There are over 500 million native Spanish speakers in the world. Mastery of this language exemplifies our appreciation of diversity and our commitment to cross-cultural understanding.

Why study Spanish at Sewanee?

Aside from the fact that bilingual proficiency is attractive to employers, learning Spanish will give you a fresh perspective. You’ll be able to acknowledge the complexities of English, learn about Hispanic literature, and gain insight into other ways of life. And at Sewanee, it’s not just about verb conjugation; it’s immersion in a culture.

Members of the Sewanee Spanish faculty hail from the United States, Spain, and Latin America. They speak with a variety of accents and dialectical variants and conduct research in a broad range of geographical areas and time periods. You’re encouraged to study away in a Spanish-speaking country, but you’ll also have access to immersion right here on the Mountain. At the Spanish House, a half dozen or so undergraduate residents live in a communal setting and, overseen by a graduate native speaker, speak only Spanish in the house. The house also sponsors various cultural and social activities on campus.

FIRST DESTINATIONS: Spanish MAJORS

Sewanee graduates secure positions in a variety of fields. Some you would expect, others are a bit of a surprise. Sewanee prepares you for your profession and your passion. Below is a sampling of recent graduates' first jobs.

  • Curatorial intern, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York City, New York.
  • Auxiliar de conversacion, North American Culture and Language Assistants, Oleiros, La Coruna, Spain.
  • Spanish teacher, Virginia Episcopal School, Lynchburg, Virginia.
GRADUATE SCHOOL & PRE-PROFESSIONAL PROGRAMS: Spanish MAJORS

Sewanee graduates enjoy extraordinary acceptance rates to top graduate and pre-professional programs–about 95 percent to law school and over 85 percent to medical school. Below is a sampling of where Sewanee grads continue their education.

  • M.S. in biomedical science, Rosalind Franklin University, Chicago, Illinois
  • M.S. in physiology and biology, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.
  • J.D., Georgetown University School of Law, Washington, D.C.

A Sampling of Courses

Cults of Personality: Individuals who Shape the Cultural Identity of Latin America
Spanish

This course, which is taught in English, examines the cultural impact that certain personalities have had on notions of Latin American identity through literature, film, and music. The course considers the evolution of an icon and how life and possibly death affect the way in which the world sees them.

SPAN 290
Women Authors of the Hispanic Caribbean and Diaspora
Spanish

This course highlights the work of women authors from Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico, on the islands and in the United States. Key issues include gender, sexuality, race/ethnicity, migration, and biculturalism. Includes several literary genres and film with an emphasis on the 20th and 21st centuries.

SPAN 388
Cultural Icons in Latin America
Spanish

An exploration of how major Latin American cultural icons are represented in literature, film, the visual arts, and popular culture. This course considers the historical/literary context in which the figures first appear, as well as the appropriation of cultural icons as a strategy of political, social, artistic, and personal identification.

SPAN 406
View All

Spanish

Programs of Study

Requirements for the Major & Minor in Spanish

Meet some professors

Manuel A. Chinchilla
machinch@sewanee.edu

Manuel Chinchilla received a B.A. from Louisiana State University in 2002 and a Ph. D. from the University of Michigan in 2009. His dissertation work examined the relationship between literature and social movements in contemporary Mexico. He is also interested in other Latin American literary traditions as well as 20th-century Italian literature and Italian autonomist thought, particularly the works of Antonio Negri and Paolo Virno.

Associate Professor of Spanish
Stephen B. Raulston
sraulsto@sewanee.edu

Stephen Raulston received a B.A. from the University of the South in 1981, an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1988 and 1993 respectively. His academic interests include medieval Spanish literature and law; epic and chivalric literature; and the literary, social, and artistic culture of the Camino de Santiago. He has taken Sewanee students to Spain several times, both with the Semester in Spain and Camino de Santiago summer programs.

Professor of Spanish, Chair of the Spanish Department
Betsy Sandlin
bsandlin@sewanee.edu

Professor Sandlin teaches all levels of Spanish language and Latin American and Latino/a literature and culture at Sewanee. Her literary research revolves around issues of identity in contemporary U.S. Latino/a and Hispanic Caribbean literature, with an emphasis on gender and sexuality. She has published on the works of Puerto Rican authors Julia de Burgos, Luz María Umpierre, Manuel Ramos Otero, Rane Arroyo, and others.

Associate Professor of Spanish; Co-Director, Center for Teaching
Ruth Sánchez-Imizcoz
rsanchez@sewanee.edu

A native of Valencia, Spain, Ruth Sánchez-Imizcoz spends most of her time between Spain and Sewanee, where she has been teaching since 1995. Most of her scholarly work deals with a 17th-Century Spanish drama, mostly with the entremeses and with the works of Agustín Moreto in Spanish and in translation. She is the author of the book, El teatro menor en la España del siglo XVII: La contribución de Agustín Moreto and has written several scholarly articles that deal with race, the influence of Don Quijote in British literature, and the presence of women in the 17th century. Professor Sánchez also co-directs the Sewanee Semester in Spain in Madrid.

Professor of Spanish
View All

Contact

Stephen B. Raulston
Professor of Spanish, Chair of the Spanish Department 

sraulsto@sewanee.edu

Gailor Hall 236, Ext. 1526

Connecting the Dots

Language Houses
Themed Residence Halls

To create an immersive learning experience, Sewanee has several language houses (French, German, Russian, Spanish, and Italian) that simulate real-world language and cultural encounters. The head resident is a native speaker, and students speak their house language while “at home". Events throughout the year showcase educational and recreational aspects of the language house and the culture it represents.

Learn More
International & Global Studies, Major & Minor
45 professors, 14 departments

International & global studies at Sewanee stretches far beyond the gates. Involving faculty members from departments across the College, the program spans disciplinary and thematic boundaries. The rapid pace and complex nature of our world require dexterity to navigate. At Sewanee, you will study the ever-changing political, economic, and cultural issues that characterize our world today. Here, experiencing the real world begins in the classroom.

Learn More
Study Abroad
Engaged citizens solving global problems

At Sewanee, we pledge to offer each student an opportunity to study abroad. And at Sewanee, we keep our promises. Travel, learn, and cultivate your knowledge by communicating across cultures and acquiring a sensitivity to other ways of life. Apply social scientific methodologies to various frameworks. Learn to formulate solutions to global problems and apply those theories at home in a local context.

More about Study Abroad