Spanish 214

Fall 2012 Instructor: Office: E-mail: Phone: Prerequisite: Course Meetings: Readings in Literature and Culture Dr. Karen Martin PAC A-28 (Humanities Suite) kmartin@uu.edu 661-5225 Placement or completion of Spanish 112 TR 10:50-12:05, PAC A-1 3 hrs. credit

Course Description: This course offers an introduction to Hispanic cultures through literature, music, and visual arts. The primary skills we target in this course are reading, writing, and cultural understanding. Your experiences in this course will help you transition more smoothly to upper-level literature and civilization courses, in addition to helping you continue to strengthen your grammar and vocabulary knowledge bases through readings from various countries and eras. Our textbook will help you understand the key beliefs, experiences, and cultural values that have shaped contemporary Hispanic cultures. All work will be done in Spanish. Course Objectives: Prepare students for a smooth transition to advanced Spanish courses through extensive reading and conversation practice, or serve as a cultural synthesis course for students who are completing their Spanish studies this semester. Lead students to a greater understanding of Hispanic communities and dispel stereotypes. Develop a passion for the literature, visual arts, and music of Hispanic cultures. Develop greater cultural literacy, increasing students communicative effectiveness. Increase understanding of contemporary issues relevant to the Hispanic world. Enhance written expression in Spanish. Enhance students Spanish vocabularies.

Required Text: Sandstedt and Kite. Literatura y arte: Intermediate Spanish. 10th ed. Heinle Cengage Learning, 2011. ISBN 978-1-4390-8498-4. *CengageBrain.com is a web site provided by the textbook Publisher that allows you to rent the book from them for $42 for the semester. This is the direct link to the textbook publishers ordering page: http://www.cengagebrain.com/shop/isbn/143908498X?

cid=D2S

Recommended Text: A Spanish-English, English-Spanish Dictionary

Evaluation: I. Your exams will include a variety of question types, including writing portions, requiring recognition, comprehension and analysis of our reading selections. Tests will cover your readings as well as the relevant cultural and linguistic material related to each selection. II. Your participation and homework grade is based on attitude, evidence of effort and preparation for class, in-class conversations, good use of time in group work, and improvement during the semester. Your homework will always include reading assignments and will often include comprehension activities and/or writing exercises. III. Vocabulary quizzes will be given approximately every two weeks to assist students in expanding their lexical base. They will cover the vocabulario til section that precedes each assigned reading. IV. One 3-to 4-page research paper on a Hispanic author, visual artist, or musician and his/her works (bibliography and title page NOT included in this page count). Papers must follow MLA format and be written in Spanish. Sources must be properly documented. Use of an online translation program is plagiarism. At least five sources must be used. This paper will help you prepare for your papers in other Spanish courses. Papers are due at 10:50 on Thursday, Nov. 15. Paper grades will be dropped one letter for each 24-hour period they are late. V. Each student will prepare a 4- to 6-minute presentation based on his/her research paper topic. The presentation should be carefully prepared, timed, and edited, and should present the most significant elements of the paper in a way that is accessible to classmates who may not necessarily have prior knowledge of the author/artist/works being discussed. Power Point, Prezi, music samples or other significant aids should be provided. Please remember that this is NOT a reading of the paper, but the research done for the paper serves as the foundation for this project. Presentations will be given during the final week of class and will serve as the course final. The relative weight given to each evaluative category is indicated below: Exams 55% A 93-100 Vocabulary Quizzes 15% B 85-92 Participation 10% C 75-84 Research Paper 10% D 65-74 Presentation 10% F Below 65 Please feel free to schedule office visits with the instructor at any time. I am happy to provide clarification or answer any questions that you may have. Attendance Policy: Students are expected to arrive on time and attend each class meeting. All unexcused absences (i.e., those not approved by the Provost) will negatively impact the students participation grade. Late work will not be accepted. The instructor reserves the right to reduce final averages by three points for each absence in excess of four. Missing more than 25% of the course meetings for any reason will result in a final grade of F. In case of illness or an excused absence, students should notify the instructor prior to class and should ask a friend to turn in their work for them. Exams

and presentations will only be made up in case of extreme emergency. Likewise, students who are scheduled to be out of town on official university business on exam day MUST notify the instructor at least one week in advance and make arrangements to take the exam early. Policy on Student Cheating Including Plagiarism/Academic Integrity: The following is taken from your Student Handbook: Union University upholds the highest standards of honesty. Students are to refrain from the use of unauthorized aids on examinations and all graded assignments, to refuse to give or receive information on examinations and all graded assignments and to turn in only those assignments which are the result of their own efforts and research. Faculty are the accept the responsibility for discouraging cheating. They are to make every effort to provide physical conditions which will deter cheating. They are to be aware at all times of activity in the testing area. Any student found guilty by the instructor of cheating will be subject to disciplinary action by the instructor. . . In this class, in addition to the obvious dishonesty of seeking or giving assistance on exams, please remember that cheating also includes: failure to complete your own work on daily assignments (i.e., copying another persons homework answers); taking credit in a group presentation if you did not participate in the groups work; failure to document sources on research and/or homework assignments. If the instructor determines that you have cheated on a homework assignment or did not contribute to your groups work, you will receive a zero on that activity. Plagiarizing (copying work from other students or from sources such as the Internet without crediting those sources) on a paper will result in a failing grade for the course. This includes the use of online translators. Cheating on an exam will also result in a failing grade for the course. KEY DATES: Tues., Sept. 18: Approximately every 2 weeks: Tues., Oct. 11: Thurs, Oct. 18: Tues., Nov. 6: Thurs., Nov. 15, 10:50 a.m. Week of Nov. 19: Thurs., Nov. 29: Week of Dec. 3: Test Vocabulary quizzes; announced in advance No class meeting; Fall Break Test No class meeting; Day of Remembrance Papers due No classes; Thanksgiving Break Test Presentations