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.
Dr Paul O'Neill discusses 'The Social and Political History of Iberia and Latin America', one of the modules you can study in your first year:
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
- 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:
- Business Management
- Economics
- English
- History
- Linguistics
- Music
- Philosophy
- Politics
- Guided Module Choice
-
If you have some experience of modern language learning, you may be able to take Spanish and Latin American Studies modules either as part of your degree (guided 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.
Module information
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 Why has the gypsy culture of Andalucía been so crucial to ideas about Spanish identity and how and why has this changed? How did gender politics and the role of women change after the Franco dictatorship in Spain? How and why has historical memory about the Civil War becomes such a feature of contemporary Spanish life? How and why was modernity experienced as a crisis in Latin America? What is machismo and why is it thought to be so central to Latin American culture? How do revolutionary politics and sexual politics relate in Latin America? * 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. |
20 | Core/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. *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. |
20 |
Core/Optional |
|
Activism and Social Change Has racism always existed or is it a modern phenomenon? Why have some movements against racial discrimination in Latin America been more successful than others? How have women in Latin America fought for equal rights, from the suffrage campaigns of the twentieth century to the #NiUnaMenos movement of today? Why is Latin America marked by such stark inequalities in wealth and what are the best ways to combat this? These are some of the questions that will be explored in this module.. |
20 | Core |
Post A-Level Spanish
| Title | Credits | Core/Optional |
|---|---|---|
| Spanish Language Post A-Level | 20 | Core |
|
Understanding Spanish and Latin American Culture Why has the gypsy culture of Andalucía been so crucial to ideas about Spanish identity and how and why has this changed? How did gender politics and the role of women change after the Franco dictatorship in Spain? How and why has historical memory about the Civil War becomes such a feature of contemporary Spanish life? How and why was modernity experienced as a crisis in Latin America? What is machismo and why is it thought to be so central to Latin American culture? How do revolutionary politics and sexual politics relate in Latin America? * 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. |
20 | Core/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. * 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. |
20 |
Core/Optional |
|
Activism and Social Change Has racism always existed or is it a modern phenomenon? Why have some movements against racial discrimination in Latin America been more successful than others? How have women in Latin America fought for equal rights, from the suffrage campaigns of the twentieth century to the #NiUnaMenos movement of today? Why is Latin America marked by such stark inequalities in wealth and what are the best ways to combat this? These are some of the questions that will be explored in this module.. |
20 | Core |
Optional school-wide modules
|
Title |
Credits |
Core/Optional |
|---|---|---|
|
Comparative Visual Cultures This is a school-wide module taught by specialists from across the school who have research interests in visual culture. It introduces students to some of the main movements in European cinema and art, and includes a strong Russian and East European element. The module includes seminars and film viewings. |
20 | Optional |
* For language classes, you will be placed in an appropriate group for your level.
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 |
|---|---|---|
|
Reality and Fantasy in Spain and Latin America This module is a journey through reality and fantasy in Spain and Latin America. The Spanish component begins in realist Madrid, travels through New York, which is filtered through a Surrealist perspective, before ending with ghosts and fantastic creatures at a remote orphanage and an abandoned mill in Del Toro’s films of post-Civil War Spain. The Latin American component focuses on the Southern Cone and its links to the wider world, dealing with human psychology and the perception of reality, fantasy and the unconscious and primitive instinct, dream and social rebellion. |
20 | Optional |
|
Hispanic Spaces This module is an exploration of Hispanic spaces and their representation in various contexts. It will consider the ways in which spaces dialogue with reality or, in some cases, transform themselves in the imaginary. The case studies led by each of the tutors will consider space in the analysis of, for example, islands and/ or cities, and analyse texts (in the broadest sense, including fiction, images and films) from the Spanish, Catalan and Portuguese-speaking worlds. Topics considered may include contested space (tourism, migration, insiders and outsiders), space/place (literary constructions of place) and ideal/utopian spaces. The spaces studied may include islands such as the Balearics, the Canary Islands, and the Azores or Cape Verde, and cities such as Madrid and Lisbon. |
20 | Optional |
|
The Hispanic Languages: Structure and Use This module introduces students to Linguistics, the scientific study of language, within the context of the Hispanic languages. The module introduces basic notions of linguistic analysis and makes students aware of the key differences in pronunciation between Spanish and English and the key linguistic differences between Spanish, Portuguese and Catalan. These languages were once all the same language (Latin) but evolved into different languages. How and why did this happen? Also, why is the Spanish of Latin America different from the Spanish of Spain? The module will explore these questions and consolidate and extend students' active knowledge of Spanish as it is used by different speakers and in different contexts both in the Iberian Peninsula and Latin America. Finally the module will look at how language variation is correlated with different social meanings (class, gender, geographical region) and can be a source of (linguistic) prejudice and discrimination. In particular the module will look at the interaction between racial and linguistic prejudice. |
20 | Optional |
|
Dictatorship, Revolution and Resistance Students will examine the continuities and transformations in the political development of Latin America by looking at a series of case studies. They will analyse and account for the rise of diverse forms of political organisation and explore their social and cultural ramifications. In so doing, they will gain an enhanced understanding of the complexities of Latin American politics and resistance and revolutionary movements. |
20 | Optional |
|
Nation and Transformation in Latin America This course will examine the various means by which national identities are constructed, contested and expressed in modern Latin America. We will trace trajectories of social and political change, from the nation-building movements to the present day, examining how Latin American nations are transformed over time. In order to consider these issues, we will study a range of modes of cultural expression, including literature, film, and music. The course will focus on two or three selected countries, such as Argentina, Cuba or Mexico, to offer a representative cross-section of Latin American nations. |
20 | Optional |
|
Language at Work This course provides the basis for understanding communication and communicating in multilingual (work) settings. After completing this module, students will - know the basic properties of language and communication and their relation to culture; - be able to characterise the relationship between English and their other languages; - be able to describe the difference between everyday language use and institutional language use; - be able to describe the differences between communication in monolingual and multilingual (intercultural) settings; - be able to differentiate between characteristics of communication involving native speakers of a language and communication involving nonnative/foreign language speakers of a language; - use systematic methods to carry out simple investigations of language, communication and culture (and their implications for foreign language learning); - use digital technology to communicate academic work to non-specialist audiences. |
20 | Optional |
|
Language and Society in Luxembourg and the French Borderlands With a focus on the French borderlands, this course explores the status and function of the French language in relation to its speakers and to speakers of other languages. We will apply key theoretical insights to issues concerning linguistic minorities in the officially monolingual country of France, in addition to the bordering multilingual countries of Belgium, Luxembourg and Switzerland. In this way, we will investigate how language becomes the target of struggles and debates that are embedded in broader socio-political issues. More broadly, this module underlines the necessity of questioning the presupposed homogeneity conveyed by the use of labels such as the ‘French language’ and ‘French-speaking countries’, which potentially mask the social and linguistic complexity inherent to the social world. |
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 A novel, play and films are studied as different modes for ‘representing’ the city and as starting points for a discussion of contemporary cultural and theoretical approaches to the city. We analyse the particular protagonism of the city of Barcelona within the life experiences portrayed in the primary texts, and establish the particular differential character of Barcelona within modern Spain, as well as in the wider context of cities at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Teaching comprises seminars, smaller group work and informal presentations. Work for independent study will be set. Specific themes addressed may include: |
20 | Optional |
|
The Idea of the Modern in Latin American Fiction The most significant cultural phenomenon in the Spanish language since the golden age is probably the Latin American boom of the 1960s and after. Why was the boom so important and so influential internationally? and what is it that the makes the boom so intoxicating and special? This module aims to try and answer some of these questions. |
20 | Optional |
|
Social Approaches to Multilingualism This course begins by outlining key theories about multilingualism and then explores language contact and variation, language and identity and differences between individual and societal multilingualism. Students design their own research projects to examine the ways in which issues of language are linked to broader socio-political practices, policies and debates. Project topics include language and digital media, language and migration, multilingual education and linguistic landscapes in multiple sites around the world to obtain global perspectives. |
20 | Optional |
|
Languages & Cultures Project Guided by individual supervision and support seminars, you will plan and execute an extended piece of independent research on a topic that complements but does not duplicate work you have done (or will do) in SLC taught modules. Alternatively, you may translate a substantial text into English accompanied by a full commentary to contextualize it. Your project must relate to at least one of the countries or cultures whose languages you are studying. As well as writing an extended piece of work, all students present their work at the end of the year. |
20 | Optional |
|
Comparative Critique of Consumer Culture Critiques of consumer cultures are as old as capitalism itself. This module takes the long view, starting in the eighteenth century and tracing our conflicted identities as modern consumers into the present day. Especially applying German cultural theory to European cultural history, we shall ask what is meant by economic and social liberalism, and whether even culture owes a debt to consumer society. Consumerism can entail complicity in exploitative modes of production (causing poverty and displacement, and profiting from serfdom and slavery). It has been both celebrated and satirised for enabling hedonism and individual bad taste (or kitsch). And consumption has been nationalist, yet also cosmopolitan; today, it threatens our shared environment. Theory, the visual arts, and literature have all been critical of capitalism - but ironically, they can themselves be packaged as consumer goods. Examining a wide range of primary texts (including film and caricature) and critical reflections, you will translate and write a commentary on a historical source, and submit an essay on a topic of your choice. |
20 | Optional |
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: 7 September 2022