Course Offerings

Spring 2026 

SPAN 5356: Theory of Flesh: Chicana Praxis

M 3:30-6:20pm
Dr. Britta Anderson

Chicana Feminisms blur the lines between theory, activism, art, and the body. In this seminar, we will occupy the spaces in between these domains and seek to fill in the gaps in the telling of the history of the Chicano Movement by centering the voices of Chicana women. Topics explored include testimony, disability, indigeneity, sexuality, the land, transnational relationships, and motherhood. Works studied include theoretical and literary readings and visual and performance art by Martha Cotera, Gloria Anzaldúa, Norma Cantú, Emma Pérez, Sandra Cisneros, Helena María Viramontes, Cherríe Moraga, Ana Castillo, Yolanda López, Patssi Valdez, Alma López, and Xandra Ibarra.

SPAN 5370: Indigenous Intellectuals in the Colonial “Lettered Cities” 

T 3:30-6:20pm
Dr. Sara Guengerich

 Ángel Rama’s La ciudad letrada portrays the colonial city as both a physical and symbolic embodiment of imperial order, governed by a privileged class of letrados (lettered men) who wielded power through writing and education. Yet, recent studies highlight the key intellectual roles of indigenous peoples as writers, historians, and artists who shaped colonial and national cultures. This graduate course examines these overlooked contributions, arguing that colonialism and nation-building in Latin America were collaborative processes. Through different texts, it broadens Rama’s concept of the “lettered city” to include additional participants in knowledge creation and cultural transformation

SPAN 5376: Modernisms of the 20th Century

R 3:30-6:20pm
Dr. Andrew Reynolds

This class will explore Spanish America’s role in the development and maintenance of literary modernism throughout the 20th century. Authors will include Gabriela Mistral, Cesar Vallejo, Vicente Huidobro, Nicolás Guillen, María Luisa Bombal, José María Arguedas, Jorge Luis Borges, Juan Rulfo, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Alejandra Pizarnik, and Diamela Eltit.

SPAN 5384: Multimodality

T 3:30-6:20pm
Dr. Idoia Elola

This seminar examines how multimodality shapes the teaching and learning of second and heritage languages. We investigate meaning-making in speaking, reading, writing, translanguaging practices, classroom discourse, and classroom interaction by analyzing the coordination of visual, aural, gestural (including classroom gestures and embodied action), spatial, and digital modes, as well as the combination of languages in use. Guiding questions include: How can multimodality be researched within applied linguistics? What kinds of data are appropriate to collect, and which qualitative and quantitative methods best address multimodal phenomena? How do participants and teachers in engage multimodality? Which theoretical frameworks most effectively inform research and pedagogy in this area? What tasks elicit analyzable multimodal behavior? How is multimodality reshaping research agendas, article publication practices, and curricular design? Coursework includes designing and trialing multimodal activities for L2/HL classrooms and conducting a small field study with accompanying annotated analysis.

SPAN 5388: Spanish Phonetics & Phonology

M - 4-6:50pm
Dr. Brendan Regan

This course provides an overview of the phonological inventory of the Spanish language, the phonological processes involved in sound change, methodologies of phonological & phonetic analysis, a survey of the phonological variation that exists throughout the Spanish-speaking world, the phonetics and phonology of bilingualism, and finally, a review of theories of sound change. The course prepares students to conduct high quality research in phonetics and phonology as well as to be more pedagogically-informed instructors of Spanish so that one is capable of explaining how to produce sounds as well as teaching about diachronic and synchronic sociophonetic variation present in Spanish.

SPAN 5385: Language and Community

W 3:30-18:20pm
Dr. Paola Guerrero

[Description Not Available]

PORT 5341: Intensive Portuguese for Graduate Students I

F 9:30am-12:20pm
Dr. Bernd Reiter

This is a course for Spanish Speakers, or speakers who are fluent in another Latin Language. 

PORT 5355: Readings in Luso-Brazilian Literature

W 3:30-6:20pm
Dr. Bernd Reiter

We will focus on Brazilian Modernity and the Literature from and about the Brazilian Backlands (sertão).

Fall 2025

SPAN 5343: L2/HL Writing: Redesigning Pedagogy and Research

Mondays 4:00 pm to 6:50 pm, CMLL 118
Dr. Idoia Elola

This course critically examines the complex factors that influence and reshape contemporary language perspectives. Its primary aim is to explore language through diverse, interconnected frameworks, including: (1) individual differences—encompassing identity, gender, disability, and group affiliation; (2) sociolinguistic dimensions—focusing on multilingualism, language contact, and literacy practices; and (3) the impact of artificial intelligence on the sustainability, agency, and creativity of (minority) languages. Designed as an interactive seminar, the course invites students to engage with both local and global linguistic communities. Participants will conduct original research in one of the three thematic areas, fostering a deeper understanding of language in a rapidly evolving world. 

SPAN 5355: Hispanic Crime Fiction

Mondays 4:00 pm to 6:50 pm, CMLL 116
Dr. George Cole

Crime and detective fiction serves as a mass-marketed commodity, a captivating spectacle filled with scandal and suspense, and a complex puzzle that reveals social norms. This genre highlights the blurred lines between high and low art, as well as the contradictions of modern morality. In this course, students will explore the structure of detective stories and examine how historical events have shaped this popular genre, with a particular focus on crime fiction in the Hispanic world. We will also delve into the contributions of Hispanic writers to the genre, especially the emergence of neopolicial and narcoliteratura, and investigate the representation of violence and crime in Spanish-speaking countries. 

SPAN 5356: Critical Conversations between Queer and Indigenous Studies in the Américas

Thursdays 3:30 pm to 6:20 pm, CMLL 
 Dr. Mathilda Shepard

In the last twenty years, queer theory has been radically questioned, expanded and pushed in new directions by intellectual currents including queer-of-color critique, Black studies, cuir-ification, transfeminism, queer ecologies, and trans/travesti theory. This course asks how Indigenous studies, as well as Indigenous knowledges, histories, activisms and cultural expressions beyond the academy, have transformed and troubled queer theory in the hemispheric Américas. Building on the genealogies of Two Spirit/queer Native studies in North America and decolonial queer/cuir/travesti studies in Latin America, we will study works of literature, film and visual art that trigger different ways of conceiving the “conversation” between queer and Indigenous perspectives, whether as “doubleweaving” (Driskill), “contrapunteo” (Pierce, et al), “bondings” (Rodríguez-Ulloa, et al), or work to be done in the “intersticios” (Rangiñtulewfü) and “spaces between us” (Morgensen). A primary objective of this course is to familiarize students with a wide range of cultural productions and theoretical contributions produced at the contentious crossroads of “queer” and “Indigenous” in Latin America, including muxe, champurria, cholx, and wërapara interventions. Key questions that we will consider include: to what extent has queer theory—and LGBTQ movements—reproduced settler-colonial and imperialist relations of knowledge and power? When and how can we read Indigenous cultural production through the lens of queer studies, and queer cultural production through the lens of Indigenous studies? How have Indigenous artists and activists woven the politics of land and collective autonomy together with the politics of the body and sexuality? What do queer subversions of the settler-colonial structures of family, nature, nation-state and capital look like at the level of form? Can we think about not only politics, but erotics of autonomy?  Materials may include works by José María Arguedas, Giuseppe Campuzano, Daniela Catrileo, Paula Baeza Pailamilla, Kütral, Carlos Motta, Lukas Avendaño, Elivs Guerra, Natalie Díaz, Ángeles Cruz, Las Traviesas and Simon(e) Jaikiruma. 

SPAN 5374: Archive and Canon in 19th Century Latin American Literature and Culture

Wednesdays 3:30 pm to 6:20 pm, CMLL 118
Dr. Andrew Reynolds

This class explores how Latin American archival materials complicate and enrich our understanding of key 19th-century literary works. We will examine a comprehensive range of canonical texts, including epic poetry, slave narratives, romantic novels, and the transformative poetics of the Modernista movement. Yet our approach goes beyond traditional literary analysis by situating these works within their archival contexts. By recentering the archive in our study of literature, we will investigate how archival materials influence our interpretation of canonical texts. This approach allows us to uncover the dynamics of power reflected in both literary and archival sources, bringing to light marginalized voices that emerge from archival research. We'll explore the role of racialized institutions in shaping 19th century literary production and examine how archival study reveals challenges to the gender norms of the period. Through this framework, we will uncover new perspectives on the literary and cultural landscape of 19th-century Latin America, offering a more comprehensive view of the era's literary production and its rich sociocultural contexts. 

CMLL 5301/SPAN 5385: Seminar in Hispanic Linguistics: Statistical Methods in Linguistics

Thursdays 4:00 pm to 6:50 pm, CMLL 116
Dr. Carlos Echeverría 

Nowadays, being able to perform statistical analyses is increasingly becoming a non-negotiable part of job descriptions in linguistics. Similarly, scientific journals in the field are more demanding than ever when it comes to the handling of quantitative data. This course provides graduate students with an updated conceptual foundation and methodological toolkit to face these demands. In addition to serving as a general introduction to statistical thought (covering key concepts such as those of correlation, causation, and interaction), the course will provide an overview of methods and techniques used in linguistic research, from chi-squares to mixed-effects models. Additionally, emphasis will be placed on the unique characteristics of linguistic data (both experimental and observational) and the challenges emerging therefrom. 

LING 5382/SPAN 5385: Contemporary Issues in L2/HL Lang Scholarship: Transforming Lang Perspectives

Tuesdays 3:30 pm to 6:20 pm, CMLL 118
Dr. Idoia Elola

Our views of L2 writing are shifting due to globalization, new technologies, and the diverse needs of students. These factors shape how we address pedagogy in the classroom and also influence the incorporation of new research methods. This course will explore these changes so that instructors and researchers can better understand how to develop students' composing skills that align with current times, using mixed-method approaches and new data collection instruments.

PORT 5341: Intensive Grad Portuguese I

Fridays 9:30 am to 12:20 pm, CMLL 104
Dr. Bernd Reiter

PORT 5341 is the first part of a beginning intensive course of Portuguese for Graduate students proficient in Spanish. The course will include, in one semester, the materials taught in Portuguese 1501 and 1502 in addition to comparative approaches to Portuguese and Spanish relevant to Graduate students. The course will cover basic vocabulary, fundamentalsof grammar and will introduce the cultures of the Portuguese/speaking countries around the world such as Brazil, Portugal, Cape-Verde, Angola, Mozambique, Guinea/Bissau. Practice in speaking, reading, and writing will be attained through communicative activities. Students will also engage in discussions of scholarly materials relevant to their field of interest. Presentation of audio/visual materials and subsequent debate constitute an important feature of the course. The course includes the analysis of common and contrasting aspects of Portuguese and Spanish. Readings in Portuguese. Class will be conducted in Portuguese. Satisfies requirements for MA/PhD minors in Portuguese at CMLL and it is geared toward students majoring in Spanish, Linguistics, etc. 

PORT 5355: Race, Gender, and Hybridities from Another Border in Brazil

Wednesdays 3:30 pm to 6:20 pm, CMLL 106
Dr. Bernd Reiter

This course will explore some novels that engage with issues of race and gender interjectionally, such as Ana Maria Goncalves’ Um defeito de cor and Itamar Vieira Junior’s new novel, Salvar o Fogo. Additionally, we will read some literary productions from the border of Brazil and Paraguay / Uruguay, written in a mix of Spanish and Portuguese, e.g. Wilson Bueno’s Mar Paraguayo and Douglas Diegues’ Era Uma veren la FronteiraSelvagem.