Bachelor of Arts in Hispanic Studies
At Brandeis, Hispanic Studies is not only about becoming a highly proficient Spanish speaker, reader, and writer. It is about examining and appreciating the cultural diversity of the Spanish-speaking world across continents and through time. You will learn through language lessons as well as through the study of film, art, politics, and place.
Within the major are several areas of emphasis: 19th- to 21st-century Spanish and Latin American cultural studies, Cervantes, colonialism and post-colonialism in Latin America, early modern Spanish theater, Latin@s in the United States, media, and film.
Why Brandeis?
Our department is truly interdisciplinary in its perspective and its approach. You will learn from faculty with affiliations all across campus, including in film studies, theatre arts, comparative literature, Latin American and Latino studies, and women’s, gender and sexuality studies. Our faculty are nationally recognized scholars who also love to teach. Our curriculum is flexible enough to enable you to pursue your individual interests—including by writing a senior essay or thesis.
Academics and Research
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Hispanic Studies majors participate in the Experiential Research Seminar. In this capstone course, you will reflect on your academic experiences as you prepare to write your senior paper on a Hispanic or Latin@ cultural text. The seminar offers you the opportunity to share with others the process of researching, writing, and presenting a thesis.
You may also pursue research far from Brandeis. Simona Lang ’10, for example, carried out a large-scale investigation into sexual health in Chile. She was able personally to interview and observe students at four public high schools in Santiago for her research.
Student and Faculty Excellence
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Our international faculty are dedicated educators and recognized scholars. Here are just a few examples:
- Associate Professor of Hispanic Studies, Comparative Literature, and Film Studies James Mandrell recently received a competitive Mandel Center for the Humanities grant for his project "Nineteenth-Century Spanish Fiction and the Discourse on Food."
- Elena González Ros and Kristen Turpin received a 2021-22 Provost Teaching Innovation Grant for their project: "Engagement, equitable learning and inclusivity in HISP 32A" to achieve intermediate proficiency in Spanish.
- Lucía Reyes de Deu, Assistant Professor of Hispanic Studies, received the 2020-21 Louis Dembitz Brandeis Prize for Excellence in Teaching.
Networking and Study Abroad
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Opportunities to socialize in a Hispanic/Latin@ context abound at Brandeis. These include Brandeis LatinX Student Organization (BLSO), a group dedicated to exploring the political, social and cultural differences of the Hispanic/Latin@ community, and Charlamos, for students who are interested in improving and maintaining their Spanish speaking skills. Charlamos hosts weekly social gatherings held in Spanish and organizes events such as film screenings and discussions, native cuisine samplings, and theater and dance expeditions.
Learn more about student groups
We encourage you to study abroad during your junior year in a Spanish-speaking countries, and most majors do. Recently majors have studied in Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Costa Rica and Spain.
Careers, Graduate Study, and Alumni
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Our graduates have gone on to pursue graduate studies as well as to work in advocacy, teaching, health care, law, consulting and scientific research.
Below are some examples of where Hispanic Studies majors have gone after graduation:
- Dara Rosenkrantz ’12 completed the Master Teacher Fellows program in Spanish at Wake Forest University.
- Nicole Tiger ’13 attended Georgetown University Law School.
- Kara Factor ’14 spent a year as a Fulbright Fellow in Honduras before attending Harvard Medical School.
