Spanish, Modern Languages and Cultures
Department of Spanish, Modern Languages and Cultures
Graduate Program Director: Stephen Silverstein
The Department of Modern Languages and Cultures prepares students for the challenges and opportunities of global citizenship by fostering both linguistic proficiency and intercultural awareness within a nurturing community of scholars.
The goals of the Master of Arts program in Spanish are:
- to prepare students to pursue the Ph.D. in Spanish and related fields,
- to prepare students to be effective teachers, and
- to prepare students to work in business and professional activities that require Spanish in this country and abroad.
Baylor’s MA in Spanish provides a balanced study of canonical works in Latin American and Peninsular Literature together with a solid grounding in Hispanic Linguistics.
Admission
An applicant should have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited university with a minimum of eighteen hours of Spanish beyond the sophomore level or the equivalent. An applicant should have a GPA in Spanish courses taken as an undergraduate that is predictive of success in this graduate program. Each candidate will be evaluated on an individual basis, and additional designated courses may be required as prerequisites for graduate work. All applicants must present the GRE General Test and, for international students, either the TOEFL, IELTS, or Duolingo exam is required.
Spanish (SPA)
SPA 4303 Sounds of Spanish: Introduction to Spanish Phonetics and Phonology (3)
Pre-requisite(s): SPA 3309
The sounds of Spanish including pronunciation, patterns, and varieties. Introduction to phonetics and phonology.
SPA 4304 Structures of Spanish: Introduction to Spanish Syntax and Morphology (3)
Pre-requisite(s): SPA 3309
Spanish word order, sentence formation, phrasal structures, and constructions that differ from English. Introduction to morphology and syntax.
SPA 4305 Spanish in Context: Introduction to Spanish Semantics and Pragmatics (3)
Pre-requisite(s): SPA 3309
Study of the meaning of words, sentences, discourse, and conversation including context, usage, and appropriateness. Introduction to semantics and pragmatics.
SPA 4321 Advanced Spanish for Health Professions (3)
Pre-requisite(s): SPA 2321; 3001; 3302 or 3304; and consent of instructor
In-depth experience with Spanish in medical contexts, including a community service-learning component, with emphasis on oral and aural proficiency. Must be taken in residence at Baylor in order to count toward the Certificate in Spanish for Health Professions. This course fulfills the College of Arts and Sciences Engaged Learning requirement.
SPA 4330 The Art of Advanced Communication in Spanish (3)
Pre-requisite(s): SPA 3302; and consent of instructor
Develops fluency in Spanish communication by focusing on advanced grammar, vocabulary, and cultural understanding.
SPA 4340 Professional and Literary Translation (3)
The theory and practice of translation, including poetry, short stories, and technical documents.
SPA 4362 Spanish Drama of the Golden Age (3)
Pre-requisite(s): SPA 3305 or consent of division director
Representative playwrights of seventeenth-century Spain; extensive study of selected works. Lectures, reports, class discussion, and term papers.
SPA 4363 Cervantes (3)
Pre-requisite(s): SPA 3305 or consent of division director
Study of the major works of Cervantes with emphasis on Don Quixote, the cultural milieu of sixteenth and seventeenth century Spain, and the views of present-day literary critics. Lectures, class discussions, oral reports, and term papers.
SPA 4364 Nineteenth Century Spanish Literature (3)
Pre-requisite(s): SPA 3305 or consent of division director
Representative plays, poems, essays, and novels from nineteenth century Spanish literature, emphasizing in-depth analysis of texts.
SPA 4366 Twentieth Century Spanish Literature (3)
Pre-requisite(s): SPA 3305
Study of representative poets, playwrights, and novelists of this century. Lectures, student reports, class discussions, and term papers.
SPA 4372 Latin American Short Story (3)
Pre-requisite(s): SPA 3305
An in-depth study of outstanding eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth century Latin American short stories in light of current practice and trends in literary analysis.
SPA 4375 Contemporary Spanish American Theater (3)
Pre-requisite(s): SPA 3305 or consent of division director
Major trends of Spanish American theater as reflected in the works of major contemporary playwrights. Readings, lectures, and reports.
SPA 4376 The Spanish-American Novel (3)
SPA 4378 Latin American Poetry (3)
Pre-requisite(s): SPA 3305
An overview of poetic trends in Latin American literature from pre-Hispanic times to the twentieth century.
SPA 4388 Topics in Hispanic Literature and Culture (3)
A study of an author, work, period, genre, or other current topic in Hispanic literature or a topic related to Hispanic culture. May be repeated for credit if topic is different.
SPA 5199 Non-Thesis Degree Completion (1)
To fulfill requirements for non-thesis master's students who need to complete final degree requirements other than coursework during their last semester. This may include such things as a comprehensive examination, oral examination, or foreign language requirement. Students are required to be registered during the semester they graduate.
SPA 5302 Research Methods in Hispanic Graduate Studies (3)
Pre-requisite(s): Graduate standing
Research Methods in Hispanic Graduate Studies comprises two modules, one in linguistics and another in literary theory. The course offers a comprehensive overview of research methods in linguistics and theories of literary criticism; it also provides students with useful bibliographical and library resources. Students will learn how to apply research methods to analyze the Spanish language and literary texts in Spanish; they will relate the readings of the course to their personal research interests, creating an environment in which theory and critical practice support each other.
SPA 5303 Sounds of Spanish: Introduction to Spanish Phonetics and Phonology (3)
The sounds of Spanish including pronunciation, patterns, and varieties. Introduction to phonetics and phonology.
SPA 5304 Structures of Spanish: Introduction to Spanish Syntax and Morphology (3)
Spanish word order, sentence formation, phrasal structures, and constructions that differ from English. Introduction to morphology and syntax.
SPA 5305 Spanish in Context: Introduction to Spanish Semantics and Pragmatics (3)
Study of the meaning of words, sentences, discourse, and conversation including context, usage, and appropriateness. Introduction to semantics and pragmatics.
SPA 5306 Spanish Sociolinguistics (3)
Cross-listed as SPA 4306
Study of the close relationship between language and society and its implications in Spanish-speaking communities. Introduction to the methodologies and tools of sociolinguistics.
SPA 5310 Medieval Spanish Literature (3)
Pre-requisite(s): SPA 5351
A study of Spanish literature from the end of the first millennium through the consolidation of the various Spanish kingdoms under Ferdinand and Isabella.
SPA 5315 Spanish Literature of the 16th and 17th Century (3)
Pre-requisite(s): SPA 5302; or consent of graduate adviser
Representative works of poetry, prose narrative, and drama from Boscan to Calderon. Close reading of texts with special attention to major historical, artistic, and literary trends of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
SPA 5324 Spanish Poetry and Drama: 19th and 20th Centuries (3)
Pre-requisite(s): SPA 5302; or consent of graduate adviser
Major historical and literary movements and major historical, literary, and artistic figures of nineteenth-and twentieth-century Spain. Analysis of texts through close reading.
SPA 5326 Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Spanish Narrative (3)
This course is an introduction to the major movements and writers of prose fiction in Spain in the last two hundred years.
SPA 5331 Latin American Colonial Literature (3)
This course is designed to give an overview of literary trends in Hispanic-American literature from pre-Hispanic times to the eighteenth century.
SPA 5334 Latin American Romanticism to Modernism (3)
This course is designed as a survey of the Latin American novel, short story, poetry and theatre from the nineteenth century to the first half of the twentieth century.
SPA 5335 Latin American Literary Trends: Early to Mid 20th Century (3)
Pre-requisite(s): Graduate standing
This course is designed as a survey of the Latin American novel, short-story, poetry and theatre of the first half of twentieth century.
SPA 5337 Latin American Literary Trends: Mid Twentieth Century to Present (3)
This course is designed as a survey of the Latin American novel, short-story, poetry, and the theatre from the second half of the twentieth century to the present.
SPA 5349 Introduction to Romance Linguistics (3)
An introductory course for the field of linguistics and its components: phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and language change.
SPA 5351 History of the Spanish Language (3)
Historical developments of the language from Latin to modern Spanish.
SPA 5356 The Acquisition of Spanish as a First and Second Language (3)
Pre-requisite(s): SPA 5350; or consent of instructor
An examination of studies on the acquisition of Spanish as a first and second language; language acquisition in both formal and informal environments is studied.
SPA 5359 Seminar in Language Acquisition and Applied Linguistics (3)
Theory, review of literature, and practice in language acquisition and applied linguistics for graduate students who will be teaching Spanish as a second language.
SPA 5370 Spanish for Graduate Students I (3)
Reading of intermediate-level Spanish texts. No previous language experience required. Limited to graduate students or to undergraduates by petition. Does not count toward foreign language requirement for undergraduate students.
SPA 5371 Spanish for Graduate Students II (3)
Pre-requisite(s): SPA 5370; or consent of instructor
Continuation of SPA 5370. Reading of intermediate-level Spanish texts. No previous language experience required. Limited to graduate students or to undergraduates by petition. Does not count toward foreign language requirement for undergraduate students.
SPA 5388 Topics in Hispanic Language and Literature (3)
Pre-requisite(s): Graduate standing
A study of an author, work, period, genre, or trend of Hispanic literature or of an aspect of the Spanish language. May be taken more than once as topic changes from semester to semester.
SPA 5389 Topics in Hispanic Language and Linguistics (3)
Pre-requisite(s): Graduate standing
A study of topics related to the Spanish language or a field within Hispanic or Lusophone Linguistics. May be repeated for credit if topic is different.
SPA 5V90 Independent Study (1-3)
Pre-requisite(s): Consent of division director
SPA 5V99 Thesis (3-6)
Research, data analysis, writing, and oral defense of an approved master's thesis. At least six hours of SPA 5V99 are required.