Department of Spanish Philology

Research

The Department of Spanish Language and Applied Linguistics

conducts research in the following fields:

• Pragmalinguistics
• Discourse analysis
• Lexicology
• Terminology
• Intercultural communication
• Sociolinguistics
• Psycholinguistics
• History of Spain
• Galician language and culture
• Major issues in pragmatics of language, including linguistic politeness and argumentation theories
• The ordinary language structure and strategy
• Mechanisms and interactive structure in Spanish, Italian, and Polish
• Linguistic rituals
• An analysis of repetition structures (e.g., lexical reduplication) from a pragmatic perspective

The Department of Spanish and General Linguistics

conducts research in the following fields:

• Spanish linguistics in its descriptive and historical aspects
• Spanish language in Latin America
• Contrastive linguistics
• Sociolinguistics
• Ethological linguistics
• Linguistics
• Theory and practice in Spanish language teaching
• Analysis of the language of mass communication and media speech
• Colloquial language
• Methodology in Spanish language teaching
• Methodology in foreign languages teaching
• New technologies in Spanish language teaching
• Developing teenager learners’ creativity and potential
• Gamification in education
• Paremiology
• Ethnolinguistics / anthropological linguistics
• Language and culture in the Basque Country

The Department of Spanish and Latin American Literatures

conducts research in the following fields:

• Comparative literature
• Postdependency studies
• Spanish and Polish literatures in the transformation period
• Literary modernism in Spain and Latin America
• Miguel de Unamuno
• Literature and society in Latin America
• Latin American essay writing
• The philosophy of culture in Latin America
• Hispanic American literature
• Literary theory
• Latin American literature
• Artistic translation
• History of Spanish literature
• History of Polish literature, especially contemporary poetry
• Literary comparatism
• Translation theory

Teaching

Spanish Philology is one of the new courses of study offered by University of Lodz. Due to the continuous increase of Spanish-speaking communities, population growth and economic development in different continents, Hispanic Studies are amongst the most attractive and future-oriented academic fields. The Spanish Philology course combines tradition and contemporaneity, taking into account current and future needs of the job market. This programme allows students to obtain reliable and detailed knowledge about the languages, literatures and cultures of the vibrant Hispanophone world, and also to develop linguistic principles, analytic and interpretative engagement with texts, oral and written presentation skills, required to begin career in education (after having achieved additional qualifications), publishing, translation agencies, broadly understood tourism industry, television and radio broadcasting, cultural institutions, and much more.

The BA in Spanish Philology with English degree provides intensive training in written and spoken Spanish and English languages in order to gain profound knowledge in fields such as Linguistics, Translatology, and Spanish and Latin American Literary Studies. This first-cycle programme is based on the results of in-depth research carried out by the academic staff of the Chair of Spanish Philology in the following areas, amongst others: Translation Studies, Comparative and Applied Linguistics, and Spanish and Latin American Cultural Studies. Hence, the bachelor’s degree programme, practically and academically oriented, extensively covers some of the most recent and up-to-date outcomes of research in the above-mentioned subjects. Furthermore, it may be possible to specialise in English Language, giving students the chance to discover, firstly, essential aspects of the history, literature and culture of the United States, with an aim to explore various dimensions of Hispanic heritage (e.g., U.S. Latino/a literature and culture); and secondly, innovative approaches to both English pedagogical grammar and contrastive grammatical analysis of Spanish and English.

The MA in Spanish Philology with Philological American Studies degree provides advanced practical training in written and spoken Spanish and English languages in order to acquire deep specialised knowledge in various fields, such as Linguistics, Spanish and Latin American Literary Studies, and Translation Studies. In addition, this second-cycle programme includes a specialisation in Philological American Studies, with an emphasis on English and Spanish in the United States.

Specialisations

Students may select their area of specialisation in the first (winter) semester.

Literary Studies

In this specialised programme, considerable focus is placed upon enhancing textual analysis skills of students in the context of theory and history of literature, particularly with regard to contemporary Spanish and Latin American literatures. Students are encouraged to develop their reading comprehension ability, and also to increase their use of critical texts. The knowledge gained in the course permits students to write a master’s thesis in the subject areas of Spanish and Spanish-American literatures.

Linguistics

The purpose of this specialised programme is to develop students’ competencies and improve their skills in many branches of language viewed as a whole, for instance, the grammar, lexicology and stylistics of Spanish. The knowledge gained through attending seminars, specialised and monographic lectures, permits students to write a master’s thesis in areas that range from Spanish linguistics and comparative linguistics analysis, to foundations for teaching Spanish as a foreign language, and the relationship between language theory and translation practice. In order to achieve the educational objectives stated above, this programme covers the core subjects such as Spanish language in Latin America, and the English language, culture and media of the United States.