Fall 2025 Course Offerings
The information below may be subject to change. For the most up-to-date course information, please check My BU Student. Students are responsible for checking the course prerequisites, class meeting times, and class meeting locations.
French
CAS LF 111 First Semester French
4.0 Credits
Multiple sections are offered, please see MyBU for instructors
Course Description (from MyBU)
A multimedia approach for students who have never studied French. A variety of communicative tasks develop speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills.
This course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: The Individual in Community.
Course Description (detailed description)
N/A.
CAS LF 112 Second Semester French
4.0 Credits
Multiple sections are offered, please see MyBU for instructors
Course Description (from MyBU)
Prereq: CAS LF 111 or placement test results.
Continues CAS LF 111. A multimedia approach which develops speaking, reading, writing, and listening skills, together with the grammar and vocabulary needed for more complex communicative tasks.
This course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: The Individual in Community.
Course Description (detailed description)
N/A.
CAS LF 113 Intensive Beginning French
4.0 Credits
Gagnon
Course Description (from MyBU)
Intensive French course for beginners or according to placement test results. Introduction to grammar, vocabulary, and structure of French, emphasizing the basic communication skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
If CAS LF 111, 112, or a more advanced college-level course has been completed, this course cannot be taken for credit.
This course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: The Individual in Community.
Course Description (detailed description)
N/A.
CAS LF 211 Third Semester French
4.0 Credits
Multiple sections are offered, please see MyBU for instructors
Course Description (from MyBU)
Prereq: CAS LF 112 or placement test results.
Advances proficiency in speaking, writing, reading, and listening in a communicative classroom setting. Grammar studied is used in context through thematic discussions on topics ranging from daily life to Francophone culture, in short readings, and through diverse written tasks.
This course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: The Individual in Community.
Course Description (detailed description)
N/A.
CAS LF 212 Fourth Semester French
4.0 Credits
Multiple sections are offered, please see MyBU for instructors
Course Description (from MyBU)
Prereq: CAS LF 211 or placement test results.
Advances proficiency in French in a communicative setting through thematic discussions on diverse, contemporary topics and media, short readings, and written tasks. Fulfills CAS language requirement, prepares for Level 1 Advanced Courses (CAS LF 307 — LF 311).
This course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub areas: The Individual in Community, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy.
Course Description (detailed description)
N/A.
CAS LF 307 French Arts & Society
4.0 Credits
Bobroff
Course Description (from MyBU)
Prereq: CAS LF 212 or equivalent; or placement test results.
Students may take one or two (maximum) French Language courses in the group LF307, LF308, LF309, LF310, LF311, and/or LF313 before moving on to LF323, LF324, or higher level courses. Any combination of two of these courses may be taken for credit, provided the two courses have different course topics.
Advanced study of French language through the analysis of a topic or theme in the arts and society. Students advance in speaking, reading, writing, and listening through the analysis of literary, historical, and cultural texts. Specific themes vary by semester.
This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Digital/Multimedia Expression, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Creativity/Innovation.
Course Description (detailed description)
Food and Culture in France
If we are what we eat, then the French must be deliciously rich, structurally distinctive, and fundamentally complicated. Known the world over for its cuisine, France offers a privileged perspective for studying the social constructions of food and its consumption. Through essays, podcasts, films, and literary excerpts, we examine regional specialties, social justice initiatives, global influences, and other trends. Cooking workshops, including one with students in LG308, move us into the kitchen to taste the cultural lessons studied. By the end of the semester, our many forms of consumption should lead us to better understand France and its culinary heritage.
CAS LF 308 French Through Film & Media
4.0 Credits
Gagnon
Course Description (from MyBU)
Prereq: CAS LF 212 or equivalent; or placement test results.
Students may take one or two (maximum) French Language courses in the group LF307, LF308, LF309, LF310, LF311, and/or LF313 before moving on to LF323, LF324, or higher level courses. Any combination of two of these courses may be taken for credit, provided the two courses have different course topics.
With the goal of better understanding French and Francophone culture and society, students study various media forms that can include film, written and broadcast press, television, podcasts, blogs, and social media.
This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Oral and/or Signed Communication.
Course Description (detailed description)
Québec Culture Through Its Films
Why is French spoken in North America? What makes Québec’s French different from France’s? What does “chu tanné” mean? Explore Québec’s rich history and culture through films that highlight its unique language and diverse people.
This course examines these questions while improving students’ proficiency in speaking, reading, writing, and listening. Through films that reflect Quebec’s society and culture, students engage with a variety of readings and viewings—including literary excerpts, video tutorials, or a graphic essay—to prepare for and deepen their understanding of movie dialogues and visual storytelling. Coursework includes preparatory assignments, in-class discussions, a formative oral presentation, and projects that blend creativity with film analysis.
CAS LF 309 A1 French in the World
4.0 Credits
Lakin-Schultz
Course Description (from MyBU)
Prereq: CAS LF 212 or equivalent; or placement test results.
Students may take one or two (maximum) French Language courses in the group LF307, LF308, LF309, LF310, LF311, and/or LF313 before moving on to LF323, LF324, or higher level courses. Any combination of two of these courses may be taken for credit, provided the two courses have different course topics.
Advanced study of French through the analysis of images, short stories, and excerpts of novels that explore the diverse countries, regions and cultures that make up the Francophone World. Specific regions vary by semester, but can include Africa, the Caribbean or North America.
This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Oral and/or Signed Communication.
Course Description (detailed description)
Where can I go with French? Where are the numbers of French speakers growing? Why does the language still have such a profound influence in a postcolonial world?
French is spoken widely on the continent of Africa and as the number of speakers continues to grow, understanding the complicated history driving this ongoing linguistic influence allows us to develop a cultural fluency that is indispensable in Africa and Europe alike.
This course seeks to improve students’ proficiency in speaking, reading, writing, and listening through the discussion of images, short stories, archival texts, excerpts of novels, and films that address the relationship between France and several of its former African colonies, notably in West Africa. The course moves chronologically from the period of 19th century colonial expansion to the present. Though we will begin with an introduction into French colonialism through the study of images and propaganda portraying the colonies, we will soon shift our focus to readings and films that address this relationship from an African perspective.
The course is discussion-based with coursework designed to advance proficiency in all four skills through varied interpretive, interpersonal, and written tasks – all aimed to advance proficiency in French. Themes explored include colonialism, African culture, education, migration, and cultural identity.
CAS LF 310 A1 French for the Professions
4.0 Credits
Mathieu
Course Description (from MyBU)
Prereq: CAS LF 212 or equivalent; or placement test results.
Advanced study of French as used in the professions in the francophone world. Readings, discussions, and assignments develop linguistic skills and cultural competence: current political and economic issues, familiarity with major French-language newspapers, creation of French CV and cover letter.
This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Digital/Multimedia Expression.
Course Description (detailed description)
French for International Relations
This professionalizing course serves as an introduction to the specialized language employed in the fields of international relations and diplomacy. It provides students with the language tools and communication skills to perform common professional tasks in highly contextualized activities and scenarios. The main objective of this course is to equip students with the linguistic knowledge to be able to work in French in careers of international scope (e.g. diplomat, attaché, foreign service official, NGO personnel, etc.). Thus, note that this course is a language course and NOT a course about international relations.
This course has been designed following pedagogical principles and guidelines espoused by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Paris Île-de-France (CCIP), the leading and oldest institution offering training in professional French. The instructor has undertaken an extended training to teach this kind of specialized language course, and has earned the corresponding certification from the CCIP.
Given the professionalizing nature of this course, at the end of the semester, students will have adequate language skills to take the Diplôme de Français Professionnel (DFP), delivered by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Paris Île-de-France. Interested students may therefore validate and certify their language competence by earning a recognized, official French diploma to show to to future employers.
CAS LF 312 A1 French Language & Identity
4.0 Credits
Chazal
Course Description (from MyBU)
Prereq: CAS LF 212 or equivalent; or placement test results.
This advanced French language course focuses on social debates and sociolinguistic issues on language and identity in the French-speaking world. Themes, such as language policy, gender representation, and regional languages, are explored through analysis and discussion of authentic cultural materials.
This course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Social Inquiry I.
Course Description (detailed description)
N/A
CAS LF 313 / LF 613 A1 French Through Translation
4.0 Credits
Hennessey
Course Description (from MyBU)
Prereq: CAS LF 212 or placement test results, one other LF course at the 300-level, or consent of instructor.
Grad Prereq: Advanced proficiency in French
Students develop language skills and cultural awareness by exploring literary, technical, legal, and audiovisual texts. Students translate from different genres with special emphasis on prose, analyze essays on translation, and prepare a substantial translation from French into English, learning how to develop their own voice.
This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Oral and/or Signed Communication, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy.
Course Description (detailed description)
N/A
CAS LF 324 A1 Advanced Spoken French
4.0 Credits
Duséwoir
Course Description (from MyBU)
Prereq: One CAS LF 307-313 course, or equivalent or placement test results.
Advanced training in rapid and idiomatic French speech. Oral reports. Role playing; vocabulary building; targeted work on pronunciation, intonation, and aural comprehension.
This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Oral and/or Signed Communication, Teamwork/Collaboration.
Course Description (detailed description)
N/A
CAS LF 350 Reading the French Way
4.0 Credits
TBA
Course Description (from MyBU)
Prereq: At least one Level 1 Advanced Course (CAS LF 307, 308, 309, 310, 311, 313) or equivalent; or placement test results. First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120).
Development of techniques for reading and interpreting French literary texts. Special attention to the study of lyric poetry, drama, and short narrative. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS.
This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Writing-intensive Course.
Course Description (detailed description)
N/A
CAS LF 351 Introduction to the French Novel
4.0 Credits
Cazenave, O.
Course Description (from MyBU)
Prereq: (CASLF350) First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120).
Close readings in the French novel from 19th century to contemporary times. Attention to narration, themes, symbols, and schools. Investigation of the roman d’analyse, realist fiction, anti-colonialist, and other types of narrative. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS.
This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Writing-Intensive Course.
Course Description (detailed description)
N/A
CAS LF 442 / LF 642 Geographies of the Imagination
4.0 Credits
Cazenave, O.
Course Description (from MyBU)
Prereq: (CASLF350 OR CASLF351) or consent of instructor.
Approaches to real and imagined spaces in their literary representations. Emphasis on relation between cultural and political heritage and aesthetic forms. Discussion of themes such as exile, displacement, mobility, and empire in critical discourse. French, Francophone, and related traditions.
This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Historical Consciousness, Research and Information Literacy.
Course Description (detailed description)
N/A
CAS LF 448 / LF 648 A1 Topics in Text/Image/Spectacle
4.0 Credits
Kleiman
Course Description (from MyBU)
Prereq: CAS LF 350 or CASLF 351 or consent of instructor.
Explores literary texts and their relation to works of visual and performance art. Uses critical and historical study in combination with creative practices to explore the creative dynamics of influence, appropriation, and transformation across axes of time and space. Readings and works selected may vary by instructor.
This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Historical Consciousness, Creativity/Innovation.
Course Description (detailed description)
N/A
CAS LF 613 French Through Translation
4.0 Credits
Hennessey
Course Description (from MyBU)
See CAS LF 313.
CAS LF 621 Reading French for Graduate Students
4.0 Credits
Huckle
Course Description (from MyBU)
Designed for graduate degree candidates preparing for language reading examinations. Develops skills in interpreting written French with minimal phonological or cultural references. Practice in translating passages relating to the sciences and humanities. No previous knowledge of French required. Students will not receive graduate credit for this course and there is no tuition charge.
Course Description (detailed description)
N/A
CAS LF 642 Geographies of the Imagination
4.0 Credits
Cazenave, O.
Course Description (from MyBU)
See CAS LF 442.
CAS LF 648 Topics in Text/Image/Spectacle
4.0 Credits
Kleiman
Course Description (from MyBU)
See CAS LF 448.
GRS LF 860 A1 Topics in French Literature
4.0 Credits
Mesch
Course Description (from MyBU)
May be repeated for credit if topic is different.
Course Description (detailed description)
Paris, Capital of the Nineteenth Century
This course will consider the ways that nineteenth-century French literature and art were intimately connected to changes in the city of Paris. As Paris was transformed into the city that we recognize today, it inspired artistic creation through the cultivation of a variety of new ways of seeing, which led in turn to new literary and artistic forms, including realism and impressionism. To explore this fascinating history, we will employ a host of colorful literary characters as tour guides: from Balzac’s young student in Le Père Goriot, who abandons legal studies for a Parisian education of another sort, to Baudelaire’s flaneur in Le Peintre de la vie moderne and Les petits poèmes en prose, who invented a whole new way of wandering the city, to Zola’s naïve young woman cruising the newly invented department store in Au bonheur des dames, to Colette’s chastened divorcée making a living dancing in a café-concert. Readings of novels and poetry will be combined and contextualized with analysis of painting and early cinema along with mass culture phenomena like the omnibus and visits to the Paris morgue. We will also be reading cutting edge recent research from the interdisciplinary field of nineteenth-century French studies to learn about the innovative ways that contemporary scholars approach these texts.
N/A
Italian
CAS LI 111 First Semester Italian
4.0 Credits
Multiple sections are offered, please see MyBU for instructors
Course Description (from MyBU)
For students who have never studied Italian, or by placement test results. Introduction to grammatical structures used in written exercises. Emphasis on aural comprehension, speaking, and pronunciation. Readings on contemporary Italian culture. Meets four days a week. Lab required.
If CAS LI 131 or a more advanced college-level course has been completed, this course cannot be taken for credit.
This course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: The Individual in Community.
Course Description (detailed description)
N/A
CAS LI 112 Second Semester Italian
4.0 Credits
Multiple sections are offered, please see MyBU for instructors
Course Description (from MyBU)
Prereq: CAS LI 111 or placement test results.
Continues study of basic grammatical structures used in written assignments. Emphasis on speaking, aural comprehension, and pronunciation. Readings on contemporary Italian culture. Meets four days a week. Lab required.
This course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: The Individual in Community.
Course Description (detailed description)
N/A
CAS LI 211 Third Semester Italian
4.0 Credits
Multiple sections are offered, please see MyBU for instructors
Course Description (from MyBU)
Prereq: CAS LI 112 or placement test results.
Intended for students with a satisfactory background in elementary Italian who wish to continue study of grammatical structures. Emphasis on speaking, pronunciation, and aural comprehension. Reading about Italian culture and contemporary short stories. Compositions and oral assessments including interviews and/or presentations. Meets three days a week.
This course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: The Individual in Community.
Course Description (detailed description)
N/A
CAS LI 212 A1 Fourth Semester Italian
4.0 Credits
Multiple sections are offered, please see MyBU for instructors
Course Description (from MyBU)
Prereq: CAS LI 211 or placement test results.
For students who wish to build active use of Italian in speaking, writing, and reading. Intensive practice of spoken and written language. More advanced readings from Italian culture. Writing involving more complex grammatical and syntactical patterns. Oral assessments including interviews and/or presentations. Meets three days a week. Satisfactory completion of CAS LI 212 fulfills the CAS language requirement.
This course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub areas: The Individual in Community, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy.
Course Description (detailed description)
N/A
CAS LI 283/CAS CI 266 A Study of Italian Cinema from the 1940s to the Present
4.0 Credits
Carter
Course Description (from MyBU)
Films by De Sica, Fellini, Benigni, Sorrentino and others tell the story of social and cultural development during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Historical Consciousness.
Course Description (detailed description)
N/A
CAS LI 313 Italian Media & Popular Culture
4.0 Credits
Iozzia
Course Description (from MyBU)
Prereq: CAS LI 212 or placement exam results
Students analyze how print, audiovisual, and digital media impact Italian culture and society. Through viewing, discussing, and writing students examine how television, advertising, and folklore represent current social phenomena, and make comparison between Italian and US cultures.
This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Oral and/or Signed Communication.
Course Description (detailed description)
N/A
CAS LI 621 Reading Italian for Graduate Students
4.0 Credits
Brusetti McGinn
Course Description (from MyBU)
Designed for graduate degree candidates preparing for language reading examinations. Develops skills in interpreting written Italian with minimal phonological or cultural references. Practice in translating passages relating to the sciences and humanities. No previous knowledge of Italian required. Students will not receive graduate credit for this course and there is no tuition charge.
Course Description (detailed description)
N/A
Pedagogy
CAS LL 691 Proficiency-Based Language Teaching 2
4.0 Credits
Ruíz de Árbulo
Course Description (from MyBU)
Prereq: GRS LL 690 or consent of instructor.
Fosters professional outlook on language teaching and learning. Students deepen their knowledge of instructional technologies, further develop proficiency-based pedagogy projects for their own courses, and prepare teaching philosophies, conference presentations, and other portfolio materials.
This is LL 691 Part A, the second segment in the cycle of pedagogy classes.
Course Description (detailed description)
N/A
Portuguese
CAS LP 111 A1 First-Semester Portuguese
4.0 Credits
Multiple sections are offered, see MyBU for instructors
Course Description (from MyBU)
Introduction to grammatical structures. Fundamental communications skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing. Exposure to the culture and civilization of the Portuguese-speaking world through media broadcast, literature readings, films, music, and videotapes. Lab required. Four hours weekly.
This course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: The Individual in Community.
Course Description (detailed description)
N/A
CAS LP 211 A1 Third-Semester Portuguese
4.0 Credits
Bianconi
Course Description (from MyBU)
Prereq: CAS LP 112 or placement test results.
Promotes cross-cultural understanding of the Luso-African-Brazilian cultures through authentic literary texts, multimedia, film and music. Completes study of grammatical structures and syntactical patterns. Emphasizes reading, writing and conversational competency. Conducted in Portuguese.
This course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: The Individual in Community.
Course Description (detailed description)
N/A
CAS LP 231 / LP 631 Portuguese for Spanish Speakers 1
4.0 Credits
TBA
Course Description (from MyBU)
Prereq: Native or near-native speakers of Spanish only.
Designed to develop speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills in Portuguese for Spanish speakers. Focuses on comparisons between Spanish and Portuguese language systems for students to communicate accurately and effectively within a diversity of cultural situations.
This course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: The Individual in Community.
Course Description (detailed description)
N/A
CAS LP 308 A1 Brazilian History and Contemporary Identities
4.0 Credits
Bianconi
Course Description (from MyBU)
Prereq: CAS LP 212 or placement results or consent of instructor.
Students develop intercultural competence by analyzing the influence of history on on contemporary Brazilian identity. Written and oral work explores colonial legacy in relation to culture, race, and ethnicity. Readings and screenings present diverse voices within Brazil and interactions with other Portuguese-speaking countries.
Course Description (detailed description)
N/A
CAS LP 362 Inventing Brazil (in English Translation)
4.0 Credits
TBA
Course Description (from MyBU)
This course focuses on the main figures who undertook the task of forging the national image of Brazil in the 20th century. It encompasses several cultural realms and intellectual disciplines — literature, history, art, film, sociology, and anthropology.
This course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy.
Course Description (detailed description)
TBA
GRS LP 631 Portuguese for Spanish Speakers 1
4.0 Credits
TBA
Course Description (from MyBU)
Please see CAS LP 231.
Course Description (detailed description)
N/A
Spanish
CAS LS 111 First Semester Spanish
4.0 Credits
Multiple sections are offered, please see MyBU for instructors
Course Description (from MyBU)
For students who have never studied Spanish, or by placement test results. Introduction to grammatical structures. Emphasis on aural comprehension, speaking, and pronunciation. Introduction to Hispanic culture. Lab required.
This course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: The Individual in Community.
Course Description (detailed description)
N/A
CAS LS 112 Second Semester Spanish
4.0 Credits
Multiple sections are offered, please see MyBU for instructors
Course Description (from MyBU)
Prereq: CAS LS 111 or placement test results.
Completes study of basic grammatical structures. Emphasis on speaking and aural comprehension. Readings on contemporary Hispanic culture. Writing assignments. Lab required.
This course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: The Individual in Community.
Course Description (detailed description)
N/A
CAS LS 211 Third Semester Spanish
4.0 Credits
Multiple sections are offered, please see MyBU for instructors
Course Description (from MyBU)
Prereq: CAS LS 112 or placement test results.
Completes study of grammatical structures of Spanish. Use of spoken language in conversation. Reading in Hispanic civilization and of contemporary short stories. Writing exercises involving more complex grammatical and syntactical patterns.
This course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: The Individual in Community.
Course Description (detailed description)
N/A.
CAS LS 212 Fourth Semester Spanish
4.0 Credits
Multiple sections are offered, please see MyBU for instructors
Course Description (from MyBU)
Prereq: CAS LS 211 or placement test results.
Review of the structures of Spanish. Intensive practice of spoken language. More advanced readings from Hispanic culture. Frequent compositions. Satisfactory completion of CAS LS 212 fulfills the CAS language requirement.
This course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub areas: The Individual in Community, Global Citizenship & Intercultural Literacy.
Course Description (detailed description)
N/A.
CAS LS 306 Spanish Through Translation
4.0 Credits
Basker-Seigel
Course Description (from MyBU)
Prereq: CAS LS 212 or Spanish SAT subject test score of 560 or higher, or placement test results.
Not open to students for whom Spanish is a first language. Students may take up to two 300- level Spanish language courses (LS 306, LS 307, LS 308, LS 310, LS 311) before moving on to higher levels. Any combination of two 300-level courses may be taken for credit, provided the two courses have different course numbers; repeating a course with the same number is not allowed.
Advanced study of the Spanish language through the translation of written texts. Analysis of the theory and practice of translation as a catalyst of cultural transfer. Taught in Spanish.
This course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship & Intercultural Literacy, Oral and/or Signed Communication.
Course Description (detailed descriptions)
Techniques of Literary Translation
Practice in translating different forms of literary prose including novels, short stories, letters, speeches, plays, children’s literature, songs and poetry from and into Spanish. Students explore key elements of cultural transfer while analyzing translation challenges and solutions of major translation theorists.
CAS LS 307 Spanish Through Literature and the Arts
4.0 Credits
Course Description (from MyBU)
Prereq: CAS LS 212 or Spanish SAT subject test score of 560 or higher, or placement test results.
Not open to students for whom Spanish is a first language. Students may take up to two 300- level Spanish language courses (LS 306, LS 307, LS 308, LS 310, LS 311, and/or LS 318) before moving on to higher levels. Any combination of two 300-level courses may be taken for credit, provided the two courses have different course numbers; repeating a course with the same number is not allowed.
Advanced study of the Spanish language through the analysis of literature in its relations to the arts and society.
This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship & Intercultural Literacy, Oral and/or Signed Communication.
Course Descriptions (detailed descriptions)
Section A1 – Datel
Sailing with Darwin to Patgonia & Beyond
This course explores in depth Charles Darwin’s experiences, observations and discoveries during his voyage to South America aboard the Beagle in 1831. We use Darwin’s diary to map his trajectory, yet focus on original works written by naturalists, scientists, and authors of fiction. We discuss the fossils of mammals collected by Darwin, the geology of Chile, the biodiversity of the Galapagos Islands, and the indigenous people of Tierra del Fuego. Students must be prepared to view films and read works of science and literature critically and analytically and be able to express their ideas both orally and in written form.
Section B1 – Noonan
Spanish through Music and Literature
Students study music videos, lyrics, criticism, and literature to better understand how musicians in Latin America and Spain have engaged with social movements that question discourses of politics, power, race, and gender. Creative work encouraged.
Section C1 – Hackbarth
Visual Creations in the Hispanic World
In Visual Creations in the Hispanic World students analyze and discuss works of art, including paintings, street art, sculptures, architecture and film from the Hispanic World with an emphasis on the thematic and cultural messages contained within them. What happens when you put Pablo Picasso and Fernando Botero in dialogue with each other? How did Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera’s work help shape contemporary Mexican culture? During the semester we also visit local museums and delve into the world of art auctioning.
CAS LS 308 Spanish Through Film & New Media
4.0 Credits
Course Description (from MyBU)
Prereq: CAS LS 212 or Spanish SAT subject test score of 560 or higher, or placement test results.
Not open to students for whom Spanish is a first language. Students may take up to two 300- level Spanish language courses (LS 306, LS 307, LS 308, LS 310, LS 311, and/or LS 318) before moving on to higher levels. Any combination of two 300-level courses may be taken for credit, provided the two courses have different course numbers; repeating a course with the same number is not allowed.
Advanced study of the Spanish language through the analysis of films and media of the Spanish-speaking world: cinema, the internet, and social media.
This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship & Intercultural Literacy, Creativity/Innovation, Digital/Multimedia Expression.
Course Descriptions (detailed descriptions)
Section A1 – Griffin
La Road Movie
The course analyzes how films from Hispanic countries portray these quests for meaning and/or change. Students learn to analyze socio-political, narrative, and cinematographic elements of each film. This knowledge informs their own multimedia projects.
Section B1 – Cañigueral Batllosera
Hispanic Culture on Screen
This course explores contemporary Hispanic culture through films from Spain and Latin America, including Pan’s Labyrinth and La Llorona, examining social, political, and cultural changes of the past two decades. Students complete a multimedia project inspired by the films.
Section C1 – Datel
A Rebel Tour Through Spanish Language Cinema
A rebel tour through Spanish-language cinema—from silent ghosts to today’s vanguard. Meet the artists who broke rules, reimagined literature, and turned film into a battleground of power, language, and desire. Explore Spanish as shape and substance of artistic expression.
CAS LS 309 Spanish for Heritage and Native Speakers
4.0 Credits
Course Description (from MyBU)
Prereq: First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120). Not open to students who have completed any 300- level Spanish Language course.
Designed for heritage speakers who have lived part of their lives in Spanish-speaking settings (including Spanish-speaking households in the U.S.), who speak at an advanced level, and who wish to strengthen their reading and writing skills while exploring Hispanic and Latinx cultures.
This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: The Individual in Community, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Writing-Intensive Course.
Course Description (detailed descriptions)
Section A1 – Monet-Viera
N/A
Section B1 – Tormos Bigles
N/A
CAS LS 310 A1 Spanish for the Professions
4.0 Credits
Ruíz de Árbulo
Course Description (from MyBU)
Prereq: CAS LS 212 or Spanish SAT subject test score of 560 or higher, or placement test results.
Not open to students for whom Spanish is a first language. Students may take up to two 300- level Spanish language courses (LS 306, LS 307, LS 308, LS 310, LS 311, and/or LS 318) before moving on to higher levels. Any combination of two 300-level courses may be taken for credit, provided the two courses have different course numbers; repeating a course with the same number is not allowed.
Transition to advanced study of Spanish as used in the health and business world. Analysis and discussion of intercultural professional communication, acquisition of specialized vocabulary, and interpretation of authentic materials in the context of the healthcare and business professions.
This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Oral and/or Signed Communication.
Course Description (detailed description)
N/A
CAS LS 311 A1 Spanish Through Performance
4.0 Credits
Torre Pérez
Course Description (from MyBU)
Prereq: CAS LS 212 or Spanish SAT subject test score of 560 or higher; or placement test results.
Not open to students for whom Spanish is a first language. Students may take up to two 300- level Spanish language courses (LS 306, LS 307, LS 308, LS 310, LS 311, and/or LS 318) before moving on to higher levels. Any combination of two 300-level courses may be taken for credit, provided the two courses have different course numbers; repeating a course with the same number is not allowed.
Invites students to tap into their creative, playful and risk- taking selves to gain more confidence, fluency and expressiveness in their communicative skills in Spanish, while exploring Spanish drama from the point of view of an actor, director and playwright.
This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Oral and/or Signed Communication, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Creativity/Innovation.
Course Description (detailed description)
Would you like to gain more confidence and fluency in your oral skills? Would you like to explore the topics of authenticity and performance while creating avatars, masks, and new identities for yourselves? Would you like to feel more comfortable speaking in public, and to communicate more effectively with people around the Spanish-speaking world? Come play! Spanish through Performance is a dynamic language class designed to strengthen the oral skills and the cultural competence that will allow you to communicate more authentically in real-life situations. If All the World’s a Stage… Let’s Go Global!
CAS LS 318 A1 Spanish Through Public Speaking
4.0 Credits
Rodríguez Ballesteros
Course Description (from MyBU)
Prereq: CAS LS 212 or Spanish SAT subject test score of 560 or higher; or placement test results.
As public speakers, how can we engage different communities at different times and places? This course explores theories concerning how to construct narratives and arguments that resonate with specific audiences in Spanish and invites students to put such theories into performative practice.
This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, Oral and/or Signed Communication, Teamwork/Collaboration.
Course Description (detailed description)
N/A
CAS LS 350 Introduction to Analysis of Hispanic Texts
4.0 Credits
Multiple sections are offered, please see MyBU for instructors
Course Description (from MyBU)
Prereq: Any 300-level Spanish language course or placement exam results.
Development of techniques for reading and interpreting Hispanic literary texts; reading of lyric poetry, drama, and fictional narrative. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS.
This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy.
Course Description (detailed description)
N/A
CAS LS 450 Topics in Contemporary Spanish Literature
4.0 Credits
CLOSED
Course Description (from MyBU)
Prereq: CAS LS 350.
May be taken twice for credit if topics are different.
Course Description (detailed description)
CLOSED
CAS LS 452 Topics in Latin American Literature & Culture
4.0 Credits
Borinsky
Course Description (from MyBU)
Prereq: CAS LS 350.
May be taken twice for credit if topics are different. Provides new and contemporary perspectives on Latin American literature and culture. Can focus on some specific works through their connection to avant-garde movements, questions of identity and politics, media and the arts, canonical and marginal authors.
This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Aesthetic Exploration, Critical Thinking.
Course Description (detailed description)
Tell me your story
Creative writing and translation. Bilingualism, travel, communication. Students interview and write each other’s stories as well as their own. Exercises in flash fiction and popular lyrics in Spanish and English.
CAS LS 456 Topics in Medieval and Early Modern Iberian Literature
4.0 Credits
Course Description (from MyBU)
Prereq: CAS LS 350 and First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., CAS WR 100 or WR 120).
May be taken twice for credit if topics are different. A literary and cultural approach to Iberian writers of the medieval and early modern periods. Explores interactions between the literary production of Christians, Jews, and Muslims and their diverse linguistic, historical, and cultural contexts.
This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Aesthetic Exploration.
Course Description (detailed description)
Section A1: Savo
Honor, Loyalty, & Betrayal
What do soldiers, lovers, or friends owe to one another in premodern Iberia? What do they owe themselves? We explore these moral and social obligations in literature, theater, and visual arts by Christians, Jews, and Muslims.
Section B1: Carretero Martinez
Under the Spotlight: Theater in the Age of Cervantes
Deep dive into the most important mode of mass entertainment in early modern Iberia: theater. From the classic five-act play and the revolutionary comedia nueva to the Inquisition’s infamous legal spectacle of the auto de fe, this course explores themes such as humor, empire, gender and sexuality, stage technology, and race. Entertainment and politics intertwined, producing spectacular texts that mirrored a society both in crisis and in a creative craze. An introduction to early modern Spanish literatures and cultures, this course combines canonical authors (Lope, Cervantes, Calderón) with popular sources (comedic interludes, urban parades). Texts in Spanish; English translations available.
CAS LS 508 The Structure of Spanish
4.0 Credits
Erker
Course Description (from MyBU)
Prereq: (CASLX250) AND one LS 300-level language course; or consent of instructor.
Introduction to Spanish morphology and syntax. Explores the structure of Spanish words, phrases, and sentences from multiple perspectives with a focus on natural language data. Examines Generative, Usage-based, and Lexical-Functional approaches to the analysis of grammatical structure.
Conducted in Spanish. Also offered as CAS LX 384 and GRS LX 684.
Course Description (detailed description)
N/A
CAS LS 548 Topics in Text/Image/Spectacle in the Hispanic World
4.0 Credits
Savo
Course Description (from MyBU)
Prereq: CAS LS 350 and two LS 400-level literature courses or consent of the instructor.
May be taken twice for credit if topics are different. Explores the relationship between literature and visual media through the history and legends of medieval Iberia (modern Spain and Portugal) and their modern film and TV adaptations. Investigates adaptations as aesthetic objects and evidence of a historical imagination at work. May be repeated for credit as topics change.
This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Creativity/Innovation, Ethical Reasoning
Course Description (detailed description)
The Middle Ages at the Movies.
Investigates the history and legends of medieval Iberia (modern Spain and Portugal) and their modern film and television adaptations. Close readings of medieval and modern narratives about the Cid, Averroes, Inês de Castro, and Isabel I of Castile reveal a historical imagination at work.
CAS LS 576 A1 Topics in Spanish American Literature
4.0 Credits
Rodríguez
Course Description (from MyBU)
Prereq: CAS LS 350 and two LS 400-level courses, or consent of instructor.
May be taken twice for credit if topics are different.
Course Description (detailed description)
Ecocritical Literary Production in Latin America
Latin American literary and cultural production around ecocritical issues. Readings will range from chronicles, novels, poems and short stories produced between the 19h and 21st centuries, alongside ecofeminist and ecocritical theory.
CAS LS 606 Spanish Through Translation
4.0 Credits
Basker-Siegel
Course Description (from MyBU)
Prereq: Advanced proficiency in Spanish
Advanced study of the Spanish language through the translation of written texts. Analysis of the theory and practice of translation as a catalyst of cultural transfer. Taught in Spanish.
Course Descriptions (detailed descriptions)
N/A
CAS LS 860 Seminar: Topics in Hispanic Literature
4.0 Credits
Course Description (from MyBU)
May be repeated for credit if topic is different.
Course Descriptions (detailed descriptions)
Section A1 – Borinsky
Intimacy, urban speech and literary language
Readings from Roberto Arlt, tango lyricists, Juan Gelman, Aurora Venturini, Jorge Luis Borges , Guillermo Cabrera Infante and others.
Section B1 – Rodríguez
CANCELLED.