General information
Since our establishment as a program (1958) and later as a department (1979) and now part of the School of Critical and Creative Humanities, Spanish and Latin American Studies has steadily gained strength, credibility, and respect. Our program focuses on language, literature, and civilization courses. In addition, our commitment to offer a translation plan reflects our concern for achieving the ideal combination of pedagogical focus, faculty research, and student needs.
Understanding cultural diversity
The study of Latin American and Spanish civilization and literature bears witness to the diversity of the Hispanic world; it invites us to explore and to fully appreciate the scope and significance of peoples rooted in a vast social, economic, and historical landscape. In the past several decades, Latin America has produced some of the most influential and widely-read writers in the world. Brilliant poets and novelists such as Gabriela Mistral, Pablo Neruda, Octavio Paz, Alejo Carpentier, Gabriel García Márquez, Carlos Fuentes, Mario Vargas-Llosa, Isabel Allende, and Elena Poniatowska, among others, have given Latin American literature a new prestige. By examining such artists, we offer a timely perspective to a culture that comprises a large part of the Western Hemisphere. A growing entente with Mexico and with the Central and South American as well as the Caribbean countries demands a knowledge of both the language and its unique culture.
Spanish: Today and tomorrow
In addition to the traditional opportunities in teaching and translation, business firms are employing language majors in increasing numbers, as both Spain and Latin America have become important consumers of technology and manufactured goods. A great deal of social science and humanistic research is being done in Latin America as industrialized nations are focusing their interests on development – this new focus creates a need for Spanish-speaking researchers, planners, organizers and executors of a large variety of programs. Possible fields to pursue include: Education, Translation, Museums, Journalism, Civil Service, Communications, Import/Export, Advertising, Publishers, Law, Libraries, Banks, Travel Agencies, Broadcasting, Airlines, Social Work, Local Government, Federal Government, and Diplomatic work, among others.