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| Department of Spanish and Portuguese | |
|---|---|
| Name | Department of Spanish and Portuguese |
| Parent institution | Harvard University |
| Established | 19th century |
| Chair | Professor |
| Location | Cambridge, Massachusetts |
Department of Spanish and Portuguese
The Department of Spanish and Portuguese is an academic unit within a major research university that focuses on the study of Spanish language, Portuguese language, and the cultures of the Hispanic world and Lusophone world. It engages with literary traditions from Spain, Portugal, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Peru, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Angola, and Mozambique. The department often collaborates with programs in Comparative Literature, Latin American Studies, Romance languages, Linguistics, History, Anthropology, and Film Studies.
The department traces roots to 19th-century language instruction influenced by scholars associated with Oxford University, University of Salamanca, University of Coimbra, King Alfonso XIII, and diplomatic exchanges involving the Spanish Empire and the Portuguese Empire. Early faculty corresponded with figures tied to the Generation of '98, the Generation of '27, and the Romantics of the Iberian Peninsula, while curricular development reflected debates after the Spanish Civil War and during the decolonization of Angola and Mozambique. During the 20th century the department expanded as a response to immigration trends involving Mexican Revolution émigrés, the influence of writers like Federico García Lorca, Pablo Neruda, Jorge Luis Borges, Gabriel García Márquez, and literary movements such as Modernismo and Magical Realism. Institutional change followed university-wide reforms comparable to those at Columbia University, Yale University, and University of California, Berkeley.
The curriculum offers undergraduate majors and minors, graduate degrees including MA and PhD, and certificate programs linked to centers like the Hispanic Society of America and the Camões Institute. Coursework covers areas such as medieval studies with focus on El Cid, early modern studies including Miguel de Cervantes, Golden Age drama from Lope de Vega and Pedro Calderón de la Barca, Enlightenment-era texts by Benito Jerónimo Feijoo, 19th-century novels by Benito Pérez Galdós and Eça de Queirós, 20th-century poetry including Federico García Lorca and Antonio Machado, and contemporary fiction by Isabel Allende, Mario Vargas Llosa, José Saramago, and Clarice Lispector. Language training spans proficiency exams used by organizations like the Modern Language Association and exchange programs with institutions such as the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Universidade de São Paulo, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, National Autonomous University of Mexico, and the Universidade de Coimbra.
Faculty research encompasses literary theory engaging with scholars like Roland Barthes, Jacques Derrida, and Michel Foucault; archival work in collections tied to the Archivo General de Indias and the Biblioteca Nacional de España; and fieldwork in regions affected by events such as the Mexican Revolution, the Spanish American wars of independence, and the Carnation Revolution. Professors publish with presses comparable to Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, Routledge, and journals such as Hispania, Revista Hispánica Moderna, and Bulletin of Hispanic Studies. Research clusters investigate topics involving authors and movements like Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, Rubén Darío, César Vallejo, Julio Cortázar, Rosario Castellanos, Octavio Paz, Carolina Maria de Jesus, and contemporary cultural producers in Barcelona, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, and Lima.
Student life includes language tables modeled after programs at Princeton University and Stanford University, reading groups on works by María Zambrano, Nicolás Guillén, and Giannina Braschi, and film series screening films by directors such as Pedro Almodóvar, Lucrecia Martel, Wim Wenders (on Iberian themes), and Glauber Rocha. Student organizations coordinate volunteer teaching initiatives with community partners like Casa de la Cultura, cultural festivals honoring Día de los Muertos, Carnaval, and academic conferences featuring panels on postcolonialism referencing theorists like Edward Said and Homi K. Bhabha. Honor societies and awards reference models like the Phi Beta Kappa chapter and national competitions tied to the Modern Language Association.
The department maintains language laboratories equipped for oral proficiency assessment aligned with the ACTFL guidelines, multimedia centers that house film and audio collections including works by Luis Buñuel and António Pedro Vasconcelos, and archival partnerships with repositories such as the Huntington Library, John Carter Brown Library, and national archives like the Arquivo Nacional Torre do Tombo. Libraries supporting research include stacks with materials from publishers such as Editorial Sudamericana, Alfaguara, and Seix Barral, as well as digital subscriptions to databases like JSTOR and Project MUSE specializing in Iberian and Latin American studies.
Alumni have gone on to prominent roles as translators, diplomats, writers, and scholars, including figures comparable to translators of Gabriel García Márquez and José Saramago, journalists reporting from Madrid and São Paulo, diplomats involved in negotiations influenced by the Treaty of Tordesillas legacy, and public intellectuals who have lectured at institutions such as Princeton University, University of Chicago, and Columbia University. Graduates have contributed to translations of works by Miguel de Cervantes, critical editions of texts by Lope de Vega, and scholarship on social movements including Zapatismo and MST (Brazil), as well as cultural programming for museums like the Getty Museum and festivals like the Festival Internacional de Cine de Morelia.
Category:University departments Category:Romance languages