MLO 3: Literary and Cultural Knowledge
The student develops a reasonable understanding of the ways of thinking (ideas, beliefs, attitudes, values, philosophies), the behavioral practices (patterns of social interactions) and the cultural products – both tangible and intangible (for example, art, history, literature, music) — of Hispanic cultures.
There are two pathways by which this outcome can be fulfilled:
There are two pathways by which this outcome can be fulfilled:
- Pathway 1: The student completes between two and six courses (depending on his or her choice of emphasis, as either in language and linguistics knowledge or literary and cultural knowledge) in Hispanic literature, culture or society. General areas to choose from are: literature, the social sciences (anthropology, geography, history, political systems), art history, music history, religion or other non-Spanish courses specific to Hispanic culture or society.
- Pathway 2: With prior approval and guidance from WLC faculty, the student may opt for a more individual pathway. He or she may choose to independently study, research and analyze four of the following areas as they are reflected in the civilization or national culture of the language chosen to study: architecture, dance, dress, fiction, healing processes, high art, issues of gender and racial equity, music, national history, poetry, political systems, popular art, religious beliefs, theatre.
Reflective Narrative
For MLO 3 I chose Pathway 1, an emphasis in literary and cultural knowledge. This interested me over grammar and linguistics because I have always been interested in reading and especially analyzing texts. I felt that doing this in the target language would help me learn new vocabulary and also learn about different Hispanic cultures, from Mexico to South America and Spain. The classes I took to fulfill my emphasis are Span 325: Hispanic Cinema, Span 321: Masterpieces of Hispanic Literature, Span 306: Culture and Civilization of Spanish Latin America, and in Spain I took: Span 395 IP: Women in Spanish Literature 18-21st century, and Span 395 IP: Spanish Language and Culture. Overall, these diverse language and culture classes helped me learn about the perspective of Hispanics in different time periods. The class I enjoyed a lot was Women in Spanish Literature, which directly translated from the original title is the image of the woman in Spanish literature. This class was taught with quite a feminist view and many of our discussions were deep and intense, being mostly women in the class. In the last few classes we watched a movie called Las Trece Rosas. This rather long movie was a true story about 13 brave republican women during the Spanish Civil War who lose everything. The directors use real letters that the women wrote to their children in the end, and was a cinematic masterpiece. This movie had a great emotional impact on the entire class and left every one of us crying. Being taught by a feminist woman who had firsthand experience during the dictatorship really made the class special.
When I returned from Spain I took more Spanish cinema and literature classes which furthered my understandings of different Hispanic cultures, especially the class Span 306: Culture and Civilization of Spanish Latin America. It is important to know how diverse the Spanish speaking world is.
For MLO 3 I chose Pathway 1, an emphasis in literary and cultural knowledge. This interested me over grammar and linguistics because I have always been interested in reading and especially analyzing texts. I felt that doing this in the target language would help me learn new vocabulary and also learn about different Hispanic cultures, from Mexico to South America and Spain. The classes I took to fulfill my emphasis are Span 325: Hispanic Cinema, Span 321: Masterpieces of Hispanic Literature, Span 306: Culture and Civilization of Spanish Latin America, and in Spain I took: Span 395 IP: Women in Spanish Literature 18-21st century, and Span 395 IP: Spanish Language and Culture. Overall, these diverse language and culture classes helped me learn about the perspective of Hispanics in different time periods. The class I enjoyed a lot was Women in Spanish Literature, which directly translated from the original title is the image of the woman in Spanish literature. This class was taught with quite a feminist view and many of our discussions were deep and intense, being mostly women in the class. In the last few classes we watched a movie called Las Trece Rosas. This rather long movie was a true story about 13 brave republican women during the Spanish Civil War who lose everything. The directors use real letters that the women wrote to their children in the end, and was a cinematic masterpiece. This movie had a great emotional impact on the entire class and left every one of us crying. Being taught by a feminist woman who had firsthand experience during the dictatorship really made the class special.
When I returned from Spain I took more Spanish cinema and literature classes which furthered my understandings of different Hispanic cultures, especially the class Span 306: Culture and Civilization of Spanish Latin America. It is important to know how diverse the Spanish speaking world is.