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SPANISH 490

RACE, RELIGION AND ETHNICITY IN THE AGE OF EMPIRE

3 credits.

Drawing mainly from early modern Spanish and Colonial texts, covers encounters and relations with different forms of "otherness". Move from America to Spain and across the Mediterranean world to Istanbul, from the late 15th century to the 17th. Discuss issues of race, ethnicity, and religious affiliation. Spain's long history of relations between Muslims, Jews and Christians will form a backdrop to interactions with Amerindians, sub-Saharan Africans, Jews, Moriscos, Gypsies, North African Muslims and Turks. One of the millions of slaves during this period was Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote. He and many other writers would reflect profoundly on questions of "otherness" in works that would have universal implications and continue to connect with our concerns in the 21st century.

Prerequisites & course information

Requisites: ( CHICLA/SPANISH 222 or SPANISH 223 ) and SPANISH 224 Course Designation: Core GenEd - Humanities & Arts Breadth - Humanities Level - Advanced L&S Credit - L&S Liberal Arts and Science Repeatable for Credit: No Last Taught: Spring 2026 Learning Outcomes: 1. Identify and explain issues related to Spain and its cultural "others," both internal (within Spain) and external (from the Americas to the Mediterranean). Audience: Undergraduate 2. Develop comparisons between the historical and geographical contexts of the course and contemporary issues involving race, ethnicity, and religious affiliation. Audience: Undergraduate 3. Apply skills in reading, speaking, listening, and writing in Spanish in the comprehension of Spanish texts from the 15th – 17th centuries. Audience: Undergraduate Learning Outcomes: 1. Identify and explain issues related to Spain and its cultural "others," both internal (within Spain) and external (from the Americas to the Mediterranean). Audience: Undergraduate 2. Develop comparisons between the historical and geographical contexts of the course and contemporary issues involving race, ethnicity, and religious affiliation. Audience: Undergraduate 3. Apply skills in reading, speaking, listening, and writing in Spanish in the comprehension of Spanish texts from the 15th – 17th centuries. Audience: Undergraduate

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