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.

Spanish department - fall 2020

The Department of Spanish and Italian looks forward to having you back on campus, whether in person or through our virtual classrooms. Check out what your professors have planned here.

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.

Spanish Department's Study Abroad Programs

Summer in Cartagena
A Colombian summer you'll never forget

Cartagena, a UNESCO “World Heritage Site,” is the perfect colonial city to experience both Latin America’s past and its modern city life. As a Spanish student, you will study indigenous history, learn about colonial power, slavery and antislavery movements, and independence from Spain. Join us on this unforgettable adventure!

Semester in Spain
Be immersed

This semester abroad focuses on contemporary Spain and its membership in the European Union. The trip and accompanying courses take an interdisciplinary approach, encompassing a variety of perspectives. This semester abroad has been conceived and designed for all Sewanee students interested in Spanish culture, life, and language.

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Summer in Spain
Pilgrimage experience

The Summer in Spain program takes a close look at Medieval Spain and the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela. Classes meet in Sewanee, in Madrid, and various spots on the pilgrimage road in northern Spain. Get ready for an interactive learning experience full of discovery.

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A Sampling of Courses

Latin American Literature and the Environment
Spanish

A study of diverse ways in which Latin American literature and culture have portrayed the relationship between humans and the natural environment. Students study texts, films, and other materials from selected geographic regions to foster understanding of the cultural, political, and ecological history of environmental issues in Latin America.

SPAN 390
Audiovisual Cultures in Latin America
Spanish

Based on theoretical approaches and following a chronological order, this course examines and analyzes a series of visual and auditive artistic manifestations developed by Latin American cultures. Topics include the painting, sculpture, architecture, and music of the Indian Baroque; the Casta Paintings; Mexican Muralism; the rise of the Bolero; photojournalism; the Third Cinema and the documentary tradition; the dictatorship aesthetic; the identity politics of telenovelas (soap operas); and pop music.

SPAN 392
Spanish Detective Novel 1975-present
Spanish

This course covers the evolution of the detective novel from after the death of Franco to the present day. It studies the changes in Spanish society through the Transición to the new democratic government.

SPAN 405
Experiences of Displacement: Migration and Exile in the Hispanic World
Spanish

A civic engagement course that examines displacement in the Hispanic world in its theoretical and experiential dimensions. The course analyzes literary and cultural products from the Hispanic world, while participating in community engagement with the Latinx community on the Cumberland Plateau. The aim of the course is to develop an understanding of the individual and collective aspects of migration and exile beyond the text; to reflect on the ethnic and sociocultural diversity of the area, and to develop civic awareness.

SPAN 420
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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 & Italian, Chair of the Department of Spanish & Italian
Arturo Márquez Gómez
aamarque@sewanee.edu

Arturo Márquez Gómez was born and raised in Santiago, Chile. In 1997 he started his studies in Psychology at the Universidad de Chile. As a Psychologist he worked as a research assistant in gender studies and HIV-AIDS prevention at FLACSO- Chile. In 2002 he decided to switch careers and joined a Master program in Spanish at Middlebury College. Right after graduating in 2006 he started his graduate studies in the Hispanic Studies Department at Brown University, from where he graduated in 2013. In his dissertation titled "Disaster and Deviance: Narratives of the Catastrophe in Contemporary Chile", he explored the works of the writer José Donoso, the performer and cronista Pedro Lemebel, and film director Pablo Larraín. His research and teaching interests include all levels of Spanish, contemporary Latin American narratives, visual studies, cinema, documentary, film adaptations and performance arts. He looks forward to teach courses on Visual Studies on the context of Latin American artistic production, Hispanic American Cinema, Film Adaptation, panoramic literature surveys and more specific literature seminars centered on contemporary authors or topics such as gender and sexuality, memory and Latin American cities.

Assistant Professor of Spanish
Lisa Burner
lrburner@sewanee.edu

Professor Burner specializes in nineteenth- and twentieth-century Latin American literature and culture. She is interested in how cultural production can offer insight into economic and environmental concerns of the past and present, including financial crisis and the depletion of natural resources. Her dissertation, “Fertilizer Dreams: Peruvian and Chilean Culture of the Guano and Nitrate Eras,” analyzes novels, short stories, and newspaper articles written during periods of economic boom and bust driven by the export of fertilizer from Latin America to Europe.

Assistant Professor of Spanish
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
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Contact

Manuel Chinchilla
Professor of Spanish & Italian, Chair of the Spanish Department 

machinch@sewanee.edu

Gailor Hall 232, Ext. 1945

News & Events

International Carnival Photo Contest!

6:00 PM

Post your best photo from Carnivals past on our Photo Contest Wall by March 20. We will vote and award prizes on March 24. Include a caption in both English and in the language you are studying.

 

In many parts of the world, some form of Carnival is celebrated, combining Christian and pre-Christian traditions indigenous to the region. This celebration goes by many names: Maslenitsa Масленица in Russia; Mardi Gras in the Francophone world; Carnaval in Spain/Latin America, Carnevale in Italy, Fasching in Germany-to name a few. Common threads include celebrating the end of winter darkness, sometimes parades, often outrageous costumes, role reversal, consuming pancakes, or marking the beginning of Lent.  We include the Lunar New Year in this category since it honors the end of winter and the return of the light.

Details

6th Annual International Karaoke Night!

9:00 PM
Cravens Hall

Students gathered at Cravens Hall for the The 6th Annual International Karaoke Night on Saturday, October 24.  It was a little different from past International Karaoke Nights when students sang live in front of a panel of judges and an audience.  Instead,  they submitted videos of themselves singing in the language that they are studying.  The videos representing Chinese, French, German, Latin, Russian, and Spanish were screened at the event, and students and faculty were able to view the videos and vote online in person or remotely.

Details

El Pueblo Unido

8:00 PM
Facebook Live

Costa Rican singer Yuri Rodríguez, who recently moved to Sewanee, will be holding a virtual concert to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month

details

Spanish Table, Tutoring, and Yoga for the Fall 2020 Semester

Read more to see the schedule for free tutoring in the Language Resource Center and when you can go to Spanish language yoga classes.

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Latin America in the Wake of the Iraq War

A group of students and faculty gathered in the Torian Room at Dupont Library on February 7 to hear about the critical effects that the War in Iraq had in Latin America. Gonzalo Montaner presented his book "Están con nosotros o con los terroristas. El efecto Al Qaeda y la Guerra de Iraq en América Latina" in which he discusses crucial issues in Latin America after the War on Terrorism. The group of students and faculty had also the opportunity to Chilean journalist Andrea Arístegui who along Montaner's presentation, reflected on the role of media in times of war and social crisis.

Inter-Language Carnival Celebration

In many parts of the world, some form of Carnival is celebrated, combining Christian and pre-Christian traditions indigenous to the region. This celebration goes by many names: Maslenitsa Масленица in Russia; Mardi Gras in the Francophone world; Carnaval in Latin America, Carnevale in Italy, Fasching in Germany-to name a few. Common threads include celebrating the end of winter darkness, sometimes parades, often outrageous costumes, role reversal, consuming pancakes, or marking the beginning of Lent. On Sunday, February 16, various language houses hosted a progressive festival starting at the Russian House, continuing on to the Spanish House, the German House, the Italian House, and ending at the French House.

Spanish House Tertulia Schedule for the Spring Semester

Come to the Spanish House for the following events this semester: -Película: Thursday, Feb 6 at 6:00pm -Fiestas y Tradiciones Populares: Thursday, March 5 at 6:00pm -Noche de Karaoke: Friday, April 3 at 7:00pm -Hola Colaboración: Finals Week

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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.

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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.

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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