Sonia Mereles Olivera, Ph.D.
Classes ~ Cursos
Courses proposed and/or taught at
SBC, WLU, OSU, IU-Bloomington and IUPUI-Indianapolis
Honors Seminar: US Hispanic Literature: A view of the rich and complex culture of Latinos, Chicanos, Nuyoricanos, and US Hispanics through its 20th Century literature: short story, novel, poetry, autobiography. Hispanic identity studied as a concept via cultural, historical, and linguistic approaches. Readings are in its original English version.
Spanish American Women Writers: From America into the Twenty-First Century. A study of the most notable contemporary Spanish American women writers including U.S. Hispanic writers like Sandra Cisneros. Contains representative works by Elena Poniatowska, Ángeles Mastretta, Rosario Ferré, Laura Esquivel, Ana Lydia Vega, Griselda Gambaro, Claribel Alegría, Isabel Allende and the testimonial literature of Rigoberta Menchú and Domitila Barrios.
Spanish American Poetry Icons. The seminar provides advanced analysis of the most relevant poets in the Hispanic speaking world including U.S. Hispanic poetry. Includes representative works by Octavio Paz, Gabriela Mistral, Pablo Neruda, Vicente Huidobro, Luis Palés Matos, Nicolás Guillén, Nicanor Parra, Ernesto Cardenal, Raúl Zurita, amongst others. Interactive analysis approach with daily paper assignments: critical analysis of the texts, and peer reviews.
Spanish American Essay. The seminar encompasses readings in Spanish-American Essay with emphasis in the development of thought in literature and culture throughout its history. Special emphasis on prominent writers such as José Carlos Mariátegui, Octavio Paz, José Martí, José Vasconcelos, Victoria Ocampo, amongst others.
Spanish American Civilization and Culture. The course explores culture in its various manifestations. It includes a new component that placed each student in charge of preparing and broadcasting a Spanish Radio program presenting literature in conjunction with culture of different Spanish American countries. Extensive writing and in-depth oral analysis of texts in Spanish are requisites. A Journal with a total of 22 entries was required as well as oral presentations and exams.
Latin American Culture I: México, Central America and the Caribbean Region. The course explores some of the major cultural developments, and its expressions through visual aids and literary texts, as well as films. The study presents the past of the Spanish American civilizations through the art, religion and culture of their most prominent indigenous groups such as the Aztecs, and Mayas. It includes the post-conquest and post-revolutionary periods through some of its major historical events.
Latin American Culture II: South America. Interdisciplinary approach to some of the major cultural developments, and its expressions through visual aids and literary texts, as well as films. The study presents the past of Spanish American civilizations through the art, religion and culture of their most prominent indigenous groups such as the Incas, and Guaraní. It includes the post-conquest and post-independence periods through some of its major historical events and dictatorships.
Latin American Short Story and Essay. A panoramic view with emphasis on the twentieth-century. It focuses on discussion of literary texts, and it is reading and writing intensive. Includes representative works by Horacio Quiroga, Mario Benedetti, Juan Rulfo, Julio Cortázar, Octavio Paz, Victoria Ocampo, Elena Poniatowska, Ana Lydia Vega, Rosario Ferré, José Martí, José Enrique Rodó, José Vasconcelos, Gabriel García Márquez, Isabel Allende and Jorge Luis Borges.
Paraguayan Literature: Augusto Roa Bastos, Supremo Hijo de hombre. Through the prose and poetry of its Paraguayan icon, we explore Paraguayan literature in history. The course focuses on Augusto Roa Bastos’ Works Hijo de Hombre and Yo, el Supremo as ways of presenting and discussing the culture of Paraguay reflected in these novels.
The Hydroptics of Love: Building Bridges to Soul Learning An idea that came from one of my students who enthusiastically suggested that I create a University Scholars class in which students could take time to explore their personal development and growth. It includes practical exercises and literary texts, as well as texts in humanist philosophy.
Reinventing America: The Hispanic Identity. A Seminar course in translation that includes a variety of genres, literature, essay, film, drama/performance, poetry, dance, music, and visual arts. The topic of this course is Spanish American Cultures in its re-invention of identities first in situ, and then in the United States. First, we study the past of the Spanish American identity through the art, religion, and culture of their most prominent indigenous groups: Aztecs, Mayas, and Incas. Second, we analyze the present situation of the individual Spanish American countries and their national identities, as re-inventions that accompanied the post-conquest and post-revolutionary periods. Third, we explore the U.S. Latino identity, the way it is perceived in the United States today.
Spanish American Poetry throughout History. A course that provides an introduction to Spanish American Poetry and orients participants to an understanding of the development of the poetry in Latin America from early to present times. It includes a comprehensive study of the texts and works of the most relevant poets in the Hispanic speaking world today including U.S. Hispanic poetry.
Don Quijote. Focuses on Cervante’s Don Quijote de la Mancha but includes additional readings and discussion of the prose fiction, lyric and narrative poetry of the Middle Ages and Renaissance which are reflected in the novel itself.
Introduction to Spanish American Literature. Includes extensive writing and in-depth oral analysis of texts with new components such as a required Journal with a total of 25 entries (around 80 pages in Spanish) as well as a required Graphic timeline. It analyzes Spanish-American literary masterpieces from colonial times through the present.
Elementary Spanish I-II
First Year Spanish I-II
Second Year Spanish I-II
Intermediate Spanish I-II. In these two courses there was a weekly use of the Multimedia center for individual and group exercise, and a new Theater/Drama component.
Spanish Composition. Advanced course with a Service-Learning Component that place each student in a 2 hour/week service context in which to use Spanish. The course examines the writing processes to develop and increase students’ proficiency in written expression in Spanish models of a variety of genres presented to pattern compositions after them. Major projects include: drama, poetry, advertisements, biographical portraits, short stories, interviews, and a literary essay.
Spanish Conversation. A course designed to improve the student's conversational ability through the reading and discussion of literary and cultural texts. I implemented a strong emphasis in weekly Spanish Table, video, and inter-active multimedia.
Fact and Fiction: A Reading Course in Spanish. A developmental reading class designed to teach students appropriate strategies for reading Spanish as a second language and provide them with intensive reading practice on a variety of authentic texts, ranging from short journalistic texts (newspaper and magazine articles) to a longer literary text (short novel: Aura by Carlos Fuentes).
U.S. Hispanic & Spanish American Literature and Culture. A course designed to address the specific needs of majors and minors in Spanish. Includes an introduction to Hispanic culture and literature, comprising visual arts such as music, film, dance, performance, drama, and also different literary genres and authors. Special emphasis in U.S. Latino writers (narrative, poetry and essay). The multimedia approach includes daily power point presentations, audiovisual material (videos, CDs, DVD), Spanish TV, web use for oral presentations, interactive multimedia homework, and web course evaluation and grading. This course was taught in translation at OSU, and it was also taught in Spanish at WLU.