Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies
Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies is a lively and dynamic section with 15 lecturers committed to working with you in the development of your language and academic skills to explore the diverse cultures and societies of Spain, Portugal and Latin America.Our Modules
Language is the key to your engagement with different areas of inquiry and practical modules in Spanish and/or Portuguese make up a significant part of your studies, allowing you to graduate with a high level of proficiency in either or both languages. Our teaching team also comprises academics with combined expertise in the Iberian Peninsula and most of the regions of Latin America. Their research helps to shape the optional modules you will be studying and includes expertise in History, Politics, Cultural Studies, Film Studies, Anthropology, Linguistics, Sociolinguistics and Literature. While studying Spanish and/or Portuguese as part of your degree your optional modules will offer in-depth understanding of aspects of contemporary culture and society in the Hispanic and Lusophone worlds. You can also do Spanish with other languages, Business or Linguistics.The Year Abroad
You spend your third year in Spain, Portugal or Latin America. You can be an exchange student in one of seven Spanish universities: Murcia, Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona) Jaume I (Valencia), Zaragoza, Cadiz and Valencia, the University of Coimbra in Portugal or one of several Latin American universities (including Brazil). You can also work as a teaching assistant through the British Council scheme (in Spain, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Argentina, Ecuador or Paraguay), or arrange your own work or volunteer placement.Extra curricular activities
Important cultural institutions in the region offer a wide array of activities related to the Iberian Peninsula and Latin America. The Tyneside Cinema, The Star and Shadow and the Side Cinema and Gallery frequently show films from these regions, holding language cafes afterwards. The Sage Gateshead and other venues also bring Iberian and Latin American acts to the city. Newcastle has a vibrant Hispanic and Lusophone community, and the annual ¡VAMOS! Festival is a celebration of these cultures in Newcastle -- Gateshead.Postgraduate Opportunities
After graduation Newcastle offers several options for postgraduate studies. Our MA in Translation in European Languages or our MA in Latin American Interdisciplinary Studies have become very popular options for our graduates. We also offer research degrees (Mlitt, Mphil, PhD) in all areas of our expertise.Research Interests and Expertise
Our research is strongly oriented towards the interdisciplinary study of Latin America, complemented by linguistic and cultural expertise in relation to the Iberian Peninsula:
Languages: In addition to the major world languages Portuguese and Spanish, we offer Catalan and Quechua, key minority languages of the Hispanic world.
Culture: Spanish & Latin American popular culture in film, music and the visual arts – in particular such matters as gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, nationalism, landscape, trauma and memory.
Society: Latin American anthropology, cultural identity, education development, indigenous issues, women’s movements.
History: 19C & 20C Latin American political & intellectual history, social reforms, nation-building, postcolonialism, and neo-decolonisation.
Linguistics: Syntax & semantics in Spanish and Romance, Amerindian languages, language contact & bilingualism in Latin America.
Research in these areas benefits from collaboration with the School and also from interaction in larger Faculty groupings such as the Centre for Film and Digital Media, Americas Research Group and the Centre for Research in Linguistics & Language Sciences.
People
Samuel Anaya Guzmán
Dr Jorge L. Catalá Carrasco
Josep Cru Talaveron
Dr Ann Davies
Professor Jens R Hentschke
Lucy Hill
Professor Rosaleen Howard
Dr Marleny Jiménez
Dr Nuria López
Professor Ian Mackenzie
Dr Nick Morgan
Dr Patricia Oliart
Jesús Soria Nuñez
Ángela Uribe de Kellett
Recent & Current Research Postgraduates
Fernando Gonzalez Velarde: Culture, Nature and Development in a Context of Change: Discourses of Tourism and Senses of Place in Beach Towns of Northern Peru (Co supervised by Rosaleen Howard and Patricia Oliart)
Sarah Bennison: The cultural meanings of water in de Andes (Co supervised by Rosaleen Howard and Patricia Oliart)
Sarah Duggan: Social meanings of place: exploring cultural narratives and symbolic spaces of collective identity in the Chapada Diamantina, Bahia, Brazil. ( Co supervised by Nick Morgan and Patricia Oliart)
Antonia Manresa: Education policies, epistemological struggles and indigenous politics in Ecuador (Co- supervised by Rosaleen Howard and Patricia Oliart)
Ximena Córdova: Performance and identity in the Oruro Carnival in Bolivia (Supervised by Rosaleen Howard and Patricia Oliart).
Josep Cru: Indigenous Language Endangerment and Language Rights in Latin America (Supervised by Rosaleen Howard and Ian Mackenzie).
Claire Donneky: Minority languages in France and Spain (Supervised by Ian Mackenzie and Rosaleen Howard).
Erin Hill-Parks: The historical auteur: reading the films of Christopher Nolan in a postmodern era (Supervised by Ann Davies and Sarah Leahy).
Rebecca Naughten: The construction and performance of star identities in the contemporary cinemas of Spain and the United States (Supervised by Ann Davies and Bruce Babbington).
Steven Robinson: The Europeanisation of Portuguese Foreign Policy after 1974 (Co-supervised by Jens Hentschke).
Research Seminars and Cross-Disciplinary Groupings
SPLAS contributes actively to the SML Research Seminar Series, which features prominent U.K. and overseas scholars. In addition, the Instituto Camões-funded Centro de Língua Portuguesa has developed its own dynamic programme of Portuguese-related events.