Spanish and Latin American Studies

With official status in 20 countries, Spanish is the second most widely spoken language in the world with approximately 400 million native speakers. It is the major language in Latin America, alongside Portuguese, and is also an increasingly important language in the USA.

At Sheffield we don't just think about modern languages as a way of speaking and writing. To us, they're a way of broadening our understanding of the world. If you study Spanish you'll be engaging with a global community of around 400 million, the majority located in Latin America. Our degrees involve not only the study of Spanish language but they also offer you a deep insight into the cultures of Spain and the cultures of the various countries of Latin America. Study with us and become a citizen of the world.

More about Spanish at Sheffield

Undergraduate degree combinations

BA Modern Languages & Cultures

On the BA Modern Languages & Cultures you can study:

Spain & Latin America: language & culture
Spain & Latin America: language & culture with one other language & culture
Spain & Latin America: language & culture with two other languages & cultures

Choose from:

French
German
Russian
Catalan
Czech
Dutch
Italian
Luxembourgish* (from second year only)
Portuguese

Undergraduate

BA Modern Languages & Cultures

A modern languages and cultures degree at Sheffield is a confident step into the wider world and you'll be graduating with skills that are highly valued by employers. You'll learn to communicate fluently and effectively in one, two or three modern languages. You'll also develop a sophisticated understanding of the countries where those languages are spoken.

Start: September 2021
Duration: 4 years
UCAS code: T900

BA Modern Languages and cultures - 2020 entry

Dual Honours (with a non-language subject)

As a Dual Honours degree

Spain & Latin America: language & culture with a non-language subject
Spain and Latin America: language & culture, a second language & culture, and a non-language subject

Combine your study of Spanish language & culture with one of the following:

Archaeology
Business Management
Economics
English
History
Linguistics
Music
Philosophy
Politics

Dual honours degrees

Free Credits

If you have some experience of modern language learning, you can take Spanish and Latin American Studies modules either as part of your degree (unrestricted modules) or alongside your degree (not-for-credit modules).

Fast facts

Award: Bachelor of Arts

Duration: 4 years

Entry: ABB at A Level. We also accept a wide range of other qualifications. See individual degree programmes for more detailed information.

Course structure

Post A-level

You can take Spanish in a variety of subject combinations and you can choose from a wide range of optional modules.

At the centre of all programmes are your language modules. These form the bedrock of your education in Spanish.

Post A-level students normally take three hours of language teaching per week. In addition, students will study a core module which combines the study of the culture and literature of Spain and Latin America, and can choose to take an optional module that looks at the social and political history of Iberia and Latin America. We also offer digital learning opportunities and the Hispanic Society hosts a lively social and extra-curricular programme with other students and Spanish speakers.

After the first year, alongside your compulsory language programme you choose from a wide range of culture, history, linguistics, politics or literature courses. There is also the opportunity to pick up a new language, be it Catalan of Portuguese, within the Iberian world, or beyond. Our staff have expertise in many areas which is reflected in our teaching.

Beginners' Spanish

If you are new to Spanish, you will follow an intense programme of language teaching. This will rapidly and intensively develop your Spanish. In addition, you will study a core module which combines the study of the culture and literature of Spain and Latin America, and can choose to take an optional module that looks at the social and political history of Iberia and Latin America.

In your second year, you will have three hours a week of language teaching and can choose from a wide range of culture, history, linguistics, politics or literature courses. Our staff have expertise in many areas which is reflected in our teaching.

After the Year Abroad, you are able to integrate fully with your fellow students on the post-A level strand.

You will study 40 credits in language and culture at either beginner or post A level.

Beginner's Spanish

Title	Credits	Core/Optional
Spanish Language Beginners	20	Core
Understanding Spanish and Latin American Culture This course examines the literature and film of modern Spain and modern Spanish-speaking Latin America. In each semester, three cultural products from one of these two areas are studied: poetry, film and narrative fiction. We will build up a picture of the cultural history of Spain and Latin America, as well as looking at key themes to emerge from their literary and filmic outputs. By focusing on three different genres in each semester, you will be able to explore different types of cultural product and to build up analytical skills gradually by moving from shorter or visual pieces to a larger body of writing. The knowledge and skills acquired here will underpin the optional modules at level 2 and beyond.	20	Core/Optional (if you are studying one or two languages students must choose at least this module or the module entitled *Social and Political History of Iberia and Latin America*. Note that if you have extra credits both modules can be studied. If you are studying three languages this module is optional)
Social and Political History of Iberia and Latin America This module examines the historical trajectory of Spain and Portugal, their emergence as states in the Iberian Peninsula, their imperial expansion overseas into Africa, Latin America and beyond, the eventual independence of the colonies and their development and consolidation into the various modern-day states we know today. The module will explore the social, political, linguistic and cultural characteristics of these states and its peoples and highlight the importance of understanding their complex history in the formation of their identities, their languages and their cultural and political values.	20	Core/Optional (If you are studying one or two languages students must choose at least this module or the module entitled *Understanding Spanish and Latin American Culture* as their core Spanish module. Note that if you have extra credits both modules can be studied. If you are studying three languages and cultures this module is optional)
Activism and Social Change This modules examines how people, individually and collectively, attempt to enact social and political change in society through a number of case studies which will focus on the countries which historically belonged to the Spanish and Portuguese Empires. The module will introduce students to theories of social movements and social change and will critically assess the different strategies which people adopted at different historical moments and in different geographical locations and the success and failure of their activism. Case studies may differ each year but topics may include the following: activism and social change movements in Brazil, climate activism, women’s rights and indigenous people's movements in Latin America, the role of literature/film/music in social activism movements and/or the use of symbols, slogans, the media and new technologies/the internet in order to inspire followers and maintain activist momentum; the concept of ‘fake news’, the growing belief that the general public no longer give credit to facts or expert opinions and the role of academic research in social change.	20	Optional

Post A-Level Spanish

Title	Credits	Core/Optional
Spanish Language Post A-Level	20	Core
Understanding Spanish and Latin American Culture This course examines the literature and film of modern Spain and modern Spanish-speaking Latin America. In each semester, three cultural products from one of these two areas are studied: poetry, film and narrative fiction. We will build up a picture of the cultural history of Spain and Latin America, as well as looking at key themes to emerge from their literary and filmic outputs. By focussing on three different genres in each semester, you will be able to explore different types of cultural product and to build up analytical skills gradually by moving from shorter or visual pieces to a larger body of writing. The knowledge and skills acquired here will underpin the optional modules at level 2 and beyond.	20	Core/Optional (if you are studying one or two languages students must choose at least this module or the module entitled *Social and Political History of Iberia and Latin America*. Note that if you have extra credits both modules can be studied. If you are studying three languages this module is optional)
Social and Political History of Iberia and Latin America This module examines the historical trajectory of Spain and Portugal, their emergence as states in the Iberian Peninsula, their imperial expansion overseas into Africa, Latin America and beyond, the eventual independence of the colonies and their development and consolidation into the various modern-day states we know today. The module will explore the social, political, linguistic and cultural characteristics of these states and its peoples and highlight the importance of understanding their complex history in the formation of their identities, their languages and their cultural and political values.	20	Core/Optional (If you are studying one or two languages students must choose at least this module or the module entitled *Understanding Spanish and Latin American Culture* as their core Spanish module. Note that if you have extra credits both modules can be studied. If you are studying three languages and cultures this module is optional)
Activism and Social Change This modules examines how people, individually and collectively, attempt to enact social and political change in society through a number of case studies which will focus on the countries which historically belonged to the Spanish and Portuguese Empires. The module will introduce students to theories of social movements and social change and will critically assess the different strategies which people adopted at different historical moments and in different geographical locations and the success and failure of their activism. Case studies may differ each year but topics may include the following: activism and social change movements in Brazil, climate activism, women’s rights and indigenous people's movements in Latin America, the role of literature/film/music in social activism movements and/or the use of symbols, slogans, the media and new technologies/the internet in order to inspire followers and maintain activist momentum; the concept of ‘fake news’, the growing belief that the general public no longer give credit to facts or expert opinions and the role of academic research in social change.	20	Optional

There is also the opportunity to pick up a new language, Catalan or Portuguese, within the Iberian world. You can even choose to start Catalan or Portuguese from scratch in the Second year, as one of your optional modules.

You may also choose from a range of modules from across the School of Languages and Cultures.

Spanish Language Intermediate (following beginner's Spanish route)

Title	Credits	Core/Optional
Spanish Language Intermediate	20	Core

Spanish Language Higher Intermediate (following post A level Spanish route)

Title	Credits	Core/Optional
Spanish Language Higher Intermediate	20	Core

Depending on your degree programme and language combination you will take a minimum of 20 and a maximum of 100 credits from the following:

Title	Credits	Core/Optional
Tradition, Transition and Modernity	20	Optional
Promised Lands	20	Optional
Dictatorship, Revolution and Resistance	20	Optional
Hispanic Film	20	Optional
Hispanic Fiction	20	Optional
Nation and Identities in Hispanic World	20	Optional
The Spanish Language: Structure and Use	20	Optional

And choose from year 2 School-wide modules.

There are three Year Abroad options:

University Study

You can study in Alicante, Barcelona, Cadiz, Granada, La Havana (Cuba), Las Palmas (of Gran Canaria), Palma de Mallorca, Málaga, Oviedo, Vitoria, Salamanca, Santiago de Compostela, Seville, Valencia, Zacatecas (Mexico) and Zaragoza.

You are also more than welcome to arrange to study at another university. Students have recently been to - among others - São Paulo, Havana and Buenos Aires.

Teaching Placement

You can apply to work as an English assistant in a number of schools across Spain. If you want to go further afield, you have the option of going to Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay or Venezuela.

Please note that the academic year begins at varying times across Latin America, so if you are due to work there your placement may begin in July or August. The application process for posts in Latin America also includes an interview in London.

Work Placement

We have formal links with a number of schools in Alicante. Other voluntary and work placements are supported and encouraged by the University but these must be arranged by students. We do, however, put you in contact with students who have taken up work placements the previous year. You have the freedom to go almost anywhere in the Spanish-speaking world.

Examples of recent placements include: internships at a corporate services firm in Panama, a marketing and events company in the Canary Islands, and volunteering at the world's only sloth sanctuary in Costa Rica.

Spanish Language Advanced (All students)

Title	Credits	Core/Optional
Spanish Language Advanced	20	Core

Depending on your degree programme and language combination you will take a minimum of 20 and a maximum of 100 credits from:

Title	Credits	Core/Optional
Barcelona: Culture of the City	20	Optional
Civilisation and Barbarism Students will examine a range of Latin American works from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, which deal with the notion of Civilisation and Barbarism. This concept, which developed out of nineteenth-century Argentine nation-building, has relevance beyond its initial geographical and temporal context. In Semester 1 students will read key nineteenth-century Argentine texts written in opposition to the regime of Juan Manuel de Rosas and which formed the basis of Argentina’s ‘official’ history into the twentieth century. Through close reading and analysis of these literary works, students will explore how literature can shape historical discourses. Students will also explore how these discourses are contested and will consider their relevance to contemporary Argentine politics. In Semester 2 the focus will shift to the theme of civilisation and barbarism in other Latin American contexts.	20	Optional
Political Culture in the Hispanic World This module considers the ways in which politics and culture have converged in various Hispanic contexts, with a focus on Latin America, and studies the means by which these two areas have impacted on each other at key moments in the development of different nations. This module explores these issues through an analysis of cultural policies in the nations covered and the detailed study of a range of cultural products, including literature, cinema, music, art and sport.	20	Optional
Questioning Spain	20	Optional
Spanish Colonialism in North Africa and its Legacy	20	Optional
The History of the Spanish Language	20	Optional
Popular Music in the Hispanic World	20	Optional
The Idea of the Modern in Latin American Fiction	20	Optional

You can also choose to do a dissertation on a Spanish or Latin American topic, or the Learning and Teaching Foreign Languages module. For more information please see our School-wide modules.

The content of our courses is reviewed annually to make sure it is up-to-date and relevant. Individual modules are occasionally updated or withdrawn. This is in response to discoveries through our world-leading research, funding changes, professional accreditation requirements, student or employer feedback, outcomes of reviews, and variations in staff or student numbers. In the event of any change we'll consult and inform students in good time and take reasonable steps to minimise disruption.

Information last updated: 11 March 2020