Background Information

Course Description This course covers a large number of texts written by some of the most prominent Latin American writers of the period. The readings are grouped following a thematic criterion. During the first part of the semester, we read and discuss works that use literature to address political, social and cultural concerns. The second part of the semester is dedicated to the analysis of some of the best examples of the so-called fantastic literature and magical realist stories. Student body When I taught the course in the spring semester of 2006, I had a total of 25 first- and second-year students. I began the class by writing a letter to the students that they received along with the syllabus on the first day of class. I started the letter with a brief introduction of the course, and I asked them to write me a response letter answering some questions regarding their reading and writing habits, their linguistic background and their knowledge of the subject matter in particular and Latin America in general. Their responses allowed me to have a better understanding of the student body, which presented the following characteristics: - Most of the students were ESL students who had arrived to the United States from Spanish speaking countries in their childhood or as teenagers. Therefore, their written English presented many grammatical and formal problems. - Very few had any knowledge of Latin America, including its literature and history. A considerable number confessed to not reading or writing anything that was not assigned to them in class (not even the newspaper). Annotated Syllabus Class Letter

Written Assignments Because SPA/LAC 233 HO1W is a writing intensive course, we used writing as our main thinking and learning tool. Throughout the semester, students were assigned a wide variety of written work, including in-class writing, short, informal writing assignments (low-stakes assignments) and more formal, longer assignments that were developed in different drafts and stages (high-stakes writing). a) The role of the in-class writing was to facilitate class-discussion and a better understanding of the readings, since students would need to return to this material in order to complete their final projects. b) The low-stakes assignments were designed to give the students the opportunity to practice the particular skills and to reinforce their self-confidence as writers. These assignments helped the students engage with the readings and movies they would have to use as evidence in their final essay. At the same time, they helped them to reflect on the social and political reality of Latin America as portrayed by the authors in their works. There were two high-stakes assignments. The first one was a dialogue written in two drafts. It asked students to reflect on the problems of Latino immigrants in the US based on readings covered in class. This assignment was an attempt to make students relate the class narratives to their own experiences. The final project was a five-page essay in which students were required to discuss the role of the writer in Latin American countries. Students read interviews and essays in which prominent Latin American authors expressed their positions on this subject. In the final assignment, students were asked to summarize and analyze these texts and to express a point of view with regard to the issue. They were told to refer to the literary readings covered during the semester and to any other readings or movies relevant to the question of the writer's role in Latin America. First Low-Stakes Assignment (bio-poem) Second Low-Stake Assignment (dialogue) Third Low-Stakes Assignment (autobiography) First High-Stakes Assignment (dialogue) Final High-Stakes Assignment

Observations and Results

Student Response to Course Content a) Positive: Although students did not enjoy all of the readings, it was beneficial to expose them to a wide range of Latin American short stories portraying the complexity of Latin America. By the end of the course, and after reading their final papers, it was clear to me that they had gained a better understanding not only of Latin American fiction, but also of the social, political and historical background from which that fiction emerges. b) Negative: We did not have time to discuss all of the short stories included in the syllabus, since we had to dedicate several classes to writing issues (such as grammar, citation, and organization skills) and to students' questions and concerns. For instance, we only analyzed one reading from a section at the end of the semester dedicated to feminist literature. It was difficult to engage students that had never thought of establishing a connection between literature and politics with the many examples of committed literature covered during the first part of the course. The autobiography of Ariel Dorfman provoked a very negative reaction from the students. Many of them viewed the author as self-centered and narcissistic. They could not empathize with the problems of a well-to-do Latin American that had to go on exile for political reasons, but who never had to undergo the hardships of their families, who left their countries escaping poverty. Even though several classes were dedicated to providing the students with the necessary historical and sociological background information to understand the first group of works, these classes did not completely succeed in erasing stereotypes and preconceptions that students brought to the course, or in clarifying the political events fictionalized in the film and short stories.

Results of the Written Assignments a) Positive Most of the writing assignments were successful. It did function very nicely to begin with the more creative low-stakes assignments (such as the bio-poem or the short dialogues) to warm up the students and to encourage and reinforce their self confidence as writers. At the same time, students had the opportunity to learn and practice the particular skills required by the different literary genres, including academic writing. Because they were designed in a very creative way, we did not have to face any case of plagiarism. b) Negative Students were seriously intimidated by the final project. In general, they found it very demanding to read academic essays and to express their own opinions on a subject that was entirely new to them. I asked in class what it was that they found most challenging about the final project and they answered that they felt unprepared to write a paper voicing and elaborating their own views on an intellectual debate because that had never been asked of them before. And when correcting the double-entry logs they wrote in preparation for the final project, I noticed that a significant number of students had problems selecting three quotations that were really crucial to the general argument of the essay.

Revisiting the Course

Rethinking Course Content Most of the problems described have relatively easy solutions. Since there is not enough time in a semester to cover all the literary readings included in my first syllabus, I have eliminated some of them in my revised syllabus. Even though it is hard to engage students with texts portraying social and political problems in Latin America, I think it is still worth it to have them exposed to a type of literature with which they are unfamiliar. As I have mentioned before, by the end of the semester most students had gained a better understanding of the social, political and historical background of Latin America. Regarding their rejection of Ariel Dorfman's autobiography, my first reaction was to eliminate this reading in its entirety. But after consulting with some colleagues in a WAC seminar, I have opted for a less dramatic solution. I will keep just two chapters in which he reflects on problems of language and identity that are common to most emigrants regardless of their social status. Although I will continue to work on my presentation of the historical, political and social information indispensable to understand the first group of works, I have to accept that, because of its complexity, this material will not be fully clarified and understood in an introductory literature course.

Revisions to Written Assignments The most complex problem was the students' reaction to the final project. When they voiced their concerns in class they made me realize that I needed to re-think the course. I realized that students should have been given assignments from the beginning of the course to facilitate the transition to a high-stakes critical essay. Therefore, my main revision has been to implement new low-stakes assignments designed to help students develop the reading and writing skills required to successfully participate in the intellectual conversation required by the final project. These new assignments will be concentrated during the first part of the semester. All of them will ask students to focus on a quotation from an essay or an interview commenting on an aspect of the literary readings. Students will be asked to react to the quotation in writing using their analysis of the literary work as evidence. Another major revision will be to change the format of the final assignment from an essay to a dialogue in which several Latin American intellectuals (Garcia Marquez, Miguel Angel Asturias, Mario Vargas Llosa and Jorge Luis Borges) discuss the role of the writer in Latin America. To engage the students in the debate, they will be invited to participate in their dialogues. This change is based on the assumption that the new format will make it easier for the students to overcome their anxieties, to voice their opinions and to engage in the discussion. My expectation is that they will feel more confident using a more informal format, one that they have already used in a previous assignment. My goal in assigning this dialogue is to support students' engagement in a critical conversation about ideas, while moving them a step closer to conventional academic writing. Revised Syllabus Critical Reading Low-Stakes Assignment 1 Critical Reading Low-Stakes Assignment 2 Critical Reading Low-Stakes Assignment 3 Critical Reading Low-Stakes Assignment 4 Final Dialogue Assignment

Next Steps In order to determine the success of this course transformation, I will need to compare the revised course to the course as it was previously taught. Since I have a teaching portfolio with student work from the first semester I taught this course, I will be able to compare the student work from the two semesters to determine the success of this revision.