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Department of Spanish and Latin American Studies Department of Spanish and Latin American Studies
The Department of Spanish and Latin American Studies is a medium-sized department, which makes it lively and friendly. We are located on the 3rd floor of Foster Court next to a large and comfortable common room which we share with Dutch, Hebrew and Jewish Studies and Modern European Studies. We have a television and video room used for studying film and oral/listening topics. The television is linked to a satelite which receives Spanish television which students can watch whenever the room is free.
Literature classes are a mixture of seminars and lectures; some in English, some in Spanish. Language classes are kept small to allow maximum participation.
Each student is provided with a Personal Tutor who is their first port of call to discuss problems - academic or personal. We are an approachable and informal department, concerned for the welfare of our students and ready to listen. Tutors set aside at least 2 hours a week to see tutees and it is possible to make appointments at other times.
In 1998-99 the Department is planning to produce a Spanish play at The Bloomsbury Arts Theatre's 'Garage'. The play will be organised by Dr Jonathan Thacker and will involve as many of the students who wish to join in. As well as acting, we will need people to do make-up, sound, lights, set design........
The Departmental Joint Staff-Students Consultative Committee meets once a term to discuss a variety of topics. The meeting is open to all students and staff who wish to discuss any aspects of the department from structure of courses to managing of the common room. Representatives of each year (including Postgraduates) attend, and this year the Chairman was a final year student.
The Hispanic Society is one of the UCL Union's very active societies. The committee are usually drawn from the Department of Spanish and Latin American Studies, but its list of members is very long. Most students and staff in the Department are members as well as a huge number of students from other departments of UCL, a large percentage of these being Spanish or Spanish American. Many different events from cheese and wine parties to poetry readings and lectures are organised and even very successful Salsa evenings held in one of the Union buildings which included free salsa lessons, Latin cocktails and live Latin American DJs. Whenever the society gathers, the mix of languages, cultures and people makes an event worth remembering.
The Department pays close attention to the literature of Renaissance and the post-Renaissance in Spain, modern Spanish literature and the literature of Latin America after Independence. Latin American history is taught by specialists from our own Department of History . The integrated study of literature and history is the hallmark of our popular MILARS degree. The attitude the department adopts to the teaching of Spanish reflects its growing importance as a world language: we aim to enable students not only to understand, enjoy and assess critically a rich variety of literary texts by writers from all major Hispanic countries, but also to attain a high degree of profficiency in the use of the spoken language and in the comprehension of contemporary Spanish. We have a good complement of lecturers and teachers who are native Spanish speakers.
All our undergraduate degree programmes extend over a four-year period, including a year abroad to develop command of language(s) and direct knowledge of the country or countries concerned. Only in exceptional circumstances may a student be exempted from this important requirement.
The Spanish and Latin American component of our degree programme is structured according to a modular system which gives students a measure of flexibility to pursue personal academic interests within the coherent structure of the programme. The programme is divided into units of teaching, each of which is taught and assessed within the same academic year and given a course-unit value. Individual course units are assessed be a combination of written examinations, essays and other forms of course work, including practical tests where appropriate. The final assessment and degree classification is based on the average of marks obtained for individual course units, but according to a system which reflects subject balance and gives more weight to second and final-year work as well as to the student's best marks.
The Department encourages students to develop awareness of the employment options which are open to them when they graduate and the skills they will require to take advantage of these options. To this end, the Department works closely with the College Careers Office to produce a programme of careers education relevant to the students in the Department. Each year, separate Planning Your Future programmes are organised for first-, second- and final year students. Training sessions are held on departmental premises and cover a range of practical topics, including how to look and apply for vacation work, making effective applications for jobs, interview techniques, etc. Typical career destinations of the Department's graduates include commerce, insurance, journalism, education and law.
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