Spanish Department Records

Records restricted to use by office/department of origin for 25 years from date of record creation

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Historical Note

The study of Spanish was introduced at Mount Holyoke College in the 1894/1895 academic year. Courses in Spanish were not offered consistently until 1901 when the Department of Romance Languages was formed. The department expanded to become the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures in the 1936/1937 academic year. Spanish was taught in this department until the 1941/1942 academic year. The following year, an independent Spanish Department was formed. An independent entity for thirty-three years, the Spanish Department merged with the Italian Language and Literature Department in 1975/1976 to form the Department of Spanish and Italian.

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Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Mount Holyoke College Spanish Department Records contain memoranda; programs; reports; an examination; press releases; and one photograph. Included in the records are information about the relationship between the study of Spanish and war work during World War II and advertising materials related to special events in the department, including lectures and performances. Information about the activities of faculty and staff members in the Spanish Department is included in addition to information about changes in courses and curriculum. The annual reports of the department to the President of the College are contained in the records, and these include information pertaining to faculty activities, department events, majors, minors, honor students, the Spanish Club, department assistants, changes in personnel, enrollment trends, and lectures sponsored by the department. The examination held in the records is from an introductory Spanish class in 1931, and the photograph depicts a scene from a department performance.

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