Overview
The Department of Spanish and Portuguese is big enough to offer a wide variety of approaches to teaching and research yet small enough to afford students at both the graduate and undergraduate level personal attention and mentoring. The department offers an abundance of opportunities to learn and achieve mastery of the languages and cultures studied, which include Catalan, Nahuatl, Portuguese, Romance Studies and Spanish. Programs are specially designed for highly motivated students with a passion for other languages, literatures and cultures, for imaginative approaches to these, and for careful crossing of traditionally-defined geographic, linguistic and disciplinary borders.
The sequence of undergraduate and graduate programs is designed to help students gain competence in written and spoken Spanish or Portuguese through the structure and history of one or both of these languages, as well as gain a critical understanding of the development and achievements of their literatures in the Old World and in the New through advanced study and independent research. The department's policy is to maintain a balanced strength between language and literature and between Iberian and Latin American facets of a unified field.
Several faculty members are formally involved with or are active in other departments or academic units on campus — for example, Comparative Literature, Rhetoric, Film Studies, Gender & Women’s Studies, the Portuguese Studies Program , the Spanish Studies Program , the New Media Program , and the Center for Latin American Studies .
The variety of research interests and expertise held by faculty is echoed in the diversity of backgrounds and academic interests among students. While most come from California, a significant number come from other states and foreign countries. At the graduate level, about a third of the fifty-some students are from Spain and Latin America. A few regularly practice, as well as study, one or more of the literary, musical, or visual arts. The graduate students publish a journal, Lucero, and organize an international conference each year, which brings leading scholars to Berkeley to engage with students and faculty over several days. The Department holds professor- and student-sponsored colloquia on a regular basis.
Providing opportunities to experience the living languages and cultures studied in the Department is essential to the academic mission. Besides regular co-sponsorship of cultural events and performances on campus and elsewhere in the Bay Area, the Department currently administers travel study programs in Spain through UC Berkeley Summer Sessions . Undergraduates are also able to study abroad for an entire year in a variety of locations in Europe, Latin America and elsewhere through participation in the University of California’s Education Abroad Program .
Undergraduate Programs
Hispanic Languages and Bilingual Issues
: BA
Iberian Language and Literature
: BA
Latin American Literatures
: BA
Luso-Brazilian Language and Literature
: BA, Minor
Spanish Language and Literature
: BA, Minor
Spanish Linguistics
: Minor
Graduate Programs
Hispanic Languages and Literatures
: PhD
Romance Languages and Literatures (Spanish)
: PhD (offered by the Graduate Group in Romance Languages and Literatures)
Courses
Select a subject to view courses
Catalan
CATALAN 101 Catalan for Advanced Students 3 Units
Offered through: Spanish and Portuguese
Terms offered: Spring 2017, Spring 2016, Spring 2015
An intensive course for students with no previous study of Catalan.
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Credit for 16-20 units or equivalent of another Romance language, or consent of instructor
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Catalan/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
CATALAN 102 Readings in Catalan 3 Units
Offered through: Spanish and Portuguese
Terms offered: Fall 2017, Fall 2016, Fall 2015
Selected readings in Catalan prose and poetry.
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: 1 and 2 or 101 or equivalent, or consent of instructor
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when readings change. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Catalan/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Portuguese
PORTUG 275 Critical and Stylistic Studies of a Single Author or Period 4 Units
Offered through: Spanish and Portuguese
Terms offered: Fall 2017, Spring 2017, Fall 2016
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit as topic varies. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Portuguese/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
PORTUG 298 Special Study for Graduate Students 3 - 8 Units
Offered through: Spanish and Portuguese
Terms offered: Fall 2017, Spring 2017, Fall 2016
Individual conferences on special programs of study or research in a restricted field not covered by available courses or seminars.
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Graduate standing
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0 hours of independent study per week
Summer: 8 weeks - 5.5-10 hours of independent study per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Portuguese/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
PORTUG 299 Special Advanced Study 3 - 8 Units
Offered through: Spanish and Portuguese
Terms offered: Fall 2017, Spring 2017, Fall 2016
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Restricted to students writing doctoral dissertations
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0 hours of independent study per week
Summer: 8 weeks - 5.5-10 hours of independent study per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Portuguese/Graduate
Grading: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered.
PORTUG 375 Teaching Portuguese at Berkeley 3 Units
Offered through: Spanish and Portuguese
Terms offered: Fall 2015
This course provides participants with an understanding of the teaching methods used in Portuguese 101A at UCB, a forum for discussing teaching-related questions and problems, practical experience in creating and adapting materials for instruction, and experience in analyzing one’s own and other’s teaching. It is a hands on practicum that links the theory of the Portuguese language program to its in-class practice. At the end of the course, students will be prepared with strategies for effective teaching and classroom management. Students will be able to create communicative and task based activities. They will be able to develop effective exams and assessments, and be familiar with the use of classroom technology for language teaching.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Portuguese/Professional course for teachers or prospective teachers
Grading: Offered for satisfactory/unsatisfactory grade only.
Instructor: Donovan
Spanish
SPANISH 200A Spanish Proseminar 1 Unit
Offered through: Spanish and Portuguese
Terms offered: Fall 2017, Fall 2016, Fall 2015
This course is designed to introduce all new graduate students to the research conducted in the department. Readings will consist of research papers authored by members of the department.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1.5 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Spanish/Graduate
Grading: Offered for satisfactory/unsatisfactory grade only.
Formerly known as: 200
SPANISH 200B Research Seminar I 4 Units
Offered through: Spanish and Portuguese
Terms offered: Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Spring 2014
This research seminar introduces students to central questions and debates in literary and cultural studies in Spanish and Portuguese. The second objective consists of developing research strategies and the mastery of different academic genres. It will function to introduce students to the research interests of the faculty and to identify potential mentors. Students write book reviews, precis, position papers, and abstracts for applying to conferences, and conference-length papers.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Spanish/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
Formerly known as: 200A
SPANISH 200C Reseach Seminar II 4 Units
Offered through: Spanish and Portuguese
Terms offered: Fall 2017, Fall 2016, Fall 2015
The objective of this course is to train students in developing article- or chapter-length critical writing. This is a writing workshop designed to assist students in writing an original research paper. Students will develop a research project conceived in one of their other courses and expand it in scope and argument to create a major paper with a significant critical bibliography. This course will serve as a forum for students to meet and discuss their projects, and as an organizational vehicle for their research.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Spanish/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
Formerly known as: 200B
SPANISH 201 Literary Linguistics 4 Units
Offered through: Spanish and Portuguese
Terms offered: Spring 2015, Spring 2014, Spring 2013
Applications of linguistic theory to literary texts and the analysis of fiction prose, discourse analysis, and the literary representation of speech.
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit as topic varies. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2-3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Spanish/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
Instructor: Azevedo
SPANISH C202 Linguistic History of the Romance Language 4 Units
Offered through: Spanish and Portuguese
Terms offered: Fall 2015, Fall 2014, Fall 2011
Linguistic development of the major Romance languages (French, Italian, and Spanish) from the common Latin origin. Comparative perspective, combining historical grammar and external history.
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Knowledge of at least two of the major Romance languages (French, Italian, and Spanish)
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Spanish/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
Formerly known as: Romance Philology 200
Also listed as: FRENCH C202/ITALIAN C201
SPANISH C203 Comparative Studies in Romance Literatures and Cultures 4 Units
Offered through: Spanish and Portuguese
Terms offered: Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Spring 2014
Topics will vary. Comparative studies in literary, cultural, or historical issues that cut across the literatures of the Romance languages.
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Spanish/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
Instructors: Navarrete, Hampton, Botterill
Also listed as: FRENCH C203/ITALIAN C203
SPANISH 209 Seminar in Hispanic Linguistics 4 Units
Offered through: Spanish and Portuguese
Terms offered: Fall 2016, Spring 2015, Spring 2010
This course varies in topic and fulfills requisite coursework for the Ph.D. in Hispanic Linguistics. Topics may range from foundational coursework (e.g. Spanish Phonetics and Phonology, History of the Spanish Language, etc.) to specialized topics in Hispanic Linguistics (e.g. Microsociolinguistics, Contact Linguistics, etc.).
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Spanish/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
SPANISH 221 Major Prose Authors of the Golden Age 4 Units
Offered through: Spanish and Portuguese
Terms offered: Fall 2011, Fall 2010, Spring 2010
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Spanish/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
SPANISH 223 Major Poets of the Golden Age 4 Units
Offered through: Spanish and Portuguese
Terms offered: Fall 2012, Fall 2011, Spring 2009
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Spanish/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
SPANISH 224 Major Dramatists of the Golden Age 4 Units
Offered through: Spanish and Portuguese
Terms offered: Spring 2010, Spring 2008, Spring 2006
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Spanish/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
SPANISH 229 Modern Spanish Poetry (After Romanticism) 4 Units
Offered through: Spanish and Portuguese
Terms offered: Fall 2014, Spring 2012, Fall 2009
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Spanish/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
SPANISH 232 Colonial Spanish American Literature 4 Units
Offered through: Spanish and Portuguese
Terms offered: Spring 2010, Spring 2009, Spring 2008
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Spanish/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
SPANISH 234A Modern Spanish American Poetry 4 Units
Offered through: Spanish and Portuguese
Terms offered: Spring 2016, Fall 2011, Fall 2010
A comprehensive survey of poetry in Latin America from 1880-1920, on the poetics of . Special attention given to the work of Ruben Dario and the heritage of Symbolism in Latin America.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Spanish/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
SPANISH 242 Literary Theory and Criticism 4 Units
Offered through: Spanish and Portuguese
Terms offered: Spring 2016, Fall 2014, Fall 2013
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit as topic varies. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Spanish/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
Offered through: Spanish and Portuguese
Terms offered: Fall 2014, Fall 2013, Fall 2007
The reading and interpretation of the works of Cervantes, such as , the , the , the , and the dramatic works. Focus will change according to the needs and interests of members of the course, but will address such issues as the place of Cervantes' works in literary history, the background contexts of Cervantes' works, and contemporary approaches and movements in Cervantes criticism.
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Graduate standing or consent of instructor
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit with different topic and consent of instructor. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Spanish/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
SPANISH 280 Seminar in Spanish American Literature 4 Units
Offered through: Spanish and Portuguese
Terms offered: Fall 2017, Spring 2017, Fall 2016
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit as topic varies. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Spanish/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
SPANISH 285 Seminar in Spanish Literature 4 Units
Offered through: Spanish and Portuguese
Terms offered: Fall 2017, Fall 2016, Spring 2016
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit as topic varies. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Spanish/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
SPANISH 298 Special Study for Graduate Students 1 - 8 Units
Offered through: Spanish and Portuguese
Terms offered: Fall 2017, Summer 2017 8 Week Session, Spring 2017
Individual conferences on special programs of study or research in a restricted field not covered by available courses or seminars.
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Graduate standing
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0-3 hours of independent study per week
Summer: 8 weeks - 0-5.5 hours of independent study per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Spanish/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
SPANISH 299 Special Advanced Study 8 - 12 Units
Offered through: Spanish and Portuguese
Terms offered: Fall 2017, Summer 2017 8 Week Session, Spring 2017
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Restricted to students writing doctoral dissertations
Credit Restrictions: Restricted to students writing doctoral dissertations.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0 hours of independent study per week
Summer: 8 weeks - 5.5-10 hours of independent study per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Spanish/Graduate
Grading: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered.
SPANISH 302 Practicum in College Teaching of Spanish and Portuguese 3 - 6 Units
Offered through: Spanish and Portuguese
Terms offered: Fall 2017, Spring 2017, Fall 2016
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3-6 hours of independent study per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Spanish/Professional course for teachers or prospective teachers
Grading: Offered for satisfactory/unsatisfactory grade only.
SPANISH 375 Teaching Spanish in College 3 Units
Offered through: Spanish and Portuguese
Terms offered: Fall 2017, Fall 2016, Fall 2015
Lectures on methodology, grading and testing, class preparation, textbook evaluation, course design. Includes language laboratory observations and supervised classroom practice. Required for all new graduate student instructors.
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Graduate student instructor status
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Spanish/Professional course for teachers or prospective teachers
Grading: Offered for satisfactory/unsatisfactory grade only.
Formerly known as: Spanish 301
SPANISH 601 Individual Study for Master's Students 4 Units
Offered through: Spanish and Portuguese
Terms offered: Fall 2017, Spring 2017, Fall 2016
Individual study, subject to the approval of the graduate adviser, intended to provide an opportunity for students to prepare for the comprehensive examination for the M.A. degree. May be taken only in the semester in which the examination is attempted.
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Approval of graduate adviser
Credit Restrictions: Course does not satisfy unit or residence requirements for master's degree.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0 hours of independent study per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Spanish/Graduate examination preparation
Grading: Offered for satisfactory/unsatisfactory grade only.
SPANISH 602 Individual Study for Doctoral Students 4 - 12 Units
Offered through: Spanish and Portuguese
Terms offered: Fall 2017, Spring 2017, Fall 2016
Individual study, subject to the approval of the graduate adviser, intended to provide an opportunity for students to prepare for the qualifying examination required of candidates for the Ph.D. May be taken only in the semester in which the examination is attempted or in the immediately preceding one.
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Approval of graduate adviser
Credit Restrictions: Course does not satisfy unit or residence requirements for doctoral degree.
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0 hours of independent study per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Spanish/Graduate examination preparation
Grading: Offered for satisfactory/unsatisfactory grade only.
Faculty and Instructors
Faculty
Emilie L. Bergmann, Professor. Early modern Spain, colonial Spanish America, Spanish literature, Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, visual studies, gender and sexuality studies.
Research Profile
Natalia Brizuela, Associate Professor. Spanish, Portuguese.
Research Profile
Anthony J. Cascardi, Professor. English, comparative literature, literature, Spanish, Portuguese, philosophy, aesthetics, early modern literature, French, Spanish Baroque.
Research Profile
Justin Davidson, Assistant Professor. Spanish linguistics, romance linguistics, contact linguistics, bilingualism, Catalan, sociophonetics, language variation and change, quantitative methods.
Research Profile
Ivonne Del Valle, Associate Professor. Colonial period in México, internal colonialism in Mexico, Jesuits (Loyola, Acosta, Baegert), Baroque and Enlightenment from a colonial perspective, technology and environment, drainage of Mexico City lakes, Christianity and Pre-Hispanic religions.
Research Profile
Daylet Dominguez, Assistant Professor. Modern and Contemporary Latin American and Caribbean Literatures and Cultures.
Research Profile
Michael Iarocci, Professor. Spanish, literature.
Research Profile
Francine R. Masiello, Professor. Gender theory, culture, globalization, comparative literature, Spanish, Latin American literature of the 19th and 20th centuries, comparative North and South literatures.
Research Profile
Ignacio Navarrete, Professor. Spanish literature: poetry, poetic theory, narrative and culture, history of the book, Cervantes, Don Quixote, Medieval and Early Modern Spanish literature. Modern Spain.
Research Profile
Alexandra Saum Pascual, Assistant Professor. Spain, electronic literature, contemporary literature, digital humanities, new media.
Research Profile
Candace Slater, Professor. Spanish, Portuguese.
Research Profile
Estelle Tarica, Associate Professor. Latin America, Mexico, race, nationalism, Spanish, mestizo, Indians, Andes, Bolivia, Peru, Holocaust, Quechua.
Research Profile
Lecturers
Amelia R. Barili, Lecturer.
Duarte Manuel Carvalho Pinheiro, Lecturer.
Clelia Francesca Donovan, Lecturer.
Miriam Hernandez-Rodriguez, Lecturer.
Teresa A. Mcfarland, Lecturer.
David Menendez-Alvarez, Lecturer.
Elena B. Olsen, Lecturer.
Ana Belen Redondo Campillos, Lecturer.
Victoria Martinez Robertson, Lecturer.
Donna A. Southard, Lecturer.
Tanya Varela, Lecturer.
Emeritus Faculty
Arthur L. Askins, Professor Emeritus. Spanish, Portuguese.
Research Profile
Milton M. Azevedo, Professor Emeritus. Linguistics, Spanish, Portuguese.
Research Profile
Jerry R. Craddock, Professor Emeritus. Spanish, Portuguese.
Research Profile
Dru Dougherty, Professor Emeritus. Poetry, stage history, Valle-Inclan, Spanish poetics, war and literature.
Research Profile
Charles Faulhaber, Professor Emeritus. Medieval Spanish literature; medieval rhetoric; codicology, paleography; computerization of scholarly methodology.
Research Profile
Louis A. Murillo, Professor Emeritus.
John H. R. Polt, Professor Emeritus. Spanish literature, 18th century, 19th century.
Research Profile
Jose Rabasa, Professor Emeritus. Spanish, Portuguese.
Research Profile
Julio Ramos, Professor Emeritus. Spanish, Portuguese.
Research Profile
Contact Information
Department of Spanish and Portuguese
5319 Dwinelle Hall
Phone: 510-642-0471
Fax: 510-642-6957