Advanced Spanish
Prerequisites: Demonstration of mastery of Intermediate Spanish skills and Departmental Recommendation Required.
Course topics are briefly outlined below.
Environments in Crisis: This course focuses on current environmental challenges. Students will be encouraged to analyze the connections between the social contexts and contemporary environmental crises. Through case studies, students will explore the interrelationships between human activity and environmental change. The topics to be studied will include the destruction of the rainforest, water pollution, exploitation of natural resources, habitat destruction, and endangered species. Students will examine how social media, community engagement, and advocacy initiatives have played key roles in the positive outcomes of environmental problems.
Social Justice in Latin America: In this course, students will investigate the key social justice issues facing the Spanish-speaking populations of the Americas. We will examine struggles for equity among various groups, including indigenous populations, political dissidents, and the poor and disenfranchised. Using a variety of authentic sources from the media, such as news articles, documentaries, music, literature and poetry, we will compare and contrast the multiple perspectives of people of Latin American descent. Students will be expected to demonstrate their understanding and express their opinions in discussions, essays and projects. One of the goals of this course is for students to understand the societal forces that shape the beliefs and attitudes of diverse groups of people.
Spanish Literature: In this course, students will explore literary works of The Latin American Boom, a modern literary period known for blending fantasy, magic, and journalistic stories with everyday life. This class will discuss the movement as a product of the political, historical, and social context in Latin America in the 20th century. Through fragments of novels, short stories, film, art, and history, students will explore the importance of the movement in the culture of the region and its global impact. Class activities will include discussions, written and oral reflections, presentations, debates, and creative writing.
Research Seminar (H): This course will offer students the opportunity to explore a topic of their choosing related to their Spanish studies. This course will represent an automatic Honors credit and a culmination of students’ language studies at Beaver. Students will work with the teacher in the class environment to craft a final research project on their topic, while sharing their discoveries with other students in the classroom setting.
- Interests: Literature, Social Justice
- Grades: 10th, 11th, 12th
- Subjects: Modern Languages