This course is an introduction to Tamil literary works produced between the 3rd century BC and 4th century AD prior to bhakti literature which evolved from about the 6th century AD onwards with a specific focus on divinity and religious themes. Classical Tamil, in comparison to bhakti literature, is secular in nature and is devoid of any religious themes. We will read selected poems from the three major divisions of classical Tamil poems namely the eight anthologies, ten songs, and the five epics, and attempt to discuss how the three major themes namely Aham, Puram, and Didactics play a role in them. While the Aham works concentrate on love poems, ethics of love life, moods of the heroes and heroines, the other varieties of poems mainly discuss the political and moral lives of the Tamils. Even though knowledge of Tamil script and some grammar of Tamil would help understand the readings well, no prior knowledge of script and grammar is essential to take this course. We will read the poems in romanized script with English translations and attempt to illustrate the poems in English. Students will be required to write a number of short essays and a final long essay, either in Tamil or in English with transliterations with a research topic based on what is discussed in class.

This course is a continuation of Intermediate Tamil I (TAMIL426) and it continue to develop the skills obtained either from the Beginning Tamil course or from students' prior exposure to Tamil by other means. The emphasis will be on using the language in actual environments both in spoken medium and in written medium. Multimedia materials such as audio and videos as provided in the website http://www.southasia.upenn.edu/tamil or http://www.thetamillanguage.com will be extensively used to provide students an exposure to the Tamil culture and customs as authentic as possible. Besides improving their speech and writing, students will also be introduced gradually to Tamil literature, which has two thousand years of literary history. By the end of this course, students will have ACTFL's intermediate high proficiency level.

This course is a continuation of the Beginner Tamil TAMIL406. It continues to teach grammar and spoken sill from semester I. Lessons in the class will be based on a set of Tamil learning lessons and videos made available at http://www.southasia.upenn.edu/tamil and the book by the Instructor titled "Tamil Language in Context", information available at http://www.thetamillanguage.com. By the end of the semester, students will have a working knowledge in reading Tamil text with a basic skill to write and speak the language at ACTFL's Beginner High level.

Independent research under the supervision of a department faculty member. Research topic is determined in consultation with the supervising faculty member.

Independent research under the supervision of a department faculty member. Research topic is determined in consultation with the supervising faculty member.

This course aims to develop awareness about what constitutes effective scholarly prose in Spanish. It proposes to hone the student's handling of writing as a vehicle for the expression of intellectual thought, but also to develop a consciousness of the rhetorical strategies that can be used to advance a critical argument effectively. Extensive writing exercises will be assigned; these will be followed by intense and multiple redactions of the work originally produced. The ultimate goal is for students to develop precision, correctness, and elegance in their written work. Students will also work on a class paper written previously, with a view to learning the process of transforming a short, limited expression of an argument into a publishable article.

Topics vary. Please see the Spanish Department's website for the current course description: https://www.sas.upenn.edu/hispanic-portuguese-studies/pc

Topics vary. Please see the Spanish Department's website for the current course description: https://www.sas.upenn.edu/hispanic-portuguese-studies/pc

Topics vary. Please see the Spanish Department's website for the current course description: https://www.sas.upenn.edu/hispanic-portuguese-studies/pc

In spite of the recent proliferation of scholarship on the topic of decolonization, Western academics have often failed to seriously engage with the rich corpus of anticolonial theory and analysis produced in the context of struggles against imperialism. This course examines theories of imperialism, neo- and internal colonialism, and decolonization developed in the 20th and early 21st centuries, focusing on thinkers and movements from the global South, and from Latin America and the Caribbean in particular. We will address differences among contemporary discourses on decolonization, while delving deep into national liberation Marxism. Theories and debates within Marxist thought concerning national self-determination, racism, and development will figure prominently in the course, as will analyses of cultural imperialism, ideology, and the role of intellectuals and artists. The course will be conducted in English; course readings will be in English and Spanish. Students with questions about language requirements should contact the instructor.