Liberal Arts

PUCMM ADVANCED SPANISH LANGUAGE COURSES

Advanced Spanish I (6 credits) 
Advanced Spanish II (4 credits) 
Advanced Spanish III (4 credits)

PUCMM ELECTIVE COURSES: DEPARTMENT OF SPANISH FOR FOREIGNERS

These classes are offered for foreigners by PUCMM staff, although up to five Dominican and/or international students per class may also enroll, space permitting. Courses are not always offered each semester and a minimum enrollment of six students is needed to run each class. 

FOR STUDENTS AT ADVANCED SPANISH LEVEL I, II, OR III

Caribbean Short Stories 
This course offers a panorama of Spanish Caribbean literature in Spanish from the colonial era through the present, with an emphasis on the 19th and 20th centuries. Course content is developed through lectures, readings, discussion, and analysis of representative works of each period from Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic. (3 credits)

Introduction to Dominican Folklore 
This class presents a complete and systematic panorama of the different aspects and branches of folklore, with rich Dominican examples so that students can understand easily and appreciate the cultural context into which they are immersed. Examples include verbal folklore (spoken, proverbs, poetry, legends, stories, songs); partially spoken (superstitions, magic, children’s games); nonverbal (gestures, costumes, food); and field work methodology. (3 credits)

Latin American Cinema and Society 
As the “Civilization of the Imagination,” cinema is recognized as one of the most effective mediums for the diffusion of human ideas and for understanding the reality of the world’s peoples. Furthermore, it is an excellent vehicle to inform us about the social, political, and cultural reality, in both the past and the present, of the countries that produce films. This course serves to deepen students’ knowledge about this region of the world. Parallel to the concepts mentioned above, theoretical cinematographic concepts will be presented and a compendium of the history of this “seventh art form.” (3 credits)

Teacher Training Methodology Course and Directed Teaching 
This course trains students in teaching English as a second language, giving an overview of recent theories of second-language acquisition and teaching methodologies, practical application, and theoretical principles through class presentations and student teaching. Credit is granted for the course in conjunction with teaching (but not for teaching alone). There is also a requirement for a final paper that combines knowledge learned in the classroom with experience gained in the directed teaching segment. (Please note that although each student who successfully completes this course receives a TESL certificate, the certificate does not fulfill U.S. or foreign requirements for teaching English as a second language. This course is taught in English and is offered on a for-credit basis only with home institution study abroad advisor approval. It requires 28 contact hours of theory and 56 of practicum). (4 credits)  

FOR STUDENTS AT ADVANCED SPANISH LEVEL II OR III

Special Intermediate Conversation 
This course is intensive (12 hours per week of class for four weeks) and seeks to develop Spanish communication, above all at the oral level, and to improve the students’ Spanish pronunciation, widen their vocabulary, and teach them some aspects of Dominican culture.  In order to accomplish this, they will be taught some basic theoretical principles, will participate in a series of communicative activities, and will discuss a series of pre-selected thematic readings.  In the classroom, they will take part in presentations, oral readings, and pronunciation, hearing, and comprehension exercises, among others.  Students must already have a solid grasp of basic grammatical structures in Spanish. (3 credits)

Poverty and Development: Dominican Case Study 
In this course, the concepts of poverty and development are studied through an analysis of national and international factors that deepen poverty and impede a country´s and/or a region´s progress and socio-economic development. Special emphasis is placed on the socio-cultural contexts of the Dominican Republic, the Caribbean, and Latin America.  The focus is on neoliberal economic policies, statistics related to international financial organizations, strategies and alternatives for socio-economic and human development in Latin American and Caribbean societies, and external debt and its impact on the poorest countries in the region.  (3 credits)

Community Service Practicum 
Designed for students interested in development or social work, the course seeks to identify the causes of problems in the areas of education, health, and neighborhood-level social service, as well as give students an understanding of the Dominican reality. Complementing the academic coursework is a minimum of four hours of weekly volunteer work in a social service activity in Santiago. There is also a requirement for a final paper that combines knowledge learned in the classroom with experience gained in the volunteer practicum. At the end of the semester, students give a public presentation of their community service experience. It requires  28-theory and  56-practicum contact hours. (3 credits)

Culture and Society of the Hispanic Caribbean 
This class examines the parallel and contrasting cultural characteristics of the Hispanic Caribbean through analysis of the different ways in which Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic developed. Students study the history and society of each island, focusing on their intellectual movements, political thought, and artistic and literary movements. (3 credits)

Afro-Caribbean Cultures 
This course looks at the diversity, uniqueness, and unity of the African experience across the Caribbean. The goal of the course is to help students understand the historical roots and social processes of Afro- Caribbean heritage in society, politics, the arts, and various other cultural aspects, including Afro-Caribbean religious beliefs and practices. (3 credits)

Contemporary Dominican Literature 
Dominican literature of the 20th and 21st centuries is surveyed with an emphasis on developments since the advent of Modernism. Topics include the influence of race, geography, and politics; and the effects of 20th and 21st century “Dominican reality” on literary trends. Students gain an understanding of and appreciation for the imagination, esthetic literary values, and spiritual expressions of this country’s contemporary authors of short stories, poetry, and novels. (3 credits)

Contemporary Latin American Literature 
This course provides a survey of modern Latin American literature from 20th century Modernism through the Latin American boom in post-Modernism. Students read and analyze some of Latin America’s most renowned authors of poetry, short stories, essays, and novels. (3 credits)

Dominican-Haitian Relations 
This course examines the realities of the contemporary Republic of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, with a review of the historical and structural underpinnings that have influenced relations between the countries. The course addresses historical events that define Dominican-Haitian relations, beginning with the colonial period through the Trujillo Era and into the present. (3 credits)

Gender and Society of the Hispanic Caribbean 
The situation of women in the Hispanic Caribbean is analyzed from a human development perspective using comparative analyses in the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Cuba. The course examines the variables of health, education, work, politics, and art, starting from the level of development of the individual Hispanic Caribbean countries. Student participation requires extensive field work in Santiago and other sites around the Dominican Republic. (3 credits)

History of the Caribbean 
Caribbean history from the colonial period to the present is surveyed in this course, with an emphasis on the Spanish Caribbean. Topics include conquest and colonization, the rise of sugar, the Haitian revolution and the abolition of slavery, independence movements, economic imperialism in the 20th century, the Cuban revolution, and 21st-century globalization. (3 credits)

Latin American Culture and Society 
In an exploratory and introductory manner, students examine the formation and evolution of the various Latin American cultures and societies in the Caribbean, Central America, and South America. The course focuses on the principal historic events and the socio-cultural forces and processes that have impacted their development, provided development potential, or blocked the development of Latin American societies. (3 credits)

Literature of Latin American and Caribbean Women 
This course introduces students to literature written by Latin American and Caribbean women from the 19th and 20th centuries. Emphasis is on gender and women’s actual experiences throughout history in terms of their political, social, and cultural circumstances, as well as the discrimination that women have faced in the literary arena. (3 credits)

Panorama of Hispanic American 
This course seeks to help students learn that literature is an evolutionary and dynamic art form that can help them understand the reality of life in a particular Hispanic country at a particular time in history. Students read about and analyze literary movements through the works of the most representative Hispanic American authors from the Conquest Era through present day. (3 credits)

Spanish Caribbean Literature 
Literature of the Spanish-speaking Caribbean is examined from its origins to the present, with emphasis on authors and works of the 19th and 20th centuries. Literary movements such as indigenism and negritude are analyzed through the works of representative Dominican, Cuban, and Puerto Rican authors. (3 credits)

PUCMM REGULAR UNIVERSITY COURSES

Below is a sample offering of the regular PUCMM courses available to CIEE students at Advanced Spanish Level II or III. Not all courses are available every semester and some may require a prerequisite.

Dominican Economics and its Background 
The fundamental characteristics of the Dominican economy and its environment and background are presented in this course. In particular, the course examines the country’s recent history and how this has impacted the principal sectors of its economy. Among the themes to be covered are macroeconomic indicators, sector analyses, political economics, and other themes that have affected the present state of the Dominican economy. (Macroeconomics prerequisite) (3 credits)

General Psychology 
This is a general and scientific view of psychology as a science, and its evolution, methodology, and contemporary currents. The course focuses on the areas of learning, motivation, personality, and behavior. (3 credits)

History of Political and Social Ideas 
This course examines the evolution of political and social ideas from the Ancient East through modern times with a focus on the principal historical events (markers) from which diverse concepts emerged and evolved. The aim of the courses is for students to gain an understanding of these events and their influences in the historical context. (3 credits)

Human Sexuality 
This psychology course introduces human sexuality in an integrated format that encompasses all its multiple facets, both its normal and abnormal aspects, and the relationship between mental health and the exercise of sexuality as an integral element of the personality. Sexuality is seen from a physiological perspective, exploring its links to psychological processes. Throughout, the course takes a critical approach toward the role of psychology as a viable agent for resolving any conflicts in the area of human sexuality. (Biology prerequisite) (3 credits)

Introduction to the Hospitality Industry 
This course is aimed at introducing students to the wide range of distinct businesses and organizations within the tourism sector. Students study the importance of developing both the worldwide and local tourism industries, which encompass hospitality and services that go far beyond providing simple accommodation, transportation, and recreation to tourists and business people. There is a focus on the structure of the hotel and restaurant industries as the most important and most developed components of the tourism industry. (3 credits)

Introduction to International Commerce 
This course introduces students to the operation of the international market (both of products and capital), the stock market and how values are set and maintained, methods of international payment and customs operations, and international agreements, including with their legal aspects and effects upon the world economy. The final unit in the course examines the specific case of the Dominican Republic. (Macroeconomics prerequisite). (3 credits)

Introduction to Philosophy 
Students are introduced to the principles of philosophy and logic and their relationship to religion, mythology, and the natural sciences. (3 credits)

Introduction to Sociology 
This course covers the basic theoretical concepts of the science of sociology, focusing on topics that affect Dominican students’ lives, often without their awareness, such as social conduct and social inequalities caused by economic, racial, ethnic, and gender discrimination. (3 credits)

Photography I 
This course examines photography as a means to capture reality and its relevance as communication. Emphasis is placed upon both documentary and artistic results, including visual composition, the communication of ideas, the documentation of events, and the use of individual creativity to express feelings through photographic works. Each student must have a good quality digital or 35mm camera. (3 credits, including laboratory work).

Rural and Urban Sociology 
Students examine agrarian and urban systems and social organization in the Dominican Republic from a historical perspective. The main topics include rural family organization and habitat, the agrarian economy and social relations, migration, urbanization, and industrialization. (Introduction to Sociology prerequisite). (3 credits)

Christian Anthropology 
This course attempts to explore all that it means to be human: including the origins of humankind; the greatness that is the human body and soul; humankind’s limitations, patterns of thought; and the capacity to relate to others in different societies, to relate to nature, and to relate to God. The aim is to instill in students a clear vision, through readings and discussions, of the role of Christianity in the rediscovery and re-evaluation of the dignity of the human being. (2 credits)

Introduction to the Bible 
This course provides an in-depth introduction to the Bible and its wide variety of versions and modern languages. (2 credits)

Jesus, the Person 
Students examine various documents (including the Old Testament and ancient maps) and study Jewish society and religion at the time of the birth of Jesus. The course aims to introduce students to the events of Jesus’ life and death, his legacy, and, most importantly, to Jesus as a person. (2 credits)

PUCMM ONE-CREDIT COURSES open to all CIEE students.

Arts 
Artistic Drawing, Drama, Fundamentals of Fine Art, Guitar, Introduction to Singing, Modern Dance, Music Appreciation, Oratory, Painting, Photography, Sculpture, Silk-Screening, Theater Performance and design.

Dominican Dance and Folklore 
Dominican folklore is introduced through regional dances and musical instruments. Students learn to dance traditional merengue, bachata, and salsa (may be taken with other international students or with Dominicans).

Physical Education 
Baseball, Basketball, Judo, Karate, Rhythmic Gymnastics, Soccer, Swimming, Table Tennis, Tennis, Track, Volleyball.