Intermediate Spanish This accelerated course is designed to review, reinforce, and consolidate the linguistic structures that students need in order to reach the intermediate level of proficiency in Spanish. A grammar review will accompany intensive language acquisition, vocabulary expansion, readings, discussions, and compositions.

Soccer in Latin America Why are Latin Americans so passionate about soccer? The answer to this question is a complex and multifaceted one. The history of this passion goes back to the mid-19th century when British workers were sent to Latin America to build railroads and operate railroad companies. Along with them, soccer arrived in the region. The first documented match took place in Argentina in 1867. Since then, soccer quickly spread out over Latin America to become the most popular sport — by a large margin — in nearly every country. In this course we will examine the history of soccer in Latin America and its links to politics, culture, racial issues, and gender discrimination. We will also take a look at the lives of iconic figures such as Di Stéfano, Garrincha, Pelé, Maradona, Messi, and Marta. The course is intended to finish with a soccer practice and a match against another team. 3hrs.sem.

Spanish in Context: Practicing Advanced Grammar In this practice-based course, students who have a genuine interest in acquiring a deeper knowledge of grammar will be challenged to take control of their Spanish. Through a variety of tasks designed to contextualize and problematize key grammatical points—including both input and output in spoken and written language—we will not only work to improve linguistic competency but will also confront important issues dealing with interactional, intercultural, and metalinguistic competencies. Students will be expected to draw from their experiences with Spanish in and out of the classroom at Middlebury. (This is a half credit course.)

The Cinema in Uruguay It is often said that Uruguay (mostly) lacks a national cinema, but it has a vibrant, discerning film culture. Extending back generations, Uruguayans have regularly enjoyed imported movies from throughout the world that have shaped how critics, cinephiles, and everyday people understand the cinema. Foreign fare has also impacted domestic consumption and reception of the (sporadic until recently) work of Uruguayan filmmakers. To approach what this all means in Montevideo and beyond, we will study the reception of a wide range of international movies including, but not limited to Hollywood blockbusters, European art house classics, Latin American (mostly Argentine, but also Mexican) melodramas and comedies, and Hong Kong action cinema, as well as Uruguayan films that reached and moved local audiences.

Ideas and Cultures of the Southern Cone What’s in a name? A sub-region of Latin America, the Southern Cone consists of three countries marked by cultural, geographical, historical, sociopolitical (dis)connection. In this course we will approach Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay not only as nations, but as a region with extensive transnational connections. Through analysis of a wide-range of cultural products like Ercilla’s early modern epic poem La Araucana, Figari’s paintings depicting candombé culture, and films of the New Argentine Cinema, we will study aspects of the cultural identities and intellectual histories of these countries and the region.

Stars and Stardom in Latin America Manila, 2013: Lionel Messi features in a WeChat ad. São Paulo, 1995: Ninón Sevilla walks into frame on an imported telenovela. Middlebury, 1938: Lupe Vélez appears in Life Magazine. Impinging upon even our most mundane moments, stars and stardom have become integral to our modern experience. Through the study of theories on stardom, as well as an array of works of cultural production (films, music, images, performances, etc.), in this course we will examine cultural, economic, political, racial, and social factors that influence the creation, development, and perpetuation of understandings of individual stars and, more generally, stardom in Latin America.

Introduction to Latin American Studies This course is an interdisciplinary introduction to Latin America and Latin American studies. It introduces key debates on the region (and its many subregions) that will feature prominently in other courses not only at Middlebury, but also study abroad. By tracing the region’s historical development, we closely examine issues such as colonialism, economics, identity, imperialism, modes of citizenry, and nationalism, as well as explore how class, commerce, culture, ethnicity, gender, politics, race, religion, and sexuality have come to be understood in Latin America and its study. Critical, scholarly, and theoretical readings will supplement primary texts. 3 hrs. Lect./disc

Beginning Spanish I This course is an introduction to the fundamentals of grammar and focuses on the development of four skills in Spanish: comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing. Emphasis will be placed on active communication aimed at the development of oral and comprehension skills. This course is for students who have not previously studied Spanish. Students are expected to continue with SPAN 0104 after successful completion of SPAN 0101.

Hispanic Film The cinema is a space of social interaction, of entertainment, of bodily (dis)pleasure, of cultural critique, of commerce, of many things. In this course we will study, with a focus on comparative analysis, the text and context of films produced throughout the Hispanic world. Through examining the work of filmmakers from diverse backgrounds, we will closely analyze film form and engage key debates in film theory such as authorship, genre (comedy, documentary, melodrama, etc.), and (trans)national cinema, as well as explore the ways in which class, culture, disability, history, politics, race, and sexuality are represented cinematically. Critical, scholarly, and theoretical readings will supplement film viewings.

Intermediate Spanish II A course for students seeking to perfect their academic writing skills in Spanish. The course is also an introduction to literary analysis and critical writing and will include reading and oral discussion of literary texts. The course will also include a thorough review of grammar at a fairly advanced level. This course may be used to fulfill the foreign languages distribution requirement.

Nicolas Poppe

Reviews and ratings for Nicolas Poppe at Middlebury College.Nicolas Poppe teaches Intermediate Spanish, Soccer in Latin America, Advanced Spanish Grammar and more.  Explore top rated instructors and find the best for you.Is Nicolas Poppe good ? Find out on MiddCourses.

For someone who is incredibly excited about soccer than this class could be really interesting. Otherwise the readings felt super dense and I did not feel my Spanish improved a lot since we spent more time reading than actually talking. 

Professor Poppe is fantastic. He is enthusiastic and happy to help. The course itself is certainly fast paced, but if you do the homework and participate in class it is very manageable. Connect is an annoying software, but it gets better as time goes on!

An amazing class, extremely interesting as a fan of sports. Definitely a good amount of reading, but each topic was well thought out and covered many countries throughout Latin America. Poppe also mixed in personal stories from living on the continent and clearly cared a lot about the subject. We also spent time playing soccer which was very fun. 