2007-2008 Graduate Courses in Catalan
| Autumn | Winter | SPRING |
|---|---|---|
| 30100 Intermediate/Advanced Catalan I |
30200 Intermediate/Advanced Catalan II |
|
| 32400 Ramon Llull: mysticism and philosophy in Thirteenth- and Fourteenth-Century Catalonia |
Graduate Course Descriptions
20100/30100-20200/30200. Intermediate/Advanced Catalan. In this intermediate/advanced-level sequence, students review and extend their knowledge of all basic patterns (e.g., grammar, vocabulary, phonetics, sociocultural norms) of the language. They develop their oral and written skills in describing, narrating, and presenting arguments. They are exposed to texts and audio-visual material that provide them with a deeper understanding of Catalan literature, culture, and contemporary society. Autumn, Winter.
- 20100/30100. PQ: CATA 10300 or placement. CATA 20100 is designed as a general review and extension of all basic patterns of the language for intermediate students. Students explore selected aspects of contemporary Catalan culture through a variety of texts and audio-visual materials. Autumn.
- 20200/30200. PQ: CATA 20100 or placement. CATA 20200 is specifically designed to help students develop their descriptive and narrative skills through exposure to written and oral documents (e.g., literary texts, interviews). Students are taught the grammatical and lexical tools necessary to understand these documents, and to produce their own analysis and commentaries. Winter.
22400/32400. Ramon Llull: mysticism and philosophy in Thirteenth- and Fourteenth-Century Catalonia. Ramon Llull (1232-1316) was a celebrated medieval philosopher, mystic, and visionary who left behind more than 300 books written in Catalan, Latin, and Arabic. He traveled throughout Europe, the Eastern Mediterranean, and North Africa to share his discovery of the "combinatory art", a new language with parallels in Jewish mysticism and Sufism. Though widely misunderstood in Llull's own day, these ideas would later find numerous admirers in Europe; from the philosophers of the Renaissance (such as Nicolas of Cusa, Giordano Bruno, Pico della Mirandola), to Athanasius Kircher and Leibniz, or to even more recent scholars who see Lull's discovery as a forerunner of computer languages. This course will focus on a reading of his Autobiography (Vita coaetanea or Contemporary Life), written at the end of his Life, and on the most important of his mystical and philosophical works, such as like The Book of the Lover and the Beloved, whose influence in Spanish mystics, like John of the Cross, was very significant. Amador Vega. Autumn.