NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF SPANISH & PORTUGUESE
SPANISH 203/ PRIMAVERA 2009
Profesora: _________________
Sección: ___________________
Oficina: ____________________
Tele: ______________________
Course Coordinator:
Horas de oficina: _____________
Heather Colburn, Ph.D.
e-mail: ____________________
Crowe 1-179/ tele 847.491.8089/ h-colburn@northwestern.edu
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SPANISH 203
EL INDIVIDUO Y LA COMUNIDAD
Course description: An advanced sequence designed to develop writing strategies and
structures for students who have completed Spanish 201-0 or who have scored a 5 on the AP
Exam. The purpose of this content-based course is to offer students opportunities to practice the
four language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing), with the majority of the time
devoted to writing and reading, through critical examination of the individual and society.
Prerequisite: Spanish 201-0, AP 5, or departmental Spanish Language Placement
Evaluation: Written assignments and/or quizzes; compositions; class participation and
preparation; group project and presentation.
Restrictions: No P/N.
Course goals and expectations: The primary goal of this course is to develop advanced
(ACTFL, 2001) written proficiency in Spanish through the study of Spanish and Latin American
issues. Advanced proficiency can be characterized by the following:
• Ability to handle a wide variety of communicative tasks using the past, present, and future
tenses, as well as complex tenses and grammatical structures. Errors very rarely interfere
with communication.
• Natural and continuous speech; use of connectors to link sentences into paragraph-length
discourse.
• Ability to write about concrete and factual topics of personal and public interest in formal and
informal situations.
• Ability to express and support ideas based on the information you have studied, as well as to
express agreement or disagreement to interlocutor’s arguments, and express counter points
effectively and persuasively—very good command of rhetorical structures.
• Good control of common, general vocabulary, and use of specialized terminology.
• Adapt language use to a variety of social situations and/or modes of communication (ie, email
vs. formal paper).
• Very few (if any) errors in agreement, punctuation, etc.
• Justify your arguments with examples, counter-examples, and real information, in formal and
informal discourse.
Because this is a content-based course, part of a student’s final grade will reflect his/her linguistic
improvement throughout the course, as well as his/her comprehension of the topics discussed in
the course. Students are expected to attend class and participate in class discussions and in
small-group activities with the decision to fully benefit from the course. Moreover, your instructor
holds 3 office hours per week, and you are encouraged to take advantage of this time as well.
For students who feel they need extra help outside class and office hours with grammar
questions, or even for conversation practice, the Department of Spanish & Portuguese offers free
tutoring. Details about this service and the tutors’ office hours will be provided as soon as the
department has this information available. Please note, however, that tutors may NOT correct
compositions or other written work. Finally, all students enrolled in Spanish 203 should plan to
spend at least three hours outside of class for each in-class hour. Those students experiencing
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difficulty obviously should plan on spending more time on class preparation.
Opportunities to Practice Spanish Outside the Classroom: Students also should take
advantage of various events and activities to practice Spanish throughout the quarter. Each
quarter students can attend the following events:
• tertulias—get-togethers for NU students, staff and faculty to chat informally in Spanish
over free refreshments; schedule TBA. All levels welcome. For more information contact
Rifka Cook (rifka18@northwestern.edu) or Tasha Seago-Ramaly
(tseagram@northwestern.edu).
• coloquios—get-togethers for advanced level (199-level and up) Spanish students to
discuss current events, etc. over coffee; schedule TBA. For more information contact
Joel Colom-Mena (j-colom-mena@northwestern.edu).
• Film Series—free movie series for all interested NU students, faculty and staff; schedule
TBA. For more information, contact Denise Bouras (dbouras@northwestern.edu).
Textbooks:
[REQUIRED]
ü Course Packet, available for purchase at Quartet Copies, 825 Clark Street.
ü Movies and paintings, available through Blackboard.
ü Any additional course materials distributed throughout the quarter.
[RECOMMENDED]
Vox Diccionario Esencial de la Lengua Española.
Harper Collins Spanish Concise Dictionary.
Vox Diccionario de Antónimos y sinónimos.
[REFERENCE]
http://wordreference.com
http://rae.es
Grading System:
Class Participation, Attendance, Preparation........................15%
Quizzes/ Assignments.....………………..………..……...…....10%
Portfolio...................................................................................5%
Compositions 1 & 2................................................................25%
Final Composition .................................................................25%
Boletín....................................................................................20%
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
I. Class Participation, Assignments and Quizzes. Students are expected to attend class. The
grade for participation includes active participation. A student not in class obviously does not
participate. Thus, after ONE unexcused absence, your participation grade will be adversely
affected for every unexcused absence thereafter. Excessive tardiness will also adversely affect
the participation grade. The amount of quizzes and/or written tareas given in a class is up to the
discretion of the instructor. She will let you know how this portion of the grade will be calculated.
II. Portfolio. Each student will keep a portfolio of all written work for this class. Students should
purchase a separate small binder for this purpose. All rough drafts of compositions, freewrites/reactions
to readings (found in the coursepacket), as well as graded/corrected compositions and any other
assignments your professor requires should be kept in this binder. At the end of the quarter, students will
turn in this complete portfolio, along with a “diario de errores” and a brief reflection paper. Information
regarding the organization of the portfolio is available on Blackboard, and your profesora will give you
further details, as well as answer questions, in due time.
III. Compositions. There are 2 compositions of varying length scheduled throughout the
quarter. Each student will be graded on all of the compositions. Papers should be typed, doublespaced, with normal margins (and font!), and must include: a title, the student’s name, number of
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composition (1 or 2) and whether or not it is a revision (versión 1, 2 or 3). Based on the themes
for discussion brought up in class, as well as the writing techniques studied, the compositions will
be evaluated on structure, content, vocabulary, grammar and style. Students will write a first draft
for in-class peer review (versión 1—revisión en clase). A couple days later, students will turn in
the second draft (versión 2) to the professor. Based on the instructor’s suggestions, students will
submit a required final revision of their paper (versión 3).
Any composition—whether a draft or revision—that is turned in late will not receive credit.
IV. Final Composition. Students will write a final composition (of approximately 3-4 pages) that
synthesizes the content, grammar/vocabulary and writing skills examined in this course. As with the
other compositions, papers should be typed, double-spaced, with normal margins and must include a
title and the student’s name. Please note that for this final composition there will be an in-class peer
review, but there will not be any revision after grading. Final compositions must be turned in as a
st
hard copy, and uploaded to Blackboard (Safe Assignment) by Monday, June 1 , before class. Both
the hard copy and the digital version must be turned in/uploaded by the deadline in order to receive
credit.
V. Boletín. Students will work together in groups throughout the quarter on their own revista,
whose content will be determined by the students in conjunction with instructor approval.
Students will work together on this capstone project by creating (and revising when necessary)
the design and content. The boletín will include examples of three writing styles: descriptive,
narrative and argumentative. Each student will contribute one piece of each style. If students
wish to also include creative writing (such as poetry, etc.), they should consult with the professor.
Students will be graded on their individual pieces (content, grammatical and lexical accuracy,
style), as well as on the coherence, integration and presentation of the whole project. More
information will be provided in due time, and several days of class will be dedicated to work on
the boletín.
Course Policies:
* Late work does not receive credit (this includes compositions!). If you’re not in class to turn in
an assignment or composition, you need to make arrangements to have a friend turn it in for you,
or email the instructor with the assignment before classtime.
* No make-ups for any missed quiz, presentation or other activity.
* No handwritten essays or compositions will be accepted.
Academic Integrity/ Plagiarism: According to the WCAS web page, “[i]n a scholarly community
like Northwestern, academic integrity is of the utmost importance. If you are guilty of dishonesty in
academic work, you may receive a failing grade in the course and be suspended or permanently
excluded from the University.” Please consult the WCAS website on academic integrity for more
information (http://www.wcas.northwestern.edu/advising/academic.html). Students are
responsible for reading and understanding NU’s policies on Academic Integrity. Just as any other
written or oral work for this course, composition corrections/rewrites are an important part of
learning; they are used to evaluate individual progress, and are graded components of the
course. It is essential that the work presented in all written work, as well as the work for all
homework assignments, quizzes, etc., is solely that of the student. that of the student. It is
unacceptable to have others read and critique papers or provide suggestions on grammar and
vocabulary. The use of specialized computer translation programs is also prohibited. If
assistance is received, it should only come from your professor. Students may not consult with
Spanish Department tutors, or anyone else other than the professor, for help with corrections to
compositions or for help with the boletín, etc. Any student who fails to adhere to these policies
will be in violation of the Northwestern Academic Integrity policy.
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SSD: Students with documented disabilities, or those who suspect they might have a disability,
should get in touch with the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities (847.467.5530) to
arrange for accommodations as early as possible in the quarter. It is the student’s responsibility
to ensure that the instructor is informed of any necessary arrangements with sufficient time before
any exam, composition, etc. Students can find more information at
http://www.northwestern.edu/disability/. Please note that all discussions are confidential.
PROGRAMA
PL—Paquete: Lecturas
PG—Paquete: Gramática y léxico
marzo
30
abril
1
PE—Paquete: La escritura
BB—Blackboard/Course Mgmt.
Introducción al curso.
Repaso en clase de PE—“La organización del escrito” y “La titulación”
PL—El Autorretrato, poemas de Nicanor Parra y Aurora Levins Morales
Repaso de “La organización del escrito” y “La titulación”
3
PL—El Autorretrato, “Borges y yo”
PG—Ser/estar/haber
6
PL—El retrato, “Oración por Marilyn Monroe”
PE—“El retrato”
Repaso de ser/estar/haber
8
PL— El retrato: Lugares, “Aurora” y “¿Qué sos Nicaragua?”
PE—“Verbos de estado” y “La descripción de un lugar”
10
PL—El retrato: Lugares, “Órbita cementerio”
Repaso de ser/estar/haber y verbos de estado
13
Revisión de la Composición 1 (versión 1) en clase (traer borrador)
15
Boletín—comentar el proyecto y lluvia de ideas para la descripción
Entregar Composición 1 (versión 2)
Mirar cortometraje en BB—Niño Vudú
17
BB y PL—El retrato: Comparación y contraste, “El niño vudú” (cortometraje)
PL—Vocabulario para hablar del cine
PE—“Comparación y contraste”
PG—Vocabulario para hacer comparaciones/contrastes
20
PE—“La narración” y “La síntesis entre la narración y la descripción”
PG—“Repaso de los tiempos indicativos” y “Vocabulario relacionado con la
cronología”
Entregar Composición 1 (versión 3)
22
Taller del Boletín—Entregar la pieza descriptiva
PG—“El discurso directo e indirecto”
Repaso de “La narración” y “La síntesis entre la narración y la descripción”
24
PL—El retrato: Síntesis, “Clarisa” parte 1
5
27
PL—El retrato: Síntesis, “Clarisa” parte 2
29
PL—La comunidad: acontecimientos, “El terremoto”
PE—“La perspectiva en la narración” y “Punto de vista y tono”
PG—Vocabulario para relaciones de causa y efecto
mayo
1
PL—La comunidad: acontecimientos, “De como un cataclismo”
PG—Repaso de los pronombres relativos
4
Revisión de Composición 2 (versión 1) en clase
6
Taller del Boletín—Entregar la pieza narrativa
Entregar Composición 2 (versión 2)
8
PL—Opiniones y conflictos, “Daños a la nación”
PE—“La argumentación”
PG—Vocabulario para hacer transiciones
11
PL— Opiniones y conflictos, “C de curro”
PG—Vocabulario para presentar argumentos
13
PL— Opiniones y conflictos, “Abuso de poder”
PG—Vocabulario para introducciones y conclusiones
Entregar Composición 2 (versión 3)
15
PL— Opiniones y conflictos, “Respuesta a ‘Abuso de poder’”
Síntesis de PE-Argumentación y PG-Vocabulario
Entregar la pieza argumentativa del Boletín.
18
Internet—Lectura TBD—Opción de la clase
Mirar película en BB—Mar adentro
20
BB— Opiniones y conflictos, Mar adentro
22
BB— Opiniones y conflictos, Mar adentro
Entregar portafolio.
25
Día Festivo—No hay clase.
27
Presentación del Boletín.
Entregar Boletín
29
Revisión de Composición final en clase
junio
1
Presentación del Boletín.
Entregar Composición Final en clase y Colgar Composición final por Safe
Assignment en BB ANTES de tu clase