Information Leaflet
Introduction
The study of the Spanish language and its literature at The Faculty of Arts, which our university tradition has recognised for several decades through the Degree in Spanish Philology, forms part of an academic discipline thas is presented in all European university systems (often in the shape of a Degree in Hispanic Studies).
Academic and scientific interest
This Degree trains individuals who will contribute to the university community, to society in general and to their local community, through their solid knowledge of the Spanish language and its literature. The Spanish language and its culture, in Spain as well as in the Americas, is one for the richest in the world, both in terms of quantity and quality. This course will enable students to gain a wide understanding of historical and present-day traditions, as well as of the tools used for their research and analysis. Furthermore, and just as important, it will also help to promote a critical consciousness that will enable students to study Hispanic language, literature and culture in a dynamic way, and to relate the documents of the past with these of the present.
Studies of Spanish language and literature are acknowledged as a university qualification in most European countries. Regardless of the way their respective study cycles are organised and of their respective overlaps with other similar areas of knowledge, European qualifications cover all levels of studies (undergraduate degrees, master's degrees and doctorates). Generally speaking, all universities have departments in wich courses are offered in Spanish language, and in Spanish and Latin American literature; they are thaught at faculties with diferent names that belong to the area of the humanities. The same can also be stated, for obvious reasons, of the Hispano-American context, but it is also true in the USA, where are the annual reports by the Modern Language Association confirm the extraordinary growth of university programmes in this specialty. A similar trend can also be observed in international academic associations
Professional interest
Studies of the Spanish language and its literature offer students an increasing range of career options, as well as the possibility of entering the world of teaching at its various levels (mainly in secondary and high schools or in the university system, but also in language, literature and culture courses for non-Spanish speakers), in recent years a wide range of professional opportunities have appeared, both in Spain and overseas. Some of the most noteworthy of these new opportunities include linguistic mediation and the application languages to the information technology and culture industries. As reports from Instituto Cervantes highlight, the weight of Spanish and of Spanish culture in the world is very important. The University of Lleida system should be at the forefront when it comes to the meet of the growing demand for specialists in the present globalised world.
Future graduates will be able to acquire a sound knowledge of Spanish, whilst also improving their skill set. The aim of the course is for future graduates to be well prepared to carry out tasks in the field of publishing and literary criticism, to be able to act as editors and linguistic advisors, and also to be able to contribute to the scientific study of the Spanish language and its literature.
Teacher training will be provided to students who wish to work in the field of teaching (including appropriate training for those interested in teaching Spanish to foreigners). They will also gain professional knowledge related to the interaction between linguistics and computer science: in other words, knowledge of the area known as human language technology, which is an expanding section of the labour market in the current social, global and multilingual context. The link with the Hispano-American world will be approached both from the context of literature and from the field of linguistics, with a focus both on research and the needs of the labour market.