Spanish Book Club: High Intermediate

Course description:

In this high intermediate-level reading group, participants will read, analyze, and discuss Frida Kahlo: Una biografía by María Hesse, a contemporary Spanish illustrator and author who seamlessly combines text and image to depict Frida’s creative and turbulent life. Each week participants will explore the text through the lens of guiding questions: How do word and image meld to create a complete or incomplete picture of Frida? What does it mean to be an artist? What can we learn about Hesse through this biography? Improve your use of Spanish past tenses while growing your knowledge of one of the world’s most famous artists. Book purchase required. Reading guide and online materials included in the price.

Prerequisite: Spanish 5 or equivalent.  Take the Spanish 5 placement test

Course format:

Increase your reading comprehension in Spanish and your ability to discuss intermediate to advanced topics while growing your knowledge of Frida’s life and art.

For six weeks, you will meet from 5:30–6:45 pm CT. During these 75 minutes, you will begin as a whole group with the instructor introducing the topic and outlining goals. You will then move into small discussion groups, where the instructor will spend time with each group to support your Spanish conversation.

After small-group work, you will return to the full group to wrap up the discussion and share final thoughts.

The last 30 minutes are dedicated to informal Spanish conversation and time to ask questions about vocabulary, grammar, or anything you’d like to clarify. 

Goal: To give you as much Spanish speaking practice as possible in a supportive environment.

After the conversation session, you should begin reading and preparing for next week’s class.

Sections anticipated for Fall 2026 (See Upcoming Dates for open sections and more detail):

Tuesdays, Oct. 6–Nov. 17, 5:30–6:45 p.m. CT