Study Spanish at Swarthmore!

Come explore the wonderful world of Spanish! From Barcelona to Buenos Aires , from Madrid to Mexico City , from Miami to Managua , from Santiago de Compostela to Santiago de Chile, from La Paz to La Habana, from San Francisco to Santa Fe , you will join more than 330 million people who speak Spanish in 21 countries, including Spain, Latin America , and the United States . You will join millions of people who speak Spanish as a useful and indispensable resource for international communication in numerous cultural exchanges and professional fields, including business, medicine, law, economics, and politics. If you plan to live and work in the United States after you graduate from Swarthmore, you will be in the good company of Spanish-speaking citizens who will account for almost 50% of the U.S. population within the next 50 years. The opportunities to use your Spanish are indeed infinite!

In our language classes, you will have the unparalleled opportunity to enhance your oral and written proficiency both in small groups and in class discussions, gaining a vast knowledge of grammar, vocabulary, and useful expressions that will expand and enrich your knowledge of the Hispanic cultural heritage.

In our literature classes, we invite you to learn from the most diverse and varied literary traditions. Embark on a marvelous quest to explore the most multifaceted array of historical periods and literary genres: from medieval ballads and epic poetry to the Baroque love lyric; from the plays, novels, and short stories of Spain’s Golden Age to colonial Latin American poetry; from sixteenth-century New World chronicles to modern Latin American literature of indigenous cultures and social movements; from Spanish novels, poetry, and plays that span from the nineteenth century to the present day; from Latin American testimonial literature to the bestselling short stories and novels of the Boom and Post-Boom. In our literature classes, you will have the opportunity to enhance and perfect your skills in literary analysis, gaining a refined sensibility and understanding of literature as a living and constantly evolving art form. Come join the lively and most gratifying in-class discussions that will inspire you to continue the conversation outside of class, both at Swarthmore and beyond!