BA SPANISH At University OF Ghana
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
SPAN 101 Introduction to Spanish Studies
The aim of this course is to give students a practical introduction to the Spanish speaking world.
Students will acquire a panoramic view of the Spanish speaking people of Europe, Hispanic
America and Africa – their cultures, their mannerisms, and other dynamic aspects like variations in
expression and intonation. Visual aids, maps, paintings, pictures and other graphical materials will
be used to facilitate comprehension in this course.
SPAN 102 Oral Communication Skills
This course is designed to provide students with the necessary basic linguistic and extra linguistic
resources which will enable them to fulfil basic communicative needs when engaging in social
interactions. Students will be made to listen to, and orally reproduce the phonetic and
phonological patterns of the target language through pronunciation, intonation, word stress and
rhythmic patterns of spoken Spanish. Listening skills will be sharpened with the help of
elementary recordings, adaptations of videos and music. Oral expression will be extensively
practiced through simulations of basic real life interactions such as greeting, understanding
interlocutor and reacting to information and usual communicative situations such as dialogs,
debates, presentations will be practiced.
SPAN 103 Elementary Spanish Grammar I
The aim of this course is to introduce students to basic functional elements of the Spanish
language and grammar: the alphabet, word stress, nouns, simple verb tenses, prepositions,
numbers, sentence structure and the construction of basic sentences. Students will learn to read,
listen to, write simple texts and answer questions on them.
SPAN 104 Elementary Spanish Grammar II
This course is a continuation of SPAN 103. To improve students’ previously acquired level of
knowledge; more functional elements of the Spanish language will be taught. The course will be
based on the acquisition of basic communicative functions which will facilitate students’ ability to
make simple and direct exchanges on familiar topics and activities.
SPAN 201 Spanish Grammar and Translation I
In this course, students will develop an understanding of the fine points of Spanish grammar. The
grammars of Spanish and English will be contrastively analyzed, and those areas that typically
give English-speaking students the most trouble will be examined in depth. Students will refine
their grammatical skills through translation exercises. In addition, the course will offer an
introduction to some of the techniques and problems involved in translating from English to
Spanish and from Spanish to English.
SPAN 202: Spanish Grammar and Translation II
This course is the continuation of SPAN 201. It will focus on more complex grammatical
concepts, and more contextualized grammar exercises will be introduced to advanced
beginners/beginning intermediate level audience. Students will be progressively presented with the
problems involved in translating from the mother tongue to the target language and vice versa.
SPAN 203 Oral and Composition I
The purpose of this course is to develop students’ ability to use the target language to effectively
convey key ideas and transmit information through oral communication and written expression.
Students will be provided with the necessary vocabulary and extra linguistic resources to express
their opinion about fairly complex topics. Relevant morphological notions will be examined with
the objective of producing accurate texts.
SPAN 204 Oral and Composition II
This course is the continuation of SPAN 203 and is intended to train students to produce adequate
texts that satisfy personal communication needs. Students will acquire skills on how to adequately
organise ideas and convey key ideas successfully. Cultural themes pertaining to the Hispanic
world will be provided for students to assess orally and in written form in a well-structured
manner.
SPAN 205 Hispanic History and Civilization
Students will be taken through a panoramic study of the various events and occurrences that
shaped the history, culture, language and customs of Spain and Hispanic America. Topics on
Spain will include: the earliest settlers in Spain, the Re-conquest, the Catholic Monarchs, the
Spanish Inquisition, the Spanish Civil War etc; while topics for Hispanic America will include the
indigenous pre-Colombian civilizations; the colonization of America and the fight for
independence; emancipation, post-independence struggles, etc.
SPAN 206 Introduction to Hispanic Literature
The purpose of this course is to provide students with an informative background for the study of
Spanish and Latin America literature. From the “jarchas” and “juglares” to the post-Civil War
literature of Spain, as well as, from the Mayan, Aztecan and Quechan literatures to the Avantgarde
movement of Hispanic America; students will be exposed to all the major literary
movements – their characteristics, style, the representative works and the principal figures of each
period. Selected representative texts of these periods will be examined and students will acquire
basic skills for analyzing literary texts.
SPAN 301: Intermediate Spanish Usage I
The aim of the course is two-fold: to help students further develop more advanced grammar usage
and to give them opportunities to increase their knowledge in executing the structure and usage of
some important (functional) verbs in Spanish. Upon completion of this course, students should
have obtained a low-intermediate level of language proficiency.
SPAN 302: Intermediate Spanish Usage II
This course is the continuation of SPAN 301 and it will focus on various aspects of grammar such
as advanced usage of pronouns, adjectives, prepositions and the subjunctive. Students will cover a
variety of grammatical structures while contextualizing the language through the following
themes: art and culture, nature and the environment, social life, work, contemporary society and
experience abroad. It is an intermediate level grammar review that also incorporates directed and
original composition exercises.
SPAN 303 Comprehension and Oral Expression I
This is an intensive course of Spanish as a foreign language, designed to strengthen students’ oral
and written proficiency in Spanish, with an emphasis on vocabulary acquisition and
comprehension skills. Students will be exposed to a wide range of texts for advanced written
comprehension and group practice. Students will prepare presentations based on assigned topics.
SPAN 304 Comprehension and Oral Expression II
This course is a continuation of SPAN 303. It aims to give the class active and prolonged practice
using the language. In order to broaden students’ vocabulary and command of the language,
students will be presented topics that are unfamiliar to them in the Hispanic context: migration,
political asylum, street-partying, bull-fighting etc.
SPAN 305 Translation Exercises & Aspects of Spanish Structure
The course will familiarize students with the art of translation and the challenges involved in
translating between English and Spanish, with emphasis on Spanish as the target language. The
translation exercises have a pedagogical value, as they seek to help students acquire a higher level
of proficiency and competence in the two languages rather than prepare them to become
professional translators.
SPAN 306 Translation Exercises
The course is a continuation of SPAN 305. It shall comprise a series of translation activities both
in and outside of classroom. Students will progressively tackle complex structures that emphasize
specific aspects of Spanish grammar, to paragraph-length texts covering several fields including
legal, commercial, medical, technological, and humanistic areas.
SPAN 307 Special Topics I
This course is designed as a slot for specially undesignated course and is conceived to cater for
any situational or ad hoc need to lay on courses of academic, professional or topical interest, not
provided for in the syllabus or course outlines. This is intended, therefore, to provide an elastic
thematic stretch for meaningful improvisation and ad hoc future demands.
SPAN 308 Special Topics II
This course is the continuation of SPAN 307. It is designed as a slot for specially undesignated
course and is conceived to cater for any situational or ad hoc need to lay on courses of academic,
professional or topical interest, not provided for in the syllabus or course outlines. This is
intended, therefore, to provide an elastic thematic stretch for meaningful improvisation and ad hoc
future demands.
SPAN 310 Language Immersion I
This is an intensive study to be undertaken during the long vacation in either a university
in a Spanish speaking country or at home. It is intended to give students the opportunity
to experience and live Spanish culture in its unadulterated form and acquire a better
appreciation of the extra-linguistic and pragmatic features of the language. Students may
also undertake this language immersion course at the University of Ghana during the long
vacation between Levels 200 and 300.
SPAN 311 Medieval Spanish Literature
The course proposes a close reading of Spanish literary productions of the Middle Ages. It will
study the aesthetic literary concepts, in relation to the socio-historical and artistic European
contexts of the 12th, 13th and 14th centuries. Its focus will be on the different schools (Mester de
Clerecía, Mester de Juglaría, Prosa narrativa) with a specific study of authors and key works on
the early development of Spanish literature and language.
SPAN 312 Golden Age Literature
In this course a selection of major texts—narrative, poetry and drama—of the Golden Age will be
studied. The socio-political environment of Spain and its bearing on artistic productivity and
creativity will be examined with emphasis on the ideological, cultural and critical issues these
texts raise and address. A selection of the works by the following authors will be examined: Lope
de Vega, Pedro Calderón de la Barca, Tirso de Molina, Francisco de Quevedo (, Luis Góngora y
Argote, Fray Luis de León, San Juan de la Cruz, Miguel de Cervantes.
SPAN 313 Latin American Studies I
This course is an exploration of Latin America, a world that includes Central and South America,
from historical, geo-political, economic perspectives as well as through cultural ones to include
food, music, gender, race, and class. The course seeks to come to an understanding of the
experiences and processes that have shaped the region.
SPAN 314 Latin American Studies II
This course is the continuation of SPAN 313. Students will reflect on identity, revolutions, nationstate
formation, modernization and social mobilization based on analyses of primary sources such
as cinema, music, literature, art and historical documents as well as secondary sources.
SPAN 315 Spanish Peninsular Studies I
The course covers the rich and complex traditions of eighteenth and nineteenth century Spanish
literature and culture from a variety of historical and intellectual perspectives. Grounded in
language, literature and aesthetics, a broad range of theoretical approaches and a unique variety of
textualities will also be considered. It will examine all literary genres (prose, poetry, essay, theatre
and film) and underscore the connections between literary studies and other disciplines.
SPAN 316 Spanish Peninsular Studies II
This course is the continuation of SPAN 315 and will study the rich and complex traditions of
twentieth and twenty-first century Spanish literature and culture from a variety of historical and
intellectual perspectives. Grounded in language, literature and aesthetics, a broad range of
theoretical approaches and a unique variety of textualities will also be considered. It will examine
all literary genres (prose, poetry, essay, theatre and film) and underscore the connections between
literary studies and other disciplines.
SPAN 317 Afro-Hispanic Literature
This course will introduce students to the background of Hispanophone literature, with specific
reference to the background of the writers, and the socio-linguistic context in which their work is
produced. It provides a brief history of Equatorial Guinea and its continuing ties with Spain.
Varied in content and scope, the texts selected for this course will afford insights into issues and
preoccupations of the writers. The course examines aspects of the socio-political state of affairs
these works bring up for scrutiny as well as the creative, ideological and philosophical stimulus
underpinning them.
SPAN 318 Caribbean Studies
This course is designed to familiarize students with the pertinent issues that determine or
affect the concept of identity in Caribbean societies through a study of geography,
history, politics, economics, literature, and culture. It introduces students in the society
and culture of the Caribbean region as well as the historical evolution of Caribbean
society, the cultural characteristics of the Caribbean people, and the ways in which
Caribbean society and culture influence and are influenced by societies and cultures
outside the region.
SPAN 319 Written Communication Skills
This intermediate-level course is designed to develop stronger skills in written
communication and to adequately prepare students for academic writing in Spanish.
Students will build skills by analyzing authentic texts, focusing on textual structures and
the writing process, in five broad types: description, narration, reporting, argumentation,
and exposition.
SPAN 321 Women in Hispanic Literature: Spain
The focus of this course is the fictions of women writers whose names are already part of the
Spanish literary canon as well as budding ones. Writers like María de Zayas, Emilia Pardo Bazán,
Rosalía de Castro among others will be studied to explore the issues these authors confront in their
literary productions. A central aspect of the course will be a study of ways by which they negotiate
with and subvert patriarchy.
SPAN 322 Women in Hispanic Literature: Latin America
This course will study works by and about women, with emphasis on the portrayal of women,
women’s roles, and myths of womanhood within the socio-ideological context of Latin America.
What issues do these literary productions call up? How do they negotiate with and subvert
patriarchy? Indeed, does women’s writing mean feminist writing? These are some of the
questions which will be addressed in this course.
SPAN 323 Introduction to Hispanic Cinema
This course will introduce students to a different medium for analysis. It will equip students with
the key skills needed in the close textual analysis of films, and in historicizing film production in
Spain and Latin America. Students will gain an appreciation of the historical, cultural, social, and
political questions raised in the films under study.
SPAN 324 Hispanic Literatures and film
This course will undertake the study of adaptations of Spanish and Latin American literary works
into films. Covering different periods and nationalities, students will understand and interpret
spoken and written language; they will gain an understanding of the traditions, products (texts and
films) and perspectives of Spanish cultures; they will reinforce and expand their knowledge of
other areas of study (literature and film studies) through Spanish, and also, be able to compare the
textual sources and their adaptations to film.
SPAN 325 Introduction to Spanish Morphology and Syntax
This is an introductory course that reviews the basic concepts of morphology from semantic,
functional and typological perspectives. The course will undertake the study and analysis of
Spanish grammar including tense, aspect, and mood; morphological problems; syntactic variation;
style in oral and written expression; brief discussion of dialectal variation.
SPAN 326 Spanish Semantics
In this course, aspects of the semantics of Spanish will be taught. The aim of the course is to
enable students to enrich their vocabulary in a gradual way. Special emphasis will be placed on
awareness-raising with regard to the contextual value attached to frequently used words and
idiomatic expressions in Spanish.
SPAN 327 Spanish Phonetics and Phonology
This course is an understanding of key phonetic and phonological terms and concepts by
identifying describing, producing, and transcribing phonemes of Spanish. It consists of a detailed
analysis of Spanish sounds and of the rules that govern their production. The course is
fundamental to a proper understanding of the production of Spanish sounds; the course also helps
to prepare students to teach English to Spanish speakers and gives students a better understanding
of English sound production.
SPAN 328 Discourse Analysis
The focus of this course is to better understand how language works in larger discourse contexts.
The course considers the organization of language above the sentence level, considering a variety
of cross-sentences, discourse phenomena and the types of models that have been proposed to
capture cross-sentence relationships. It explores a variety of approaches and discusses their
strengths and weaknesses.
SPAN 331 Business Spanish I
The course will provide students with technical vocabulary and communicative skills
covering business concepts applicable to the corporate dynamics of the Spanish-speaking
world. Through readings, presentations, discussions, and video materials, cultural
aspects that characterize the business environment in the Hispanic world will be
analyzed. Additionally the economies and markets in light of their history, politics,
resources and pressing international concerns will be studied.
SPAN 332 Business Spanish II
Writing-intensive course designed to develop students’ communicative skills through grammar
review, readings on current issues and exposure to media. Students will learn the most practical
aspects of Spanish business life; topics included in this course are business correspondence, verbal
negotiation, socio-political geography as well as the state of the Spanish economy in the Hispanic
and International markets.
SPAN 400 Long Essay/Creative Writing
This is a research paper on a topic of the student’s choice, undertaken with a lecturer’s supervision
in partial fulfilment of an undergraduate programme.
DMLA 401 Research Methods
This course takes students through the practical steps necessary for carrying out and independent
research work on Foreign Languages and Literatures. It will cover types of research methods,
research processes, including the selection of a topic, data collection, abstracts, introductions,
conclusions, review of literature, bibliography compilation etc. Students are required to submit
independent research projects at the end of the course.
This is a required course for students in the Department of Modern Languages who have not
taken a Research Methods course in another Department.
SPAN 401 Advanced Spanish Proficiency I
This course involves a comprehensive study of Spanish grammar on an advanced level,
emphasizing reading and writing skills. It will focus on the grammatical structures which foreign
students find difficult, for example the structure and uses of exclamations and interjections in
Spanish as well as the stylistic use of the subjunctive; the dative of interest, the synthetic and
absolute superlative etc.
SPAN 402 Advanced Spanish Proficiency II
This course is a continuation of SPAN 401. It involves a more comprehensive study of Spanish
grammar on an advanced level, emphasizing reading and writing skills on more complex topics. A
communicative approach involving discussions of essay topics, translation of official and business
letters etc. will be adopted to bring proficiency to the expected level.
SPAN 403 Oral for Academic and Professional Purposes
This course is designed to develop advanced conversational skills in a variety of situations and
subjects. It prepares students to attain oral proficiency and should exhibit real competence in
reading, comprehension and self-expression. Students will be expected to do out of class reading
of selected texts and/or view selected films for discussions.
SPAN 404 Advanced Oral Expression
This course is a continuation of SPAN 403 and is intended to further develop a high level of
conversational skills in Spanish. Students will improve their listening comprehension and
speaking skills, acquire and use native-like expressions and vocabulary.
SPAN 405 Advanced Translation Skills I
This course is an overview of the following translation strategies and techniques, with examples of
their usage: borrowing, calque, transposition, modulation, etc. Students will also analyse and
translate some selected texts (extracts from newspapers, journals, magazines, text books, etc) from
Spanish into English and vice versa.
SPAN 406 Advanced Translation Skills II
This course is the continuation of SPAN 405. It deals with the analysis and translation of isolated
sentences, including idiomatic expressions, adages, maxims, proverbs, book and film titles etc.
that present translation challenges. Students will translate selected texts (extracts from
newspapers, journals, magazines, text books, etc.) from Spanish into English and vice versa.
SPAN 407 Selected Topics I
This course is designed as a slot for specifically undesignated courses and is conceived to cater for
any situational or ad hoc need to lay on courses of academic, professional or topical interest (from
cognate or non cognate disciplines), not provided for in the syllabus or course outlines. This is
intended, therefore, to provide an elastic thematic stretch for meaningful improvisation and ad hoc
future demands.
SPAN 408 Selected Topics II
This is a slot for specifically undesignated courses, conceived to cater for any situational or ad hoc
need to lay on courses of academic, professional or topical interest (from cognate or non cognate
disciplines), not provided for in the syllabus or course outlines. This is intended, therefore, to
provide an elastic thematic stretch for meaningful improvisation and ad hoc future demands.
SPAN 409 Theory of Literature
This course will study some universal theories on literature and literary creativity, and also some
artistic and creative systems. It will focus on literature as social function and index of collective
and individual cosmovision. It will also explore language and literature, as well as the use of
cognitive symbols.
SPAN 410 Language Immersion
This is a long-vacation specially packaged intensive study in a university in a Spanish speaking
country. Students can also undertake a language immersion course at the University of Ghana
during the long vacation between Levels 300 and 400
SPAN 411 Survey of Latin American Literature: Prose
This course undertakes a panoramic review of Latin-American literature from modernism, avantgarde,
revolutionary literature, to the literature of the boom (narrativa y cuentos), postmodernism
and current trends. It looks at the origin of modernism, avant-garde movement and their various
characteristics.
SPAN 412 Survey of Latin American Literature: Poetry and Drama
This course focuses on the study of poetry and drama by a variety of Latin-American authors and
undertakes a panoramic review of their works from modernism, avant-garde, to postmodernism
and current trends. Students will expand their ability to analyse texts in their social historical and
cultural context and to present those analyses both orally and in writing.
SPAN 413 Survey of Peninsular Literature I
This course is a study of the historical and artistic development of Romanticism and Realism with
emphasis on the salient features of the romantic movement in Europe, Spain and a detailed study
of the main writers of this trend notably, Espronceda, Leopoldo Alas (Clarín), Bécquer, and
Rosalía de Castro. It will also look at Mariano José de Larra and Benito Perez Galdós in the
conceptualization and development of their works.
SPAN 414 Survey of Peninsular Literature II
This course provides an overview of the 20th century Spanish Literature, focusing on the main
literary trends and the different groups, studied within their socio-cultural contexts. All genres are
going to be studied using texts by the most renowned authors. The aim is to provide in-depth
knowledge of the evolution of Spanish literature through all the changes that the art undergoes
during the 20th century, including the Avant-garde, literature of political and social awareness and
postmodernism.
SPAN 415 Studies in Hispanic Popular Culture
This course will explore the diverse manifestations of popular culture in Spain and Latin America
with a view to recognizing and appreciating the cultural values they exhibit. Students will develop
deep knowledge on Hispanic musical forms, soap opera, television programs, theatre, the press
and other forms of cultural expression which will form the basis for intra-Hispanic as well as
cross-cultural comparisons.
SPAN 417 Gender and Society
This course will study the way culture shapes and defines the positions and roles of both men and
women throughout Hispanic society (Spain, Latin America and the Spanish speaking world).
Major emphasis is placed on current social conditions, which, in turn, may lead to a broadening of
sex-roles and a reduction of sex-role stereotypes. We will also discuss the implications of these
changes for society as a whole.
SPAN 418 Hispanic Women’s Writing
This course will comprise a comparative and contrastive study of women’s writing from the
Hispanic tradition. It will also study the aesthetic and ideological spheres women’s writing open
up, with a focus on Feminist critical perspectives such as works by Carmen Laforet, Rosa
Montero, Almudena Grandes, among others. Additionally students will learn to analyze the
different dramatic and literary strategies used by these writers, and, at the same time, become more
aware of their role as readers in the texts.
SPAN 419 Hispanic Cinema
This course explores popular Spanish and Latin American Cinema which traces links
between themes and national identities. Films will be studied within the framework of
critical theory and interpretation.
SPAN 420 Study Abroad
This is a two-semester six-credit course in Spanish language, literature and culture to be
undertaken in a university in any Spanish-speaking country. This will ordinarily be undertaken
after Level 300.
SPAN 421 Hispanic Literature of Exile and Emigration
This course provides an overview of the literature written by Spanish, Latin America and
Equatorial Guinea authors who faced the exile and emigration in order to explore how these
authors find and invent themselves in their fictions and autobiographical works. Particular
attention will be given to literary aesthetics and the images of migration created by these authors.
The course also focus on how these writers experiment with the possibilities of the image in order
to address changing constructions of immigration, language, exile, and identity.
SPAN 422 Spain in the World Today
This course will introduce students to the changing trends of relationship between Spain and its
European neighbours and the world at large. It will focus on the political ideologies of Spain today
and its external policies. It will also examine Spain’s policies on migration. Additionally it will
also treat topics such as the autonomous regions (Catalonia, Basque Region, and Galicia),
homosexuality, gender issues and the youth; towards a new Spain (agricultural, industrial and
external trade problems). It is designed to introduce first hand information about topical
contemporary issues in Spain.
SPAN 423 Sociolinguistics
In this course, students are introduced to theoretical and methodological concepts of
sociolinguistic research (types of linguistic variation, types of variables, the
sociolinguistic variable, sampling, types of instruments for the collection of data, types of
corpora, etc.), to microsociolinguistic analysis (hypercorrection, markers and indicators,
types of linguistic changes, etc.), and to the sociolinguistic variation of Spanish features
(phonological, morphosyntactic, discursive.
SPAN 424 Stylistics and Text Commentary
In this course students will be taught the meaning of stylistics and the diverse theories on style and
expressivity. They will also study guidelines to text commentary and stylistic analysis and put this
to practical use through exercises and seminars.
SPAN 425 Spanish Pragmatics
This course examines the use of the Spanish language. It analyses Spanish pragmatics as
an interdisciplinary perspective that addresses users’ choices between different
possibilities of Spanish language with different meanings in different cultural contexts.
Based on readings, discussions and practice, the student will have the opportunity to
explore, discover, and investigate for himself the use of the Spanish language. (Falta la
bibliografía)
SPAN 426 Spanish Language Today
This course is designed to provide students the opportunity to address some of the topical issues in
Spanish language study today. It is essentially a practical course that intends to strengthen
students’ confidence in current Spanish usage, make them aware of possible options for usage, and
of the consequences of alternative choices and new “Spanishes”.
SPAN 427 Teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language I
This course is designed to introduce and equip students with the techniques and skills that will
enable to them teach Spanish as a foreign language. Students will be taken through theories of
language learning and teaching with emphasis on current methods on foreign language pedagogy.
SPAN 428 Teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language II
This is a continuation course for students who have previously taken Spanish as a Foreign
Language I. It will cover in more detail the theoretical elements that were seen in the first part.
Additionally, there will be a practicum component through which students will gain practical
experience in the teaching of Spanish as a Foreign Language.
SPAN 431 Spanish for the Professions
Among the areas that will be developed in this course are the terminology, expressions, language
skills, cultural awareness and sensitivity that will enable students to understand and communicate
effectively within various professional fields. While the focus will be on acquiring and using
templates/set scripts on areas such as healthcare, legal, tourism, and commercial fields, attention
will be given to grammar should the need arise.
SPAN 432 Advanced Writing Skills
The course will develop advanced language skills in the comprehension and production of written
Spanish while furthering students’ intercultural competence. It will guide students to attain a high
level of communication skills in written Spanish in terms of accuracy and appropriateness of
language use. Skills in precision and creativity in the use of written language for effective
communication will be taught and assessed.