Spanish and Portuguese

University of California, Berkeley

This is an archived copy of the 2016-17 guide. To access the most recent version of the guide, please visit http://guide.berkeley.edu.

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. We offer an abundance of opportunities to learn and achieve mastery of the languages and cultures we study, which include Catalan, Nahuatl, Portuguese, Romance Studies, and Spanish. Our 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 for the Department of Spanish and Portuguese is designed to 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 of our faculty are formally involved with or are active in other departments or academic units on campus — for example, Comparative Literature, Rhetoric, Film Studies, Gender and Women’s Studies, the Portuguese Studies Program , the Spanish Studies Program ,  the New Media Program , the Catalan and Occitan Studies Program , and the Center for Latin American Studies . UC Berkeley's renowned Bancroft Library contains a rich collection of materials related to the fields of study.

The variety of research interests and expertise held by our faculty is echoed in the diversity of backgrounds and academic interests among our students. While most come from California, a significant number come from other states and foreign countries. At the graduate level, about a third of our 50-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 us 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 our department is essential to our academic mission. Besides regular co-sponsorship of cultural events and performances on campus and elsewhere in the Bay Area, we currently administer 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 our 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 : Minors

Graduate Programs

Hispanic Languages and Literatures : PhD
Romance Languages and Literatures (Spanish) : PhD (offered by the Graduate Group in Romance Languages and Literatures)

Visit Department Website

Courses

Select a subject to view courses

Catalan

CATALAN 101 Catalan for Advanced Students 4 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.
Catalan for Advanced Students: Read More [+]

CATALAN 102 Readings in Catalan 4 Units

Offered through: Spanish and Portuguese
Terms offered: Fall 2017, Fall 2016, Fall 2015
Selected readings in Catalan prose and poetry.
Readings in Catalan: Read More [+]

Portuguese

PORTUG 275 Critical and Stylistic Studies of a Single Author or Period 4 Units

Offered through: Spanish and Portuguese
Terms offered: Spring 2018, Fall 2017, Spring 2017

Critical and Stylistic Studies of a Single Author or Period: Read More [+]

PORTUG 298 Special Study for Graduate Students 3 - 8 Units

Offered through: Spanish and Portuguese
Terms offered: Spring 2018, Fall 2017, Spring 2017
Individual conferences on special programs of study or research in a restricted field not covered by available courses or seminars.
Special Study for Graduate Students: Read More [+]

PORTUG 299 Special Advanced Study 3 - 8 Units

Offered through: Spanish and Portuguese
Terms offered: Spring 2018, Fall 2017, Spring 2017

Special Advanced Study: Read More [+]

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.
Teaching Portuguese at Berkeley: Read More [+]

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.
Spanish Proseminar: Read More [+]

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.
Research Seminar I: Read More [+]

SPANISH 200C Reseach Seminar II 4 Units

Offered through: Spanish and Portuguese
Terms offered: Fall 2016, Spring 2015, Fall 2014
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.
Reseach Seminar II: Read More [+]

SPANISH 201 Literary Linguistics 4 Units

Offered through: Spanish and Portuguese
Terms offered: Spring 2014, Spring 2013, Spring 2012
Applications of linguistic theory to literary texts and the analysis of fiction prose, discourse analysis, and the literary representation of speech.
Literary Linguistics: Read More [+]

SPANISH C202 Linguistic History of the Romance Language 4 Units

Offered through: Spanish and Portuguese
Terms offered: Spring 2018, Fall 2015, Fall 2014, Fall 2011, Fall 2009
Linguistic development of the major Romance languages (French, Italian, and Spanish) from the common Latin origin. Comparative perspective, combining historical grammar and external history.
Linguistic History of the Romance Language: Read More [+]

SPANISH C203 Comparative Studies in Romance Literatures and Cultures 4 Units

Offered through: Spanish and Portuguese
Terms offered: Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Spring 2014, Fall 2012
Topics will vary. Comparative studies in literary, cultural, or historical issues that cut across the literatures of the Romance languages.
Comparative Studies in Romance Literatures and Cultures: Read More [+]

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.).
Seminar in Hispanic Linguistics: Read More [+]

SPANISH 221 Major Prose Authors of the Golden Age 4 Units

Offered through: Spanish and Portuguese
Terms offered: Fall 2010, Spring 2007, Spring 2001

Major Prose Authors of the Golden Age: Read More [+]

SPANISH 223 Major Poets of the Golden Age 4 Units

Offered through: Spanish and Portuguese
Terms offered: Fall 2011, Spring 2009, Fall 2006

Major Poets of the Golden Age: Read More [+]

SPANISH 224 Major Dramatists of the Golden Age 4 Units

Offered through: Spanish and Portuguese
Terms offered: Spring 2010, Spring 2008, Spring 2006

Major Dramatists of the Golden Age: Read More [+]

SPANISH 229 Modern Spanish Poetry (After Romanticism) 4 Units

Offered through: Spanish and Portuguese
Terms offered: Fall 2014, Spring 2012, Fall 2009

Modern Spanish Poetry (After Romanticism): Read More [+]

SPANISH 232 Colonial Spanish American Literature 4 Units

Offered through: Spanish and Portuguese
Terms offered: Spring 2009, Spring 2007, Fall 2004

Colonial Spanish American Literature: Read More [+]

SPANISH 234A Modern Spanish American Poetry 4 Units

Offered through: Spanish and Portuguese
Terms offered: Spring 2016, Fall 2010, Fall 2005
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.
Modern Spanish American Poetry: Read More [+]

SPANISH 242 Literary Theory and Criticism 4 Units

Offered through: Spanish and Portuguese
Terms offered: Spring 2016, Fall 2014, Fall 2013

Literary Theory and Criticism: Read More [+]

SPANISH 260 Cervantes 4 Units

Offered through: Spanish and Portuguese
Terms offered: Fall 2013, Fall 2007, Spring 2005
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.
Cervantes: Read More [+]

SPANISH 280 Seminar in Spanish American Literature 4 Units

Offered through: Spanish and Portuguese
Terms offered: Spring 2018, Fall 2017, Spring 2017

Seminar in Spanish American Literature: Read More [+]

SPANISH 285 Seminar in Spanish Literature 4 Units

Offered through: Spanish and Portuguese
Terms offered: Spring 2018, Fall 2016, Spring 2016

Seminar in Spanish Literature: Read More [+]

SPANISH 298 Special Study for Graduate Students 1 - 8 Units

Offered through: Spanish and Portuguese
Terms offered: Spring 2018, Fall 2017, Summer 2017 8 Week Session
Individual conferences on special programs of study or research in a restricted field not covered by available courses or seminars.
Special Study for Graduate Students: Read More [+]

SPANISH 299 Special Advanced Study 8 - 12 Units

Offered through: Spanish and Portuguese
Terms offered: Spring 2018, Fall 2017, Spring 2017

Special Advanced Study: Read More [+]

SPANISH 302 Practicum in College Teaching of Spanish and Portuguese 3 - 6 Units

Offered through: Spanish and Portuguese
Terms offered: Spring 2018, Fall 2017, Spring 2017

Practicum in College Teaching of Spanish and Portuguese: Read More [+]

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.
Teaching Spanish in College: Read More [+]

SPANISH 601 Individual Study for Master's Students 4 Units

Offered through: Spanish and Portuguese
Terms offered: Spring 2018, Fall 2017, Spring 2017
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.
Individual Study for Master's Students: Read More [+]

SPANISH 602 Individual Study for Doctoral Students 4 - 12 Units

Offered through: Spanish and Portuguese
Terms offered: Spring 2018, Fall 2017, Spring 2017
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.
Individual Study for Doctoral Students: Read More [+]

Faculty and Instructors

+ Indicates this faculty member is the recipient of the Distinguished Teaching Award.

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 Mexico, 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.

Agnes Dimitriou, Lecturer.

Clelia Francesca Donovan, Lecturer.

Miriam Hernandez-Rodriguez, Lecturer.

Elena B. Olsen, Lecturer.

Duarte Carvalho Pinheiro, 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

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

gspa@berkeley.edu

Visit Department Website

Department Chair

Ignacio Navarrete, PhD

5221 Dwinelle Hall

ignacio@berkeley.edu

Undergraduate Adviser

Jenny Cole

5317 Dwinelle Hall

Phone: 510-642-4084

spanua@berkeley.edu

Graduate Adviser

Verónica López

5309 Dwinelle Hall

Phone: 510-642-8037

spanga@berkeley.edu

Back to Top