Area Courses (English)

For course schedules, click on the information icon.

Area Studies Courses in English
AH223 Great Twentieth Century Artists of Catalonia: Picasso, Miro, Dali
The work of these three international artists from Catalonia is explored individually. In each case, we will study the acceptance and/or rejection to tradition, the interaction with French art and artists, and personal experience. We will also pay attention to the role of both outside stimuli (war) and inner forces (memory, imagination). The course will take advantage of the Picasso and Miro museums in Barcelona. Credits: 3 Instructor:Matthew Clear Schedule: Download schedule for IES courses
AH/AT324 Modernism in Architecture and Design in Comparative Perspective
This course will look at Modernism as an international movement in architecture and design. Beginning with a discussion of Modernism in the arts, the course will focus upon developments in architecture and design in Europe and North America between 1880 and 1920 (Jugendstil, Art Nouveau, Secession, etc). Special attention will be paid to Gaudí and Modernisme in Barcelona, and several relevant field visits will be made. Credits: 3 Instructor: Suzanne Strum Schedule: Download schedule for IES courses
AN/SO320 Sports and Society in Spain
This course will examine various aspects of the relationship between sport and society in Spain, with a particular emphasis on soccer and bullfighting. We will examine both the impact of sport on Spanish society and the influence of society on the practice of sport in Spain. The course begins with a consideration of general theoretical questions in the study of sport before moving on to an account of the historical development of sports in general and in Spain in particular. The impact of social institutions on sports is examined in sections on the economy and the media. The first half of the course ends with a consideration of the ways in which sport can be used by governments as a political tool. Following the midterm, we examine the reciprocal influences of sport on violence, gender, race and ethnic and national identities in Spain. Credits: 3 Instructor:Dawn Hiscock Schedule: Download schedule for IES courses
CU/HS251 Barcelona: The Cosmopolitan City
Barcelona is a cosmopolitan city, with a great international projection. This course is an introduction to the city of Barcelona by studying its past and also analyzing its present. This course will review the most important moments in the history of Barcelona, and will study the urban development of the city, focusing in the ways those historical events can be seen in the present layout of the city. The course will also analyze the expression of Catalan and Mediterranean identity in its art, its buildings and traditions. Credits: 3 Instructor: Marina Diaz Schedule: Download schedule for IES courses
CM327 Language, Culture and Communication: The Spanish Case
This course will provide students key elements to understand better what Spain is today, the different ways Spaniards live and define their identity. Students will explore the relationship among culture, communication and language in a multilingual and multicultural context, will consider the different functions of language and learn to use communication as a tool for greater cultural understanding in a foreign country. The course will also analyse the concept of culture and cultural identity and discuss perceptions of time, society, family, religion and values in Spain. Some basic communication theory will be presented and sites of cultural interests will be visited. Credits: 3 Instructor: Xavi Alcon Schedule: Download schedule for IES courses
CU/PS260 Cross Cultural Psychology
The primary aim of this course is to provide the student with an overview of both established and contemporary knowledge in the area of culture and psychology and to facilitate the student in gaining insight to the ethnocentric nature of western psychology. This course offers a combination of key areas in psychology (culture and mental health, social psychology and human development) each viewed through a cultural lens. Given that the students are here as sojourners (living temporarily outside their own country), the psychological literature in this area is also explored. A further component focuses on an applied area, psychosocial health of immigrants in Spain, and specifically Barcelona, thus providing the opportunity for students to apply the knowledge they have acquired and allow them to gain insight into a current cultural issue in Barcelona. It is hoped that the approach taken in this course will both complement and enrich the student’s experience as sojourners, living and studying in a new culture, on both an academic and personal level. (3 credits) Credits: 3 Instructor: Karen Smyth Schedule: Download schedule for IES courses
IB350 International Marketing: A European Approach
International Marketing is important as the world becomes every day more globalized. In an international context, the marketing managers plan and conduct transactions across borders to create exchanges that satisfy the objectives of individuals and organizations. The fact that a transaction takes place across national borders highlights the difference between domestic and international marketing. The course will consider the basic concepts of international marketing, the various activities necessary for international marketing planning, the beginning of international marketing activities to be conducted by a domestic firm, and relevant issues on strategy and marketing management relevant to the expanded global operations. Credits: 3 Instructor: Josep María Llop Schedule: Download schedule for IES courses
LT252 Travel Writing in Spain/Europe: Between Self and Other
This course is an introduction to the theory and practice of contemporary travel writing (19th and 20th century). After defining the reaches and limits of the travel genre and examining issues in canonical contemporary travel texts, we focus on travel writing in Spain and Europe through texts by European and American authors. Special attention is paid to the ways in which travel writing negotiates notions of identity and otherness, the self and difference. Because we are aiming at a truly intercultural focus, texts in both English and Spanish are read (readings in Spanish are optional for those students able to read in Spanish). Students also produce their own travel writing in a workshop-style format. (3 credits) Credits: 3 Instructor: Camila Loew Schedule: Download schedule for IES courses
PO371 Politics and Regionalism
The death of Franco and the end of the authoritarian regime unleashed pent-up centripetal forces in Spain. This course will look at the regional economic and cultural differences in Spain, the rise of regional political and cultural movements in Catalonia, the Basque Country, Galicia, and Andalusia and their impact upon the Spanish State and nation. Topics will include the development of regional autonomy and its impact, the diverse political approaches to the rise of regional nationalism, the EU's regional policies and their impact on Spain, the Basque independence movement and the problem of terrorism. Credits: 3 Instructor: Andrés Santana Schedule: Download schedule for IES courses

*IES Barcelona reserves the right to cancel any section that does not have a minimum of 8 students registered.