This course is about the historical and cultural identities in both Spain and Latin America. Throughout the whole semester, we explored various topics such as geography, language, economy, education, art and literature, entertainment and festivities which are all significant factors that has helped us deeply understand the concept of hispanic culture.
Daily Assignments
Each week we tackle different topics such as the ones mentioned above, and we are assigned to complete an assignment before coming to class. Most of the questions come from our book “Todas Las Voces” which helps us prepare for class lecture by giving background information and other details that are important to know in order to easily follow the lecture and participate in class discussions.
Module 5: Economy
This is an example of one of our assignments which is about examining the causes of migratory movements that are known to have deeply affected the Hispanic community. Migration is under the topic of economy because the main cause of this movement is really to seek economic benefits in other places that offer much better opportunities.
Module 8: Literature & Society
In this assignment, I had the opportunity to explore one of the most popular newspapers in Colombia which is called El Tiempo. We had to analyze the types of news that they provide and how much information is given. We also had to compare their news coverage to the media here in the United States.
Exploring how the media can contribute to bias, fake news, and other types of decontextualization that we consume in our society is one of the most useful information that I learned in this class because it is a relevant topic especially with our continuous exposure to social media where most of the misinformation occurs.
Module 10: Entertainment
One of the most enjoyable assignments that we tackled was about the diverse kinds of music and dances that exist in Spanish and Latin culture. It was interesting to learn about the origin of the dance moves and musical rhythms which I found to be mostly influenced by traditional African and European musical characteristics.
Mini Video Presentations
Module 3 : Geography & Landscapes
In this presentation, I researched about the geographical facts and tourist destinations of the beautiful city of Havana which gives us a glimpse of how a location of place can help us describe a portion of the Cuban culture. Knowing about the geography of a country can tell us about their available resources, types of housing, climate patterns, and other factors that determine people’s lifestyles.
Module 8: Literature and Society
In this video, I recited a poem called “Meciendo” by Gabriela Mistral with the goal of conveying the meaning of the poem with the right tone which in this case is very motherly and loving since it is about a mother protecting her son from any kinds of harm.
Weekly Diaries
After we finish discussing each topic, we have to reflect on what we learned throughout the week by relating specific examples from the readings and class discussions to real life experiences. The goal of this assignment is make use of the information that we have learned and apply it to our personal growth and development in various aspects of life.
Module 4: Language
Mesa Redondas
After finishing every three to four topics, we normally have round table assessments where we gather as a class to discuss questions, quotes and videos that are related to the topics that we have learned. It is a way to check our understanding of the materials in class, but it is also a way to gain other perspectives from hearing other opinions and experiences that are shared by my classmates during the discussion.
Excerpts & Videos
