Sample Materials
Below are several sample syllabi I developed for a variety of real and potential courses. Use the links on the right to jump to the section you are interested in seeing.
Literature Syllabi
Latin American Historiographic Metafiction
The authors of Latin America have been writing literature that implicates the historical record for as long as they have produced writing. To what, though, do we owe the explosion of historical literature that has been produced in the last 30 years? This seminar is intended as an introduction to and in-depth exploration of this body of work, the so-called New Historical Novel in Latin America. Beginning with the genre’s theoretical underpinnings —beginning, indeed, with its (at best problematic) name— and historical antecedents, this course will explore a selection of exemplary works culminating in the consideration of recent trends. This course will provide a foundational understanding and a panoramic vision of the richness of this ongoing, flourishing genre.
Download a PDF of the syllabus.
The Novel of the Mexican Revolution
By the middle of the period of violence that we know as the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920), a new literary genre emerged. This new genre, which came to be known as the Novel of the Mexican Revolution, includes many of the most celebrated Latin American novels of the 20th century, and is commonly regarded as one of the most important genres to ever emerge from Latin America. Even as Mexico celebrates the Centennial of the outbreak of the revolution, new literature that proposes to interpret the meaning and importance of the Mexican Revolution in new ways continues to appear on the market, and is being consumed, along with the classics of the genre, by Mexican readers in record numbers. The broad objectives of this course are to untangle the myriad ways the Revolution was and is bound up in Mexican life, to gain an enduring knowledge of the different phases of the Revolution and its aftermath, and to read and discuss the canonic (and some non-canonic) works in the genre.
NB: This course was designed as a 7-week, credit-bearing summer course for Brown's Summer Session. As such, it was originally designed to be taught in English. I have removed the translated titles and restored the originals and added several untranslated novels that I would plan to cover were the course offered in Spanish, but have not modified the dates of class meetings. This course would, with small modifications, fit comfortably in a typical, 12-week semester.
Download a PDF of the syllabus.
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Language Syllabi
Intermediate Spanish II
Intermediate Spanish II continues the intensive review of the structures of Spanish begun in Intermediate I, with focus on the subjunctive mood and other more complex grammar points. More involved cultural and literary readings will be introduced and will serve to expand vocabulary, stimulate discussion, and broaden understanding of the Hispanic world. Class is conducted in Spanish and activities are designed to practice all language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing, with the goal of increasing both fluency and cultural awareness. I developed this syllabus for use in Spanish 202 at the College of the Holy Cross.
Download a PDF of the syllabus.
Medical Spanish
The course is designed for specifically for second-year medical students to gain beginning-level competence in Medical Spanish that will enable them to communicate more effectively with Spanish-speaking patients and their families. The students will develop critical Spanish lexicon and language skills for conducting a standard medical interview.
Download a PDF of the syllabus.
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Lesson Plans & Activities
Lessons
- A lesson plan for a fourth-semester language class on the use of the verbs like “gustar”: Download a PDF of the lesson plan.
- A task-based lesson plan for a continuing education class on the vocabulary of travel and the preterite tense. While this plan presents an entire chapter of a textbook in a two-hour class session, and assumes control of the preterite tense, the activities presented within are easily adaptable to pace of the undergraduate classroom. Download a PDF of the lesson plan.
Activities
- Mi futuro: An interactive activity to practice the use of the subjunctive in adverbial clauses: Download a PDF of the activity.
- Regateo: An activity for pairs to practice the el arte de regatear! Download a PDF of the activity.
- Identifica el ladrón: A full-class crime mystery. Students must work together to investigate the robbery of a prized painting. Each student is given a role, a relationship with other characters, and an alibi. Download a PDF of the activity.
- Nueve Reinas: Activity for practicing narration in the past. Students watch the final scene of the film Nueve Reinas (with or without subtitles, as necessary). In groups of two, they write about what happened immediately before the scene occurred.
- “El dinosaurio”: Activity for practicing future tense. Students read Augusto Monterroso's masterful mini-cuento titled “El dinosaurio”. In groups of two, they create an image or images of what will happen next. The images are hung around the classroom, and other students volunteer to narrate their classmates' ideas using the future tense. Download a PDF of the activity.
- La Ley de Herodes: Activity for practicing cinema vocabulary or plot narration. Students in groups are given one of three posters for the movie La Ley de Herodes and must write out an imaginary plot. Groups read their plots out loud, and then compare with the actual plot. Download a PDF of the activity.
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Presentations
Selected Keynote presentations I developed for language courses. They are available in presentation* and video** format:
- Using the subjunctive in adverbial clauses (Keynote, Video)
- Using the imperfect subjunctive (Keynote, Video)
* Due to limitations in Apple's presentation sharing platform, presentations are best viewed using the Safari web browser.
** Videos get quite large quite quickly! Please give them sufficient time to load.
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Assignments & Assessments
Assignments
Diagnostic Assessments
I distribute the following evaluation on the first day of class, again after midterms (slightly modified), and once more at the end of each semester, to keep track of student expectations, attitudes, and response to my teaching: Beginning-of-semester evaluation
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