Spanish and Latin American Studies

The Spanish and Latin American studies program at The University of Melbourne offers language options at all levels together with a growing number of cultural studies subjects in areas as diverse as literature (from Don Quixote to contemporary classics), cinema, popular culture, food studies, gender studies, and area studies in both European and Latin American studies.

The Spanish and Latin American Studies program will allow you to acquireand improve on Spanish language skills and increase your awareness of Spanish and Latin American culture through a variety of authentic written and spoken and visual materials. You will also learn to interact with other Spanish speakers at a sophisticated level. The program will also provide opportunities to undertake independent research projects into areas including language, literature, culture, politics, cinema, theatre, music, food and identity. The program has agreements with universities in Spain and Latin America, which allow students to undertake exchange and study abroad options as part of their Spanish studies.

Spanish language subjects are organised in a progressive sequence (of units) from Spanish 1 to 7 through to the Spanish Electives. Students may enter at any point, subject to placement testing and/or prerequisites, and normally progress through the sequence in consecutive order. Accelerated progression and mid-year entry are also possible in special cases with the permission of the course convenor. Mid-year entry is also possible into subjects with even numbers.

Students who complete this major will:

• Interpret academic and everyday communication across a number of genres in the target language relative to the entry level;
• Understand the use of Spanish in real-life situations and be aware of the contributions of Spanish-Speakers to the economic, intellectual, cultural and social affairs of the Spanish and Latin American nations.
• Acquire enough intellectual sophistication to appreciate historical, cultural and anthropological differences within the Spanish-speaking communities from Spain and Latin-America;
• Understand and self-reflect on the linguo-cultural acquisition process both in English and Spanish showing autonomous, self-directed and academic-level skills;
• Appreciate and respect diversity and background difference by critically evaluating Spanish-speaking cultures and including the viewpoint of the target culture;
• Be able to confidently interact in intellectually sophisticated conversations with both native and non-native speakers in the target language about historical and contemporary Spanish Speaking Australian, the Eastern Pacific Rim, together with Spanish and Latin American communities;
• Be able to defend arguments in public about the historical linguistic and cultural relevance of indigenous and migrant populations in Latin America and understanding their historical interaction with other European and American cultures;
• Develop a cross-cultural understanding in order to achieve an awareness of contemporary Spanish Speaking Australian, the Eastern Pacific Rim, and the needs of Spanish and Latin American communities.

A 100-point major and 75-point minor sequence is available. The sequence is as follows for the three most common entry points for the Major and Minor:

• Spanish 1 entry point: for students who have very little or no knowledge of Spanish.

• Spanish 3 entry point: for students who have undertaken two or three years of secondary school Spanish or who have been admitted to the program after proving adequate knowledge of Spanish, adequate placement test results or equivalent.

• Spanish 5 entry point: for students who have obtained VCE Spanish, adequate placement test results, or approved equivalent.

Students will have their appropriate entry point determined by the Spanish and Latin American Program, based on evidence of prior learning and/or results of a placement test as required. Please refer to the following link for further information: http://languages-linguistics.unimelb.edu.au/spanish-latin-american/spanish-placement-test

Students completing a major in Spanish and Latin American Studies will usually undertake 25 points at level one, 37.5 points at level two and 37.5 points at level three. Students completing a minor will usually undertake 25 points at level one, 25 points at level two and 25 points at level three.

For an example of a typical Spanish and Latin American Studies major structure for each of the three entry points, please visit: http://arts.unimelb.edu.au/lcr/

SPANISH 1 ENTRY POINT:

Spanish 1 entry point - Level 1

Students completing a Spanish major or minor with a Spanish 1 entry point are required to complete the following subjects (25 points).

Spanish 1 entry point - Level 2

Students completing the Spanish major with a Spanish 1 entry point are required to complete the following subjects (37.5 points). Students completing the Spanish minor are only required to complete Spanish 3 and Spanish 4 (25 points).

Spanish 1 entry point - Level 3

Students completing the Spanish major are required to complete the following subjects and one elective (37.5 points). Students completing the Spanish minor are only required to complete Spanish 5 and 6 (25 points).

SPANISH 3 ENTRY POINT:

Spanish 3 entry point - Level 1

Students completing the Spanish major or minor with a Spanish 3 entry point are required to complete the following subjects (25 points).

Spanish 3 entry point - Level 2

Students completing the Spanish major with a Spanish 3 entry point are required to complete the following subjects and one elective (37.5 points). Students completing the Spanish minor are only required to complete Spanish 5 and Spanish 6 (25 points).

Spanish 3 entry point - Level 3

Students completing the Spanish major are required to complete the following subject and two electives (37.5 points). Students completing the Spanish minor are to complete the following subject (12.5 points) and one elective (12.5 points).

SPANISH 5 ENTRY POINT:

Spanish 5 entry point - Level 1

Students completing the Spanish major or minor are required to complete the following subjects (25 points).

Spanish 5 entry point - Level 2

Students completing the Spanish major are required to complete the following subject (12.5points) and two electives (25 points). Students completing the Spanish minor are only required to complete the following subject and one elective.

Spanish 5 entry point - Level 3

Students completing the Spanish major are required to complete 3 electives (37.5 points). Students completing the Spanish minor are to complete 2 electives (25 points).

ELECTIVES:

NOTE:

*Students in the Spanish 1 Entry Point major are required to take one Level 3 elective subject (12.5 points). This has to be a Spanish elective. Minor students do not take an elective.

*Students in the Spanish 3 Entry Point major are required to take 3 Spanish elective subjects (one at Level 2 and two at Level 3 - 37.5 points). Minor students are only required to take one Level 3 elective (12.5 points). This has to be a Spanish elective subject.

*Students in the Spanish 5 Entry Point major are required to take 5 elective subjects (two at Level 2 and three at Level 3 - 62.5 points). They can take one European Studies / Other elective subjects (12.5 points). Minor students are only required to take 3 Spanish elective subjects (one at Level 2 and two at Level 3 - 37.5 points).

Spanish Electives

European Studies and other electives