AP Spanish Literature and Culture
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Build your language skills and cultural knowledge by exploring works of literature written in Spanish. Using Spanish to communicate, you’ll read, analyze, discuss, and write about works by Spanish, Latin-American, and U.S. Hispanic authors of different periods.
Interpreting, analyzing, and comparing literary works
Relating literary works to their cultural and historical contexts
Comparing literary works to works of art
Writing a literary analysis using correct literary terms
Discussing works of literature
A college introductory survey course of literature written in Spanish
There are no prerequisites, but students are typically in their fourth year of high-school-level study. In the case of native or heritage speakers, there may be a different pathway of study leading to this course.
Mon, May 1, 2023,
12 PM Local
This is the regularly scheduled date for the AP Spanish Literature and Culture Exam.
The course content outlined below is organized into commonly taught units of study that provide one possible sequence for the course. Your teacher may choose to organize the course content differently based on local priorities and preferences.
As you read works of medieval Spanish literature, you’ll learn to understand the language patterns of the period while exploring how historical events, religious values, and customary cultural practices create the settings for the texts.
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You’ll continue to build your skills in understanding and analyzing texts as you study literary works from the 16th century, which opened a period known as the Golden Age in Spanish literature.
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You’ll explore works from the second half of the Golden Age, a period which saw the production of several masterpieces of literature written in Spanish.
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You’ll read and analyze works from the 19th century—two texts representing the literary movement of Romanticism and two representing the later movements of Realism and Naturalism.
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You’ll learn about the works and philosophy of La Generación del 98—a group of writers active in Spain around the time of the Spanish-American War—and explore the related literary movement of Modernism.
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You’ll begin your study of 20th-century literature by reading and analyzing works of poetry and drama that embody the movements of that period, such as the Vanguard and the Theater of the Absurd.
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You’ll continue your study of 20th-century literature as you learn about authors of the “boom” of the 1960s and 1970s, when Latin American novels and short stories won acclaim and popularity worldwide.
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You’ll read and analyze recent works that present the realities of life in the 1970s and 1980s in the United States and Spain.
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AP Spanish Literature and Culture Required Reading List
The course is based on 38 required texts. See the list.
AP Spanish Literature and Culture Course and Exam Description
This is the core document for this course. It clearly lays out the course content and learning objectives, describes the exam, and provides sample questions and rubrics.
AP Spanish Literature and Culture can lead to a wide range of careers and college majors