SYLLABUS
SPAN 1000-001
INTRODUCTION TO CULTURES OF THE SPANISH-SPEAKING WORLD
FALL 2010
INSTRUCTOR
Conxita Domènech
TIME AND CLASSROOM
Monday and Wednesday from 10:00 to 11:15. PL 114
OFICCE
PL 118 U
OFFICE HOURS
Mondays and Wednesdays from 11:15 to 12:15 or by
appointment
E-MAIL
conxita.domenech@ucdenver.edu
TELEPHONE
303-556-4379
UNITS
3
DESCRIPTION OF COURSE
This course introduces students to the Spanish-speaking
cultures of Spain, Latin America, and the United States
through a historical overview and a focus on
contemporary politics and culture.
PREREQUISITES
There are no prerequisites for this course.
REQUIRED TEXTS
Chasteen, John Charles. Born in Blood and Fire. New
York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2006.
CLASS FORMAT
Each class will involve a combination of lecture, class
activities, movies, and presentations.
ATTENDANCE
The class will meet on the assigned days and times. You
are expected to attend every meeting and to arrive on
time. Should you miss a class session you are
responsible for collecting the information disseminated
in your absence, attendance will be taken. A maximum
of 3 absences will be allowed, after the third absence
the grade will be lowered a grade letter. If you miss
more than 10 minutes of class, it will be considered half
a class. If more than 7 absences occur, the student will
receive a grade of “F.” I will not change this policy
for any reason. The first days of classes are counted
as absent even if you were not enrolled in the class.
You are not excused for any assignment if you were
not in class, even for the first day of class.
There is no difference between “excused” absences
and “unexcused” absence.”
PHONES, LAPTOPS, HEAD DOWN
If the student has the laptop or the cellular phone
outside his/her backpack, purse, or pocket, the
student will be considered absent for that class. You
cannot even use the cellular to check the time. No
exceptions on phone or laptop. If you need to know
the time, please ask in Spanish someone in the class.
Also if you put your head down, you will be
considered absent.
PREPARATION
In the classroom your active participation is
essential, therefore you must prepare for each
class.
QUIZZES
There will be 10 minutes quiz almost every week. The
quiz will be a multiple-choice questions of the readings
from the book. No make up quiz for any reason. At
the end of the semester, I will drop one of the
quizzes. You will need to bring a scantron the day of
the quiz. You can buy it in the bookstore. You have
to buy a total of 10 scantron.
QUESTIONS
The same day of the quiz, questions about the lesson
will be due. The questions have to be typed. 5 points
will be taken out for every day that the questions are
late.
PRESENTATION
There will be two presentations:
 An individual presentation about the assigned
pages in the book. The student will have to
present a summary of the pages assigned from
the book. Please, explain the presentation, do not
read. Also bring a handout of the most important
points from the pages. You will need to bring 36
copies of the hand out for everyone in the class
 A group presentation about a Spanish-speaking
country. Please check the rubric for this
presentation.
A sign-up sheet will be available, and I would be
happy to meet with students to discuss the
presentations.
You cannot change the date of the presentation
for any reason.
MOVIE
Students will have to write a short movie report for
the four movies that we are going to watch. The
report will be one page double-spaced, and typed
about one of the characters in the film. 5 points will be
taken out for every day that the questions are late.
The four movies that we are going to watch are rated
“R,” please let me know the first day of class if you
Have a problem watching these movies.
EXAM
There will be a final exam. If you do not come to class
the assigned day, you will have a 0 in the final exam.
EXTRA CREDIT
The only extra credit for the class will be going to the
Denver Art Museum. As a proof, bring me the ticket.
The museum is free on Saturdays. You will receive 5
points that I will put in the assignment that you need
more points. The last day for the extra credit is April
28th.
GRADE BREAKDOWN
Quizzes
Questions
Final exam
Movie report
Individual presentation
Group presentation
LETTER GRADES
100-93
92-90
89-87
86-83
82-80
79-77
76-73
72-70
69-67
66-63
62-60
25%
25%
20%
10%
10%
10%
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
CD+
D
D-
CAMPUS ACCOMMODATIONS FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
CU-Denver is committed to providing reasonable
accommodations and access to students with
disabilities.
If you have any specific physical,
psychiatric, or learning disability and require
accommodations, please let me know early in the
semester so that your learning needs may be
appropriately met. In order to be eligible for academic
accommodations, students must be officially registered
with the UCDHSC Office of Disability Resources and
Services (DRS) (Arts Building, Room 177,
303.556.3450, 303.556.4766 TDD). The DRS staff
works in an advisory capacity with students and faculty
to develop reasonable instructional accommodations at
the beginning of the semester to ensure full participation
in academic programs.
CLASS INCOMPLETE POLICY
Incomplete Grades (IW or IF) are NOT granted for
low academic performance. To be eligible for an
Incomplete Grade, students MUST meet the following
criteria:
(1)
The student must successfully complete 75
percent of the course (a minimum of 12 weeks of
attendance),
(2)
Have special circumstances beyond their control
that preclude them from attending class and completing
graded assignments, and
(3)
Make arrangements to complete missing
assignments with the original instructor.
Verification of special circumstances is required.
Completion of a CLAS Course Completion Agreement
is strongly suggested. The CLAS Course Completion
Agreement is available from the CLAS Advising
Office, NC 2024.
Grades of “IF” are different from grades of
“Incomplete.” At the end of one year, “IF” grades for
courses that are not completed or repeated are changed
to a grade of “F.” Only an associate or assistant
professor in the department can give or approve an “IF.”
Grades of “IW” are not given in the Modern Languages
Department. For complete policy information, please
see
our
web
site
at
http://cudenver.edu/modlang/policies.advising.
CU-DENVER ACADEMIC ETHICS
Students are to submit only their own work for
evaluation, to acknowledge the work and conclusions of
others, and to do nothing that would provide an unfair
advantage in their academic efforts. Students who fail
to comply with CU-Denver Academic Ethics are subject
to disciplinary action, and the instructor will pursue this
action to the extent of her ability.
CU-DENVER STUDENT AND FACULTY CONDUCT
The members of the CU-Denver community are
committed to creating a place of work and study where
everyone is treated with respect and courtesy.
Inappropriate behavior is classified as disruption of
teaching or research, abuse of property, any form of
harassment, or failure to adhere to applicable laws and
regulations. Individuals who fail to adhere to the CUDenver Code of Conduct are subject to disciplinary
action.
09/15
TENTATIVE CALENDAR
Material
Exam, quizzes,
covered
and questions
Introduction
Movie 1
(Butterfly)
Movie 1
Introduction
Quiz map and
quiz of the
syllabus (you do
not need to type
these questions)
No class
Introduction
Chapter 1
Quiz and
questions
introduction
Chapter 1
09/20
Chapter 2
09/22
Chapter 2
09/27
Chapter 3
09/29
10/04
10/06
Movie 2
(Maria Full
of Grace)
Movie 2
Chapter 4
10/11
Chapter 4
10/13
Chapter 5
10/18
Chapter 5
10/20
Chapter 6
Date
08/23
08/25
08/30
09/01
09/06
09/08
09/13
Presentations
Movie reports
Presentation Spain
Report movie
1
Pages 15-23
 Presentation
Mexico
 Pages 24-31
 Pages 32-40
 Pages 41-49
Quiz and
 Pages 50-57
questions chapter
 Presentation
1
Argentina
 Pages 58-64
 Pages 65-72
 Pages 73-80
 Pages 81-89
Quiz and
 Presentation
questions chapter
Peru
2
 Pages 90-98
 Pages 99-107
Quiz and
questions chapter
3
Quiz and
questions chaper
4
Quiz and
questions chaper
5
 Presentation
Cuba
 Pages 108-116
 Pages 118-126
 Pages 127-135
 Presentation
Chile
 Pages 136-147
 Pages 148-156
 Pages 157-165
 Presentation
Guatemala
 Pages 166-178
Report movie
2
10/25
Chapter 6
10/27
Chapter 7
11/01
11/03
11/08
Movie 3 (El
Norte)
Movie 3
Chapter 7
11/10
Chapter 8
11/15
Chapter 8
11/17
Chapter 9
11/22
11/24
11/29
12/01
12/06
No class
No class
Movie 4
Movie 4
(Innocent
voices )
Chapter 10
12/08
Chapter 10
Quiz and
questions chaper
6
Quiz and
questions chapter
7
Quiz and
questions chaper
8
Quiz and
questions chapter
9
12/13
Questions
chapter 10
Final exam
12/15
Final exam
 Presentation
Costa Rica
 Pages 179-188
 Presentation
Puerto Rico
 Pages 189-199
 Pages 200-214
 Presentation
Venezuela
 Pages 216-225
 Pages 226-235
 Pages 236-246
Report movie
3
 Pages 248-257
 Pages 258-267
 Presentation
Colombia
 Pages 268-277
 Pages 278-288
 Presentation El
Salvador
 Pages 289-299
 Pages 300-309
 Pages 310-319
 Pages 320-329
Report movie
4