• goal of course
• objectives of course
• what has changed and why
• sure things
• possible pitfalls

Spanish 314 is an examination of the evolution of Spanish narrative from 1897 to the present day.  As we do close readings of each of the texts, we examine stylistics and thematics in order to explore changes that occur in narrative over more than a century.  We will attempt to draw conclusions about how literature of 19th- and 20th-century Spain relates to the vertiginous changes in the country's politics, societies, and cultures of the same period.  We will view and evaluate one film for each of the four segments of the class.  All readings, films, and discussions are in Spanish.

Students will improve their abilities to read text and film by engaging in a constant discussion in Spanish that will challenge their previous notions of Spanish narrative and demand improved oral and written communication.  The use of a web forum and a collaborative "useful links" webpage asks students to share their impressions about the literature they're reading and to contribute related information (e.g. trends in other national narratives, manifestations of similar movements in other genres and arts, further information about authors and directors, etc.).  This exchange out of class should lead to a more productive and lively exchange during class time.  The class will read three novels together during the course of the semester, and these novels will be complemented by individual student presentations on related topics (to be filmed, digitized, and compressed for later viewing on the class website).  Students will choose individually a fourth novel from the post-Franco period and will work on that novel during the second half of the term.  The final project on the fourth novel will be a web portfolio that consists of a brief biography of the author,  a look at concurrent movements in other areas of the arts, a plot summary, a "bookjacket" write-up for the novel, a visual textual explication of one passage of the work, and, finally, an analytical (e.g. traditional paper) or creative (e.g. movie adaptation) examination of the novel.  Students will share their final projects (excluding the finished product of the longer paper) with the class during the final week of class.

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I have taught this course two times before, once during my first year at W&L and the second time in the Fall of 1999.  The first time I taught Spanish 314, we read four novels together as a class.  The readings were complemented by individual student presentations (on criticism of the novels and/or on topics related to class discussions), a film or two, a web forum managed by two different students per week, and analytical papers (plus a midterm exam) throughout the semester.  The second time I taught the course, I eliminated the web forum because that particular group of students had participated in web fora in numerous Spanish courses in a row and needed a break.  I added one novel to the four, and the students chose the fifth for independent examination as part of a final project.  The independent novel worked quite nicely, but the pressures of reading five novels in 12 weeks with all of the accompanying class tasks proved too much.  This time I am reinstating the web forum (and managing it as I have in the past:  two students per week oversee the forum; forum participation is graded, like traditional class participation, on quantity and quality).  Students will still do one class presentation over the course of the semester and will still be required to write a textual explication, a midterm exam, and a creative paper (basically something major due every 3 weeks).  I have cut back to three novels plus an independent to allow students to master the technology required for the web portfolio project and to have the time to review one other student's work as the project develops.  Students will select the independent novel from a list of works from the post-Franco era and will be asked to draw conclusions about it in relation to the trajectory of Spanish narrative since 1897.

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Is anything truly a sure thing?  Probably not, but in my experience with this course I have found some elements that have been universally helpful.  These include:
 

• the choice of readings:  the variety allows students both to appreciate the literary movements represented and to find something that they individually can enjoy
• class discussion:  the format allows students to show their stuff in terms of preparation and to practice oral Spanish, which most or all find to be particularly necessary and helpful.  Discussion includes some dramatic readings of the text.  This year I'm going to include discussion questions on the class website so that students know how to tackle the text before they begin.  This has worked nicely for my 300-level courses, specifically for Spanish 395-01.  I often post extremely detailed questions for the first novel and then slowly move to more general postings and ask the students to provide the questions which should be asked.
• film:  the inclusion of film viewings has helped the students to understand how important this genre has been to 20th-century narrative.  They come to understand that it is impossible to read 20th-century literature well without also attempting to "read" film.  This year I am carefully selecting and placing four films into the four sections of the class.  I think I'll also post film discussion questions, just as I do with the readings.  Film discussion may be carried out primarily on the web forum.
• individual presentations throughout the semester:  although students often dread these, they always recognize them to be helpful in the end.  The assignment asks the student to investigate more profoundly some aspect of the class segment (e.g. a critical article on one of the novels, another literary work that displays similar themes and/or techniques, some form of literary criticism appropriately applied to the novel at hand).  Students meet with me to work through these texts. This one-on-one time establishes a working relationship for future endeavours, including this year's web portfolio.

• time crunch:  this, more than anything else, worries me.  I always feel rushed in this class, but this year's additional requirements of teaching students to master and apply technology on consistent basis seem to compress the already tight schedule.  I may have to provide some breaks from the web forum and continue to think about other ways to alleviate the fast pace of our schedule so that the students don't feel overwhelmed from start to finish.
• pair/peer reviews:  10 students are signed up for the class.  I hope we stay with an even number because I would like to create set pairs of students for the web portfolio.  Each student will work with one other to read, review, and make grammar and content suggestions on the web portfolios.  I have had students work in pairs on long-term projects in the past.  It has worked best when I have let the students know on the very first day that this is a requirement and that the collaborative work will stand them in good stead.  We'll see how this flies this year.
• workload:  I do fear how much time I will need to devote to surveying the web forum, meeting individually with students, and helping out with technology.  I imagine there will be typical "crunch" times throughout the semester.  If they're predictable, perhaps the load won't seem so heavy.

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