Spring 2022
- JPN 314: JAPANESE MEDIA AND VISUAL CULTURE
An analysis of historical and modern Japanese society through works of art and media including photography, film, maps, and other visual materials. Students learn to extract information from images as part of a visual analysis, while dealing with socio-geographical methods for understanding urban flows, economic disparities, transportation, and built environments. Students compare what they understand about Japanese culture with their own familiar environments.
In the Spring 0f 2022 I had taken the course of JPN 314: Japan Visual and Media with Professor Pham which fulfills MLO 4: Secondary Culture Other than Hispanic Cultures requirement. Through this course I had learned about Japan Visual and Media from ancient times to modern times. The course materials were based on analyzing historical and modern Japanese society through works of art and media including photography, film, maps, and other visual materials. As a student I had to do a visual analysis to understand the concept of the lifestyle people used to live before. In class we had to choose a topic of our own. I had decided to do research in the Heian era. The Heian era it adopted Chinese culture such as Buddhism, art, Chinese poems, and literature- The Tale of Genji. Sansho is based on a tale during the Heian period. The influence throughout the movie has seemed to infiltrate Chinese, Buddhist, and Imperial power. Heian artists consciously developed a Japanese style to distinguish it from Chinese styles, they called it yamato-e. A well known Heian-period yamato-e was the Tale of Genji; it had an attribute to a lady-in-waiting at the imperial court. In addition students compare what they understand about Japanese culture with their own familiar environments. I was able to compare the Japanese lifestyle to the indigenous lifestyle before European invasion.
- SPAN 495: SPECIAL TOPIC
Through the completion of a community project, students will demonstrate that they have actively immersed themselves in authentic Hispanic cultural and linguistic environments and have internalized the language and cultural experience, from which they have developed personal understanding and new perspectives of Hispanic communities. This course is taught in Spanish.
In the Spring 0f 2022 I took Spanish 495: Special Topics with Professor Fernandez, which fulfills MLO 5. Throughout the course, I actively immersed myself into the authentic Hispanic cultural and linguistic environment and internalized the language and cultural experience, from which I have developed personal understanding and new perspectives of Hispanic communities. I had the opportunity to interact with an indigenous person and interview them on their experiences as an indigenous farmworker in the United States. The city of Salinas is recognized as "The Salad Bowl of the World," just a few minutes away we find Monterey Bay, which is recognized for being a very touristy place from its beach to the port of Monterey and even the aquarium. But behind an enriched city, there is inequality between minority groups because the majority are migrant farmers. It is not possible to decipher what year the expansion of constant migration of the indigenous people of Oaxaca to the north of Mexico to the United States began. Many of the indigenous people immigrating to the United States are migrant farmers while others work in other industries. Nevertheless, inequality between indigenous groups is a problem in the Latinx population in the United States. There is no awareness that there are indigenous people since they are widespread with the Latinx population.
- SPAN 315: INTRO TO TRANSLATION SPAN/ENG
Students perform introductory translation assignments from Spanish to English and vice versa. They develop an understanding of translation theory through reading and class discussion and come to understand communicative translation and compare it to a direct, word-for-word approach. Problematic grammatical, discursive, and pragmatic issues are analyzed and the grammar of Spanish is reviewed in detail.
In the Spring 0f 2022 I had taken the course of Spanish 315: Intro to translation Spanish/ English with Professor Oliva which fulfills MLO 2: Linguistic requirement. Through this course I had learned about translation to understand communicative translation and compare it to a direct, word-for-word approach. The course materials were based on the development of translation theory through readings, videos and class discussion . We analyze problematic grammatical, discursive, and pragmatic issues. As a translator myself who is not certified I had learned very important information I did not know. As an example, we watched a video that explained the multiple ways a person can translate. word by word or sentence by sentence. Something that shocked me was that a translator can only translate for a few min then they need to change their translator because there is only so much the brain can translate.I also learn when translating some people can not translate correctly meaning they either used prestamos or calcos. For example, the word assist is to help but in Spanish it would translate to asistir which means to go somewhere or be present. But the correct translation for assist is atender. The class helped a lot in becoming a better translator.
- SPAN 425: LA LITERATURA MEXICANA
Exposes students to Mexican literature from its indigenous and Hispanic origins to its more contemporary expressions. Examines and discusses representative authors from all literary periods, including such literary icons as Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, Manuel Gutierrez Najera, Mariano Azuela, Ignacio Altamirano, Rosario Castellanos, Juan Rulfo, Octavio Paz, Carlos Fuentes, Jose Agustin, and Laura Esquivel.
In the Spring 0f 2022 I took Spanish 425: Literatura Mexicana with Professor Gonzalez, which fulfills MLO 3: Literary and Cultural Knowledge. Through this course, I learned about Mexican literature from its indigenous and Hispanic origins. We studied Mexican authors from all literary periods, such as literary icons including Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, Manuel Gutierrez Najera, Mariano Azuela, Ignacio Altamirano, Rosario Castellanos, Juan Rulfo, Octavio Paz, Carlos Fuentes, Jose Agustin, and Laura Esquivel. A Mexican author that I really enjoyed reading is Sor Juana de la Cruz, a Mexican poet who belongs to the literary era of the Baroque and is considered one of the first feminists. Sor Juana published “Response to Sor Filotea” in which she had discussed many bits of her life as an educated person. They say that Sor Juana was a feminist ahead of her time, raising awareness about the right of women to have access to education. This can be seen in a quote from (insert name of work), which says: “I heard that in Mexico City there was a university and schools where they studied science. As soon as I heard this, I began to pester my mother with insistent and annoying pleas, begging her to dress me in men's clothing and send me to the capital, to the house of some relatives she had there so that I could enter the university and study. She refused and she was right to do so, but I got my wish by reading a wide variety of books that belonged to my grandfather, and neither punishment nor scolding could stop me." (make sure to add in a citation and page number for the quote according to MLA style). Since women in their time could not study, at a certain age they had to learn how to “be a woman”, which involved learning how to cook, clean, and raise their brothers, among other things. Since Sor Juana was eager to study, she begged her mother to send her to school as a child since the children were the only ones who attended school and received a degree.
- SPAN 362: LATIN AMERICAN LITERATURE IN TRANSLATION
Critical study of representative authors from colonial times to the twentieth century. Introduces students to key works by writers such as: Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, Ruben Dario, Gabriela Mistral, Jorge Luis Borges, Juan Rulfo, etc. By exposing students to these literary texts, the course will focus on further developing academic writing and its genres (narrative, persuasive, expository).
In the Spring 0f 2022 I took Spanish 362: Latin American Literature in Translation with Professor Gonzalez, which fulfills MLO 3: Literary and Cultural Knowledge. Through this course, I learned about authors that are from the colonial times to the twentieth century in Latin America such as Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, Jorge Luis Borges, Juan Rulfo, etc. A text I enjoyed was Massacre of Dreamers by Ana Castillo, a Mexic-Amerindian living in the United States. The collection is constructed of essays that address the root of women's social struggles. Castillo outlines the experience of the brown woman in a society that sees a black and white dilemma. Essays within the text illustrate male dominance. It also speaks to the suppression of women's spirituality and sexuality that has been institutionalized by religion and the state. The Chicano movement emphasized cultural pride in the Anglo-dominated society. Chicanas, on the other hand, saw how within the Chicano Movement there was a lack of representation of Chicanas and their social issues within the United States. Chicana feminists were rejecting the traditional “household” role of a Mexican-American woman. They had challenged the stereotypes of women across the lines of gender, ethnicity, class, race, and sexuality seeking equal opportunities for their communities. Chicana feminists wanted to establish social, cultural, and political identities for themselves in America constantly battling against sexism, machismo, patriarchy, religion, and many more factors.