Spanish Studies| Major

Degree Awarded: Bachelor of Arts

Economic globalization has made communication among cultures and nations more important than ever. Spanish is spoken by almost 400 million people worldwide; moreover, about half the population of the Western Hemisphere speaks Spanish, making it the primary language for as many people as English in this part of the world. Even within the U.S., Spanish is the second most widely spoken language. A major in Spanish Studies allows you to engage with a rich variety of history, literature, art, and architecture.

Community Based Learning Requirements

Lake Erie College students of all levels of Spanish are required to participate in Community Based Learning (CBL) opportunities in the Painesville, Ohio community. The LEC Spanish Studies CBL experience is designed to unite classroom theory and practice with the intended purpose of promoting a more just and compassionate world while simultaneously creating mutually beneficial relationships with our surrounding Hispanic community.

Students get to leave their comfort zone and gain a greater understanding of Hispanic culture through this experience, as well as hone their communicative language skills and provide valuable resources to the community.

Fun Facts about CBL

• 40+ community partners have been involved in CBL with Lake Erie College since it began in Fall 2017.

• So far, over 650 students have participated. That's 1950+ community service hours in the Painesville Hispanic Community.

• Lake Erie currently offers a Major and Minor in Spanish, a Major in International Studies, workforce Spanish courses such as Spanish for Law Enforcement / Criminal Justice / Business, and Heritage Speaker language courses.

• In 1953, Lake Erie College became the first university in the United States to institute a mandatory full term of courses to be taken abroad as a requirement for graduation. While this is no longer a requirement for our students, it's a legacy of which we are proud and an experience we still encourage all our students to undertake. Although some students are unable to take advantage of study abroad for a myriad of reasons, the CBL initiative offers a quick glimpse into immersion language learning and to practice cultural sensitivity in their own communities.

Heritage Speakers

SP 333 Spanish for Heritage Speakers (3 SH). This course offers intensive Spanish for heritage speakers who have had little or no formal training in the language. Writing skills are emphasized over oral communication. This course may have a required community based learning component at the discretion of the instructor. All meetings will take place in Spanish.

This course is a new addition to the curriculum and supports LEC's Spanish Studies Department's motivation to include a more significant number of Spanish speaking students on campus.

• Download the full course description herehere.

Spanish Events for Fall Semester 2021

• 9/15/2021 -- Lake Erie Founder's Day of Service

  Details forthcoming.

• 9/15/2021 - 10/15/2021 -- Hispanic Heritage Month

• 9/15/2021 -- Flags of Hispanic America Display in Lincoln Library

  Flags from the countries who speak Spanish as an official language will decorate Lincoln Library for the next week. SP 101 and SP 102 students will be creating these flags themselves, as well as sharing some interesting facts about each country and Spanish-speakers in the United States. Help us vote to pick a favorite flag!

• 9/18/2021 -- Julia de Burgos Hispanic Heritage Celebration (off campus)

  The Julia de Burgos Cultural Center is a non-profit organization in Cleveland, OH that promotes Latino heritage. Join in the free family-friendly celebration ¡Celebrando! You can find more information here.here.

• 9/22/2021 -- Announce Winner from Flag Display

• 9/30/2021 -- También la lluvia (Even the Rain) Movie Showing. 2pm location TBD.

  Political film 'Even the Rain' makes pertinent, if heavy-handed, comparisons between European imperialism five centuries ago and modern globalization. In particular, it portrays high-end filming on location in poor countries as an offshoot of colonial exploitation. The movie is set in and around Cochabamba, Bolivia's third-largest city, which the movie's fictional penny-pinching film producer, Costa (Luis Tosar), has chosen as a cheap stand-in for Hispaniola in a movie he is making about Christopher Columbus. The year is 2000, and Costa is unprepared to deal with the real-life populist uprising in Bolivia after its government has sold the country's water rights to a private multinational consortium. Local wells from which the people have drawn their water for centuries are abruptly sealed. Riots erupt when the rates charged by the water company prove ruinous. The rebellion ends only after the protests have brought Bolivia to a standstill and the company has withdrawn. Spain (Icíar Bollaín); 2010, 1hr 39min. Student presentation / critique and discussion.

• 10/11/2021 -- Columbus Day / Indigenous Peoples Day Poetry Reading

  Details Forthcoming.

• 10/16/2021 -- Don Quixote presented by the Cleveland Ballet at Playhouse Square (off campus)

• 11/1/2021 - 11/2/2021 -- Día de los muertos

  Day of the Dead calavera memorials around campus (submit pics and bios of loved ones you’d like remembered on display by 10/15/21 to jsalkauski@lec.edu )

Requirements for the Major

Students seeking a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish Studies must complete 36 Semester credits, including:

• SP 201 Intermediate Spanish (3 SH)*

  • * Completion of this class with a C- or higher/equivalent is required for Admission into the Spanish Major.

• SP 201L Intermediate Spanish Lab (1 SH)

• SP 220 Spanish Conversation and Composition (3 SH)

• SP 221 Advanced Spanish Grammar (3 SH)

• SP 301 Spanish for the Professional Environment (3 SH)

• SP 325 Introduction to Hispanic Culture and Civilization (3 SH)

• SP 346 Spanish Tutoring (3 SH)**

  • ** Credits for this class are earned over 2 semesters.

• SP 490 Senior Research Project

Additional Requirements

Students must also take 9 semester credits from any of the following.

Professions Classes

• SP 302 Spanish for Medical Professions (3 SH)

• SP 303 Spanish for Criminal Justice (3 SH)

Linguistics

• SP 310 Introduction to Hispanic Linguistics (3 SH)

Literature and Civilization

• SP 320 Introduction to Hispanic Literature (3 SH)

• SP 321 Hispanic Women Writers (3 SH)

• SP 322 Hispanic Cinema (3 SH)

• SP 323 Latin American Dictator Literature (3 SH)

• SP 324 Latin American Theater (3 SH)

• SP 326 U.S. Latino Literature and Civilization (3 SH)

• SP 327 Afro-Caribbean Literature and Civilization (3 SH)

Service

• SP 345 Service Learning in Spanish (2-4 SH)

• SP 346 Tutoring Hours in Spanish (1 SH)

Self-Discovery

• SP 260/360 Independent Studies in Spanish (2-4 SH)

• SP 170-79/270-79/370-79 Special Topics in Spanish (2-4 SH)

Experiential Learning

• SP 340 Language and Study Abroad (4 SH)

• SP 250/350/450 Internship in Spanish (4 SH)