SPAN 3430

*I took this class online during COVID*

Workload: 250 word reflections due the night before every class about the assigned reading, an essay about a piece of your choice, and an essay about the novel we read

Your entire grade is made up of the reflections and the essays, so participation doesn't count. This may seem intimidating but Prof. Pellon is not a terribly hard grader and if you carefully proof-read your essays and put effort in you should be okay! The reflections are definitely a little tedious to get done every night but they help you with being actively engaged in class and also with getting used to writing a lot in Spanish. Prof. Pellon also reads them all before class, so it's not for nothing.

Prof. Pellon is incredibly enthusiastic about the class content and you can tell he cares a lot about the poems/literature. I would absolutely recommend his class for anyone looking to fulfill the survey requirement for the minor/major because the workload is not too much and Prof. Pellon makes the content super engaging.

Pretty hard grader is the biggest thing to watch out for. I've gotten one B+, two A-'s and two A's in my Spanish courses taken at UVA, but ended up with C+ in this class. I'll admit I'm a little butthurt right now cuz I got a C- and a D+ on the two papers, each worth one third of the class grade (the other third being 250 word daily reflections, which are pretty annoying but not hard, just tedious and make you actually do all the reading), after spending a good amount of time and effort on them. Super grammar heavy grading, every little mistake (including missed accents) is a point off, among other things. His lectures are also 45min of anecdotes, then 10min of lecturing on the readings (yes, we got out of class late EVERY single day). And he doesn't give you any grades until the very end of the semester. The first essay was due before fall break, and we didn't get it back until December because someone asked if we could receive those before turning in our next essay. The only reason I know my reflections grade and second essay grade is because I emailed him to ask for them directly. Pellon is a really nice guy, but for a teacher he may not be someone you want to have.

Worst part about this class is that he wants 250 word reflections due at 6 p.m. before every class (emphasis on the 6 p.m). He's really strict about this and deducts point and usually people are busy around that time. Two papers and a presentation. Professor is interesting and passionate. He's from Cuba and has many interesting stories. Overall nice guy. The reflections however are what make it stressful with the readings only because of the time it is due - otherwise you can really write about anything.

I loved Pellon!! He's super knowledgeable and cares a lot about the topic, and does a great job of making the class fun and engaging. If you like Spanish (or need this class), I would 100% recommend taking it with Pellon.