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
MLO 3: Literary and Culture Knowledge intends to have students develop a practical understanding of the ways of thinking (in terms of ideas, beliefs, attitudes, values, and philosophies), behavioral patterns and cultural products that lay in the Hispanic Cultures. Students are to complete between two to six courses depending on their concentration. My Spanish Concentration is Literature and Culture, therefore I completed a total of five courses in relationship to MLO 4. The courses that I choose included: Span 304 (Intro to Spanish Literature), Span 309 (History and politics of Latin America), Span 308 (Culture of Aztlan), Span 427 (Latin American Women Writers), and Span 395 (Special Topics/Culture and civilization of Peru). In all of these courses, I was able to expand on the literature and the culture of the Hispanic world. In Span 304, I received an introduction to Spanish literature through the reading and analysis of classical literary works. What I was able to learn through this course, will be a pilar for the rest my literature base corses. Span 309 was for its most part link to the cultural aspect of the major learning outcome. In this course, I was able to learn from each of the social and political backgrounds of all the Latin American countries, which consequently developed my way of viewing this section of the world. The class of Span 308, on its side, concentrated on providing a dipper understanding of the Aztlan culture, its myths and history. This was a specific culture which little did I know of its existence previous to this particular course. Span 427 was a course that incorporated both sections of the MLO with a dipper concentration of Literature. The course introduced me to some of the main female Latin American writers of the 20th Century. Through this course I was able to develop my way of critically analyzing literary works in order to understand what the author is trying to portrait for the rest of the world. Lastly, Span 309 was a course that combined both sections of the MLO with a specific focus in the Perubian cultural and literature. Through this class I was able to open my eyes an meet an overview of Peru, which included its people, culture, language, art, music, and literature. It was a class that led me to a new set of experiences and made me more conscience of the way in which I perceived this specific country. Below, I will have listed a few samples for each of the courses that I mentioned above. Each sample, provides evidence of the type of work that I develop in every course and it shows my personal progress as well as aspect of how I met the criteria for MLO 3.