Antonio J. Aiello / 11
Oregon State University
School of Language, Culture, and Society
Foreign Languages and Literatures
Syllabus
Course: Spanish 327: Mexican-American Literature and Composition for Spanish Heritage Learner
CRN: 58283
SEC: 001
Credits: 3 undergraduate credit hours, meeting 3 times a week for 50 minutes
Time: MWF 13:00 to 13:50 pm.
Place: Kidder Hall Room 237
Instructor: Antonio J. Aiello
Office: Kidder Hall 226
Office hours: MWF 10:00 to 11:00 am.
Phone: 541-737-3934
Email:
Prerequisites:
This course is designed for Spanish heritage learners who have completed SPAN 316 with a grade of B- or better. This is a demanding course that requires considerable reading and writing.
Description:
This course will survey some representative texts of the Mexican-American literature written in Spanish. We will be reading poems, short stories, novels, and essays. Occasionally, we will supplement our readings with videos. As you progress through these texts, you will be familiarized with the characteristics of Mexican-American literature, and you will develop an understanding of the production and reception of this literature. Since many of these authors are committed/engaged writers struggling for social justice, I will want the class to bear in mind the historical and socio-political forces behind this literature. Further, the class will pay particularly close attention to the construction and representation of race, class, gender, and sexuality, and the relationship between genre and these identity constructions.
Taking a process-based approach with an emphasis on presentational writing, SPAN 327 is also designed to further develop the writing abilities of Spanish heritage learners. A few pertinent grammar topics will be studied and practiced in the course and, where possible, related to the writing process. However, grammar will be considered only as one of many different tools that good writers need in order to communicate effectively. The aim of this course is to help you expand and refine some of those tools: control of grammar, range of vocabulary, rhetorical techniques for organizing information; and to develop good writing strategies.
Aims of Course
v To explore issues on Mexican-American history, politics, and culture through literature.
v To approach the texts in as diverse a critical manner as possible.
v To foster a group dialogue about literature and literary theory.
v To develop a critical vocabulary for talking about literature.
v To improve reading skills in Spanish so that students can understand, interpret and appreciate the genres of fiction, poetry, and drama.
v To further develop written skills in Spanish.
v To enhance the process of writing by both a peer review process and a draft/feedback/revision process.
Outcomes:
Students will demonstrate:
v An analytical understanding of Mexican-American history, politics, and culture by clearly and authoritatively completing several quizzes and two written exams during the term.
v Ability to dialogue about literature and literary theory by effectively leading two class discussions during the term.
v Increased skill in interpretative written communication by completing a reader-response journal that receives a score of “C” or above in each of the three targeted criteria.
v Increased skill in academic writing by creating three compositions that have scores of 70% or above in each of the targeted writing traits.
Texts:
v Texts Compilation about narrative, poetry and essay from Mexican-American Literature. ( To buy in Henderson’s office Systems/ 200Nw 2nd St. Corvallis, OR 97330)
v Materials posting in blackboard
v Worl Wide Web
Class Participation:
Every class you attend participates in the production and dissemination of knowledge; in this class your role as students will be to participate as fully as possible in that process. You are, that is, charged in part with the responsibility for the direction of this course. We will share in an on-going discussion of Mexican-American literature. Consequently, your voices bear heavily on the relative success of this conversation. We will need to proceed through this dialogue as mature, intelligent, and responsible participants. This will be a classroom of mutual respect in which we carefully attend to each other’s ideas in a respectful and engaged manner. This is not to say that we will always share one another’s beliefs, values, and opinions, but we will always push each other to substantiate our claims and further our intellectual capabilities. Rich debate, open dialogue, and the fruitful exchange of opinions will help to transform the classroom and, by extension, our respective communities, for a critical pedagogy asks us to take seriously the transformative potential of our ideas and actions.
I will assign a participation grade according to the contributions made by the student in the class:
A (9-10) Has obviously thoroughly completed all the readings and homework. Volunteers well-thought comments regularly. Actively participates in group exercises. Communicates only in Spanish.
B (8) Has completed all the readings and homework. Shares thought-provoking comments once in a while and always when called on. Usually on task. Uses a few English words to communicate.
C (7) Has superficially completed the readings and homework. Shares relevant comments when called on. Passively participates in group exercises. Communicates both in English and Spanish.
D (6) Has partially and superficially completed the readings and homework. Shares relevant comments only when called on. Seldom on task during group exercises. Communicates both in English and Spanish.
F (5-0) Has not completed the readings and homework. Never volunteers and is not prepared to share relevant comments when called on. Does not contribute to group exercises. Communicates both in English and Spanish.
Class Attendance:
This class will meet Monday, Wednesday and Friday for 50 minutes and students are expected to attend every class and to arrive promptly. You are allowed (2) two absences without penalty during the term. Use these wisely, because all absences for whatever reason count. If you are absent more than two times during the term, one point will be deducted from your final grade for each absence. Exceptions to this policy may be made for extended serious illness, family emergency, observance of a religious holiday, or University-sponsored activities, provided that attendance and participation have otherwise been regular.
Compositions:
You will write 4 successive versions of 2 compositions.
v 1st version: reviewed by a classmate (A).
v 2nd version: reviewed by a different classmate (B).
v 3rd version: corrected by the instructor using a correction key (C).
v 4th version: final version using instructor’s suggestions (D).
These compositions will be graded based on your individual work and consulting with anyone will be considered violation of academic honor codes (Spanish-speaking relatives/friends and more advanced students also banned).
The review with a partner (version A and B) will probably involve 45-60 minute meetings outside the class. You are responsible for keeping the schedule for the first two versions, which should be dated and signed by your editor.
Failure to hand in 3rd (C) or 4th (D) version on the due date at the beginning of the class will result in 3 points deducted from your final grade for each delay (from class to class). After a week, your essay will not be accepted and your grade will be zero.
Along with 3rd (C) version you must hand in 1st (A) and 2nd (B) versions commented by your classmate. Together with the 4th (D) version you must hand in the 3 previous ones. Your grade will be based 50% on your final version and 50% on the other three.
Reader-response journal:
You will be spending a good deal of time writing in your journals, so find a notebook that feels comfortable and stimulates you to write. A reader-response journal is one that records a dialogue, or conversation, between the ideas in the text (the words that you are reading) and the ideas of the reader (the person who is doing the reading). This is what you must do in your journal—have a conversation with the text and with yourself. Your journal will use a two-entry form:
v Fold the page in half.
v In the LEFT COLUMN, write down parts of paragraphs from the fictional texts we read.
v In the RIGHT COLUMN, write down YOUR OWN thoughts, commentary, and questions about the contents in the LEFT COLUMN.
You will notice that your comments on the right-hand side of the page far exceed those on the left-hand side. Don't worry; your readings simply provide you with more data to respond to than do your reading habits. Nevertheless, I do expect you to continually think and write about yourself as a reader. The more fully you are aware of yourselves as readers, the better critics and writers you will be.
I don't expect that you will make entries in your journal every time you read. I do expect, however, that you write in your journal at least once a week. Keep your journal right beside you while you read, so you can immediately write your insights down about the text. When writing in the journal, use complete sentences instead of phrases. The demands of the sentence will help you draw out your thoughts fully. This style of writing will be especially good practice for your essays. Further, keeping this journal will greatly slow down the speed at which you read, but that's fine. Reading is an activity that calls for reflection. We are not meant to plow through texts as if we were in a race. This reflection and writing as you read will improve your retention of the material, and it will also help you generate ideas for your papers. Additionally, the journals will help you practice your critical vocabulary and hone your interpretive skills. Consequently, the long-term benefits far outweigh what might seem like a short-term nuisance.
The journal counts as 20% of your grade, and it will be evaluated according to three criteria: Commitment, ambition, and engagement. Your journals will not be graded according to correctness or paragraphing or sentence structure. However, when writing in the journal, use complete sentences instead of phrases in order to develop your thoughts fully. This style of writing will be especially good practice for your essays.
You will be asked to evaluate your own journals once at midterm and again at the end. Both times, an evaluation sheet will be provided. You will see that this sheet gives descriptions of an “A” journal, a “C” journal, and an “F” journal; “Bs” and “Ds” fall somewhere in between. You will be asked to evaluate your journal according to each criterion, using two or three sentences to explain your evaluation, and you will then arrive at an overall grade. At midterm, turn in your evaluation sheet with four copied pages of your journal; at the end of the term, I’ll want your evaluation together with eight copied pages. Choose your pages so that they support your evaluation. I will read your evaluation, look at your supporting pages, and decide whether or not your evaluation seems reasonable. If I see some problem, I will ask for your entire journal.
Turning in assignments:
All work that is turned in for evaluation or grading should be typed, usually double-spaced, with margins of 1-1 ½ inches on all sides; printed in 12 point font, in a legible type face. Be sure that your printer ribbon or toner allows you to produce clear copies. Follow page or word limits and meet deadlines. Use footnotes and endnotes as necessary and according to the MLA’s guide for research papers. Your writing should be gender neutral as well as clear and to the point. The requirements of each work will be posting in blackboard. If you have a problem, see me in advance of due dates. Unacceptable work will be returned, ungraded, to you.
Leadership of one or more class discussions:
One or two students, depending on the number of students in the class, will be assigned to lead a group discussion on the readings each class. The most important task of this assignment is to present questions and perspectives on the major topics and issues of that day, and on the reading specifically, that will generate good discussion. Think about how you will stimulate discussion. Questions and Tasks Worksheets should be made available to all class members prior to class, no later than 2:00 p.m., via email or at the instructor's office.
In determining a particular student's grade, I will consider the content, spelling, grammar and style (for example, are images used to illustrate points or is it just text) of his or her Questions and Tasks Worksheet, and the content, organization, clarity and style (for example, not simply reading to the group) of the class presentation.
Presentations:
During the term, each student will have four presentations, three in group and one individually. All the presentations will be supported with power point in relation to the theme scheduled in the activity calendar. All power points will be sent at the professor by email. The grade of each presentation will be according to requirements for participation in class.
Exams:
During the term we will have two exams. These ones will include two sections: identification and essay. In the identification section, you will explain the meaning and significance of a particular term, date, event or person. For the essay, you will respond to a question that addresses some major event or theme discussed in the course. NO MAKE-UP EVALUATIONS WILL BE ADMINISTERED.