Reflection on how we learn other languages as well as the societies where they are spoken should lead to innovation. The following are examples of outcomes of such reflection and the collaboration that followed with colleagues across disciplines and undergraduate and graduate students.
“Discovering Diversity through Languages of Color” sought to address the needs of instructors of any foreign language who are concerned with students’ learning and are trying to engage them in language and global diversities. To this end, I worked with a group of undergraduate students to think about the place and role of language diversity in the Arts and Humanities.This learning experience video logged the impact and value of language diversity in the students’ lives.
This project was sponsored by “What We Owe: Exemplary Teachers” (2012-2014) a program led by the Center for Applied Inclusive Teaching and Learning in Arts and Humanities (2010-2015) at Michigan State University. Under the guidance of Ellen Cushman, Dean’s Professor of Civic Sustainability at North Eastern U, six “master teachers” completed a series of culturally sustaining pedagogy workshops to develop critical, culturally sustaining, reflective practice among teachers. Its goal: to help draw diverse learners into Arts and Humanities majors.
The five videos of this project can be seen in On Learning and Studying Spanish and Latin America in the Videos section.
“Recording the Native Americas: Indigenous Rhetorics and the Politics of Written Languages.” 2014 Graduate Student Summer Institute Program, Newberry Consortium in American Indian Studies.
In collaboration with Ellen Cushman, Professor of English and American Indian Studies, Dean’s Professor of Civic Sustainability, Northeastern University. Click for more information and NCAIS.
“The Broken Spears”
Retelling the Spanish conquest of Mexico from indigenous sources collected by Miguel León Portilla’s Visión de los vencidos. A collaboration with Honors students of Native Latin America at MSU (spring 2011).
Another version prepared with Honors students of this course in spring 2015, can be seen in videos.
Special Topics in the Arts & Humanities | Women’s Textual Agency in the Pre-modern Era (team-taught)
This seminar examines how women from a wide range of social and cultural backgrounds in the past asserted themselves through writing when confronted by patriarchal social forces and conventions. The seminar brings together the interests and expertise of faculty from different specializations and departments such as French, German, Asian Studies, Spanish, Philosophy, English, Music, and History. Click for more information.
Rocío Quispe-Agnoli 