Course Descriptions

SPAN 325 is an intensive writing course designed specifically for students who are heritage speakers of Spanish. Students will further develop their academic writing and gramatical proficiency while engaging with the richness of Latinx histories of the United States in general, and in Kansas in particular. The course requires that students analyze and critically engage with a variety of texts of diverse format and origin to engage in the inmediacy of U.S. Latinx histories. In addition, we will be proactively addressing how literacy, visual and textual, can serve to unveil, revisit, and reflect upon the stories and memories of our communities.

Course intended for heritage speakers of Spanish and fulfills the same requirement as SPAN 324. Concurrent enrollment in SPAN 328 is strongly recommended.

SPAN 326: Spanish for Health Care Workers

Dr. Megan Sheldon

TuTh 9:30am - 10:45am

View on Schedule of Classes

This course is designed to provide students with the linguistic and cultural competencies necessary to communicate with and help treat Spanish speaking patients with limited English proficiency. Includes a general review of pertinent grammar, specific vocabulary groups relating to assessment and care of patients, vocabulary to establish rapport, and discussions leading to cultural competencies. Students who have completed SPAN 424 or above may take the course with the permission of the instructor.

Prerequisite: Completion of SPAN 216 with a grade of C or better.

SPAN 448: Spanish Language and Culture for Business

Dr. Miguel Ángel Albújar Escuredo

MW 11:00 AM - 12:15 PM

This course takes a cultural studies approach to contemporary Spanish and Latin American societies for students with an interest in business. It explores how individuals from Spanish-speaking communities navigate their use of Spanish in a business context. Readings include selections from literature, history, journalism, social analysis, and popular culture. Writing assignments focus on the context of business. Exercises help non-native speakers develop analytical skills as well as vocabulary and communication skills related to international business and professional life. Conducted in Spanish. Prerequisite: SPAN 323, or SPAN 324 and SPAN 328, or SPAN 325, or consent of instructor. A grade of B- or higher in SPAN 323, 324 or 325 is strongly recommended for students enrolling in this course. This course fulfills the same degree requirements for the Spanish major and minor as SPAN 424.

SPAN 450: Medieval Spanish Studies

Dr. Isidro Rivera

TuTh 9:30am - 10:45am

This course will focus on the literary and cultural production of the court of Alfonso X, el Sabio (1221- 1284). The course will consider how Alfonso X fostered interactions among Christians, Muslims, and Jews in the Iberian peninsula during the thirteenth century. It will examine this interaction through the literature, music, art, legal documents, and other cultural objects produced by Alfonso and his court in order to understand the richness and complexity of multicultural medieval Iberia.

Readings and other course resources will help students to explore Alfonso’s role as promoter of cultural and literary activity. This class will provide students with the opportunity to enrich their critical understanding of the cultural dynamics of medieval Iberia and to develop critical skills for analyzing medieval literary texts within the context of cultural interactions.

This course may be used to fulfill the 400-level peninsular Spanish literature requirement for the Minor or Major. Prerequisite: SPAN 340; recommended: SPAN 424.

Reading list:

Alfonso X, Cantigas
Alfonso X, Siete Partidas
Alfonso X, Libro de los juegos
Alfonso X, Estoria de España
Anon., Auto de los Reyes Magos
Anon., Sendebar
Doubleday, The Wise King

For more information about the course, contact Prof. Rivera at ijrivera@ku.edu.

SPAN 464: Reading and Analysis of U.S. Latino/a Literatures

"Voces estadounidenses"

Dr. Sean Gullickson

MW 11:00 AM - 12:15 PM

The United States is the second-largest Spanish-speaking country in the world, and approximately 20% of the population – 68 million people – identify as Latine. The experiences and cultural production of this group are crucial to our understanding of the Spanish-speaking world writ large as well as to our development as citizens of Kansas, the US and the world.

This course will explore representations of the Latine experience in the United States through a variety of texts and media, from short stories to film, graphic novels to visual art, music to independent journalism. Our primary focus will be contemporary rather than historical. Covering topics like belonging, migration narratives, pop culture, Spanglish, and politics, we will seek to center the range of Latine voices that have shaped and continue to shape the cultural and social realities of the US and the world.

SPAN 522: Advanced Studies in Spanish Language

Dr. Amy Rossomondo

TuTh 01:00 PM - 02:15 PM

This course provides a general overview of topics in Hispanic Linguistics. We will explore the evolution and manifestations of the Spanish language with a focus on language variation. We will examine phonological, morphological, syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic phenomena in order to develop a more complete understanding of Spanish as a world language and the nature and properties of human language, in general. The course will culminate in the realization of a linguistic analysis project that demonstrates understanding of the concepts explored throughout the semester.

SPAN 540: Colloquium on Hispanic Studies

"Imagining Futures: Latin American SF"

Dr. Miguel Ángel Albújar Escuredo

MW 9:00am - 10:15am

This course is taught in Spanish. It explores the rich and diverse landscape of Latin American science fiction, a genre that blends speculative imagination with incisive sociopolitical critique. From dystopian visions to futuristic utopias, Latin American SF offers a unique lens through which to examine issues of identity, technology, colonialism, and resistance.

Students will engage with a variety of texts—short stories, novels, films, and graphic narratives—that reflect the region’s historical and cultural complexities. Through close readings and class discussions, we will analyze how Latin American authors use science fiction to challenge dominant narratives and envision alternative futures.

Course activities will include analytical essays, creative writing exercises, and a final project in which students will craft their own science fiction story inspired by the themes and styles studied throughout the semester.

At the conclusion of this course, students will be able to:

Discover the unique themes and styles that characterize Latin American SF.
Understand sociopolitical commentary embedded within Latin American SF.
Engage in thought-provoking discussions with their peers regarding Latin American SF topics.
Create a science fiction story inspired by the works previously covered in our classes.

Tentative Reading List:

Angélica Gorodischer, selected stories
Jorge Luis Borges, selected stories
Luis Carlos Barragán, selected stories
Hombre Mirando a Sudeste (movie)
Mort Cinder (Comic book)
Select critical essays on Latin American SF

Prerequisite: SPAN 424 and six hours of 400-level Spanish literature courses.

For more information about the course, contact Prof. Albujar Escuredo at malbujarescuredo2@gmail.com

Spring 2026 - Graduate Courses

SPAN 722: Special Topics in Spanish Literature (#54822)

"Metropolitan Canons and Transatlantic Intertextualities"

Dr. Robert Bayliss

Wednesdays, 4:30pm - 7:00pm

This course addresses the cultural influence of Spain and its cultural institutions in the broader Spanish-speaking world, with an emphasis on Latin America and its participating institutions. An examination of the metacritical scholarship on the history and state of our field will inform our studies of the Spanish literary canon, especially in terms of how cultural communities throughout the Spanish-speaking world engage with it. We will read a series of canonical texts from the so-called Spanish Golden Age to better understand how they were generated, how they became treated as canonical, and in what ways they remain engaged in contemporary Spain and Latin America as objects of cultural consumption, as tools of colonial, postcolonial and neo-colonial institutions, and as sites for negotiating both hegemonic and counterhegemonic identities. All students will be encouraged to develop final projects that connect with their own research interests, in the hope that the course will inform their developing understanding of how their intellectual work can be situated in our developing and increasingly interconnected fields of study.

SPAN 785: Special Topics in Spanish-American Literature (#53161)

"The Novel Form: Politics, Aesthetics & Reading Colombian Literature in the Age of Immediacy"

Dr. Santiago Rozo-Sánchez

Mondays, 4:30pm - 7:30pm

In an age ruled by the instantaneous—of feeds, testimonies, and algorithmic self-exposure—the slow, dialectical labor of form appears both politically suspect and economically obsolete. And yet, if capital’s fantasy is immediacy, perhaps the novel remains the last defense of thinking as delay. What remains of the novel form when narration competes with notification, and when form itself is devalued by the affective accelerations of capital? This course reads the novel as both aesthetic totality and political technology; and wagers that the novel form, far from dead, endures as the medium through which politics and aesthetics continue to recognize one another.

We will think and explore how to read and think with novels inspired by the work of Anna Kornbluh, Raymond Williams, Sianne Ngai, Nicholas Brown, Georg Lukács, Ángel Rama, Sergio Chejfec, Beatriz Sarlo, and Josefina Ludmer. Interrogating the novel’s formal and historical predicates—its capacity to totalize, to estrange, to think the social when sociality itself is fractured by spectacle. And we will ground our exploration in corpus of 21st century Colombian novels by Juan Cárdenas, Giussepe Caputo, Fátima Vélez, Laura Ortiz Gómez, Eliana Hernández, Andrea Salgado, and Evelio Rosero. Testing these questions on the soil of a national literature where political violence, ecological ruin, and neoliberal intimacy shape the conditions of posisilbities of literary experimentation.

SPAN 922: Seminar in Spanish Literature & Culture (#54820)

"Poetas, cantaores y cantautores"

Dr. Jonathan Mayhew

Tuesdays, 4:30pm - 7:00pm

Una aproximación a Federico García Lorca, Miguel Hernández, y otros poetes españoles desde la perspectiva del nuevo flamenco y la canciónde autor, desde los años 60 hasta la actualidad. Utilizando conceptos de la musicología cultural, estudiaremos los procesos de creación que convierten la poesía culta en canción popular, en la obra de músicos como Camarón de la Isla, Enrique Morente, Joan Manuel Serrat, Paco Ibáñez, Amancio Prada, Carmen Linares o Miguel Poveda. El resultado es una popularización de ciertos autores canónicos, pero asimismo una transformación literaria de géneros musicales.

Hay grandes posibilidades de hacer proyectos originales, ya que este tema no ha sido objeto de mucha investigación académica.

PORT 612: Accelerated Basic Portuguese for Spanish Speakers II

Dr. Ana Laura Marques

MW 2:00pm - 3:15pm

PORT612 is an intermediate-high to advanced language course designed for Spanish speakers aiming to develop proficiency in Brazilian Portuguese. Through a contrastive analysis of phonology, morphology, syntax, and vocabulary, students will explore the key linguistic differences and similarities between Spanish and Portuguese. The course emphasizes practical language use, including a range of academic genres in Portuguese through oral and written assignments. In addition to linguistic development, students will engage with intercultural topics from the Lusophone world. The course also encourages students to consider academic research in Portuguese-language studies, including linguistics, sociolinguistics, and Brazilian cultural studies. By the end of the course, students will be able to analyze linguistic connections, communicate effectively in Portuguese, and express informed perspectives on intercultural issues.

Prerequisite: PORT611, Graduate student status in Spanish. Undergraduates in Spanish may be admitted with consent of instructor. Classes conducted in Portuguese.

Fall 2025

Spanish

SPAN 302: The Spanish Inquisition

Crosslisted with HIST 325 / JWSH 315

Tuesdays and Thursdays 11:00-12:15

A broad historical study of the Inquisition in Spain and the Americas from 1478 to its afterlife in today's popular culture and film. Topics include anti-Semitism, the use of torture, censorship, adultery, and sexuality.

Assessment will be based on quizzes, participation, mid-term and final exams and two papers. The course readings are in English and the course is taught in English. No prior knowledge of the topic is required.

Co-taught by Professors Luis Corteguera (History, lcortegu@ku.edu) and Patricia Manning (Spanish & Portuguese, pwmannin@ku.edu)

Instructor: Antônio R.M. Simões, Professor

Office: WES 2638

Phone: 785.864-0285

Department: Phone: 785-864-3851

E-mail: asimoes@ku.edu

Class Place: Wescoe 4019

Class ID number: 17535

Class Time: MW 3:30PM – 4:45PM

Department’s page: https://spanport.ku.edu/people/antonio-roberto-monteiro-simoes

Description:

SPAN 429 offers a comprehensive exploration of contemporary Spanish pronunciation (Phonetics and Phonology) through interactive lectures and student-centered activities. Students engage in critical readings to grasp the fundamental concepts of Spanish sound formation and phonological processes in authentic contexts, enhancing their listening and speaking skills. The course delves into regional characteristics of Spanish pronunciation, fostering discussions in Spanish and emphasizing regular attendance.

New components include:

Podcast Production: Students create a Spanish pronunciation podcast series based on the course material, honing their research, scripting, and audio recording skills.
Virtual Reality Speaking Labs: VR labs provide immersive Spanish-speaking environments for students to practice pronunciation interactively, receiving instant feedback. This component is still being developed.
Pronunciation Clinics: Personalized feedback sessions and spectrogram analysis help students refine their pronunciation, focusing on individual improvement areas.
Peer Teaching Workshops: Students lead mini-lessons on phonetic and phonological topics, promoting collaborative learning and reinforcing concepts through peer instruction.

Through these components, students not only deepen their understanding of Spanish pronunciation but also develop practical skills essential for effective communication—whether in Spanish or any other language. While discussions use mainstream Spanish pronunciation as a reference point, they also explore the major regional varieties (or 'dialects') of Spanish, promoting respect for linguistic diversity while acknowledging the pedagogical value of adopting a conventional standard.

Jewish Latin America: Literary Representations of 16th Century Sephardim in New Spain, Cuba, and Brazil

Fall 2025 | MWF 10:00AM - 10:50AM | Wescoe 4012

Instructor: Mira-Briana Haydu

Crosslisted as JWSH 300 / SPAN 447 / LAC 302

What does it mean to be a Cuban Jew, Mexican Jew, and Brazilian Jew today? How much of these identities are rooted in Sephardic immigration during the 16th century? Authors throughout Latin America are grappling with these questions and producing historically accurate literature in an attempt to better understand themselves and the communities that they are part of. This course will be focusing on contemporary literary productions from Cuba, Mexico, and Brazil in tandem with the histories they reproduce, revise, and recount. Doing so will allow us to explore how much of Cuban, Mexican, and Brazilian identities (national, ethnic, religious) are, in fact, still rooted in the countries’ early colonial past, and why it is so important to recover them.

This class may be used for elective credit in the Spanish major. It does not fulfill the major requirement of a 400-level literature course on Latin America, nor does it fulfill the Spanish minor requirement of a 400-level literature course. At the instructor’s discretion, students enrolling in SPAN 477 may be asked to complete written assignments in Spanish.

Reading Gabriel García Márquez’s Cien años de soledad from Discovering Ice in the Tropics to Apocalyptic Universality

Fall 2025 | MW 2:00PM - 3:15PM | Wescoe 4075

Instructor: Prof. Santiago Rozo Sánchez

View on Schedule of Classes for Fall 2025
View Course Description (.pdf)

In this course we will read one of the paradigmatic examples of the literary masterpiece in the 20th century. A novel that garnered universal acclaim from all segments of the public –from, the People, to the academy, to Oprah– and stages how an idea, a subject, a world becomes universal. Besides rigorously reading the entire masterpiece in Spanish – and several pieces of groundbreaking literary criticism and theory [yes, this will be a reading intensive course] – we will explore García Márquez’s work as a model that builds a total worldly reality from the global south. A model where so called ‘magical realism’ is not magical, but instead a Colombian model of realism that anchors the universality of the Colombian, the Latin American, and the Global Southern subject, contesting the othered position where it has been traditionally placed by the West.

Fall 2025

Spanish 540: Colloquium on Hispanic Studies
TTh, 11:00 AM–12:15 PM, Wescoe 2600
Course ID # 20346
Prof. I. J. Rivera

"El Cid in Art and Legend in Spanish Culture from the Middle Ages to the Twentieth-First Century"

This course will focus on the Poema de mio Cid and its afterlife in Iberian culture. The poem narrates the adventure of Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, known as "El Cid," a powerful warrior-knight whose exploits become the centerpiece of countless legends, historical writings, and, in recent times, cinematic adventures. This course will explore the various depictions and representation of "El Cid," from the earliest manifestations in history and epic poetry to more recent versions in movies, comic books, popular novels, and art objects.

Readings and other course resources will help students to explore the cultural negotiation of legend, history, and the construction of national identity through the figure of Rodrigo. The class work will give students opportunities to learn about Spain’s cultural heritage and the influences that shape the evolution of this cultural figure. The required work will include analytical essays, oral presentation, and a final research project.

Reading list:

Poema de mio Cid
Mocedades de Rodrigo
Berend, El Cid: The Life and Afterlife of a Medieval Mercenary
Castro, Las mocedades del Cid
Pozo, El Cid: Leyenda (filme 2003)
Mann, El Cid (filme 1961)
Navarro Durán, El Cid contado a los niños
Pérez-Reverte, Sidi

Prerequisite: SPAN 424 and six hours of 400-level Spanish literature courses
For more information about the course, contact Prof. Rivera at ijrivera@ku.edu

Graduate Courses:

Spanish Civil War & Memory
Department of Spanish and Portuguese
University of Kansas
Fall 2025
Tuesdays 4:00-7:00 pm, Wescoe 2600

Professor Margot Versteeg
Office: 2616 Wescoe Hall
Office hours: by appointment
Email: Versteeg@ku.edu

DESCRIPCIÓN DEL CURSO:

La Guerra civil española (1936-39) fue sin duda el episodio más dramático y transcendental en la historia de España en el siglo XX. Tuvo un inmenso impacto nacional pero también repercusiones internacionales. Para los españoles, este evento traumático determinó su experiencia de la modernidad. Para numerosos hombres y mujeres de fuera de España fue un momento importante en la lucha contra el fascismo.
Después de la sangrente contienda, la Guerra civil ha inspirado gran número de artefactos culturales (narrativa, poesía, teatro, carteles, tebeos, fotografía, películas, documentales, canciones, etc.).

En este curso indagamos cómo estos diferentes productos culturales creados en el curso de los años representan los eventos violentos y traumáticos, y cómo los autores, pero también historiadores, cineastas y fotógrafos, durante la guerra, la posguerra y después, ajustaron cuentas con la guerra, la dictadura de Franco y la Transición.

Literary and Critical Theory in Spanish and Portuguese Studies

Fall 2025 | Wednesdays 4:30–7:00 pm | Wescoe 2600
Instructor: Prof. Luciano Tosta

This graduate-level course offers an in-depth exploration of key literary and critical theories as they intersect with the study of Spanish and Portuguese languages literatures. Paying attention to theoreticians from the Hispanic and Lusophone worlds, students will engage with foundational and contemporary theoretical frameworks, including structuralism, poststructuralism, deconstruction, postcolonial studies, gender and critical race theories, and decolonial thought, to analyze texts from the Iberian Peninsula, Latin America, and Luso-Africa. Emphasis will be placed on understanding how these theories inform the interpretation of literary works and cultural artifacts within their historical, social, and political contexts.

Through close readings, critical discussions, and research projects, students will develop the analytical tools necessary to interrogate issues such as identity, power, coloniality, and resistance in Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking cultures. The course is designed to foster interdisciplinary approaches while encouraging students to apply theoretical perspectives to their own scholarly work. Readings will include texts by theorists such as Roland Barthes, Jacques Derrida, Gayatri Spivak, Homi Bhabha, Sylvia Wynter, and Aníbal Quijano, as well as theoretical works by Silviano Santiago, Ángel Rama, Antonio Cândido, Boaventura de Sousa Santos, Néstor García Canclini, and José Carlos Mainer. Works by creative writers such as José Maria Arguedas, Jorge Icaza, Maria Firmina dos Reis, Jorge Amado, Elena Fortún, Lídia Jorge, António Lobo Antunes, and Paulina Chiziane will be analyzed. Students are expected to write weekly response papers, a midterm and final paper, and to give an oral presentation on one theoretical text and another on a fictional work.

TAUGHT IN ENGLISH.

Instructor: Luciano Tosta, PhD

Wednesdays, 4:30 to 7:00pm, Wescoe 2600

SPAN 801: Teaching Spanish in Institutions of Higher Learning

Fall 2025 | Mondays 4:30pm – 7:00pm | Wescoe 2600
Instructor: Prof. Amy Rossomondo

Required of all teaching assistants who teach beginning Spanish at the University of Kansas for the first time. Instruction in classroom procedures for first year Spanish, demonstration of teaching techniques, and survey of current methodology.

Course overview from syllabus:

We require incoming Spanish instructors to take SPAN 801 so that they will understand how we teach here at KU, and why we teach this way.

The first part of the course is intended as a general overview of communicative, task-based language instruction and an introduction to processing instruction and how it can be applied the Spanish courses that you are teaching. This overview will consist of exploring proven teaching methods and practices, as well as the theory and research that inform them. We will also dedicate portions of our class meetings to discussing and preparing for the course that you are teaching and other topics that are immediately applicable to your experience as an instructor in our program for the first time.

In the second part of the course we will turn our attention toward foreign language instruction beyond the introductory level. We will explore content-based instruction in a variety of manifestations, curricular design and measurement, critical pedagogies, the role of Open Educational Resources (OER) and technology in foreign language (FL) instruction, online instruction, as well as the relationship between language and culture and form and meaning from a pedagogical perspective.

The final part of the course will be dedicated to applying this learning to the realization of an in-depth pedagogical project.
SPAN 801 is also an opportunity for you to work closely with your fellow instructors and with me.

The approach, assignments and projects for the seminar are designed to foster collaboration and reflection, both hallmarks of effective teaching and scholarship. We utilize the tools available in Canvas to facilitate this collaboration so that you gain hands-on experience with the available technology at KU; after this experience you should feel comfortable employing these tools in your own classes.

Performance Studies in Spain and the Americas

Seminar | Fall 2025 | Thursdays 5:00 - 7:30 pm | Wescoe 2600
Professors: Day & Margot Versteeg (Coordinator)

SPAN 940 is an intensive seminar on Latin American, Latinx, and Spanish theater and performance. A series of KU professors from Spanish and Portuguese and other departments will allow students to research and write on a variety of topics. The seminar will include several guest lectures. This course is designed by professors Day and Versteeg. Professor Versteeg is the coordinator and professor of record for the course.

Students will read a variety of primary sources and critical and theoretical texts as assigned by the different instructors. Readings will be complemented by numerous short videos of plays, performances, and interviews with a variety of people in the field of performance studies. The course includes one live performance (as available).
Assessment

Students will write a number of short response papers. An original term paper of a topic related to the course and your research interests, will be developed and peer-edited. We will focus on the process of writing and therefore will “workshop” several components (thesis, introductory paragraph, bibliography, penultimate draft) of your final essay.

Portuguese

PORT 104: Elementary Brazilian Portuguese I

Instructor: Ana Laura Marques

Fall 2025: MTuWThF 09:00 - 09:50 AM, WES 1015

Unlock the world of Brazilian Portuguese! Are you ready to dive into Brazilian culture and language? Join our Portuguese Language Course and start your journey today!

What You'll Learn:

Master essential vocabulary and grammar
Develop your speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills
Experience dynamic classes entirely in Portuguese!

Why You Should Join:

Active participation makes learning fun and rewarding
Emphasis on conversation to get you speaking confidently
Meet new friends and immerse yourself in the Brazilian way of life!

Don't miss out - it's time to speak, learn and connect in Portuguese. Vamos lá!

PORT 177: First Year Seminar: "The Amazon: Environmental Issues Through Literature and Film"

Professor Luciano Tosta

Fall 2025: TuTh 12:30 - 01:45 PM FR 113

PORT 212: Intermediate Brazilian Portuguese I

Instructor: Ana Laura Marques

Fall 2025: MWF 10:00 - 10:50 AM FR 214

Take your Portuguese skills to the next level! Ready to level up your Brazilian Portuguese? This course is designed for those looking to deepen their knowledge and perfect their skills in reading, writing, and conversation.

What You'll Get:

Refine your grammar and vocabulary for real-world use
Improve your ability to discuss personal, academic, and cultural topics in Portuguese
Practice speaking with confidence and precision, supported by notes & prep

Learning Outcomes:

Interact in Portuguese, exchanging ideas on a variety of topics
Discuss class content and personal research with great accuracy and fluency
Gain a richer understanding of Lusophony and its global culture

Ready to talk, write, and engage in Portuguese? Join us today!

PORT 611: Accelerated Brazilian Portuguese for Spanish Speakers I

Instructor: Ana Laura Marques

Fall 2025: MW 03:30 - 04:45 PM, WES 4011