Spanish

“fósforo,” a bilingual journal of literature, art and ideas, publishes poetry, narrative, drama and essay, as well as photography, painting and visual arts, which reflect an interest in Spanish and the range of Hispanic and Latinx cultures. Submissions are accepted in both Spanish and English from all members of the campus community, including students, faculty, staff and alumni.

Our faculty and students also consistently engage with Spanish-speaking cultures outside the classroom through community-based learning opportunities and service learning locally and abroad.

The Directed Independent Spanish Curriculum (DISC) at Holy Cross allows students to personalize their learning experience. They work individually with textbooks, videos, and online resources, while also meeting one or two hours each week with native speakers to practice oral communication and regularly communicate with faculty. Courses are designed to help those students who come to college with prior experience in Spanish or other languages by offering them an opportunity to identify their strengths and improve upon their weaknesses, facilitating their integration into more advanced language courses.

The Spanish department offers a complementary cultural enrichment program, run by faculty and FLAs, that engages students with the cultures they study.

Spanish majors are encouraged to pursue internships in a variety of contexts. Students have interned with the Latino History Project of Worcester, at the Office of Congressman James McGovern and at local hospitals.

Opportunities for students to pursue research projects under faculty guidance, at either student or faculty initiative, include Cineglos and Cinegogía. Spanish majors also participate regularly in the annual Academic Conference and the College Honors Program.

Cinegogía is an open-access website devoted to the teaching and study of Latin American cinemas. This collaborative project is comprised of syllabi, film guides, course materials, a film database and links to other resources. The website was created by Professor Bridget Franco and students frequently serve as research assistants to help expand the site’s collection of materials.

Spanish Club is a cultural and leisure organization that welcomes anyone at Holy Cross, whatever their knowledge or interest in Spanish, to gain a deeper perspective on the rich cultures of Latin America and Spain in a fun and dynamic way.

As a complement to our international curricular focus, the Spanish department takes full advantage of the Holy Cross study abroad programs in Spain and Latin America, incorporating coursework abroad into the major requirements and encouraging 100 percent participation among our majors. Holy Cross offers programs in Spain, with sites in La Coruña, León and Granada; and in Latin America, with sites in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Ecuador.

The Teacher Education Program (TEP) at Holy Cross prepares students for licensure in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Students majoring in biology, chemistry, classics, English, French, history, mathematics, physics, Spanish and visual arts are eligible to apply to the program. In addition to taking courses in the major, students enroll in education courses specifically designed to promote excellence in teaching. The Holy Cross TEP places a special emphasis on issues surrounding urban education.

Our students’ academic experience is enhanced through small group practice sessions, called Practicum, led by Foreign Language Assistants (FLAs). Our FLAs are native speakers from Latin America and Spain who have been carefully selected from our study abroad sites and receive dedicated pedagogical training as language instructors. They also serve as ambassadors to Holy Cross students planning to study abroad in their home countries.