At a Glance
I’m interested in this field of study. Can you tell me more about it?
This exciting field encompasses the study of the diverse languages, cultural formations, and political realities of the Spanish-speaking world. At Scripps, our courses engage with this complex milieu by centering the creative works that emerge from it: not just literature in the traditional sense, but also literatures and cultures in an expansive sense, including film, graphic novels, digital media, and music.
The professors in this department are active scholars in their fields. Their upper-level courses, rooted in their research, bring to the forefront the communities (Indigenous, Afro-descended, queer) who have been traditionally excluded from the dominant cultures of the Spanish-speaking world.
Our professors also teach lower-division language courses, which provide you with a strong foundation for going abroad and taking upper-level courses with us or with other Spanish departments at The Claremont Colleges.
What are some courses appropriate for first-year students interested in exploring this field of study?
We encourage you to enroll in the language course that matches your placement test results. If you place out of the language requirement and qualify to take SPAN 44, you’re welcome to join the section taught by the chair of our department, Professor Claudia Arteaga.
If you place into upper-level courses, you may enroll in any of our 100-level offerings. Interesting options include SPAN 101: Introduction to Literary Analysis, and SPAN 131: Queer Lives in Latin America, which count toward the major/minor and fulfill Scripps’ letters and gender and women’s studies general education requirements.
If I decide to major or minor in this field, are there certain courses that need to be taken in a specific sequence?
Language courses (e.g., SPAN 1, SPAN 22, SPAN 33) should be taken in sequence. However, your placement within this sequence depends on the result of the placement test.
After fulfilling the language requirement, you’re invited to take SPAN 44, which marks the beginning of the path toward the Spanish minor or major. After completing SPAN 44, you can start taking a wide variety of 100-level courses at The Claremont Colleges and in our approved programs abroad that count toward the major or minor.
We encourage you to contact us, even if you’re still completing language classes, to discuss our requirements and course offerings!
Can students who major or minor in this field complete a second major or minor (as a double major or a major/minor combination)? If so, what are some common pairings?
Absolutely! Many of our students choose to major or minor in Spanish while also completing a second major or minor. Some common combinations include biology, Spanish media studies, and Spanish economics.
Many courses that count toward our major or minor may also double count as general education requirements and as electives in other fields. Something else to consider is that our approved study abroad programs offer a variety of fields of study in Spanish that may complement a second major or minor.
What other useful information should I know about this field of study?
We encourage our you to study abroad after completing SPAN 44. Study Abroad and Global Education (SAGE) at Scripps regularly shares information about study abroad opportunities. Most students spend a semester or a full year abroad during their junior year. Many courses in our approved programs abroad count toward our major and minor, as well as general education requirements.
If you’re interested in studying abroad in a Spanish-speaking country, contact us to discuss course offerings beforehand. Our students have studied in Spain, Chile, Ecuador, Argentina, Mexico, Cuba, and Peru, among others. These immersive experiences strengthen your language skills, deepen your cultural understanding, and broaden your global perspective. You’re sure to return with renewed academic motivation and lasting personal connections!
About the Department of Spanish, Latin American, and Caribbean Literatures and Cultures
Spanish is spoken in Spain, Latin America, Equatorial Guinea, Western Sahara, and parts of the United States, the Caribbean, Northern Morocco and the Philippines. Being proficient in Spanish and studying the Spanish-speaking cultures help you to better understand the historical legacies and cultural contexts that make up today’s world. Moreover, beginning or continuing your study of Spanish at Scripps will allow you to establish links with Spanish-speaking people in your community and abroad.
The department is committed to two main educational goals: 1) provide a contextualized knowledge of the multiple cultural and linguistic exchanges that permeate the Spanish-speaking cultures; 2) prepare you for advanced work in literature and cultural studies and/or in a range of professional fields, while improving your competence in the language.
The major in Spanish, Latin American, and Caribbean literatures and cultures offers students the possibility of a concentration in two different tracks: Latin American, Caribbean, or Peninsular (Spain) literature, or Latin American, Caribbean, or Peninsular culture (literature, politics. economics, art, history, etc.) Related majors of interest to students of Spanish are Latin American studies and Chicano studies.
Program Information
Lower Division Curriculum
The department offers a placement test in order to determine the student’s level. Students who have never studied Spanish must enroll in SPAN 1.
SPAN 1, 22, and 33 teach students the fundamentals of the Spanish language through the development of reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. One more course leads to the mastering of the language: SPAN 44, Advanced Spanish, Readings in Literature and Civilization.
Spanish for Bilinguals
If you can understand and speak Spanish because you belong to a Spanish-speaking family, or because you have acquired a practical use of Spanish but lack formal instruction in the language, we encourage you to take Spanish for Bilinguals (SPAN 65). This course offers students an intensive overview of grammar. You’ll learn effective written and oral expression and will read and discuss selected texts dealing with Latin American and Chicanx topics and problems.
Study Abroad
Study abroad is required to complete the major. You may choose programs in Spain (Madrid, Seville, Granada) and Latin America (Ecuador, Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Mexico, etc.) On-campus students have the opportunity to live in the Spanish Corridor, which is directed by the Spanish Language Resident.
After four semesters of college Spanish, you may choose to study in a Spanish-speaking country for either a semester or a year. Most students study in Spain, Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, or Cuba. You can discuss study abroad options with any professor in the department or with Neva Barker, director of Study Abroad and Global Education (SAGE).
Sigma Delta Pi
Sigma Delta Pi is the National Spanish Honor Society that recognizes excellence in the study of Spanish. You do not need to be a Spanish major. The requirements for admission to Epsilon Zeta, the Claremont Chapter of Sigma Delta Pi are:
- Nomination by a faculty member
- Completion of three semesters of college work with a GPA of 10.0 or above
- Completion of at least two upper division Spanish courses
- A grade point average of 10.0 in all Spanish courses
A ceremony of initiation of new members is held each semester. Please contact the chapter advisors Professors Carmen Sanjuan and Rita Alcala for more information.
Co-Curricular Activities
Scripps has a Spanish Corridor where students speak Spanish with the resident native Spanish assistant and with each other.
Given the limited space, we’re interested in students committed to building community within the language corridor and the greater language community through inclusive, group-based activities. Suggested activities include cooking/dinners, movie nights, listening to language-specific music together, discussing political topics related to the language-specific world, or a reading club.
CORRIDOR APPLICATION: If you are interested in participating in the language corridor, complete the application here: https://scrippscollege.formstack.com/forms/spanish_language_corridor_application
If you have any questions, contact Rebecca Ballinger, foreign languages program coordinator, at rballing@scrippscollege.edu.