El mundo hispanohablante contemporáneo

Book excerpt: El mundo hispanohablante contemporáneo: historia, política, sociedades y culturas is a comprehensive and innovative book for advanced students of Spanish. Offering a constructivist approach to the study of the civilizations, cultures and histories of the contemporary Spanish-speaking world, the book focuses on learning as an active process that enables learners to develop high-level critical thinking skills through the exposure, research, examination and discussion of a variety of authentic films, songs and literary texts. Divided into twelve chapters, each chapter begins with an introduction to the general topic followed by various activities that lead students to critically analyse a range of authentic materials. Learners are able to practice higher level critical-thinking and linguistic skills through a wealth of tasks and exercises which culminate in a capstone section that requires the application of the concepts learned and sources utilized throughout the lesson. El mundo hispanohablante contemporáneo: historia, política, sociedades y culturas offers great flexibility and adaptability to suit advanced courses in Hispanic culture and civilization. Each chapter is methodologically designed with a balanced mix of activities for individual and teamwork. Additional resources are available online for both instructors and students. These include an instructor’s guide with answer key, a grammar supplement and links to the authentic materials referenced within the book.