Email RLL@hofstra.edu if you have any questions, or wish to declare a new minor or major.
Email the professor if you have questions about a particular class Make an appointment with your advisor in the department to decide on what classes you should take.
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2026 COURSES
FREN COURSES ARE TAUGHT IN FRENCH
They can serve to fulfill your language requirement and major or minor requirement. All French majors and minors should consult with a department faculty advisor when selecting courses.
FOR FREN 1-2 SEE THE ONLINE BULLETIN
FREN 003: INTERMEDIATE FRENCH 1
Professor Colette M. Sumner (Colette.M.Sumner@hofstra.edu) CRN 20792 TR 11:20-12:45
Professor Steven Verolla (Steven.M.Verolla@hofstra.edu) CRN 20039 MW 2:40-4:05
Description: Continued development of the fundamentals of structure, sound system, vocabulary building for effective communication and understanding. Speaking, understanding, reading and writing techniques are further developed.
FREN 104: INTERMEDIATE FRENCH
Professor Sabine Loucif (sabine.loucif@hofstra.edu) CRN 23826 Meeting time TBA
Description: Continued development of the fundamentals started in French 003 including structure, sound system, vocabulary building for effective communication and understanding. Speaking, understanding, reading and writing techniques are further developed.
FREN 107: CONVERSATION SKILLS
Professor Colette Sumner (colette.m.sumner@hofstra.edu) CRN 21357
Professor Steve Verolla (Steven.M.Verolla@hofstra.edu) CRN 21192
Professor Sultana Ehrlich (Sultana.S.Ehrlich@hofstra.edu) CRN 21193 Meeting times TBA
Description: Stresses authentic intonation patterns, oral proficiency and listening comprehension. Students meet once a week for twenty-five minutes with a French-speaking instructor. Syllabi are established between instructor and student in the first week and focus upon areas where student requires more practice and improved competency (grammatical and/or cultural).
FRENCH LITERATURE IN TRANSLATION: ALL MATERIALS ARE READ AND DISCUSSED IN ENGLISH
They can serve to fulfill your French major or minor, distribution requirement, and to complete the Alternate Language Option of the Foreign Language Requirement
FRLT 043: (LT, CC) DECOLONIZING THE MIND: CONTEMPORARY LITERATURE FROM AFRICA TO SOUTHEAST ASIA
Professor Sabine Loucif (sabine.loucif@hofstra.edu) MW 4:20-5:45 CRN 21055
Description: Examination of literary voices from Francophone countries including Senegal, Algeria, Tunisia. Topics include decolonization and the African identity, the search for self, the contradictions of life in the colonies and racism. Readings include works by Memmi, Ben Jelloun, Snow-Fall, Senghor. All works are read and discussed in English.
FRLT 046: (LT) SEX, GENDER, AND LOVE IN 20TH- CENTURY FRENCH PROSE
Professor Sabine Loucif (sabine.loucif@hofstra.edu) MW 6:00-7:25 CRN 22392
Description: Selected narrative and experimental texts examined to show the deconstruction and evolution of traditional concepts of sex, gender and love in 20th-century French literature.
ROMANCE LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES Spring 2026 COURSES
Gender reading techniques constitute the principal methodological approach, along with close textual analysis. Readings include works by Andre Gide, Colette, Simone de Beauvoir, Marguerite Duras, Luce Irigaray, Julia Kristeva, Monique Wittig and Jean Genet. All works are read and discussed in English.
FRLT 120: (LT) #ME TOO MOVEMENT
Professor Sabine Loucif (sabine.loucif@hofstra.edu) MW 2:40-4:05 CRN 22597
Description: The course, taught in English, explores narratives centered around the idea of consent in French literature, film and media. It explores the ideological climate that led to the #MeToo movement in France, in the US, and in the world. No knowledge of French is necessary for this distribution course.
ITAL COURSES: ALL MATERIALS ARE READ AND DISCUSSED IN ITALIAN
They can serve to fulfill your language requirement and major or minor requirements. All Italian majors and minors should consult with a department faculty advisor when selecting courses.
FOR ITAL 1-2 See Online Schedule
ITAL 003: INTERMEDIATE ITALIAN I
Professor Riccardo Costa (riccardo.costa@hofstra.edu) TR 2:40-4:05 CRN 20637
Professor Rosetta Urgo (Rosetta.urgo@hofstra.edu) MW 2:40-4:05 CRN 20903
Description: Brief structural review followed by emphasis on the expression of opinions, ideas, desires and hypothetical scenarios both in short compositions and small group communicative activities. Reading and analytical skills in the target language are also developed further through the reading and discussion of short cultural passages and authentic materials.
ITAL 101: LANGUAGE AND READING
Professor Riccardo Costa (riccardo.costa@hofstra.edu) CRN 23398 MW 11:20-12:45
Description: Spoken and written Italian is the basis of classwork and written assignments while reading skills are developed through a variety of strategies and text types: advertisements, music, poetry, short stories, newspaper, and magazine articles. Focus on further vocabulary acquisition and acquisition of grammatical concepts such as the subjunctive and the historic past as they naturally occur in a variety of texts.
ITAL 108: CONVERSATION SKILLS
Professor Lorenza Colletti (lorenza.colletti@hofstra.edu) CRN 21194
Professor Riccardo Costa (riccardo.costa@hofstra.edu) CRN 23397 Meeting Times: TBA (0.5 Semester Hours)
Description: Stresses authentic intonation patterns, oral proficiency, and listening comprehension. Students meet once a week for 25 minutes with an instructor who is a speaker of standard Italian. Syllabi are established between instructor and student in the first week and
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2026 COURSES
focus upon areas where student requires more practice and improved competency (grammatical and/or cultural).
ITALIAN LITERATURE IN TRANSLATION: ITLT--ALL MATERIALS ARE READ AND DISCUSSED IN ENGLISH
They can serve to complete your LT distribution requirement, and to complete the Alternate Language Option.
ITLT 042: (LT) LIE, CHEAT, AND STEAL
Professor Simone Castaldi (simone.castaldi@hofstra.edu) TR 2:40-4:05 CRN 22741
Description: The course studies the vastly entertaining "human comedy" known as The Decameron and its place in the birth of the Italian short story tradition. With amusing tales populated by thieves, liars, adulterers, wily servants, scheming wives, princes, kings, pining lovers, con artists and fools, the class gauges The Decameron's significance from a variety of perspectives: the social upheaval wrought by the 14th-century bubonic plague; the challenge to medieval stereotypes concerning gender, nobility, religion and sex; the prominent role played by women in the tales; the themes of love, fortune, and intelligence; Boccaccio's art of storytelling and self-conscious narration; the rise of realism in early Renaissance Italian literature; and, perhaps, the suggestion of a formula for living well in troubled times. All works are read and discussed in English.
ITALIAN STUDIES-- ITST: ALL MATERIALS ARE READ AND DISCUSSED IN ENGLISH
These courses can serve to complete your major in Italian, your minor in Italian Studies, fulfill your AA or IS distribution requirement, and to complete the Alternate Language Option.
ITST 141D: (AA) TRUE CRIME CINEMA
Professor Simone Castaldi (simone.castaldi@hofstra.edu) TR 4:20-5:45 CRN 22742
Description: A rotating series of courses investigating various aspects of Italian cinema. Topics include mafia cinema, race, gender, gothic and horror cinema, cinema and fascism, historical representations, migration in contemporary Italian cinema, and America as seen by Italian directors taught in English. All movies are in English or Italian with English subtitles.
SPAN COURSES: ALL MATERIALS ARE READ AND DISCUSSED IN SPANISH. They can serve to fulfill your language requirement and major or minor requirement. Those marked (LT) can fulfill Literature distribution credit. All SPAN courses in this flyer count towards Spanish major (33 s.h) or minor (18 s.h), and many of them count towards the LACS major or minor as well. Spanish majors and minors should see an advisor to decide on their courses.
FOR SPAN 1-3 See the online schedule
SPAN 004: GATEWAY TO COMMUNICATION
ROMANCE LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES Spring 2026 COURSES
Professor Manuel Galofaro (manuel.s.galofaro@hofstra.edu) TR 11:20-12:45 CRN 20022
Description: This course is intended for students who have achieved an intermediate level of Spanish (the equivalent of SPAN 003 at Hofstra). The course will help students improve in the three modes of communication: Interpersonal, Interpretive and Presentational. The class emphasizes communication, while at the same time reviewing some of the most challenging aspects of grammar. At the end of the course, students will have increased their ability to communicate in Spanish and will be eligible to take the whole array of advanced-level Spanish courses.
Professor Benita Sampedro (benita.sampedro@hofstra.edu) CRN 22599
Professor Teresa Sarabia (Teresa.Sarabia@hofstra.edu) CRN 21862
Meeting Times: TBA (0.5 Semester Hours)
Description: In this course, students practice their conversation skills in Spanish, in a relaxed environment where they feel comfortable with the language while they improve their fluency. Conversation discussion topics may include art, culture, literature, sports, music, health, education, jobs and occupations, current events, politics, or anything that satisfies the curiosity of the student. No textbook is required, only the desire to speak Spanish. Students meet individually, once a week for 25 minutes, with a Spanish-speaking instructor.
SPAN 109: ADVANCED CONVERSATION
Professor Maria Anastasio (Maria.J.anastasio@hofstra.edu) TR 9:40-11:05 CRN 23401
Description: The course will help students develop oral communication skills through participation in a Spanish-speaking environment. The course addresses cultural issues as presented in literature, media, films, songs, and TV programs. Students learn to express complex ideas through oral reports and presentations while refining their understanding of everyday speech in Spanish. This course, as all courses with the SPAN prefix, is taught in Spanish. This course, as all courses with the SPAN prefix, is taught in Spanish.
SPAN 114B: (LT) INTRODUCTION TO SPANISH/AMERICAN LIT I
Professor Alvaro Enrigue (alvaro.enrigue@hofstra.edu) TR 2:40-4:05 CRN 23402
Description: An overview of Spanish-American literature and historiography from the preColumbian through the Colonial period until the 1880s. Theoretical and critical discussions of readings, films, documentaries, and other available materials on the period. One of the main goals of the course includes the revision and challenge of certain traditionally accepted concepts such as discovery, New World, Indian, or even Latin America, and their relocation in a nonEurocentric perspective. As with all courses with the SPAN prefix, this course is taught in Spanish..
Description: This course is designed to discover the transformation of the brush stroke into the written word and the new image that reappears as a new work of art. This encounter between poet and painter opens new doors of research into the intrinsic relation between the arts. It is not
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2026 COURSES
on a mere whim that so many poets have felt themselves attracted to works of visual art, and at the same time have expressed their interior selves through the contemplation of paintings. This exploration has caused them to work their way into the canvas itself, and to reside inside the brilliant house of color. After the explorations and readings of other poets in relation to visual arts, students will write personal essays about the relationship between poetry and paintings, photographs or sculptures. This course, as all courses with the SPAN prefix, is taught in Spanish.
SPAN 143: (CC) SPANISH IN OTHER LANGUAGES
Prof. Vicente Lledo-Guillem (Vicente.Lledoguillem@hofstra.edu) CRN 23404 MW 2:40-4:05
Description: This course examines the varieties of the Spanish language by focusing on the ways in which the Spanish language has been influenced and transformed through contact with other languages in the Iberian Peninsula, the Americas, Africa, and Asia. Students will examine the linguistic, social, political, and cultural consequences of this contact. We will also learn the most important structural and sociolinguistic theoretical concepts needed to analyze the situations of languages in contact. This course, as all courses with the SPAN prefix, is taught in Spanish. This course fulfills the Cross-Cultural Distribution Requirement (CC) and counts towards the major and minor in Spanish. It also counts as an elective for LACS and for Linguistics.
SPANISH LITERATURE IN TRANSLATION: SPLT--ALL MATERIALS ARE READ AND DISCUSSED IN ENGLISH
They can serve to complete your LT or CC distribution requirement, and to complete the Alternate Language Option requirement at Hofstra.
SPLT 050N: (CC, IS) (CC, IS) SUPERNATURAL: AFTERLIFE IN MEXICAN LITERATURE
Prof. Alvaro Enrigue (alvaro.enrigue@hofstra.edu) CRN 23406 TR 4:20-5:45
Description: This is a special topics course focused on specific issues, themes, genres, or authors in the Spanish-speaking world. Topics vary each time. This course is taught in English. (Cross-listed with LACS 016H.)
SPLT
050P: (LT)
QUEER INDENTITIES IN LATIN AMERICA, DIASPORA, AND SPAIN
Prof. Maria Anastasio (maria.j.anastasio@hofstra.edu) CRN 23407 TR 2:40-4:05
Description: The course explores the ways in which Spanish-speaking cultures have negotiated the categorization of sexual orientation and gender identity. Materials for the course include literature, film, performance, and theory from Latin America, Latinx USA and Spain. All readings and discussions are in English. No knowledge of Spanish is necessary. This course may fulfill either the interdisciplinary course or the cross-cultural course requirement at Hofstra.
(Cross-listed with LACS 120.)
ROMANCE LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES
SPLT 050Q: (LT, IS) EUROPEAN POLITICS THEN AND NOW: A POLITICAL AND LITERARY APPROACH
Prof. Vicente Lledo-Guillem (Vicente.Lledoguillem@hofstra.edu) CRN 23408 MW 11:2012:45, co-taught with Prof. Carolyn Dudek
Description: Follow the story of a journalist who tries to write the biography of his great grandmother, Amelia Garayoa. The journalist is forced to travel both in time, from the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), through WWII (1939-1944), to the Fall of the Berlin Wall (1989), and geographically, from Madrid to Paris, Barcelona, the Basque Country, Moscow, Berlin, Rome, Warsaw, and Athens to recreate the life of Amelia. The historical events that Amelia witnessed will allow students an opportunity to learn about the politics across Europe during the time the novel takes place and how that time period has shaped the politics of today. Fulfills the LT and IS distribution requirements and counts towards the major in Spanish and the minor and major in Political Science and European Studies. This course is taught in English.
SPLT 057: (LT) WOMEN READING AND WRITING
Prof. Maria Anastasio (maria.j.anastasio@hofstra.edu) CRN 23405 TR 11:20-12:45
Description: The course examines the ways in which women have participated in the social practices of reading and writing. We will read works of fiction from different periods of Hispanic literature, as well as critical texts that investigate the gender issues that inform reading and writing. The course will look at narratology (e.g., who is telling the story and with what degree of authority; the use of different narrative devices to create different meanings), as well as at the cultural, social, and historical circumstances surrounding the texts and their readership. This course is taught in English.
LATIN AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN STUDIES COURSES
Latin American and Caribbean Studies (LACS) at Hofstra University offers a wide array of courses on Latin America, the Caribbean, and related diasporas in the United States. The LACS major requires 33 semester hours, while the minor requires 18 total semester hours. Additionally, these courses may also be used to fulfill the interdisciplinary course or cross-cultural course requirement at Hofstra. For details on the program, please go to: https://www.hofstra.edu/latinamerican-caribbean-studies/ba-degree.html
LACS 001: (IS, CC) PUTTING LATIN AMERICAN AND THE CARIBBEAN ON THE MAP: GEORGRAPHY, POLITICS, AND LITERATURE
Professor Brenda Elsey (Brenda.j.elsey@hofstra.edu) MW 11:20-12:45 CRN 23426
Description: This course is intended to introduce students to the two diverse regions with which North Americans share the Western hemisphere: Latin America and the Caribbean. The course offers a multi-faceted approach to various dimensions of the countries lying to the south of the United States. The geography, history, politics, socioeconomic projects, cultures, languages and literatures of these societies will be analyzed in an interdisciplinary fashion. In this course
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students will demonstrate the ability to think critically and creatively, will apply analytical reasoning across academic disciplines, and will demonstrate an awareness of –and sensitivity towards— Latin American and Caribbean issues in a global context.
LACS 015E: (BH) IMMIGRATION AND THE LAW
Prof. Francisco Lara Garcia (Francisco.Lara-Garcia@hofstra.edu) CRN 22959 MW 2:404:05
Description: This course will provide students with the analytical tools to understand the dynamics driving the politics of the current wave of immigrants from the Caribbean, Latin America, Asia, and Africa and how it affects American society and culture. It will also focus on current and past legislation about immigration to the United States. Can a state control migration, including "unwanted" migrants? How do we understand the politics of immigration in the context of the criminalization of immigrants? In an era of uncertainty, how can we pursue policies that will ensure the security of our borders without closing off flows which are often considered necessary for our economic security? This special topic course serves to fulfill the CC and IS general education requirements.
LACS 016G: (CC, IS) RELIGION AND REVOLUTION
Professor Santiago Slabodsky (Santiago.Slabodsky@hofstra.edu) CRN 23427 MW 2:40-4:05
Description: This course introduces students to the relationship between religion and revolutionary movements across the world. Starting in the Americas we will explore the transnational movements and their dialogues across the world. We will critically explore social, artistic, and intellectual networks that found inspiration in religious sources for their struggle for political change. Topics include struggles for social, sexual, racial, and ecological justice. This course is taught in English.
LACS 016H: (CC, IS) SUPERNATURAL: AFTERLIFE IN MEXICAN LITERATURE
Prof. Alvaro Enrigue (alvaro.enrigue@hofstra.edu) CRN 23428 TR 4:20-5:45
Description: Mexican culture has a unique idea of what the Afterlife is and how it should be represented. In this class, we will review the myths and forms of representation of Death in Mexican Literature and Art. (Cross-listed with SPLT 050N.)
ROMANCE LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES Spring 2026 COURSES
LACS 016I (BH, IS) KARL MARX AND CRISIS TODAY
Prof. Conrad Herold (Conrad.Herold@Hofstra.edu) TR 2:40-4:05 CRN 23430
Description: This course welcomes those approaching Marx for the first time, as well as those with pervious courses in Marxian economics. The course is an exploration of contemporary macroeconomic and environmental issues using the analytical apparatus developed by Karl Marx in Volumes One, Two, and Three of Capital. While the course will explore issues and applications on the frontier of Marxian economics, it will also provide beginners with a sufficient preparation to tackle intermediate topics dealing with Vols. Two and Three of Capital, such as theory of rent (and contemporary financialization), the theory of a falling rate of profit (and contemporary stagnation and policy ineffectiveness), the question of unequal exchange between the Global North and the Global South, and finally the casual relation between capitalism and climate change. Students who complete the course will have gained a thoroughly grounded analysis of and explanation for the contemporary “polycrisis” and will therefore have the basic upon which to craft and evaluate proposed responses to the current exhaustion of capitalism. The course is taught in English and counts towards both Behavioral Social Sciences (BH) and Interdisciplinary Studies (IS) distribution major requirements. (Cross-listed with LABR 155I, and RHET 189H.)
LACS 120: (CC, IS)
QUEER IDENTITIES IN LATIN AMERICA, DIASPORA, AND SPAIN
Prof. Maria Anastasio (maria.j.anastasio@hofstra.edu) CRN 23429 TR 2:40-4:05
Description: The course explores the ways in which Spanish-speaking cultures have negotiated the categorization of sexual orientation and gender identity. Materials for the course include literature, film, performance, and theory from Latin America, Latinx USA and Spain. All readings and discussions are in English. No knowledge of Spanish is necessary. This course may be used to fulfill either the interdisciplinary course or the cross-cultural course requirement at Hofstra. (Cross-listed with SPLT 050P.)
LACS 199 (CC, IS) – Senior Seminar in Latin American and Caribbean Studies. CRN 21177
Prof. Takashi Kanatsu (Takashi.Kanatsu@Hofstra.edu) and Prof. Benita Sampedro (Benita.Sampedro@Hofstra.edu) TBA
Description: The LACS Senior Seminar is an interdisciplinary capstone course in which students are required to work on a semester-long research project and produce a substantial essay by the end of the semester, on a subject of their interest related to Latin America or the Caribbean and from any disciplinary perspective. Final essays should be approximately 25 pages long. The professors responsible for the course will guide each student individually, and in the weekly group class-sessions.
