Modern Languages Commons^™

French 203: Grammar & Conversation: A Faculty-Led Inquiry Into Reflective & Scholarly Teaching Benchmark Portfolio, Erica Schauer

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

The following Benchmark Portfolio is the product of a full reassessment of FRENCH 203: CONVERSATION & GRAMMAR, an intermediate-level grammar course that serves as a prerequisite for students pursuing a major or a minor in French at UNL. Previously, French 203 had been a review course that covered the essential grammar structures discussed in 101, 102, 201 and 202 and invited students to practice these structures orally with peers in class. This new iteration of the course, however, seeks to broaden the reach of student comprehension of French as a functional tool of communication by requiring students to understand and …

Precarious Citizenship: Ambivalence, Literacy, And Prisoner Reentry, Maggie Shelledy

Writing and Language Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Precarious Citizenship: Ambivalence, Literacy and Prisoner Reentry examines the role of literacy in the experiences of formerly incarcerated people as they navigate the process of reentry into mainstream citizenry. I argue that the unsustainability of mass incarceration has created uncertainty about the place of formerly incarcerated people in the democratic imaginary, opening for debate who deserves to participate in civic life. In response, higher education is increasingly being called upon to address the precarious citizenship of formerly incarcerated people and, I argue, serves to credential formerly incarcerated people not only for future employment but for inclusion in social life. The …

Literature And Censorship During Fransisco Franco's Dictatorship Of Spain, Adriana Cuca

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Experience Abroad And Its Implications On Cultural Empathy, Food, Ambiguity, And Language, Emily Magri

Honors Projects in Modern Languages

This study examines the implication that experience abroad has on cultural empathy, food neophobia, tolerance of ambiguity, and language. The study's purpose is to use quantitative methodology to measure the effects of experience abroad and numerically show how these experiences allow us to nurture openness to new concepts of culture and food. An online survey was used to gather data to draw meaningful conclusions concerning the relationship between experience abroad, cultural empathy, food neophobia, tolerance of ambiguity, and language. The results of this study show that those who speak more than one language show lower levels of food neophobia, indicating …

Exploring The Lexical Profile Of Advanced L2 Writers: Longitudinal Data From The Russian Overseas Flagship Program, William J. Comer

World Languages and Literatures Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study explores the lexical profile of essays written by 48 advanced learners of second language (L2) Russian who participated in the Russian Overseas Flagship, an intensive year-long study abroad program, designed to help students reach Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) Level 3 proficiency in all skills. Using the lexical frequency profile (LFP) and P–Lex as measures of vocabulary sophistication, the study found that over the 9 months of the program, students significantly increased their usage of words from the lowest frequency bands. This adds to the findings of Hacking and Tschirner (2017) that knowledge of lexical items at the 3,000–5,000 …

Representación De Mujeres En El Cine Español: Icíar Bollaín Y Pedro Almodóvar, Jennyfer Sanchez Toribio

World Languages and Cultures Senior Capstones

This paper examines the representation of women in Spanish film, particularly the films Flores de otro mundo (1999) directed by Icíar Bollaín and Volver (2006) by Pedro Almodóvar. Both directors choose to protagonize women as strong individuals capable of being independent and having the ability to move forward in life without the help of a man. Many of the scenes in these films contradict the patriarchal systems set in place to maintain the inferiority of women. Both films also refute societal gender roles and challenge the ideas of machismo, and as a result positively represent women and their capabilities.

Clic Newsletter - Spring 2023, Jesus Bautista, Ramiro Garcia, Kevin Zhou

CLIC Newsletter

Page 0: New Logo

Page 1: An Interview with International Professor Dr. Anqi Xu

Page 3: Balancing Social Media Addiction

Page 4: Event Throwback: Spring Day Gala

Page 5: An Interview with the First Student Graduating in Chinese Language, Culture, and Business (LCB) Major

Page 8: Event Throwback: Study Abroad in Italy

Page 9: Interview with Students who Studied Abroad

Page 11: Restaurant Recommendations

Page 15: French Programming: Celebrating Francophone at Bentley!

Page 16: Event Throwback: Mardi Gras

Page 17: Music and Social Media

Page 18: French Student Poster

Page 19: Women’s History Month

Page 23: A Conversation with Former …

Talking To The Earth: A Digital Documentation Of Biodiversity In The Sherpa Language, Dvij Sharma

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Identified as a pressing matter by organizations as prominent as the UN, the conservation of minority and indigenous languages “is essential for ensuring the continuation and transmission of culture, customs, and history, but it is also important to address biodiversity loss and climate change.” This project focuses on one of the latter issues, biodiversity loss, as it relates to Sherpa, a minority language spoken primarily in Eastern Nepal. In an effort to help preserve the native vocabulary and descriptions of basic plants and animals found in Sherpa-speaking regions, primarily interview-based fieldwork was conducted in the lower Solu regions of Lumsa, …

Translator’S Introduction To ‘Notebook From The Trip To Visit The Hopi Indians’ By André Breton*, Katharine Conley

Arts & Sciences Articles

This Translator’s Introduction provides additional context for Breton’s “Notebook from the Trip to Visit the Hopi Indians,” based on scholarship published since the 1999 publication of the “Notebook” in the edition of Breton’s Complete Works edited by Etienne-Alain Hubert. In the twenty-five years since that initial publication, new studies on Hopi history and culture have been published by Native scholars such as Lomayumtewa C. Ishii and by non-Native scholars such as Thomas Sheridan and Wesley Bernardini, who have worked closely with the Hopi. This additional scholarship extends the background already provided by Hubert in his Introduction from 1999.

Luchas Contra La Matriz Colonial Del Poder: La Liminalidad Del Inmigrante En Axolotl De Julio Cortázar Y Everything, Everywhere All At Once De Daniel Kwan Y Daniel Scheinert., Daniela Hernandez

World Languages and Cultures Senior Capstones

Throughout this essay, immigrant liminality and its connection to Anibal Quijano’s colonial matrix of power is highlighted. Literature and film, such as "Axolotl" and "Everything Everywhere All at Once," illustrate the impact of colonialism on immigrant liminality. Decolonization, anti-colonial thought and culture, can empower marginalized communities by recognizing the ongoing impacts of colonialism. Such representations acknowledge the state of limbo immigrants face, which is disconnected from the mainstream representation of the immigrant experience and the American Dream. By exploring liminality, these representations can help dismantle the colonial matrix of power that shapes how immigrants are perceived in the Western world.

Ideologías Y Políticas De Perpetua Ilegitimidad: El Caso De La Enseñanza De Lenguas En México, David Martínez-Prieto

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Based on data collected in central and southern Mexico, this article examines ideologies embedded in the language learning policies of this country. By qualitatively analyzing 72 interviews to 24 participants, field notes, and the author’s reflective journal, this research investigates the impact of language policies amongst teachers from three different states: Puebla (2017, 2019, 2021), Oaxaca (2018), and Tlaxcala (2020-2021). After comparing the situations of participants, I suggest that nativist, (neo)colonial and neoliberal ideologies—which are prevalent in language policies in Mexico—foster the perpetual delegitimization of language teachers.

Comentarios Críticos Escritos Por Estudiantes De Medicina Sobre La Evaluación Del Paciente, David Sánchez-Jiménez

Publications and Research

La presente investigación analiza los comentarios críticos producidos por estudiantes chilenos de 3º y 4º de Medicina en la sección Comentario/Reflexión final de la Ficha Clínica con el objetivo de conocer su opinión sobre la experiencia de su estancia hospitalaria y la práctica médica en general, así como de entender los elementos retórico-discursivos que utilizan para posicionar su voz en el texto al evaluar dicha experiencia. Para investigar este fenómeno se realizó un análisis textual computarizado de las categorías gramaticales y los contenidos semántico-funcionales valorativos desde un enfoque cualitativo inductivo-deductivo. Los resultados del estudio mostraron un predominio de los comentarios …

Perceptual Sensitivity To Stress In Native English Speakers Learning Spanish As A Second Language, Ramsés Ortín, Miquel Simonet

Writing and Language Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Second language (L2) learners of Spanish whose first language (L1) is English tend to find Spanish lexical stress patterns difficult to acquire. This study investigates whether such difficulty derives, at least in part, from an obstacle encountered during perceptual processing: reduced perceptual sensitivity to stress distinctions. Participants were adult L1 English L2 Spanish learners of various proficiency levels. The experiment was a categorical matching task with triads of auditory stimuli minimally contrasting in stress (target) or segmental composition (baseline), an ABX task. The results show that learners were more accurate in the baseline condition than in the target condition, suggesting …

Reproductive Justice And Feminism: A Comparative Legal Analysis Of The Policies And Healthcare Systems In The United States And Colombia, Samantha Cooke

Modern Languages, Philosophy and Classics Theses

This thesis seeks to offer a comparative legal analysis of the state of the laws regarding abortion and reproductive autonomy in the United States of America and Colombia. This thesis will first address a brief history of feminism and its origins in the United States and Colombia. It will also analyze the policies held by each respective nation; starting with old legislation and moving to current policies regarding abortion. It will also include a comparison between both the U.S. and Colombia; offering suggestions for the future with regards to potential policy changes. The purpose of this thesis is to demonstrate …

La Liberté Face À L’Absurde : Comment Exister Dans Le Monde Moderne, Braiden Ellis

World Languages and Cultures Senior Capstones

French existentialist literature was born in response to the horrors of World War II. The two most prominent representatives of French existentialism were Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus. Both writers were once friends, but their differing approaches to existentialism drove them apart. Camus believed that people should appreciate the life they have, rather than focus on the meaninglessness of a world without God. Sartre believed that people should take agency for their own lives to achieve a state of higher consciousness called “pour-soi.” Sartre’s ideas of self-agency were sometimes problematic, however, in that they ascribed inferiority to selected groups and …

Estereotipos De Hiperfeminidad Masculina: La Marica En El Cine Latinoamericano Del Siglo Xx, Hezekiah Malit

World Languages and Cultures Senior Capstones

This essay analyzes gender stereotypes and male feminization in two Latin American films, El beso de la mujer araña (1985) by Héctor Babenco and El lugar sin límites (1978) by Arturo Ripstein. Using criteria proposed by Vinodh Venkatesh regarding a paradigm shift in gender representation in film, these films could be categorized either as “Maricón Cinema” (Faggot Cinema) (before the paradigm shift because the homosexual character is stereotyped and does not appeal to the emotions of the viewer) or as “New Maricón Cinema” (New Faggot Cinema) (after the paradigm shift because they are protagonists and appeal to viewer emotions). To …

Diversity, Dignity, Equity, And Inclusion In The Age Of Division, Discord, And Disunion: Stereotyping, Sexist, Hegemony In Education, Abha Gupta

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

The article addresses diversity issues related to language, gender, and culture. Topics include fundamental areas of research essential to the discussion on language diversity in the context of education with respect to equity, poverty, stereotype threat, Pygmalion Effect, non-sexist language, and Matthews Effect. The discussion on diversity and equity creates a space to think about issues of access, opportunity, voice, and equal participation within society and educational settings. Diversity among humans requires thoughtful considerations, accommodations, and differentiations in educational treatment, yet providing equal opportunities for growth and learning for all.

Empowering L2 Learners: The Role Of Relational Empathy In L2 Learning, Gabriela Olivares-Cuhat, Giovanni Zimotti

Faculty Publications

In this article, we explore the relevance of the concept of relational empathy to L2 learning. To this end, we first provide a short overview of the notion of empathy in second language acquisition (SLA). Then, we present ideas that gave rise to the introduction of relational empathy in the field of intercultural communication, along with potential benefits of taking this perspective in SLA. Next, we describe the post-method framework for L2 teaching as a strategy that is both well-suited for the fostering of relational empathy and is facilitated by the exercise of this approach. Following this lead, we explain …

Unchoreographed Dance: Trust And Venture Into Vulnerability—Building A Plural, Organic, And Recursive Collective, Miryam Espinosa-Dulanto, Eunice Lerma, Karin A. Lewis, Vejoya Viren

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this autoethnography, we—four Hispanic Serving Institution colleagues at the USA–Mexican frontera—share our process of building a collective where a plural, organic, vulnerable, and recursive space was created. In this space, through readings, conversations, feedings, discussions, and memories, un/anticipated stories emerge…in our unchoreographed writings, we whirl, twirl, collide, and craft our collective space, which was at once chaotic, cathartic, and sustaining.

Instructional Framework For Integrating Cross-Cultural Content Using Culturally Responsive And Linguistically Affirming Pedagogies, J. Joy Esquierdo, Maritza De La Trinidad

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

This chapter describes an instructional framework for culturally relevant and affirming teaching and curricula that addresses effective ways to interconnect cross-cultural content to expand cultural and content literacy in K-12. The Culturally and Linguistically Affirming Pedagogies for Local Context (CLAP-LC) Framework was developed to create culturally and linguistically affirming content, promote equitable education, and nurture student engagement. The framework centers on the intersection of cultural knowledge and lived experiences of students, families, and communities in content and curriculum to promote student achievement, especially students from minoritized and marginalized groups.

Identity Negotiations Of A Mexican Transnational In The Rio Grande Valley: Crossing The Border Daily, Xiaodi Zhou, David Martinez-Prieto

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

This narrative case study examines the cultural affiliations of one transnational US-born Mexican American college student, and her various intersecting veins of identity. The aim was to capture the bordered existence in the many criteria of her being. Her linguistic identity, pop culture identity, spiritual identity, as well as her general cultural affiliations are examined as intersecting rays of influence. Utilizing Anzaldúa’s (2012) bordered identity as theoretical grounding for her partitioned selves, along with Bakhtin’s (1986) notion of cultural and linguistic dialogue, we analyzed the complexities in this one bicultural, bilingual young woman venturing into adulthood. This study sheds light …

Threshold For Learning: The Case For Prioritizing The In-Between Spaces In Education, Xiaodi Zhou

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this paper, the author analyses learning as a function of the threshold between parties and ideas. Using Bakhtinian dialogic theory, literacy learning in particular is envisioned as a dialogue of the threshold. This instructional threshold is viewed both in pedagogical and biological terms. The physiological process of learning is described, making a biological case for instructional scaffolding and the gradual release of responsibility in the classroom. The dialogue of different disciplines serves as integration of several thresholds and further strengthening of learning. Curriculum integration is then promoted as a means to lasting learning.

La Représentation Des Personnages Féminins De Colette Avant Et Après La Première Guerre Mondiale, Payton Thompson

World Languages and Cultures Senior Capstones

At the time that the French novelist Colette was writing, there was a clear hierarchy between the genders that limited the representation of women in literature. In examining the main female characters within two of Colette’s novels, Chéri (1920) and La fin de Chéri (1926), we see that the characters Léa and Edmée disrupt this hierarchy. Specifically, they disturb the patriarchal structures of the time through their representation of the feminist ideas of autonomy in the aspect of freedom of choice, sexual liberation, the inversion of gender roles, and the creation of an individual identity. Since these novels take place …

Dios, Søren Kierkegaard, Y Miguel De Unamuno: Desarollando El Propio Yo, Allyson Chumley

World Languages and Cultures Senior Capstones

The philosophies of Søren Kierkegaard and Miguel de Unamuno were born within turbulent times and the rise of naturalism. As a result, they both embraced subjectivity and individualism. While the two used indirect communication to explore similar ideas, they both had very different concepts of the self, religion, and the process of making yourself a self. While Kierkegaard viewed the process of self-actualization as a mostly linear path of conquering three stages or realms of existence, Unamuno viewed these same stages as mere aspects of human existence, viewing self-actualization as distinct for every individual but generally consisting of striving for …

Neocolonialismo Y Sus Agentes En También La Lluvia, Amber Youngblood

World Languages and Cultures Senior Capstones

The Spanish film También la lluvia (2010) directed by Icíar Bollaín is a commentary about the social factors that resulted in the Water Wars of Cochabamba, Bolivia. This essay contextualizes the circumstances that led up to the violent riots that plagued Cochabamba from November 1999 to April 2000. También la lluvia centers around a foreign film crew seeking to film a movie in Cochabamba, Bolivia for its beautiful landscape and cheap labor. In the months it takes to film the movie, portraying the colonial exploitation of Native Americans, the Water War is developing in the surrounding city. This essay examines …

Machismo, Masculinidad Tóxica Y Estereotipos Del Género: Simulaciones Y Utopías En Niebla (1914) Y Don’T Worry Darling (2022), Mattie Stewart

World Languages and Cultures Senior Capstones

This paper explores the use of simulations and utopias in works of literature and film to critique and interpret social problems affecting people in society. Specifically, it examines Miguel de Unamuno's novel Niebla (1914) and Olivia Wilde's film Don't Worry Darling (2022) as examples of how authors use simulated realities to criticize societal issues. Unamuno's novel highlights the protagonist's separation between reality and fantasy, while Wilde's film creates a simulated reality that reveals toxic masculinity and gender stereotypes in society. Both works inspire fear towards technology and highlight the difficulty in distinguishing reality from illusion. This paper ultimately argues that …

A Cross Dialectal Comparison Of First Person Singular Subject Pronoun Expression In Southern Arizona And Southeast Texas, Ryan M. Bessett

Writing and Language Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study provides a cross-dialectic comparison of first person singular subject pronoun expression in the Spanish varieties of two US-Mexico borderland communities, Southern Arizona and Southeast Texas. Using data collected from sociolinguistic interviews of 32 Spanish/English bilingual speakers, this analysis further explores the impact that trans-frontier practices have on the realization of subject pronouns in border communities and demonstrates the similarities in the variable grammar of the Spanish spoken in the US Southwest. The results show that both Arizona and Texas express first person singular pronouns at a similar rate (19.3% and 18.7%, respectively). Additionally, the linguistic factors that condition …

Inverting The Discourse Of Civilization And Barbarism In Mundo Del Fin Del Mundo And Un Viejo Que Leía Novelas De Amor By Luis Sepúlveda, Adrian Taylor Kane

World Languages Faculty Publications and Presentations

American critic Raymond Leslie Williams has convincingly argued that a desire to be modern is a central characteristic of the 20th century Latin American novel. Williams's argument also coincides with Octavio Paz's assertion that modernity has been a topic of interest to Latin American intellectuals since the 19th century. A glimpse of the terminology used by authors and critics to name various Latin American movements over the past 125 years—modernismo, posmodernismo, avant-garde, modern novel, and postmodern fiction—gives us a sense of the persistent desire of Latin American authors to engage in a dialogue on …

Advancing A Transnational, Transdisciplinary And Translingual Professional Development Framework For Teaching Assistants In Writing And Spanish Programs: An Update, Alyssa G. Cavazos, Marcela Hebbard, José E. Hernández, Crystal Rodriguez, Geoffrey Schwarz

Writing and Language Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

In 2018, we published a translingual and transdisciplinary collaborative piece that sought to respond to the call for writing and language programs to develop professional development opportunities central to multilingual writers’ needs as language learners and writers and their sophisticated and diverse language and writing abilities (Guerra, 2008; Horner et al., 2011; Kells, 2007; Tardy, 2017). We described the design, implementation, and implications of a multilingual pedagogy professional development series for teaching assistants in a transnational and multilingual context (Cavazos, et al., 2018). In this chapter, we provide an update on what has transpired since the series ended. We arrange …

The Backchannel: A Re/Turn To Digital Communities, Andrew Hollinger, Manny Piña

Writing and Language Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.