Major Learning Outcomes for the Spanish Language and Hispanic Cultures Major
6.1 Students gain knowledge of appropriate research methodologies and are able to apply them in their studies.
6.2 Students use appropriate technology in research studies relative to Spanish Language and Hispanic Cultures.
6.3 Students collect, manage, and analyze current and emerging technology-based resources to develop and produce their scholarly work.
6.2 Students use appropriate technology in research studies relative to Spanish Language and Hispanic Cultures.
6.3 Students collect, manage, and analyze current and emerging technology-based resources to develop and produce their scholarly work.
Reflective Narrative
For this major learning outcome, students receive fundamental instruction in research, assistance in using technology to complete projects in a professional manner, as well as advice to improve presentation skills. The courses that contribute to the completion of this MLO helped me to form a structured procedure for carrying out substantial research projects. This structure includes an in-depth analysis of a topic, the formulation of specific questions, the search for reliable sources focused on the content of the questions, and finally, the concretization of all this information in a well-organized paper. These courses also offered the tools that would help propel my career upon graduation from CSUMB.
In WLC 300: Major ProSeminar, professors from the World Languages and Cultures department prepared us for life after graduation. Thanks to the experiences of the guest speakers that participated in this course, I have gained valuable knowledge about language professionals. I was also introduced to graduate studies and all the possible opportunities for students in the major if we decide to pursue a Masters or Doctorate. Most importantly, I received guidance in preparing all the documentation that needed to be ready for graduation; for example, my résumé, my individual learning plan, my personal statement, and my ePortfolio. In SPAN 300: Pre-Capstone for Spanish Majors and WLC 400: Major Capstone, I completed my literary research with a feminist approach on the effects of machismo that has crept into the Mexican variant of Spanish, titled “Mexican Identity of the 21st Century in the Works of Fernanda Melchor.” Together with my partner Fátima Andrade, we successfully submitted an in-depth analysis of the contemporary novels Paradais and Hurricane Season, both by the Mexican author Fernanda Melchor. Although these are novels that develop many important social issues in a unique way, it was difficult for us to focus our research on one topic. But thanks to the advice and feedback of our professor Dr. Rebecca Pozzi and advisor Dr. Carolyn González, we were able to condense the content of both novels into a solid thesis that exposes misogyny within the expression of some Mexicanisms.
The most difficult thing for me during the research process has been to adequately organize my thoughts and arguments on a specific subject, since sometimes by wanting to cover more, I end up deviating from the main point. However, I acknowledge that I now have the guidelines that will help me efficiently structure my future projects, and I plan on making use of them from now on.
In WLC 300: Major ProSeminar, professors from the World Languages and Cultures department prepared us for life after graduation. Thanks to the experiences of the guest speakers that participated in this course, I have gained valuable knowledge about language professionals. I was also introduced to graduate studies and all the possible opportunities for students in the major if we decide to pursue a Masters or Doctorate. Most importantly, I received guidance in preparing all the documentation that needed to be ready for graduation; for example, my résumé, my individual learning plan, my personal statement, and my ePortfolio. In SPAN 300: Pre-Capstone for Spanish Majors and WLC 400: Major Capstone, I completed my literary research with a feminist approach on the effects of machismo that has crept into the Mexican variant of Spanish, titled “Mexican Identity of the 21st Century in the Works of Fernanda Melchor.” Together with my partner Fátima Andrade, we successfully submitted an in-depth analysis of the contemporary novels Paradais and Hurricane Season, both by the Mexican author Fernanda Melchor. Although these are novels that develop many important social issues in a unique way, it was difficult for us to focus our research on one topic. But thanks to the advice and feedback of our professor Dr. Rebecca Pozzi and advisor Dr. Carolyn González, we were able to condense the content of both novels into a solid thesis that exposes misogyny within the expression of some Mexicanisms.
The most difficult thing for me during the research process has been to adequately organize my thoughts and arguments on a specific subject, since sometimes by wanting to cover more, I end up deviating from the main point. However, I acknowledge that I now have the guidelines that will help me efficiently structure my future projects, and I plan on making use of them from now on.