3L Spanish Department

Click here to see the box list for this collection.

Restrictions: An effort has been made to keep as much material open as possible, hence the separation of portions of folders rather than restricting the whole folder. The following types of materials are restricted:

• 1. Student records generated and maintained by the college cover by FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act): grades, work, faculty/class evaluations, questionnaires, recommendations, et cetera. Information will be released only if permission is granted by the office, which created the documents.
• 2. Minutes and other records of the Board of Trustees. Access to this material is granted only through the Trustees. Requests for access should be directed to the Clerk of the Board of Trustees. Members of the Wellesley College Senior Staff may have access when the information is necessary for their work.
• 3. Information relating to specific salaries, pensions or financial transactions between the College and individual employees. Access to this material must be granted by the President’s Office.
• 4. Materials relating to reappointment, promotion and tenure are restricted. Access must be granted by the President’s Office.
• 5. Recommendations and performance evaluation of individual employees are restricted, as are evaluations of candidates for College positions. Access must be granted by the President’s Office.
• 6. Materials published by consortia of colleges and universities, specifically the Consortium on Financing Higher Education (COFHE) and the Higher Education Data Sharing (HEDS), which conduct surveys of various institutes promising confidentially. Members of Senior Staff may have access when the information is necessary for their work.

Early years:

• The first Spanish language course was offered as an elective within the Modern Languages Department in 1883. Spanish language courses were taught by a number of Italian and French instructors over the next few years.
• 1883-1884 Lucretia Xavier, Instructor (Italian Department)
• 1892 Margaret Jackson, Instructor
• 1894-1895 Prof. Anna R. Pugh, Romance Language Assistant
• 1900 Mr. Frederick Gulick, Instructor
• 1901-1903 Marie A. Solano, Instructor
• 1903-1904 Carmen Solano
• 1905 Spanish not offered
• 1906 Susan A. Colton
• 1907-1911 Carolina Marcial Dorado, Instructor

Later years:

In 1886, the Modern Languages Department divided into two distinct departments, German Language and Literature, and Romance Languages. Spanish language courses fell under the Department of Romance Languages.

In 1907, Spanish language courses were offered independently of the Department of Romance Languages. Alice Huntington Bushee arrived as an instructor in 1911 and the department quickly grew in enrollment and course offerings. Information about this growth can be found as an appendix in Janira Arocho’s 1994 honor’s thesis titled “Quijotas en América: Las Historia del Departmento de Español de Wellesley College.”

Spanish, as a field of concentration, became available for election in 1914. Also that year, a fire destroyed College Hall. Bushee begin a campaign to replace Spanish language and literature books that were lost.

In 1918, Bushee was promoted to associate professor, a new instructor was hired and the department offered the first Hispanic American literature class to be given by a college on the East Coast.

In 1930, the first group of juniors studied abroad in Madrid. In 1936, with the start of the Spanish Civil War, study abroad in Spain was cancelled and students traveled to Mexico instead.

In 1936, Pedro Salinas came to Wellesley as the Mary Whiten Calkins visiting professor of Spanish. With his arrival, courses were offered for students especially interested in poetry. These courses were continued by his successor, Jorge Guilléen who arrived at Wellesley in 1940. Alice Huntington Bushee retired in 1936 and Ada Coe became chair of the department.

The Language Laboratory was introduced in 1957 and Spanish courses were adjusted to include this laboratory work. In 1958, placement tests were instituted to help determine appropriate courses for entering freshmen. In the mid 1960’s, discussion of a Latin American Studies major began and in 1970, two majors were offered in Spanish: one Peninsular and one Latin-American. 1981, PRESHCO [Programa de Estudios Hispánicos en Córdoba] began.

The Records of the Spanish Department date 1901-2005, with the bulk of records dating 1901-1975. The 10.5 linear feet of records came from the Spanish Department and former faculty members Justina Ruiz de Conde and Ada Coe in several accessions. (See the list of accessions at the end of this page.)

The records are grouped in six series: Subject Files, Course Materials, Scrapbooks, Departmental Publications, Spanish Civil War, and Spanish Civil War Posters.

Records pertaining to the scholarly research of Alice Huntington Bushee, Ada M. Coe, and Justina Ruiz de Conde were removed and placed with the papers of those individuals. Other personal items also were removed and added to individuals' papers. People researching the Spanish department should review the papers of those individuals, since they also contain departmental materials. Published material readily found elsewhere also removed.

Processing of this collection in 2007 was made possible through a generous gift in memory of Janet Meyers Hennick, Wellesley Class of 1952.

Series Description:

This series consists of general Spanish Department Files arranged alphabetically by subject, followed by restricted materials arranged alphabetically by subject.

These records include correspondence, departmental meeting minutes, budget and other financial data, autograph books, placement testing information, information on faculty, speakers and visitors and personal letters arranged by subject. Also included is information concerning books bought by, recommended to, or given to the department. Records include material on the production of student newsletters including La Hoja Hispanica and Manaña, as well as, information about the Bushee Scholarship Fund, Huntington Scholarship Fund, and the Sanborn Fund. Records pertaining to the Hispanic Society of America, International School for Girls can also be found within this series.

Series Description:

This series consists of curricular materials arranged chronologically followed by exams arranged numerically by course number. Restricted materials arranged alphabetically are at the end.

Records include curricular materials such as syllabi, required readings, drills, exercises, language laboratory exercises, lecture notes, handouts, vocabulary lists, reading lists, homework assignments, bibliographies.

Exams included consist of final exams, mid-year exams, oral exams, listening exams, general exams, reading knowledge exams, masters exams, information about exams, and one folder of Extradepartmental 228: (Contemporary Latin American Fiction in Translation) exams.

Series Description:

This series consists of scrapbooks compiled by the department arranged chronologically.

Scrapbooks include newspaper clippings, flyers, constitution of Spanish club, course lists, student lists, club events, lecture announcements, course offerings, lists of required textbooks, letters, programs from productions, and poetry. Scattered throughout the scrapbook are photos of students, faculty, and student productions. Some photos are of alumnae taken later in life and pasted into a scrapbook that corresponds to their time at Wellesley.

Special items to note include: telegraph from Salinas accepting invitation to teach at Wellesley; telegraphm to Franco from President McAfee, petition to FDR about the Spanish Civil War, information about a good will tour of the US by distinguished Latin American women held in Fall 1939, list of items borrowed by War Department and the Navy, correspondence relating to the publication of Estudios Hispánicos in honor of Archer M. Huntington, and information about the language laboratory.

Series Description:

This series consists primarily of information pertaining to the production of Estudios Hispánicos published by the Department of Spanish in honor of Archer M. Huntington.

It contains general correspondence related to the production and publication of Estudios Hispánicos, letters from Hispanists who collaborated on the book, and the manuscript of Estudios Hispánicos. Also included is a 1926 Spanish Department publication Verb Studies: Spanish 101 & 102.

Series Description:

This series consists of materials about the Spanish Civil War collected by the Spanish Department. The majority of materials were collected in the late 1930's and date from that time. The Spanish Civil War began July, 1936 and lasted until April 1, 1939 when General Franco of the Nationalist Army declared victory.

This series contains publications, Republican and Nationalist propaganda pamphlets, newspaper clippings, newspapers, magazines, articles, reports and speeches. Also included is are correspondence about sending aid to Spain, personal accounts of Spain during the war, information about refugees and political prisoners, and data on social and economic conditions. Several overviews of the religious aspects of the conflict are also included.

Due to the political leanings of members of the Spanish department, this series of Spanish Civil War materials is significantly skewed to the interests of the Republican side of the conflict.

Series Description:

This series primarily consists of Republican propaganda posters from the Spanish Civil War collected by the Spanish Department during the late 1930's. These posters urge Spanish civilians to rise up to defend their country, to make sacrifices for the war effort, and to remember what the fight is for - liberty, peace, and independence.

One oversized newspaper page from the Spanish Civil War series was placed in folder three of this series.

Click here to see the box list for this collection.

• Accession Number: A76-20, A76-6, A76-21, A86-043, A76-019, A94-055
• Source: Spanish Department; Justina Ruiz de Conde; Ada Coe
• Guide Produced: May 8, 1981, revised February 20, 2007 (revised by Amy Stimac)
• [get footage when totally boxed linear feet]
• Restrictions: 3 boxes restricted (see folders for terms or restriction)
• Volume: 24 boxes; 5 oversize folders