Dra. María DiFrancesco mdifrancesco@ithaca.edu

Department of Modern Languages and Literatures Despacho: Muller 411

SPAN 491: Race, Culture and Ethnicity in Spain Otoño 2007

Horas de consulta: lunes, miércoles, y viernes, desde la 1 p.m. hasta las 2 p.m., y por cita

Course Description and Goals: For much of history, Spain has been a crossroads. Its many seaports, particularly the Strait of Gibraltar, have permitted diverse people easy access to both Africa and Spain. Likewise, since the end of Francisco Franco’s dictatorship in the mid-1970s, developing economic opportunities and socially progressive political movements have attracted rising numbers of immigrant communities from North African, Latin American and Northern European countries. In this class, our objective will be to examine literature and audio-visual materials that capture the way in which immigration has transformed Spain and continues to change the face of Spanish national identity. By the end of the semester, students will (1) be able to define and discuss the concepts of “race,” “culture” and “ethnicity,” (2) examine and analyze these concepts within the literature and audio-visual media studied in the class, and (3) be able to discuss the social and historical contexts within which these media have been produced.

Mode of Assessment: Portfolio: You will hand in a portfolio for evaluation twice during the semester, once around mid-semester and again at the end of the semester. Each time you hand in the portfolio, it must be as complete as possible (i.e., include as many completed assignments as possible). I suggest you use a 1” binder or a very sturdy folder to compile your work. Use labeled dividers to organize sections (i.e., “Ensayos cortos,” “Preguntas,” etc.). Make sure the outside of the binder or folder is clearly labeled with your name, a place/phone number where you can be reached, your e-mail address, class level and section. If you lose your binder or folder at any time during the semester, you must make up all lost work. No exceptions. On that note, make multiple copies of your work (i.e., have homework assignments, essays, etc. saved on your computer/zip drive/CD, etc.). Each time your portfolio is collected, it will be evaluated. Your portfolio must include:

1. Ensayos cortos: Over the course of the semester, you will write 8 one (250-300 words) to two-page (500-600 words) (250-300 words) short essays in Spanish about the literature and audio-visual media you are studying. Short essays must be typed (use 12 point, Times New Roman font, with margins of 1”), stapled and printed for class each week. Due dates for these weekly assignments are clearly marked on the class schedule.

The purpose of these short essays is to help you think critically about race, culture and ethnicity in contemporary Spain. In your writing, you are expected to reflect on and critically respond to the literature and audio-visual media we are reading. I may, at times, specify a short essay topic in class and ask that students share their writings on the topic once they have had time to complete the task. However, there are a variety of other ways you will be able to approach the media we are reading. For example, you might want to analyze a quote in a short story and talk about how it relates to the rest of the narrative or explain the significance of a song’s lyrics in relation to a newspaper article you may have read about immigration in Spain. Other ideas might be: thinking about an alternative ending to a short story, telling a story from a point of view other than the one used in the original story (i.e., the point of view of a minor character or an outside observer) or you may ask a question about the literature and then explain why this question is important, interesting, or troublesome to you. You might also choose to write about some literary, filmic or musical device used in the media studied (i.e., images, angles, language, use of space, structure, setting, rhythm, etc.), and think about how it functions within the work.

I will regularly collect short essays to be graded. Your grade will be based on your overall written performance (standard grammar, syntax, vocabulary, etc.) as well as your in-class participation, discussion, thoughtfulness and originality. I assign grades based on the following system:

√+ (check-plus, A): This is a truly exceptional analysis or discussion. It shows creativity, keen insight and understanding; it is written in excellent, standard Spanish; it is logical and coherent.

√ (check, B): This is an average short essay, of average length. It uses good, standard Spanish; it is logical and coherent, but it may lack in creativity or insight; it may not clearly demonstrate insight or understanding.

√- (check-minus, C): This is an average short essay; it may contain sub-standard Spanish and/or be illogical and/or be incoherent, and/or be too short/too long. Please note that if the essay is not in class for any reason on any given due date, it will also receive a √-, no matter how well it is written. If, however, there are unusual extenuating circumstances that have kept you from completing work, please let me know. Such circumstances merit exception.

√-- (check-minus-minus, D): This is a below average short essay; it contains all the characteristics of a “C” paper; it may also contain English words or phrases; it clearly demonstrates a lack of understanding or knowledge.

0: if your short essay is simply never handed in to me.

At the end of the semester, choose your best 6 short essays and put them in the portfolio in the order they were originally completed. Note that these essays should be versions that I have corrected/written on. You need NOT re-write or correct these versions. Preface this section of the portfolio with a reflective paragraph telling me why you selected these particular essays for inclusion in the portfolio. In this reflective writing, you might comment on how these essays particularly shaped your way of thinking about immigration in contemporary Spain, helped you to grow as a student/individual, or changed your thinking about the world. (30%)

2. Preguntas de lectura: Each Thursday of each week, everyone must e-mail me (mdifrancesco@ithaca.edu) at least 3 typed questions regarding the literature or audio-visual media we are currently studying. These questions, plus your responses to these questions, must be e-mailed to me by 5 p.m. on Thursday. They may range from the mundane (¿Quién es el narrador de la historia? ¿Dónde están los personajes?) to the sublime (¿Se refiere el narrador a la existencia de Dios? ¿Qué significa para el protagonista el sufrimiento en el mundo?). We will use these questions as the primary impetus for class discussion each Friday. By the end of the semester, you should have 11 sets of questions completed. However, choose only the best 8 from throughout the semester to insert, typed (use 12 point, Times New Roman font, with margins of 1”), in your portfolio. For example, at the end of the semester, you may have the following sets of questions, plus their corresponding answers:

1. “Cailcedrat”
2. “Sa’ra” o “Gabriela”
3. “Fátima de los naufragios”
4. “La piel de Marcelinda”
5. La mirada del hombre oscuro
6. Flores de otro mundo
7. En la puta vida
8. La fuente amarilla

Be sure to place these in the portfolio in the order they were originally completed during the semester. Following class discussion, go back and reflectively respond to your original, typed questions and answers, taking into consideration what your colleagues have said in class and what you may have learned from class discussion. These comments should reflect on the ways in which the material you are learning fits into your academic life/other classes. Remember that I will be grading your original, typed questions and responses as well as your reflective, written comments to these. (30%)

3. Final project: You will give an individual presentation at the end of the semester on some topic we have touched on in class that interests you. We will discuss this project at length as the semester progresses. (30%)

4. Ensayo auto-reflexivo sobre su experiencia académica: At the end of the semester, you will write a one (250-300 words) to two-page (500-600 words) reflective essay in Spanish about your experience in class. This essay should take into account what you have learned about immigration, race, culture and ethnicity in contemporary Spain, as well as discuss your experience as a member of an academic community learning about these issues. In your writing, I encourage you to talk about how your portfolio writing, class participation, exams, attendance and engagement at all levels influenced your performance. (10%)

Requirements and Policies:

A. Always use Spanish.

B. All students are required to attend weekly sessions and actively and enthusiastically participate in class discussions. Students are permitted to miss a maximum of 3 class periods (i.e., one week of class). For each absence beyond three, your final cumulative grade will be reduced by 2% per missed class. After a total of 8 unexcused absences, the professor maintains the right to withdraw any student. I regard tardiness as equally offensive as excessive absence. Legitimate extenuating circumstances merit special consideration. Please see me if a special circumstance requires you to miss class.

C. Students are required to have COMPLETED the reading assignment for each class period PRIOR to the class in which the reading will be discussed. By “completed,” I mean that students will have: 1) read the full text at least once and looked up difficult vocabulary, 2) taken notes in a notebook, 3) written out questions that emerged from the media studied and 4) TYPED OUT assignments. If, for any reason, you have not completed an assignment please let me know privately prior to the beginning of class. This is not so that I can punish you, but so that I can refrain from calling on you, which would be embarrassing for both of us and slow down the pace of the class.

D. No make-up exams or quizzes will be given. Late assignments--essays, homework, etc--will NOT be accepted unless the student has obtained the professor’s permission to do so.

E. Students should turn off cellular phones during class. Cellular phones distract your colleagues from the task at hand, and I find such distractions personally rude and annoying.

F. Academic dishonesty and/or plagiarism. All assignments handed in must reflect the individual work of the student handing in the assignment. I am personally offended and disturbed by acts of academic dishonesty, cheating and plagiarism. The Ithaca College Student Conduct Code describes these offenses and possible actions resulting from such behavior here: STUDENT CONDUCT CODE OF ITHACA COLLEGE, APPENDIX II. If you have ANY doubt as to how to cite or paraphrase a source, ask.

More on Grades:

A: 94.9-100	C: 74.5-77.9
A-: 90.0-94.8	C-: 72.9-74.4
B+: 88.0-89.9	D+: 68.0-72.8
B: 84.9-87.9	D: 60.1-67.9
B-: 82.9-84.8	F: Below 60
C+: 78.0-82.8