Nicolas Poppe
Associate Professor of Luso-Hispanic Studies
- Office
- Voter Hall 213
- Tel
- (802) 443-5343
- npoppe@middlebury.edu
- Office Hours
- Wednesdays 10:45 AM-12:45 PM; Thursdays 2:30-3:30 PM; and by appointment
Nicolas Poppe’s work in Latin American film and media studies has been published in numerous edited volumes and peer-reviewed journals. His book Alton’s Paradox: Foreign Film Workers and the Emergence of Industrial Sound Cinema in Latin America (SUNY Press, 2021) uses extensive archival research to explore the manifold contributions of foreign film workers to emerging film industries in Latin America from the 1930s to early 1940s. Wide-angled views of national film industries complement close-up analyses of the work of José Mojica in Hollywood, Alex Phillips and Juan Orol in Mexico, and Ángel Mentasti and Tito Davison in Argentina.
Professor Poppe has coedited three books in film history: Cosmopolitan Film Cultures in Latin America, 1896-1960 (Indiana University Press, 2017) with Rielle Navitski, En la cartelera. Cine y culturas cinematográficas en América Latina, 1896-2020 (Iberoamericana / Vervuert, 2022) with Alejandro Kelly Hopfenblatt, and Salas, negocios y públicos de cine en Latinoamérica (1896-1960) (Prometeo Editorial, 2023) with Clara Kriger. He also edited two special issues of peer-reviewed videographic criticism on Latin American cinema: an issue of [in]Transition (2016) with Michael Talbott and a dossier of Vivomatografías (2018). His most recent publications include “Entre el Cine Metro y Dos destinos: Cine y cultura cinematográfica en Uruguay, 1936-1937” in the peer-reviewed journal En la otra isla. Revista de audiovisual latinoamericano and “Radiolandia, Fan Magazines, and Stardom in 1930s and 1940s Argentina” in the book Global Movie Magazine Networks (eds. Eric Hoyt and Kelley Conway, University of California Press, 2024).
At Middlebury, Professor Poppe teaches language classes at all levels, as well as courses in area studies and Latin American film and media studies. He has also served as Track Director of Latin American Studies and taught at the Escuela de Español.
Courses Taught
CMLT 0700
Current
Senior Thesis
Course Description
Senior Thesis
A senior thesis is normally completed over two semesters. During Fall and Winter terms, or Winter and Spring terms, students will write a 35-page (article length) comparative essay, firmly situated in literary analysis. Students are responsible for identifying and arranging to work with their primary language and secondary language readers, and consulting with the program director before completing the CMLT Thesis Declaration form. (Approval required.)
Terms Taught
IGST 0252
Intro Latin American Studies
Course Description
Introduction to Latin American Studies
This course is an interdisciplinary introduction to Latin America and Latin American studies. It introduces key debates on the region (and its many subregions) that will feature prominently in other courses not only at Middlebury, but also study abroad. By tracing the region’s historical development, we closely examine issues such as colonialism, economics, identity, imperialism, modes of citizenry, and nationalism, as well as explore how class, commerce, culture, ethnicity, gender, politics, race, religion, and sexuality have come to be understood in Latin America and its study. Critical, scholarly, and theoretical readings will supplement primary texts. 3 hrs. Lect./disc
Terms Taught
Requirements
IGST 0501
Current
Upcoming
LAS Independent Project
Course Description
Latin American Studies Independent Project
(Approval Required)
Terms Taught
IGST 0703
Current
Upcoming
LAS Senior Thesis
Course Description
Latin American Studies Senior Thesis
(Approval Required)
Terms Taught
SPAN 0101
Beginning Spanish I
Course Description
Beginning Spanish I
This course is an introduction to the fundamentals of grammar and focuses on the development of four skills in Spanish: comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing. Emphasis will be placed on active communication aimed at the development of oral and comprehension skills. This course is for students who have not previously studied Spanish. Students are expected to continue with SPAN 0104 after successful completion of SPAN 0101. 5 hrs. lect./disc.
Terms Taught
SPAN 0201
Intermediate Spanish
Course Description
Intermediate Spanish
This accelerated course is designed to review, reinforce, and consolidate the linguistic structures that students need in order to reach the intermediate level of proficiency in Spanish. A grammar review will accompany intensive language acquisition, vocabulary expansion, readings, discussions, and compositions. (SPAN 0103 or SPAN 0105 or SPAN 0104 or placement tests) 3 hrs. lect., 1 hr. drill.
Terms Taught
Requirements
SPAN 0220
Intermediate Spanish II
Course Description
Intermediate Spanish II
A course for students seeking to perfect their academic writing skills in Spanish. The course is also an introduction to literary analysis and critical writing and will include reading and oral discussion of literary texts. The course will also include a thorough review of grammar at a fairly advanced level. This course may be used to fulfill the foreign languages distribution requirement. (SPAN 0201, SPAN 0210, or placement) 3 hrs. lect./disc.
Terms Taught
Requirements
SPAN 0307
Ideas&Cultures of SouthernCone
Course Description
Ideas and Cultures of the Southern Cone
What’s in a name? A sub-region of Latin America, the Southern Cone consists of three countries marked by cultural, geographical, historical, sociopolitical (dis)connection. In this course we will approach Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay not only as nations, but as a region with extensive transnational connections. Through analysis of a wide-range of cultural products like Ercilla’s early modern epic poem La Araucana, Figari’s paintings depicting candombé culture, and films of the New Argentine Cinema, we will study aspects of the cultural identities and intellectual histories of these countries and the region. (SPAN 0220 or placement) 3 hrs. lect./disc
Terms Taught
Requirements
SPAN 0315
Current
Hispanic Film
Course Description
Hispanic Film
The cinema is a space of social interaction, of entertainment, of bodily (dis)pleasure, of cultural critique, of commerce, of many things. In this course we will study, with a focus on comparative analysis, the text and context of films produced throughout the Hispanic world. Through examining the work of filmmakers from diverse backgrounds, we will closely analyze film form and engage key debates in film theory such as authorship, genre (comedy, documentary, melodrama, etc.), and (trans)national cinema, as well as explore the ways in which class, culture, disability, history, politics, race, and sexuality are represented cinematically. Critical, scholarly, and theoretical readings will supplement film viewings. (SPAN 0220 or placement) 3 hrs. lect./disc.
Terms Taught
Requirements
SPAN 0370
Stars/Stardom in Latin America
Course Description
Stars and Stardom in Latin America
Manila, 2013: Lionel Messi features in a WeChat ad. São Paulo, 1995: Ninón Sevilla walks into frame on an imported telenovela. Middlebury, 1938: Lupe Vélez appears in Life Magazine. Impinging upon even our most mundane moments, stars and stardom have become integral to our modern experience. Through the study of theories on stardom, as well as an array of works of cultural production (films, music, images, performances, etc.), in this course we will examine cultural, economic, political, racial, and social factors that influence the creation, development, and perpetuation of understandings of individual stars and, more generally, stardom in Latin America. (At least two Spanish courses at the 0300-level or above, or by waiver) 3 hrs. lect.
Terms Taught
Requirements
SPAN 0470
Upcoming
Stars/Stardom in Latin America
Course Description
Stars and Stardom in Latin America
Manila, 2013: Lionel Messi features in a WeChat ad. São Paulo, 1995: Ninón Sevilla walks into frame on an imported telenovela. Middlebury, 1938: Lupe Vélez appears in Life Magazine. Impinging upon even our most mundane moments, stars and stardom have become integral to our modern experience. Through the study of theories on stardom, as well as an array of works of cultural production (films, music, images, performances, etc.), in this course we will examine cultural, economic, political, racial, and social factors that influence the creation, development, and perpetuation of understandings of individual stars and, more generally, stardom in Latin America. (At least two Spanish courses at the 0300-level or above, or by waiver) 3 hrs. lect.
Terms Taught
Requirements
SPAN 0500
Current
Upcoming
Independent Study
Course Description
Independent Study
The department will consider requests by qualified juniors and senior majors to engage in independent work. (Approval only)
Terms Taught
SPAN 0705
Current
Upcoming
Senior Honors Thesis
Course Description
Senior Honors Thesis
The department will award honors, high honors, or highest honors on the basis of a student's work in the department and performance in SPAN 0705. (Approval only)
Terms Taught
SPAN 3203
Intermed SP: Oral & Written
Course Description
Intermediate Spanish: Oral and Written Communication
In this class, students improve their communicative expression in Spanish by studying models of good writing and talk in Spanish and producing a variety of written and oral text types; the course also serves as an introduction to basic academic writing. The language functions covered include be able to interact in past and future narration, extensive descriptions, comparisons, expressing opinions, and hypotheses. Students will expand on previous knowledge of the cultures of the Spanish-speaking world and integrate other content areas into their work. (1 unit)
Terms Taught