Orozco: MLO4
MLO 4: Secondary Cultural Knowledge
Learning about Hispanic culture is very interesting, but one requisite of our Spanish major is to learn about a culture other than that of Latin America. The goal of MLO 4 is to demonstrate a general knowledge of a socio-cultural group other than a Hispanic one. We have to develop a basic understanding of the ways of thinking, the behavioral practices and the cultural produces of a second culture.
In order to fulfill the secondary cultural knowledge MLO 4 I took HCOM 324, African American Literature. Initially, enrolling in this course appeared to be a great challenge because after taking many courses in Spanish I felt not interested in learning about another culture. But after the first few weeks in that class I was very engaged into the African American culture. I felt I could see many parallels between the Hispanic and the African cultures so it was very interesting to learn about this culture and compare it to the one I know best, Hispanic culture. In regards to the behavioral practices of this culture I learned that many of their actions were due to the repression they experienced in this country. As we all know, African Americans were initially slaves of this country; consequently many of its narratives reflect the social issues they confronted during and after the enslavement.
Also, a cultural aspect that I learned about this culture is that their singing and lyrics are a manifestation of the oppression and anger they feel. Through singing they express their discontent of the way they are been treated by white people. One piece of literature, I read as part of the class is Home to Harlem by John Mckay, this novel narrates the struggles African American went through even after they were emancipated. Based on this novel I wrote a midterm paper where I discuss the different issues colored people experienced during the Harlem Renaissance.
More than fulfilling this MLO, taking this course helped me become more conscious of the importance of having an open mind and not limiting ourselves to only one thing. This course taught me a big lesson because after learning about the African American culture I realized that although it has several differences with Hispanic culture it also has many similarities especially when we analyze the way these two ethnic groups have been treated in the United States.
Here is an example of the midterm I described
Home to Harlem essay
Learning about Hispanic culture is very interesting, but one requisite of our Spanish major is to learn about a culture other than that of Latin America. The goal of MLO 4 is to demonstrate a general knowledge of a socio-cultural group other than a Hispanic one. We have to develop a basic understanding of the ways of thinking, the behavioral practices and the cultural produces of a second culture.
In order to fulfill the secondary cultural knowledge MLO 4 I took HCOM 324, African American Literature. Initially, enrolling in this course appeared to be a great challenge because after taking many courses in Spanish I felt not interested in learning about another culture. But after the first few weeks in that class I was very engaged into the African American culture. I felt I could see many parallels between the Hispanic and the African cultures so it was very interesting to learn about this culture and compare it to the one I know best, Hispanic culture. In regards to the behavioral practices of this culture I learned that many of their actions were due to the repression they experienced in this country. As we all know, African Americans were initially slaves of this country; consequently many of its narratives reflect the social issues they confronted during and after the enslavement.
Also, a cultural aspect that I learned about this culture is that their singing and lyrics are a manifestation of the oppression and anger they feel. Through singing they express their discontent of the way they are been treated by white people. One piece of literature, I read as part of the class is Home to Harlem by John Mckay, this novel narrates the struggles African American went through even after they were emancipated. Based on this novel I wrote a midterm paper where I discuss the different issues colored people experienced during the Harlem Renaissance.
More than fulfilling this MLO, taking this course helped me become more conscious of the importance of having an open mind and not limiting ourselves to only one thing. This course taught me a big lesson because after learning about the African American culture I realized that although it has several differences with Hispanic culture it also has many similarities especially when we analyze the way these two ethnic groups have been treated in the United States.
Here is an example of the midterm I described
Home to Harlem essay