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3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

This course focuses on the presence of Spanish and its speakers in what currently constitutes the United States of America. It presents and discusses issues related to historical, sociopolitical and linguistic aspects of the use of Spanish in the US, and their impact on the individual and the American society. The course introduces concepts revolving around language ideologies, attitudes and identities; language use; language contact; bilingualism and code-switching; heritage speakers; and language shift and maintenance. It focuses on the Latinx communities of the US from the point of view of dialectal and sociolectal distribution while critically reflecting on topics like European settlement, migration, and other relevant, current social issues affecting US-based Spanish-speaking individuals. Furthermore, the course will examine the role of Spanish in education, as well as the future of Spanish in the US.