RLSP 204
Hispanic/Bilingual Communities in USA: language and identity
Last Offered Spring 2021
Division I
This course is not offered in the current catalog

“Hispanic/Bilingual Communities in USA: language and identity” is a course for Heritage Learners with two different profiles: those who have acquired Spanish at home and those who have been learning the language at school. Students’ own sense of affective connection with the language through their families will guide our reflection on Spanish as a social component that unifies multiple Hispanic communities in the USA. We will also discuss the dialectal, sociolectal and generational differences between the members of those speaking communities, and the implications of considering these groups as homogenous. The course will address the role that media, institutions and cultural products play in preserving and (re)defining Spanish in the USA. We will review the language and its variation through TV programs, music, magazines, and literature. Heritage Learners already have an important foundation of linguistic knowledge that prepares them for interaction in Spanish. In this course they will be asked to further extend their resources through constant grammar and vocabulary practice. The course requires writing reports and larger texts, and the reading of an important amount of specialized texts in Spanish. Many of the daily activities will require teamwork. The course will meet 2 times per week: M, W, 1 hour 15 minutes per session. Students who have taken Spanish 209 can also register for this course.