Though our Teatro VIDA (“Vision, Identity, Drama and Art”) program, we have created Spanish-language theater for the past ten years, and Portuguese-language theater for the past three years. These performances reach beyond the IU community into Bloomington and beyond, involving the participation of faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates.

The ten seasons of Teatro VIDA performances provide a significant example of the application of theory to practice from the perspective of language learning for undergraduate and graduate students. Each season involves the production of 3 – 4 one-act plays.

Graduate students, with the help of a faculty mentor, select the plays and are responsible for all elements of staging—from acting and direction to production, including the solicitation of grants to support the project. The performances, usually to packed houses, represent a significant example of outreach to the local Hispanic community, to Indiana University students and faculty, and to audiences from the region, including Indianapolis and Ohio University in recent years. Dozens of graduate students have been involved with VIDA as directors, crew, actors, and producers.

Students can take popular one-credit experiential learning courses (HISP X370 in Spanish and HISP X270 in Portuguese). Through these, they participate in and receive credit for such activities and programs as:

• La Escuelita para Todos, a biliteracy and bilingual Program for Latino/Hispanic Children
• Clear Creek Elementary School Dual Language Program
• Summit Elementary School Dual Language Program
• Child’s Elementary School International Baccalaureate
• Volunteers in Medicine
• Redbud Hill Senior Living and Retirement Center
• Teatro VIDA, the department’s Spanish language theater performance group, the only such group in Monroe County

We offer brown bag lunches (such as a series in Hispanic Linguistics, Fall 2017), colloquia (such as the Literature and culture colloquium series, Spring 2018), and three language-learning cafés: Café Hispano, Cafezinho, and Café Catalá.

We communicate with alumni, faculty, and current students through La Gaceta Internacional, our annual departmental newsletter. It provides a summary of milestones, events, and achievements.

Read the latest newsletter

Medieval, Early Modern and Colonial Hispanic Studies Research Group (MEM)

Proyecto Ancla is a technology-enhanced instructional project developed in 1999 by the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at IUB. Its purpose is to enhance the content and evaluation aspects of language and culture courses through innovative uses of technology, customized for learners of Spanish. Proyecto Ancla serves an annual population of approximately 6, 000 students enrolled in the first four semesters of Spanish. Access to this project is restricted to IUB students enrolled in beginner and intermediate-level courses (S100, S150, S105, S200, and S250).

Sala Agapito Rey is a language learning resource.

Spanish Linguistics Lab is an initiative of the Hispanic Linguistic Faculty to facilitate graduate student research in our Department. This space can be used individually and in groups to conduct research, collaborative work and data collection.

Grupo Ñ is an IU club for students who are studying Spanish and wish to attend events and forums to practice the language and learn about Spanish-speaking cultures.

Visit our BeInvolved page