Spanish and Portuguese Language and Literature Commons^™

"En Papel,” Not In Practice: Indigenous Autonomy And The Structural Barriers To Land And Resource Control In Bolivia, Andrew F. Purcell

Honors Theses

This thesis examines why Bolivia’s 2009 plurinational constitution—despite its strong recognition of Indigenous autonomy, collective territory, and prior consultation—often produces rights that remain “en papel” rather than in practice. Based on one month of fieldwork in Tumupasa, Chojasivi, La Paz, El Alto, and Santa Cruz, the study draws on interviews, participant observation, and NGO documents to analyze the structural barriers that prevent constitutional guarantees from becoming enforceable governance tools. This gap between recognition and implementation structures the central research question: why do Bolivia’s constitutional and legal protections for indigenous land and resource rights function as symbolic guarantees rather than enforceable …

The Catalan-Speaking Linguistic Landscape Of Spain: A Comparative Analysis Of Commercial Signage In Barcelona, Valencia, And Palma De Mallorca, Kyle Reasons

Honors Theses

The present study is a linguistic landscape of the Catalan-speaking region of Spain. Linguistic landscaping is a relatively new survey technique in the world of linguistics first developed in a study by Landry & Bourhis (1997) and has a focus on addressing the languages present on various forms of signage within a given area. Catalan is a Romance language with approximately 9 million speakers where it is recognized as a co-official language in 3 communities included in this study (the Balearic Islands, Catalonia, and the Valencian Community). This study looks at 3 cities in Spain (Barcelona, Valencia, and Palma de …

An Exploration Of The Economic And Social Impacts Of The Grupo Social Once, Annalaura B. Swinea

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the economic and social impacts of Grupo Social ONCE, a Spanish institution that operates at the intersection of business, philanthropy, and social inclusion. ONCE has evolved from a small lottery initiative for the blind into a multifaceted organization comprising JuegosONCE (its lottery operation), Fundación ONCE (a philanthropic foundation), and ILUNION (a business group promoting inclusive employment). Through historical analysis, organizational review, and employment statistics, this study evaluates whether ONCE successfully fosters economic inclusion for people with disabilities. It argues that the hybrid model of Grupo Social ONCE creates a self-reinforcing cycle of social and economic empowerment …

Dialectal Variations Of Food Terms In The Spanish-Speaking World And Their Causes, Dylan Muccino

Honors Theses

This study explores the dialectal variations of food-related terms across the Spanish-speaking world, emphasizing their multilingual etymological origins. Using etymological dictionaries and sociolinguistic sources, the study categorizes food-related lexical variants into five main root language groups: Arabic/Afro-Asiatic/European, Pre-Columbian Caribbean, Mesoamerican, South American, and unknown or unique origins. The findings represent the persistence of Indigenous influence, the impact of Arabic on Peninsular Spanish, the development of Spanish from Latin, and the role of analogy and adaptation in naming unfamiliar items, illustrating the dynamic and complex relationship between language, culture, and history.

Spanish Education: Teaching Philosophy Learned From Best Practice And Student And Teacher Engagement., Olivia Anderson

Honors Theses

This honors thesis investigates best practices for teaching Spanish in K–12 settings by conducting qualitative interviews with Spanish teachers at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. The study focuses on identifying effective strategies and classroom activities that promote student engagement and language proficiency while examining how teachers continue to develop professionally. Conscious of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages’ (ACTFL) Five C’s—Communication, Cultures, Connections, Comparisons, and Communities—the research highlights communication as the central pillar of language learning. Through detailed classroom examples, such as “Mapa del Martes,” student-created cooking videos, and Kagan Strategies, the thesis illustrates how …

Odiar Es Proteger: La Respuesta Inevitable Al Origen De Una Pandemia, Haowen Huang

Honors Theses

Esta tesis analiza la causa del odio hacia los asiáticos durante la pandemia de COVID-19, enfocándose específicamente en los casos que tuvieron lugar en España. La prevalencia de discriminación dirigida al origen de una pandemia identificado por la narrativa del brote es cultivada por la persistencia de estereotipos. En el caso de COVID-19, la xenofobia hacia los asiáticos fue el resultado de una construcción histórica que ha estigmatizado su identidad persistentemente, la repetición de la cual es definida en esta tesis como racismo pandémico. La imagen de los asiáticos enfermos fue establecida injustificadamente por la medicina occidental en el siglo …

Departure From Magical Realism: Female Agency In Latin American Post-Boom Literature, Nicole Darian Llacza Morazzani

Honors Theses

his thesis explores depictions of female agency in post-colonial Latin American literature. I highlight three primary texts: Gabriel García Márquez's (1927-2014) 1967 One Hundred Years of Solitude, a canonical magical realist novel; Isabel Allende's (1942-present) 1982 The House of Spirits, her debut novel and a multi-generational story similar to Márquez's, and Isabel Allende's 2022 Violeta, a historical novel offering an autodiegetic narrative of a woman's 100 years of life in an unnamed South American country, to analyze how female characters evolve in response to changing sociopolitical landscapes and literary movements in Latin America. My central focus is Allende's most recent …

Decades Of Don Quixote: Tracking Social Progression Through Marcela And Grisóstomo, Allison Jackson

Honors Theses

In this essay, I will track the evolution of academic opinions in the late 20th and early 21st century of two main components of the episode: Marcela’s character and what it says about Cervantes’ perception of women’s autonomy, as well as Grisóstomo’s death and the rejection of the notion of suicide by past academics. Marcela’s dramatic rejection of societal demands and Gristósomo’s tragic and confusing death are radically exciting since there is so much left to be assumed about the two main characters that is not explicitly written. The story relies on irony and subversion to enunciate a certain message; …

Understanding How Women Navigated The Fight For Equality During The Second Republic And Transition-Era Spain Through Feminist Literature, Amanda Jeanette Pagoaga

Honors Theses

This paper explores how women navigated the fight for equality during the Second Republic and Transition-era Spain through the lens of feminist literature. Specifically, comparing and analyzing two books, Doble esplendor by Constancia de la Mora (1939) and Crónica del desamor by Rosa Montero (1979). Both books feature women in their thirties who work and explore themes of marriage and romantic love, friendship as a space of freedom, motherhood, working women, and politics against the backdrop of the ever-changing sociopolitical situation in Spain. Through close analysis of these works, the author examines how these women navigate gender roles and societal …

¿Cómo Se Dice...? The Spanish Use Of Hispanic College Students, Christopher Castaneda

Honors Theses

The Spanish language is very prominent in the United States. Millions of Spanishspeakers live there, and the use of the language in their day to day lives has augmented the presence of it in an otherwise Anglophone country. However, there are certain factors that may influence how often Spanish speakers actually use their language in this country. This study sought to analyze two: the existing anti-Hispanic attitudes in the United States and the parental/caretaker level of education of Spanish-speaking people. This study aimed to conduct an analysis of college-aged Hispanic students in order to conclude the extent to which those …

The Life Of Una Estudiante Americana: Here Y Allí, Madeline Kastel

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study is to analyze the differences between studying Spanish at an American university, Western Michigan University, in Kalamazoo, Michigan to that of a study abroad program at La Universidad de Burgos, in Burgos, Spain in three main areas: teaching styles in classes, extracurricular activities and student experiences.

To begin this study, it is important to note the differences in demographics and available public transportation where each study took place: Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA and Burgos, Spain. In Kalamazoo, students have the option to use the city bus system, the Metro, for free, but tend to use their …

Pendulums Of Personhood? Exploring The Multitudes Of Immigrant Womanhood In Spanish-Maghrebi Literature, Kaitlyn C. Sisco

Honors Theses

Often considered articulations of in-between-ness and bearers of fraught selfhoods, the work of Spanish-Maghrebi authors has been widely debated in literary fields, with academics arguing that it constitutes a largely homogenous set of texts about the standard immigrant experience. However, by placing these texts in a single category, such arguments end up erasing the immensely varied identities expressed and represented by Spanish-Maghrebi authors. This thesis seeks to address this issue by paying particular attention to how Spanish-Maghrebi authors negotiate different types of immigrant subjectivities in their writing. Specifically, I analyze the works of three contemporary Spanish-Maghrebi writers, Najat El Hachmi, …

The Effects Of Musical Experience And Aptitude On Phonological Skills In A Foreign Language, Joshua Shockley

Honors Theses

Music has been shown to have an important effect on L2 language acquisition. Recently, researchers have investigated how musical ability or experience can give an advantage to L2 learners attempting to acquire specific aspects of a second language in the beginning stages of language acquisition. This study investigates this connection between musicality and early L2 ability in Spanish through a series of tests including a musical aptitude test, two language aptitude tests, a Spanish receptive test, and a Spanish imitation test. Results revealed no significant correlations between musical ability or experience and language ability as tested by the aptitude, receptive, …

Yo Soy Rumano (I Am Romanian): An Autobiography Exploring The Effects Of Memory And Trauma On The Formation Of The Self, Andrei Bucaloiu

Honors Theses

I came to the United States from Romania with my parents when I was two years old. This moment of cultural, linguistic, and geographic separation occurred before I was able to consciously recall it, yet it constitutes a traumatic experience, in the Freudian and Lacanian sense, that defines my positionality and serves as a primary space in which I seek to develop who I am. However, regardless of how much I have developed my ability to communicate in English, it is not the language of my emotional affect. At the same time, profound expression in Romanian is not possible for …

Maternidad En España: Una Investigación Sobre Cómo Las Mujeres Navegan Los Límites Patriarcales Para Ampliar Visiones Y Realidades De La Maternidad, Katerina Tanasijevic

Honors Theses

A través de una investigación de películas españolas, una obra de teatro y el activismo de salud pública, esta tesis disecciona la historia de la maternidad en España. Se enfoca en madres no tradicionales, que difieren de los ideales patriarcales y heteronormativos de lo que debe ser una madre débil, cómplice y en un nivel inferior a sus contrapartes masculinas. En un estudio de madres fuertes en películas que las compara con ejemplos de la actualidad, argumento que las madres no tradicionales en España experimentan momentos de autonomía, empoderamiento e independencia. Sin embargo, estos momentos existen y dependen de una …

Healthcare Access Barriers And Proposed Solutions For Limited English-Proficient (Lep) Latinx Patients In Southwest Michigan, Carmen Vinkemulder

Honors Theses

This research study explores the circumstances and experiences of LatinX patients with limited English proficiency (LEP) when seeking treatment in the healthcare system of Southwest Michigan, in addition to proposing solutions to better facilitate this population’s access. The terminology used in this research, LatinX, is an American English neologism used as a genderinclusive term used interchangeably with Latino/a and/or Hispanic. This research provides an overview of the current socio-political legislature and climate of the American healthcare system as it pertains to the LatinX population to spread awareness and identify the barriers existing in our current healthcare model. This study will …

Ganar Local: La Política Cantera Del Athletic Club Y La Construcción De Lo Vasco, Sam Orenstein

Honors Theses

El Athletic Club de Bilbao es un club único en el fútbol español debido a su política cantera. Esta política declara que para jugar por el Athletic Club, hay que ser vasco. Este concepto, que cuestiona quién es vasco, cómo se expresa, y cómo contamos la identidad nacional, es un pilar central de esta tesis. Esta tesis analiza la cantera en su habilidad de definir qué es ser vasco, lo cual tiene implicaciones más anchas para el fútbol y nacionalismo en España. Sugiero que la cantera es un agente activo en la construcción de una definición de ser vasco que …

El Mar Y La Gente: Hacia Una Contextualización De Lo Indígena En El Botón De Nácar, Jonathan Braden Taylor

Honors Theses

El presente trabajo analiza las ramificaciones ontológicas, epistemológicas, y políticas del botón de nácar, un documental hecho en 2015 por el cineasta Patricio Guzmán. El siguiente análisis busca poner esta obra cinemática en el contexto de la formulación y el desarrollo del estado-nación chileno, lo cual ha ocurrido a expensas de las personas indígenas de la zona. Se observa que se emplea significación verdaderamente descolonizada en representaciones y discusiones de espacios acuáticos, lo cual engendra avances teóricos que utilizo para contextualizar el filme. Se sostiene que los efectos políticos de dicha significación descolonizada se ponen en marcha productivamente cuando son …

Comunidad Y Contagio: La Narrativa Del Brote De Covid-19 En España, Samantha Lee

Honors Theses

La pandemia global de COVID-19 inició inesperadamente el enero del año 2020. Mientras que el nuevo coronavirus impactó a personas de todo el mundo, hay una narrativa particular del brote que se ha ocurrido en España. Las consecuencias corpóreas del virus han tenido mayores impactos en el tejido social, económico, político y cultural de España. Por resultado, hay una narrativa del brote que es específica a los valores, experiencias, suposiciones y creencias de personas en España. Esta historia de la pandémica se ha escrito a través de las redes sociales, así como los funcionarios de salud pública, profesionales medicales, autoridades …

International News From Differing National Perspectives: Spanish-Speaking Newspaper Coverage Of The 2019 Venezuelan Presidential Crisis Protests, Lauren Lalonde

Honors Theses

On January 23, 2019, the streets of Venezuela became flooded with protests in response to the head of Venezuela’s National Assembly, Juan Guaidó, announcing his claim to the Venezuelan presidency. The protests were largely in support of his announcement, though some supported Nicolás Maduro, the president of Venezuela since 2013. This day marked the beginning of the Venezuelan presidential crisis, which left Venezuela, and the world, debating the legitimacy of each leader. This investigation focuses on how Spanish-language news sources from three different countries reported on the protests surrounding the Venezuelan presidential crisis on January 23, 2019, and how the …

Interpreting Efforts In Mississippi Schools: Does Spanish Dialect Diversity Hinder Communication?, Walker Fortenberry

Honors Theses

This work examines the different Spanish dialects spoken by interpreters and their clients in public schools in Mississippi and whether dialectal mismatches hinder communication between interlocutors. To do this, I conducted a brief interview and survey of several interpreters for the Tupelo Public School District. The interview and survey assessed the interpreters’ personal use of Spanish dialects as well as their ability to identify certain dialects and opinions as to the relevance of dialects in their work. I found that interpreters, though aware of dialectal differences among Spanish speakers, were generally not able to identify specific dialects. Furthermore, I found …

Immigrants: A Threat To The Economy Or Cultural Identity? A Case Study Of Haitian And Venezuelan Immigrants In Chile, Erin Geist

Honors Theses

Historically, countries often faced the difficult task of favoring one immigrant group over another. Typically, this is in response to their inability to support those immigrants due to an unstable economy. However, some scholars argue that during times of economic prosperity, excluding immigrants may be the result of the group’s incapacity to assimilate to the nation’s “cultural identity”. Since Chile’s conception as a nation and as one of the most prosperous Latin American countries, they have received notably minuscule immigration rates. As a result, Chileans prides themselves as a relatively homogeneous country. Consequently, in 2018, President Sebastián Piñera differentiated visas …

Propaganda Y Progreso: El Rol Paradójico De La Magia En La España Premoderna, Alexander K. Rhodes

Honors Theses

La magia tiene varios roles diferentes en la literatura española premoderna. A causa de las connotaciones pecaminosas de la magia, frecuentemente se usa para discriminar contra un grupo subalterno, como en la obra de teatro El niño inocente de La Guardia de Lope de Vega. Se ve que esta forma de discriminación difunde y apoya la anxiety of sameness definida por Christina Lee. La anxiety of sameness es el temor de los nobles de ser infiltrados por los no nobles, incluyendo a los judíos, los moriscos y los de la clase baja. Pero, como se ve en esta tesis, la …

Comunidad, Antigüedad Y Solidaridad Ser Gay En El Tardofranquismo 1969-1978, Andrew Healy

Honors Theses

En una época de represión e intolerancia en España, los homosexuales todavía existían, pero en una manera clandestina. Esta tesis explora cómo esta comunidad clandestina se expresaba durante el tardofranquismo en los años 1969-1978. Con discusiones de los valores del régimen, las representaciones del hombre en relaciones sexuales y sitios históricos que preservan el legado del franquismo, esta tesis ilumina la historia de un grupo oprimido en España.

A través del uso de diferentes fuentes académicas, incluso documentales, películas y artículos, esta tesis discute cómo los homosexuales se comportaban en el franquismo, y su tratamiento bajo un régimen opresivo. Unos …

Relaciones De La Familia: Un Proyecto Americano, Jadyn Snakenberg

Honors Theses

This collection of Spanish short stories explores familial relationships through the eyes of an American female college-age student.

Precariedad En La Pantalla: El Género Fílmico De La Crisis Española, Lauren M. Grant

Honors Theses

La crisis económica española (2008—Presente) impactó España con mucha fuerza, dejando a mucha gente en estados de precariedad y vulnerabilidad. Estas experiencias de la crisis se reflejan en cine de crisis español, lo que frecuentemente pone a los protagonistas en situaciones de precariedad física que representan metafóricamente las realidades de la crisis. Además, el cine de crisis puede tener aplicaciones activistas a través de animar a la gente de tomar acción contra la corrupción política y desigualdad económica. Esta tesis analiza tres películas españolas de distintos géneros fílmicos que son ejemplos del cine de crisis: Los amantes pasajeros (Almodóvar, 2013), …

Religion In Education: The Effects Of Political Ideologies On Andalusian Youth, Jessika Brittni Russell

Honors Theses

This study investigates the driving factors behind a student’s choice to take a class on Catholicism, or the alternative social and civil values class, throughout their educational career in Andalusia, Spain. Major sociological theories are used to understand how religion, education, and politics tie together in society, and additionally the impact they have on individuals. In order to understand the personal factors that play into one’s choice to take a class on Catholicism, a survey was created using the platform Qualtrics and afterwards sent out to students in Andalusia, Spain. The study uses a qualitative approach to analyze the data …

Code-Switching Practices In The Foreign-Language Classroom: Instructor Nativeness And Students' Perceptions, Zachary Ty Gill

Honors Theses

In this study we investigated code-switching practices in the foreign language classroom among instructors who are native speakers of the target language (Spanish) and instructors who are non-native speakers of the target language, as well as students’ perceptions of L1 use. Participants were three college instructors of Spanish and 38 college students in an intermediate level Spanish course. The participants were observed and recorded during two hour-long classes involving group work. After the observations, the instructors completed an interview, and the students completed an online questionnaire. This study found that native instructors use less English than non-native instructors and the …

Generational Expressions Of Basque Nationalism, Mollie Bradford

Honors Theses

This work studies the difference in the expressions of Basque nationalism between the Basque youth and the older generations of the Basque population in the Basque Country of Spain, or Euskadi. I hypothesized that the Basque youth would express nationalism banally, or in everyday activities, while the older generations would be intentional and active in their expressions, due to the older generations’ experiences with the Franco regime and ETA, the Basque terrorist group. I researched using articles from a Basque newspaper, Euskal Irrati Telebista. I chose key words and searched through articles written in 2017. I also conducted a survey …

Lost In Translation: Challenges And Solutions To Language Barriers In Healthcare In Mississippi, Galina Ostrovsky

Honors Theses

Language barriers can impede access to healthcare and compromise quality of care for limited English proficiency (LEP) patients. Although a rights-based framework would suggest and federal mandates require healthcare facilities to provide language access services, multiple factors result in the persistence of language barriers in healthcare. As the literature review shows, these factors include limitations in policy, enforcement, standardization, resources, and ability to recruit and retain professional interpreters. This thesis uses a multi-method case study entailing Mississippi in general and information from two specific sites, a rural Delta county and an urban central county, to assess the issue of language …