Semester Courses
The BCA Universitas curriculum features a wide variety of upper-level undergraduate courses including advanced language, literature, art, history, culture and sociology. The courses are developed to ensure advanced critical thinking and maturity of expression and are modified according to students' levels of preparation and need.
Classroom teaching and learning usually takes place in the morning hours. This allows students time in the afternoon to engage with local native speakers, use the city as a language and cultural laboratory, visit museums and neighboring villages, pursue independent study projects and enjoy learning from the local culture by going to the theatre, movies, sports or music events. Our BCA Universitas program considers the entire city to be a classroom, and our intellectual and cross-cultural expectations for student involvement are high.
Faculty CV's are available here.
Overall, the BCA Universitas program curricular offerings are divided into three main areas:
Spanish Language Courses
Humanities Courses
Social Science Courses
Following are examples of courses in each of these areas.
Spanish Language Courses
Spanish Phonetics
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The primary objective of this course is the the further development of spoken language skills, with special emphasis on correct pronunciation and tone in Spanish. Students will learn the different forms of Spanish spoken in various regions, and as such the ability to adapt style and pronunciation depending on the geographic area.
Spanish Grammar and Writing
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To express oneself correctly in Spanish, in both oral and written mediums, requires an extensive knowledge of grammatical rules required by the language. This could be easy if reduced to merely a few rules, but becomes exponentially more complex as we discover that Spanish grammar is not an exact science and cannot be reduced to a simple book of rules. Spanish may be characterized by its richness and exacting expressiveness, characteristics which often are ignored by some speakers, whether through lack of culture or sheer ignorance. Spoken norms, formal language, colloquialisms, familiar speech, rules and exceptions, and linguistic theories all compose a complex labyrinth which for the student may seem impractical and difficult. But to achieve greater levels of fluid communications this must be learned, and that is the goal of this course.
Conversation and Oral Expression
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The goal of this course is to improve both the spoken and written Spanish so that students will communicate effectively at a high level in Spanish. Although the course deals primarily with conversation, many of the exercises will be directed toward oral practice of verb structure and tenses learned in the grammar course. The students will complete a minimum of four written exercises on various topics, and will be expected to lead an in-class discussion of one of these. The types of exercises will vary and conducted both individually and in groups, depending on the exercise. Some examples include:
- Description and comparison of objects
- Descriptions of pictures, locating different elements (bulidings, people, objects, etc.)
- Description of people and situations in various short stories and creation of corresponding dialogue
- Narration of situations using different verb tenses (stories, oral review of magazine/newspaper articles, experiences, etc.)
- Reading, summarizing, and commenting on current texts, covering contemporary Spanish themes (immigration,terrorism, education, lifestyle, customs, etc.)
- A variety of games to emphasize vocabulary
- Debates about themes selected by students
Business Spanish
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The principal objective of the course is to offer the necessary basis of the discipline to the student, through a combination of fundamental theories and practice. Following this objective, the course will try, in the most direct manner possible, to give the student a clear reference point with respect to the current Spanish economic situation (and its relation to the rest of Europe). This involves the learning of not only new oral and written expressions, but new economic and cultural realities as well. Business Spanish is important in all areas related to the country’s microeconomics, and as such there will be special emphasis placed on the practical implications of this course.
2. Humanities Courses
History of Modern and Contemporary Spain
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This course is designed to provide students a broad understanding of the socio-cultural environment of modern Spain. As part of this, the comparison between Spanish history and other societies is necessary to develop students’ understanding of the cultural and linguistic diversity of Spain, as well as providing a reference point for other world views. Specific course objectives include developing skills and understandings to:
- Gain a comprehensive and realistic idea of the key components and images of Spanish culture, society, traditions, challenges, and achivements.
- Avoid and dispel clichés of Spanish history, orienting the student toward a deeper understanding of Spain’s past and its contemporary society.
- Enable students to understand, interpret and express views on modern Spanish society based on historical insights and contemporary issues.
Spanish Literature: 18-20th Centuries
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Through a series of lectures and readings, this course demonstrates the evolution of Spanish literature from the 18th Century to modern works, highlighting the diverse styles, forms, and historical and societal interaction within the texts. Given the unique interdisciplinary structure of the course, students employ a variety of materials selected by the professor, which serve to compliment the theoretical explanations and facilitate a greater comprehension of the eras studied.
The course is not presented as simply a monographic study of different authors, but rather a general panorama of Spanish literary history. Thus, the recommended texts will form a basis of which the professor will provide commentary and insight on the required readings.
Through the duration of the course, students have five required readings, each of which should be carefully studied with emphasis on the themes and structure. Students are then responsible for a formal paper which should adequately display comprehension of the text at hand.
Latin American Literature
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In this course, students are presented with a panoramic vision of literary evolution through reading and interpreting works of Latin American literature from its origins to modern times. Literature, like all art, is not an isolated discipline, but rather it is directly interrelated with other facets of culture within a country, such as history, sociology, and anthropology. With this in mind, the course is aligned with the history of Latin American literature and its principal movements, but never separates completely from the socio-cultural reality of the movement.
Spanish Culture
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The objective of this course is to provide students with a general understanding of the sociocultural environment of modern Spain. Throughout the course a number of cultural topics will be presented, always compared with the student’s home culture so that students will not only learn about Spanish culture but learn to contextualize their cultural awareness in relation with others. The course attempts to create an appreciation for the cultural and linguistic diversity of Spanish society, so that the student gains a broader knowledge of cultural phenomena and an overall global vision.
Introduction to Literary Studies: Spanish Literature
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Throughout this course, students engage fundamental concepts related to the definition and analysis of each type of literary text. This is the theoretic component of the course. Students then apply this understanding through analysis and commentary on a variety of texts, so that by the end of the course they are able to recognize and comment on virtually any text. Keeping in mind that this course requires a high level of collaboration by the student, comments regarding the diverse texts should display each student's capacity for reflection and commentary in written Spanish. The professor will facilitate a learning environment based on discussion in class and a spirit of critical debate among students.
Spanish Literature: Middle Ages to Golden Age
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Through a series of readings and other works, this course presents the evolution of Spanish literature from its beginnings up to the end of the 17th Century, while displaying the characteristics, styles, and diverse forms of each period, as well as interactions between history, society, and those texts. Students work with materials provided by the professor, complimented by theoretical explanations which will serve to give a better understanding of the historical periods being examined.
Given the extensive nature of this course, it will not be presented as simply a monographic study of different authors, but rather as a general panorama of Spanish literary history. Thus, the recommended texts will form a basis upon which the professor will provide commentary and insight on required readings.
Throughout this course, students examine various required readings, each of which should be carefully studied with emphasis on the themes and structure. Students are responsible for a formal writing assignment which should adequately display comprehension of the text at hand.
3. Social Sciences and International Relations
The Social Sciences and International Relations program analyzes the political, economic and social condition of the hispanic world in a global context.
Students may choose from the following courses:
History of Modern and Contemporary Spain
Download Syllabus here
This course was designed to give the student a broad general understanding of the sociocultural environment of modern Spain. Thus the comparison between Spanish history and other societies is necessary to help develop the student’s understanding and evaluation of the cultural and linguistic diversity of Spain, as well as a reference point for other world views. Specific course objectives will be:
• To transmit a real image of Spanish culture, society and traditions
• Avoid and dispel clichés of Spanish history, orienting the student to contemporary history
• Enable the student to understand and interpret modern Spanish society through historical processes
Spanish Culture
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The objective of this course is to provide the student with a general understanding of the sociocultural environment present in modern Spain. Throughout the course a number of cultural topics will be presented, always compared with the student’s home culture so that students will not only learn about Spanish culture, but learn to contextualize their cultural awareness in relation with others. The course attempts to create an appreciation for the cultural and linguistic diversity of Spanish society, so that the student gains a broader knowledge of cultural phenomena and an overall global vision.
Spanish Art History
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Art history is its own autonomous discipline with its own objectives and methods. The object of study is a work of art produced as a result of intelligence, creativity, and human performance in a permanent dialogue with time and space, expressed with its own codes and enriching the global vision of reality and its forms of manifestation. At the same time, through the complexity of factors that come together in artistic creation, it relates deeply to other areas of understanding and activity.
The study of art history will provide the student with the necessary understanding to analyze, interpret, and value works of art in Spain through the language of form and visual thought, keeping in mind contemporary society and the environment of traditional forms enriched by other forms of visual communication, so that the universe of the image forms part of our daily reality, and through analysis enable the comparison of Spanish art with that of other nations.
Similarly the work of art, together with other sources of historical knowledge, constitutes in itself a valid document and indispensible testimony to better understand Spanish society, at the same time transforming the society. Therefore it is necessary to study the work in its socio-cultural context as a dividing point for the analysis of the different factors and circumstances which influenced the creation process, and to learn to appreciate the art contextualized in the culture of each historic moment, realizing at the same time that each work has another dimension through time as objects susceptible to the different uses and social functions of each period.
The formulation of content for the course should be understood in an expansive and integrated sense, covering both conceptual aspects as well as attitudes. The introductory section will include the general procedures and basic attitudes necessary for the analysis, interpretation, and valuation of works of art, contained in the essence and methodology of the material, which will consequently be developed with transversal character throughout the course.
Latin American Literature
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In this course, students are presented with a panoramic vision of literary evolution through reading and interpreting works of Latin-American literature from its origins to modern times. Literature, like all art, is not an isolated discipline, but rather it is directly interrelated with other facets of culture within a country, such as history, sociology, or anthropology. With this in mind, the course is aligned with the history of Latin American literature and its principal movements, but never separates completely from the socio-cultural reality of the movement.
Mercosur, European Common Market and North American Treaty
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During the last few decades, the international economy has ceased to be a theme unique to each country and has become a global issue, in which each nation’s government has tried, using various economic accords, to maintain and develop their own social and economic structures. The economy exists in all areas, and influences nearly every activity of a given country. Protectionist economic policies of the last century have served to develop a free market economy, which to this day contains a number of important issues which are regulated through international treaties such as NAFTA, MERCOSUR, and the EU. Are we moving towards a global economy? Is this a possible, or even positive development? Are we condemned to be either rich or poor societies? Do international treaties offer coherent, maintainable, long-term economic answers for such countries? Who wins and who loses in this global economic labyrinth? All these questions and many more will be the primary topic of this course.
Spain and Latin America: History of International Relations
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The goal of this course is to give an overview of the History of International Relations in Latin America from the point of view of Human Rights. Students will also have the opportunity to learn about the political evolutions related to Human Rights from the beginning of the XIXth Century to the present. Students will work with different materials (texts, movies…) to complement their daily work in class, as well as allow them to research the contents of the course. To fulfill this goal, the professor will use the classroom as a debate area, in order to let students demonstrate their maturity and thinking capacities about the topics, as well as their comprehension and discussion abilities
Spain and Latin America: Social and Political History and Human Rights
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Although the concept of “human rights” did not exist until the seventeenth and eighteenth Centuries with what was known as “natural rights,” the presence of it in culture and society is visible long before. For example, the concept of “subjective right” was already anticipated by Ockham in the Middle Ages. From this point of view, Spanish scholasticism (notably the School of Salamanca) developed this idea during the sixteenth Century by recognizing that there are some natural rights related to a person's body (the right to life or property) and mind (the right to free thinking or dignity). Specifically, the application of human rights to America’s conquest and colonization, placed in the debate about the nature of indians and the “fair conquest” idea, is for many specialists the authentic origin of human rights. This course will study the historical evolution of Human Rights in Spanish Modern and Contemporary History, considering the different aspects (states, institutions, society) related directly or indirectly with this process. The second part of the course will focus on direct analysis of the main documents related to human rights (such as constitutions, law texts, etc.) to determine the current state of human rights in Spain.