Spanish
Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures
Minor Major Concentration Teacher Licensure Specialization
Around 500 million people speak Spanish, the official language of 20 countries, and spoken in 44 countries. The US is the second-largest Spanish-speaking country in the world (and is projected to become the first by 2050). Because of the language’s prevalence and importance, students with a degree in Spanish are prepared for careers in education, media, the economy, the government, the nonprofit sector, and international work.
The mixing of different cultures, brought about by the violence of colonialism, makes
The cultures and histories of Latin American countries and Spain are a fascinating and complex area of study as colonialism and the mixing of different cultures has brought about much variety: from the Roman and Arabic influences on the Iberian peninsula to the different indigenous, African, and European cultures in the Americas.
With faculty specialties in applied and theoretical linguistics, language pedagogy, translation, peninsular Golden Age theater and poetry, colonial literature and contemporary Spain and Latin America, especially the literatures and cultures of Mexico, the Caribbean, the Southern Cone, and Central America, students will study a wide variety of places and elements of Spanish language, literature, and culture. Outside of the classroom, students can participate in Spanish Club and join El Centro.