University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
Curriculum Proposal Form #3
New Course
Effective Term:
2147 (Fall 2014)
Subject Area - Course Number: Spanish 372
Cross-listing: N/A
(See Note #1 below)
Course Title: (Limited to 65 characters)
Introduction to Legal Spanish & the Hispanic Community
25-Character Abbreviation:
Intro. to Legal Spanish
Sponsor(s):
Lisa Huempfner
Department(s):
Languages and Literatures
College(s):
Letters and Sciences
Consultation took place:
NA
Yes (list departments and attach consultation sheet)
Departments:
Programs Affected:
Is paperwork complete for those programs? (Use "Form 2" for Catalog & Academic Report updates)
NA
Yes
Prerequisites:
will be at future meeting
Spanish 321 and 322 OR Spanish 320
Grade Basis:
Conventional Letter
S/NC or Pass/Fail
Course will be offered:
Part of Load
On Campus
Above Load
Off Campus - Location
College:
Letters and Sciences
Instructor:
Huempfner
Dept/Area(s): Languages & Literatures/Spanish
Note: If the course is dual-listed, instructor must be a member of Grad Faculty.
Check if the Course is to Meet Any of the Following:
Technological Literacy Requirement
Diversity
Writing Requirement
General Education Option: Select one:
Note: For the Gen Ed option, the proposal should address how this course relates to specific core courses, meets the goals of General Education in
providing breadth, and incorporates scholarship in the appropriate field relating to women and gender.
Credit/Contact Hours: (per semester)
Total lab hours:
Number of credits:
3
Total contact hours:
Total lecture hours:
48
Can course be taken more than once for credit? (Repeatability)
No
Yes
If "Yes", answer the following questions:
No of times in major:
No of times in degree:
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No of credits in major:
No of credits in degree:
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48
Proposal Information: (Procedures for form #3)
Course justification: As the Hispanic population in the U.S. -–and particularly, Southern Wisconsin—
continues to expand, there is a growing need for professionals with the linguistic and cultural knowledge
necessary to service a Spanish-speaking clientele. One of the areas of professional Spanish knowledge that
can be useful for a number of service careers is legal Spanish. Some of the career areas that can benefit
from such skills are law enforcement and public safety, social work, public administration (such as US
Citizenship and Immigration Services), US Foreign Service and officers of the courts (interpreters,
lawyers, mediators, advocates, judges, etc.). Hence, as the Spanish Program moves forward in the
development of a minor in Professional Spanish, it is important that we offer in the regular rotation of
courses a course that introduces students to legal contexts and their intersection with the Hispanic
community as well as to a working legal vocabulary.
Relationship to program assessment objectives: There are four primary goals and objectives for the Foreign
Language Programs. All four of these will be incorporated into this course and will be assessed, both formally and
informally, in the course in the following manners:
1. Proficient Oral Communication Skills: Students will work throughout the semester in pairs,
small groups, and/or one-on-one with the instructor to practice the skills of oral interpretation.
This will also be formally assessed through oral interpretation assessments.
2. Proficient Written Communication Skills: Written communication skills will be assessed
through the translation and composition of legal documents, written assessments on formal exams,
and a reflective paper that will be written entirely in Spanish. Because the development of
proficient legal written skills is crucial, it is desirable that the enrollment capacity for this class be
set at 20 or below. This will afford each student solid practice in the art of translation and legal
writing with the benefit of regular feedback from the instructor.
3. Proficient Interpretive Communication Skills (Reading and Listening): With each
unit/module, students will listen to dialogues relating to the legal topics of the unit and will be
assessed on their interpretive listening skills. In addition, students will be required to attend a legal
proceeding that is carried out with the use of a Spanish-language interpreter* and for which they
will write a reflective paper. Further, students will be reading various selections for each unit and
will be assessed, both orally and in written form, on their interpretive reading skills.
4. Knowledge of Cultural Practices and Perspectives: Cross-cultural understanding is an essential
skill for legal translators and interpreters. For this reason, cultural practices and perspectives will
permeate each unit, through readings, guest speakers, films, and presentations. Students will
demonstrate their competency in this area via their responses to questions on cultural components
of written exams, in oral presentations, and in their reflective paper.
Budgetary impact: This course will be taught by faculty or academic staff with the Spanish program,
affecting overall English program staffing needs and arrangements.
Course description: This course reinforces the student’s Spanish skills while focusing on many different
aspects of working with the Hispanic community that relate to the law. The class will cover a broad mix of
legal contexts, while building the student’s practical legal terminology and written and oral communication
skills. In addition, emphasis will be placed on cultural issues that may affect successful interaction with
Spanish-speaking individuals and families faced with matters concerning the law.
If dual listed, list graduate level requirements for the following:
1. Content (e.g., What are additional presentation/project requirements?)
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2. Intensity (e.g., How are the processes and standards of evaluation different for graduates and
undergraduates? )
3. Self-Directed (e.g., How are research expectations differ for graduates and undergraduates?)
Course objectives and tentative course syllabus: See attached syllabus.
Bibliography: This is incorporated in the attached syllabus.
Course Objectives and tentative course syllabus with mandatory information (paste syllabus below):
* The Walworth County Courts daily hold calls (brief hearings) in which interpreters are used. In addition, there may
be opportunities for students to attend similar proceedings in Janesville or more extensive court hearings. Hence, in
order to provide maximum flexibility, I will provide students with times when interpreters will be working and will
require them to arrange on their own when they will attend within the parameters set by the course. Sheila Reiff, a
Probate Commissioner and Registrar of the Circuit Court in Walworth, has agreed to work with us to facilitate
student access to bilingual court proceedings. She is a member of the State Committee for Court Interpreters.
Introduction to Legal Spanish and the Hispanic Community
SPA 372
Instructor: Lisa Huempfner
Office hours: MW 12-1:00 and 2-2:30
Email: huempfnl@uww.edu
Office: 3132 Laurentide
Phone: 472-5074
Description: This course reinforces the student’s Spanish skills while focusing on many different aspects
of working with the Hispanic community that relate to the law. The class will cover a broad mix of legal
contexts, while building the student’s practical legal terminology and written and oral communication
skills. In addition, emphasis will be placed on cultural issues that may affect successful interaction with
Spanish-speaking individuals and families faced with matters concerning the law.
Course requisites: Successful completion of Spanish 321 and 322 OR Spanish 320.
Objectives:
1. Introduce the student to legal Spanish encompassing a variety of contexts.
2. Address cultural aspects that may affect the encounter of Hispanic individuals with
the U.S. legal system.
3. Introduce students to bilingual professionals who work with the Hispanic
community in contexts requiring legal knowledge in order to expose students to
future job possibilities, training opportunities and/or certification.
4. Provide students the opportunity to observe an actual court hearing in which a
Spanish interpreter is required.
5. Help students to understand U.S. immigration law by examining how it pertains to
Hispanics in their own community.
Required texts:

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Jarvis, Anna C. and Luis Lebredo. (2011). Basic Spanish for Law Enforcement. Boston
and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Jarvis, Anna C. and Luis Lebredo. (2011). Basic Spanish for Social Services. Boston
and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Spanish Legal Conversation. Phrases and Key Words for Basic Comminication in the Legal Industry. (2009). Expert
Editions, Inc. (This is a 6-page laminated Quick Study guide to the most common legal terms and phrases).
Note: To date, none of the major textbook publishers of our profession list a text that approaches legal Spanish from
the introductory and broad perspective that we would like to take. As such, I will be drawing from several texts of
the Basic Spanish Professional series by Jarvis and Lebredo, which will, in turn, be supplemented by articles and
case studies from a variety of sources and online resources. These materials will be made available to students either
in packet form or via pdf files online.
Additional resources: Excerpts from several of these texts, among others, will be used in class and will be
available via a course packet and/or D2L.

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America’s immigration debate. (2006). New York, NY: Films Media Group.
Dueñas González, Roseann, Victoria F. Vásquez and Holly Mikkelson. (2012).
Fundamentals of Court Interpretation. Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press. PDF
file: www.cap-press.com/pdf/2374.pdf
Flores, Juan and Renato Rosaldo. Eds. (2007). A Companion to Latina/o studies.
Malden, MA; Oxford: Blackwell Publishers.
Jarvis, Anna C. and Luis Lebredo. (2011). Basic Spanish for Law Enforcement. Boston
and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Jarvis, Anna C. and Luis Lebredo. (2011). Basic Spanish for Social Services. Boston
and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Lai, Yung-Lien. (2013). Policing Diversity. Determinants of White, Black, and Hispanic
Attitudes toward Police. El Paso: LFB Scholarly Publishing.
Polansky, Susan G. and Gene S. Kupferschmid. (2001). Exploraciones: Culturas y
campos profesionales. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Rush, Patricia and Patricia Houston. (2005). Spanish for Law Enforcement. Upper
Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall.
Schmitt, Conrad J. and Protase E. Woodford. (1992). Derecho y criminología: Lecturas
y vocabulario en español. New York, St. Louis, San Francisco...: McGraw-Hill, Inc.
Urbina, Martin G. (2012). Hispanics in the U.S. Criminal Justice System. The New
American Demography. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas Publishers.
Online Resources:
Fundamentals of Court Interpretation:
http://www.cap-press.com/pdf/2374.pdf
Online legal dictionaries:
http://www.wordreference.com/esenl/
http://www.spanishdict.com/translate/legal
Case studies:
United Nations case law database:
https://www.unodc.org/tldb/en/other_legislative_databases.html
Misinterpretation:
http://www.coloradointerpreter.com/lost-in-translation/spanish-legal-misinterpretation-in-court/
Law banning Mexican-American Studies:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/11/arizona-mexican-american-studies-curriculumconstitutional_n_2851034.html
Women in Latin American History cases:
http://chnm.gmu.edu/wwh/d/124/wwh.html
Careers in interpretation and translation:
http://atanet.org/careers/
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Articles about Hispanics and the law:
http://www.pewhispanic.org/2009/04/07/hispanics-and-the-criminal-justice-system/
http://www.unomaha.edu/criminaljustice/PDF/hispanicoutreach.pdf
Overview of Mexican legal system:
http://www.mexonline.com/lawreview.htm
http://www.law.arizona.edu/Library/Research/Guides/mexicanlegalsystem.cfm
Hispanics and Education:
http://www.aft.org/yourwork/tools4teachers/hispanic/challenges.cfm
How your grade will be determined:
Your active and consistent participation will be required during each class period. You will also be responsible for
working each day outside of class to learn as much as possible about the field of Legal Spanish through readings,
assignments and research that you will share in class. This class will also require significant amounts of study to
learn the active terminology necessary for a variety of legal contexts.
Class Attendance and Active Participation: 15%
You are expected to be in class each day. Much of the material presented in lecture is only available from lecture,
and class discussion will provide additional insights into how the assignments can be successfully completed. Some
of the classes will include group activities, video and listening segments, guest speakers, etc., that will be impossible
to make up.
 Attendance will be taken at every class and 3 points will be deducted for every unexcused absence.
For an absence to be considered "excused" you must inform your instructor prior to class. Excused absences
include participation in a university-sanctioned event, the death of a family member, serious illness and
natural disaster. We may require written verification to support your excuse.
 Outside Preparation
Plan on spending at least 6-9 hours per week outside of class. You will need this time to read texts and
articles, study and practice terminology, complete homework, research examples to illustrate the lessons
we’re studying, prepare individual and group projects, and study for exams.
Homework and Journal Entries: 20%
You will be assigned homework from various textbooks and other sources. Your answers to this work must be typewritten and turned in at the class on the due date. No late work is accepted. Additionally, you will be asked to keep
a journal in which you will reflect on topics explored in class and practice new vocabulary. You will also write
reactions to the guest speakers and student presentations in your journal. This journal should be type-written and
will be shared orally in class and handed in for review on a regular basis.
Exams: 25%
There will be 3 exams worth 100 points each
Oral Presentation: 10%
You will work with a partner to study a legal case involving Spanish and will present a summary of the case with
your analysis of it to the class. More detailed information will be forthcoming.
Final Research Paper: 20%
You will research a topic related to Legal Spanish and write a final 5-page paper in Spanish that incorporates at least
10 academic sources and follows APA or MLA guidelines. This will be due on the last day of class. More detailed
information will be provided in class.
Court visit/Shadowing an Interpreter: 10%
You will be required to attend at least one court proceeding in which an interpreter is utilized. The instructor will
provide you with a number of possible times and directions to courts near the Whitewater area where you may do
this, and you will make arrangements that work best with your schedule. You must complete a minimum of 2 hours
total in a bilingual court hearing. You may choose to attend hearings more frequently, but this will be up to you to
arrange. You will need to write a reflective journal about your experience.
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Special Note: Plagiarism is NOT tolerated. Academic honesty requires that all course work a student presents to
an instructor honestly and accurately indicates the student’s OWN academic efforts. It is inappropriate to engage
in any activity that might constitute academic misconduct. Some examples include, but are not limited to:
1.
Cutting and pasting from another paper or the internet without proper citation.
2.
Paraphrasing from the web or other sources without crediting the source.
3.
Using another person’s words, ideas, or research and presenting it as one’s own.
4.
Using an online or other translation service.
Warning: I may use Turnitin to verify that you have submitted an original paper. If you are found to have
plagiarized, you will receive a 0 on the assignment and will be referred to the Dean of Students for disciplinary
action.
Grading Scale (Departmental):
93-100 A
90-92 A87-89 B+
83-86 B
80-82 B77-79 C+
73-76 C
70-72 C67-69 D+
63-66 D
60-62 Dbelow 60 F
Statement of Non-Discrimination: The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater is dedicated to a safe, supportive, and
non-discriminatory learning environment. It is the responsibility of all undergraduate and graduate students to
familiarize themselves with University policies regarding Special Accommodations, Misconduct, Religious Belief
Accommodation, Discrimination and Absence for University Sponsored Events. (For details, please refer to the
Schedule of Classes: the “Legal Issues” section of the Undergraduate Catalog
http://www.uww.edu/registrar/docs/2004_2006_catalog.pdf and the “Graduate Policies, Procedures and University
Information” section of the Graduate Catalog http://www.uww.edu/gradstudies.catalog2002/Gradpolicies.htm as
well as “Student Academic Disciplinary Procedures” [UWS Chapter 14] and “Student Nonacademic Disciplinary
Procedures” [UWS Chapter 17] at http://uww.edu/stdhdbk/uwsystem.html
Statement approved by action of the University Curriculum Committee on 1/21/05:
"The UW System standard for work required per credit is that students are expected to invest at least 3 hours of
combined in-class and out-of-class work per week for each academic unit (credit) of coursework; thus, a 3-credit
course will typically require a minimum of 9 hours of work per week (144 hrs./semester)."
Organization of the Course
The course is divided into 4 modules:
Module 1: Overview of the Legal System vis a vis the Hispanic Community
Module 2: Immigration Law and the Hispanic Community
Module 3: Family Law and the Hispanic Community
Module 4: Criminal Law and the Hispanic Community
Course Schedule (Tentative)
Week 1
(Sept. 2-5)
Module 1: Overview of the Legal System and the Hispanic
Community
Week 2
(Sept. 8-12)
Module 1: Overview of the Legal System and the Hispanic
Community
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Week 3
(Sept. 15-19)
Module 1: Overview of the Legal System and the Hispanic
Community
Week 4
(Sept. 22-26)
Module 2: Immigration Law and the Hispanic Community
Exam 1: Tuesday
Week 5
(Sept. 29-Oct. 2)
Module 2: Immigration Law and the Hispanic Community
Guest speaker on immigration law
Week 6
(Oct. 6-10)
Module 2: Immigration Law and the Hispanic Community
Week 7
(Oct. 13-17)
Module 2: Immigration Law and the Hispanic Community
Week 8
(Oct. 20-24)
Module 3: Family Law and the Hispanic Community
Exam 2: Tuesday
Week 9
(Oct. 27-31)
Module 3: Family Law and the Hispanic Community
Guest speaker
Week 10
(Nov. 3-7)
Module 3: Family Law and the Hispanic Community
Week 11
(Nov. 10-14)
Midterm Presentations
Exam 3: Tuesday
Week 12
(Nov. 17-21)
Midterm Presentations
Reflection on court hearing due
Week 13
(Nov. 24-28)
Module 4: Criminal Law and the Hispanic Community
Week 14
(Dec. 1-5)
Module 4: Criminal Law and the Hispanic Community
Guest Speaker
Week 15
Module 4: Criminal Law and the Hispanic Community
(Dec. 8-12)
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Final Paper due
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