Overview
The study of a foreign language, literature, and culture like Spanish traditionally has been one of the central components of an undergraduate education in the humanities.
Today there is an added practical dimension to this. With economic and cultural globalization, our links as a nation with Spain and Latin America have become much closer. At the same time, Spanish is not only a foreign language for us; it has become—much like French in Canada—a de facto second language in the United States.
With a Hispanic population of 37 million, the United States itself is the fifth largest country of the Spanish-speaking world. Spanish is the fastest growing field in the humanities today (more than 50 percent of enrollments in language classes in the United States are in Spanish). As a result, there is a growing demand for persons trained in Spanish (and also Portuguese) in many fields, especially education, where there is a shortage of new teachers of Spanish language and literature.
The Department of Hispanic Languages and Literatures is especially noted for its faculty strengths in the area of Latin American literature and culture, including Brazil, but we also cover Spain and U.S. Latino culture and areas of Hispanic linguistics.
The department works in close cooperation with the University of Pittsburgh Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS), and many students choose as a related area the CLAS undergraduate or graduate certificate program. We also have strong ties to the Film Studies Program, West European Studies, and the Graduate Program in Cultural Studies.
Events
queer cultural geographies:
sexuality studies and LGBT activism
in latin america
6th international
latin american cultural studies conference
april 1-3, 2010
Latin American Movie Marathon - 21 November
12:00-2:10 pm El Método (Spanish)
One by one, seven candidates get voted out by the other job prospects in
this Spanish portrayal of ruthless manipulation in the corporate world
2:15-4:05 pm Se Eu Fosse Você (Portuguese)
A couple experiences an eye opening transformation when they switch bodies
in this Brazilian comedy.
4:10-5:40 pm Temporada de Patos (Spanish)
Flama and Moko are two 14-year-olds who start their afternoon when Flama’s
mother goes on errands. When the power goes out what seemed like a
regular day becomes an adventure.
5:45-7:30 pm O Auto da Compadecida (Portuguese)
João and Chicó cheat people out of their money to make a living. When they
die, they are judged by Christ, the Devil and the Virgin Mary, before
being admitted into Paradise.
7:35-9:45 pm Martín (H) (Spanish)
Martín is the name shared by both father and son, yet beyond that they
have little in common. A near death experience brings young Martín from
Buenos Aires to live with his expatriate father in Madrid.
William Pitt Union 540
*Refreshments Will Be Provided
Sponsored By: Brazil Nuts Portuguese Club & The Spanish Club
For More Information Please Contact: Brazil@pitt.edu or PittSpanishClub@gmail.edu
**********
Fernando Degiovanni
142 Cathedral of learning
Talk by Argentine critic Fernando Degiovanni on "The Rise of Latin Americanism: Colonialism, Managerial Discourses, and the Uses of Literature."
**********