FRS 002 — Sec. 011 — (2
units) — CRN 53599 — R 4:10-6:00 pm — 3 Wellman
Spanish and Latino Communities in the United States
Instructor: Cecilia Colombi, Department of Spanish & Classics, College
of Letters & Science
Description: This course examines issues related to the use of
Spanish and the Latino communities in the United States. It will explore multilingual
communities in the U.S. It will describe the situation of Mexican Americans, Puerto
Ricans, Cuban-Americans and Central Americans with respect to the Spanish language
maintenance and development (interpersonal and public communication, speech events
and variation in the language used). It will look at the extent and use of Spanish
in the arts, media and work place. The course will be conducted through lectures,
videos, individual presentations and group activities (projects, film discussion
sessions). Evaluation will be on-going, based on attendance, participation and
quality of work completed.
Format: The class will meet once a week for one hour and a half
for the first eight weeks, and for two hours the last two weeks of the quarter
for student presentations. Students are expected to spend at least three hours
for the first eight weeks doing the required readings, any outside readings required
for their projects, and gathering information for their final projects. Some weeks
rather than doing outside readings, students are required to view films outside
of class time and to work in groups to complete their course project. Grading:
Students will be given a letter grade on the quality of their participation –
their oral presentations and discussions on the assigned readings and films, (30%);
the quality of their short papers -- 2 to 3 pages (30%) and their final group
project (40%).
Required Reading: ....y no se lo tragó la tierra/ ...and
the earth did not swallow him by Tomás Rivera, translated by Evangelina
Vigil-Pinon (1987).
Reader: Available at Copyland on G Street.
About the Instructor: M. Cecilia Colombi (Ph.D. University of
California, Santa Barbara) is Professor of Spanish at UC Davis. Her research interests
include: educational linguistics and sociolinguistics with emphasis on Spanish
in the United States. She is currently analyzing the development of academic writing
in Spanish by Latino bilingual speakers in the U.S. Recent publications include:
Mi lengua: Spanish as a Heritage Language in the U.S., coedited with Ana Roca
(GUP:2003), Developing Advanced Literacy in First and Second Language, coedited
with Mary Schleppegrell (LEA,2002); Palabra abierta, coauthored with Jill Pellettieri
and Mabel Rodriguez (Houghton Mifflin, 2001), La enseñanza del español
a hispanohablantes: praxis y teoria, coeditor with Francisco X. Alarcón
(Houghton Mifflin, 1997). She may be reached by e-mail at cmcolombi @ucdavis.edu