated: 18 December 2020