Program Description

The programs in Hispanic Languages and Literature at Stony Brook have become quite visible in a relatively short period of time. Our graduates, whether B.A., M.A., or Ph.D., have been welcomed in today's competitive job market. Nearly all of our doctorates are currently pursuing careers in research, university teaching, or have gone on to pursue professional studies. As our data on graduate placement indicates, most have been hired by established institutions of higher education. A few have gone on to distinguished research centers such as Brandeis, Columbia , Harvard, Vassar, and the Colegio de Mexico, as well as prestigious Colleges such as Hamilton College , Boston College and Middlebury College . Our success in placing graduate students in tenure track positions is an important indicator of the quality of our graduate program.

Research Programs
Our research program prides itself on having incorporated the most valuable aspects of Spanish and Latin American literary studies, as traditionally conceived, while equipping itself fully to face the challenges of the 21st century through dialogue with other disciplines. These challenges, we believe, are appropriately envisaged as an opportunity for a department such as ours that is extensively involved in multidisciplinary shifts that enrich our traditions. In our view, Spanish departments, as they were once known, must now become more central to the mission of research universities through curricular and pedagogical innovation, and this involves new ways to think through the advantages of interdisciplinarity.

The program maintains a strong interest in the full array of language, literary, and linguistic studies that historically characterize the discipline. The major emphasis, however, is the study of new links between literary and theoretical discourses that have transformed literature departments during the past 20 to 30 years. This does not merely imply an emphasis on theory at the expense of literature, but a critical look at how both continuously transform disciplines and fields of study. This requires not just an interest in literature in the context of new cultural studies (one of our strong areas), but an awareness of the particular histories these terms carry in different discursive communities. Consequently, we focus on the constant interplay between theoretical approaches and fields of study, with the understanding that both concepts help to shape the community in which we are active participants as individuals, as professors, and as an institution.

Our faculty is firmly committed to research that embraces widely divergent individual programs rather than narrowly defined, traditional fields of study. While we maintain an active, balanced focus on Peninsular and Latin American topics, we also incline towards new comparative frameworks linking Latin American and Spanish traditions as well as those of the Americas in the broadest sense. These interests are brought to light through the innovative research of our most distinguished as well as our most junior faculty members. For example, some of our specific areas of research include the following:

• Narrative and poetic traditions of Latin America, including Amerindian traditions
• Links between literary and visual representational systems
• Colonial and indigenous cultures, including writing systems
• The impact of globalization and transnationalism on cultures of the Americas
• Historiography and literary histories of Spain and Latin America
• Marxist readings of early and modern Spanish culture
• Film and visual cultures of Spain and Latin America
• Comparative linguistic and literary traditions of Spain and Latin America
• Critiques of Hispanism, Latin Americanism, and Feminism
• Links between Latin American and Latino literature

These areas of interests are reflected in our courses and our commitment to innovative pedagogical practices. A catalogue list of generic courses is included below. However, the best way to gauge a department's approaches and practices is through a representative sample of recent topic courses. The following topics were offered during the past three academic years: From Enlightenment to Modernism, the Case of Spain, Modernismo in Spanish America: Theory and Practice; Spanish Love Poetry of the 13th-17th Centuries; The Spanish Picaresque Novel; The Philosophical Dialectics of Latin American Poetic Thinking; Celebrity and Cultural Memory in the Spanish-Speaking World; Spanish Cinema Before 1975; Ordering and Disrupting Fictions; Women's Cinema in Spain and Latin America; The Imaginary European Gypsy; The Making of 20th Century Latin American Cultural Historiography; The Renewal of Marxist Theory: Louis Althusser and Juan Carlos Rodriguez; Desde la Illustración hasta la Postmodernidad; Latino and Latin American literary currents; and The Invention of America: Literary Motifs of Origination.

Area Descriptions
Both Peninsular and Latin American studies are well represented by senior scholars with international reputations as well as by younger faculty. In Peninsular studies, research possibilities are available for all major periods—Medieval, Golden Age, Enlightenment, 19th century, and Modern—spanning both high and popular culture. Approaches of individual faculty members vary from the philological to the most innovative and theoretical.

A full range of Latin American studies is also represented by both senior as well as junior faculty, who are involved in innovative work of theoretical import. The department is particularly strong in the area of Latin American critical theories, 19th- and 20th-century narrative traditions, Caribbean studies, and Colonial literature and culture (including indigenous cultures). We provide an increasing emphasis on courses in U.S. Latino literature, both in Spanish as well as in English. The department is strong in these areas, with large enrollments and established excellence.

The diversity of the department is reflected in the makeup of its faculty of six men and six women, whose nationalities span Argentina , Bolivia , Cuba , England , Mexico , Puerto Rico , Spain , and the U.S. Five of the faculty specialize in the Peninsular, five in Latin America , and two in linguistics. Two of our Peninsularists also work on Latin American topics, and four of the five Latin Americanists also work on Latino/U.S. topics. The main approaches to fields of research among the faculty are: philology, cultural studies, poetics, visual culture and literature, film, post-structuralism, Marxism, Andean studies, linguistics, applied linguistics, feminism, colonialism, postcolonialism, and postmodernism.

The department's ongoing activities with graduate students include the “Charlas literarias,” a colloquium series for graduate student research presentation that convenes three times each semester; annual multimedia workshops for graduate students; and yearly seminars on dissertation writing and other professional matters. Graduate students also organize and meet periodically to discuss issues relative to their program, and a graduate student representative participates in all faculty meetings.

Interdisciplinary Work
Our department is a cohesive unit that has established a climate of cooperation not only with its members but also with the University. This is largely owing to our strong interdisciplinary links as well as our conviction that Hispanic studies has a central role to play at Stony Brook, particularly in the humanities. For example, three of our faculty are affiliates of Comparative Studies, where they teach regularly each year and others are affiliates of American Studies and Women's Studies.

The department maintains ongoing programmatic links, including the co-teaching of courses, with the following departments and programs: Women's Studies, Comparative Literature, Latin American and Caribbean Studies Center, the Humanities Institute, the American Studies Initiative, the Linguistics Department, the Cultural Studies Program, Film Studies, and the Medical School, where graduate students have the opportunity if they choose to teach Spanish for medical personnel.

Graduate Degree Requirements
Normally, for the M.A., three or four semesters of full-time study are required. For the Ph.D., the number of semesters necessary before advancement to candidacy varies. For students with an M.A. or its equivalent, a minimum of two consecutive semesters of full-time graduate study in residence is required for the Ph.D.

The curriculum leading to the Master of Arts in Hispanic Languages and Literature may be terminal or may be combined with Doctor of Philosophy programs. A qualifying examination is required of all M.A. students continuing to the Ph.D.

The Ph.D. degree is the highest teaching and research degree offered by the University. The Ph.D. prepares the recipient for an academic career at the four-year college and research university level; or for other careers in humanistic study, research, and writing.

In addition to proficiency in Spanish and English, Ph.D. students must demonstrate a reading knowledge of Latin, Portuguese, French, Italian, German, or other language if relative to the field chosen for the dissertation. Students fulfill language requirements prior to being advanced to candidacy. The language requirement may be fulfilled by (1) passing the Princeton Graduate School Foreign Language Test (GSFLT); (2) successful completion (grade B or better) of a graduate reading course or regular graduate course in the foreign language; or (3) passing a special reading examination administered by a faculty member with expertise in the given language. If option (3) is chosen, the student consults with the Director of Graduate Studies, who designates an appropriate examiner. Texts will be assigned for the examination, during which a dictionary may be used for the translation of sight passages.

All Ph.D. students must take a qualifying examination at the beginning of their third semester. The exam consists of four hours of written work and an oral presentation. Students who pass the qualifying exam are automatically admitted to the Ph.D. program.

The comprehensive examination is an oral exam based on a list of texts chosen by the student in conjunction with his or her exam committee. The two principal categories of the exam are Peninsular and Latin American literature and culture. The oral comprehensive exam lasts a total of three hours. Upon satisfactory completion of both sections of the exam, the student is granted ABD status. The thesis proposal is then presented to each member of the thesis committee within three months following the successful completion of the comprehensive exam. The defense of the thesis consists of two parts: an oral presentation, followed by a question period. During the question period, the candidate puts forth the general thesis of his or her work.

Language Teaching and TAs
The Director of Language Instruction coordinates teaching assistants (TAs) assigned to elementary and intermediate language courses as well as introductory culture or literature courses. All new TAs are required to participate in a workshop before the beginning of the Fall semester. The workshop consists of 12 hours of classroom instruction, distributed over three days just prior the start of the academic year. Topics covered include the position of foreign language courses in the U.S. educational system and the characteristics of our undergraduate population and their expectations. Administrative requirements are reviewed, such as methods of determining correct placement level and class enrollment, and specific methods are presented to enhance the teaching experience. The language teaching philosophy of the department is introduced, including goals and priorities as well as teaching methods, key dates, and pertinent teaching materials. Common syllabi for multi-section courses are developed. Examples of actual classes are presented by the instructor and sometimes by volunteers from among the experienced TAs.

The Practicum is a three-credit course required of all beginning TAs throughout their first academic year. It is closely focused on the practical needs of the beginning language teacher, with an emphasis on the links between pedagogy and applied linguistics, and with a view to making the fulfillment of teaching obligations as unproblematic and as rewarding as possible. The Coordinator observes each TA twice per academic year, and afterwards meets privately with TAs to discuss the class and make suggestions. Besides responding to the TAs' immediate needs, the Coordinator also presents in class detailed suggestions for teaching Spanish at different levels. Particular attention is given to those aspects of language that are generally difficult for English speakers, especially those that standard textbooks tend to neglect or misrepresent. Finally, the TAs review sample exercises and assessment tools.

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