Spanish

Background, Mission, and Goals

The mission of the Spanish program is to prepare our majors and minors for their professional careers through a variety of courses in which they study and learn about the Spanish language, culture, and literature, so they become active participants in their communities, innovative and ethical professionals who contribute to the development of a more inclusive society, in terms of cultural, linguistic, and intellectual diversity. Students in our program are introduced to an enriching and challenging intellectual and cultural life by exposing them to guest lectures, colloquia, poetry and narrative readings, film festivals, museum trips, theatrical events, and student writing contests. Furthermore, our program aims to provide students with a comparative element that will enable them to improve communication skills in their own language.

In order to accomplish our educational goals, a rigorous academic orientation is provided to each student with a comparative element that will enable them to improve communication skills in their own language. The main goals of the Spanish discipline are:

• Attain information literacy skills relevant to the discipline.  
• Demonstrate oral and written understanding of what literature is; write about it and relate studied literary works to their socio-political and cultural context.  
• Demonstrate proficiency in the use of the Spanish Language through analyses of the orthography, morphology, and syntax used in a variety of Spanish texts and popular culture.  
• Develop writing and oral communication skills.  
• Learn the origin of the Spanish language, its evolution, and linguistic and cultural diversity throughout the centuries.  

Co-curricular Activities

• Honors Society: Iota Chapter of the Sigma Delta Pi Honors Society for Students of Spanish: An annual end-of-the-year induction ceremony for students who meet the following criteria: A grade point average of at least 3.00; completion of at least 9 credits in Spanish at the 200 level; a grade average of A or B in the discipline; completion of at least 80 academic credits at York College.
• Latin American Writers Series: The purpose of this series, created and conducted by Dr. Juana Ramos, is to initiate a dialogue between the students and the Latino and Latin American Writers. The participants share their creative work, hold poetry recitals and conversations that enrich our students’ cultural experience. These presentations are held in two modalities: in person and via Zoom.
• Alternative Pedagogies Series: This series, created and conducted by Dr. Margarita Drago, brings together Latinx and Latin American community activists, writers, artists, playwrights, and academicians to present their work and create a dialogue with the students and all attendees. These presentations are held via Zoom and broadcast for a wider audience through the literary Facebook page EntreTmas, created and administered by Drs. Ramos and Drago.
• On-campus and Off-campus Cultural/Academic Events: Students in the Spanish discipline enjoy and participate in a diversity of enriching activities that include, but are not limited to: Guest lectures, poetry readings, student poetry recital celebrations, student writing contests, museum trips, theatre trips, and film festivals trips, among other events.