Spanish | Romance Studies

Study Spanish at Boston University

Our literature and culture courses for majors and minors explore a range of periods and topics. Recent courses have dealt with gendered literary production in Latin America; sexuality and religion in medieval Iberia; the textual construction of Latin American ‘thirdworldness’; Latin American and Spanish film; poetry, painting, and the sister arts; intellectual currents between Spain and the Americas; the social poetry of Central America; and individual authors like Borges, Lorca, Galdós, Vallejo, Márquez, Quevedo, Cervantes and Darío.

The Spanish section is also home to a thriving language program. Six semesters of communicative courses put beginner, intermediate, and advanced students directly in touch with the language, literature, and culture of the Spanish-speaking world, preparing them for global citizenship and international careers. Advanced learners at the third-year level may focus on such diverse topics as Latino culture, business Spanish, or the techniques of poetry writing. Spanish majors and minors have study-abroad and internship opportunities in Madrid and many other locations.

The faculty in Spanish cover a variety of fields. Alicia Borinsky, widely known as a poet and fiction writer, teaches modern and contemporary Latin American literature. Christopher Maurer teaches Spanish poetry as well as the intersection of biography, editing, and translation. Nicolás Fernández-Medina offers courses on Romanticism, Modernism, Avant-garde, Iberian Studies, Sexuality and Gender Studies, and the body. Daniel Erker gives courses in Linguistics and Hispanic Linguistics, an area in which we offer a double major (Spanish/Linguistics). Anita Savo teaches the literatures and cultures of medieval Spain, with an emphasis on cross-cultural exchange among Christians, Jews, and Muslims. Catalina Rodriguez teaches Latin American literature and culture from the nineteenth century onward, with a focus on gender and sexuality studies, women’s literature, theories of authorship, ecofeminism, and queer literature.

Overview of the Program

All majors must complete 11 courses, and each minor must complete 6. Out of these courses, majors must fulfill each of the distributional requirements outlined below.

Spanish Major Guide

Spanish Minor Guide

To Declare a Major or Minor in Spanish, please click here and follow the instructions based on your current school or college.

Honors Program in Spanish

The honors Program in Hispanic Language and Literatures requires 14 classes in all, to be completed with an average GPA of at least 3.7.

Please click Honors Program in Spanish for more information on requirements for achieving honors in Italian Studies.

Learning Outcomes

Advanced knowledge of major themes in Hispanic literature and culture in their historical contexts and familiarity with major literary genres.
Knowledge of events, periods, and people who have shaped the history of the Spanish-speaking world.
Advanced proficiency and accuracy in speaking, reading, writing, and understanding the Spanish language as used in different areas of the Spanish-speaking world, including the U.S., Spanish America, and Spain. Knowledge of structural and other aspects of Spanish, accurate and fluent use of advanced Spanish (tested by a variety of means) in a range of academic and everyday situations.