<P><EM>El mundo hispanohablante contempor¿o: historia, pol¿ca, sociedades y culturas</EM> is a comprehensive and innovative book for advanced students of Spanish. </P><P></P><P>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.</P><P></P><P>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 thro