MLO 4: Secondary Cultural Knowledge
IN ADDITION TO THE SPANISH LANGUAGE AND HISPANIC CULTURES, THE STUDENT DEMONSTRATES A GENERAL KNOWLEDGE OF A SOCIO-CULTURAL GROUP OTHER THAN A HISPANIC ONE OR MAINSTREAM AMERICAN CULTURE. THE STUDENT DEVELOPS A BASIC UNDERSTANDING OF THE WAYS OF THINKING (IDEAS, BELIEFS, ATTITUDES, VALUES, PHILOSOPHIES), THE BEHAVIORAL PRACTICES (PATTERNS OF SOCIAL INTERACTIONS) AND THE CULTURAL PRODUCTS – BOTH TANGIBLE AND INTANGIBLE (FOR EXAMPLE, ART, HISTORY, LITERATURE, MUSIC) – OF THE SECOND CULTURE.
Course: Span 395I (Quechua Language and Culture)
Reflection: The course taken to fulfill this requirement was "Quechua Language and Culture". This class was taken while studying abroad at Pontificia Universidad Católica in Santiago, Chile. It was, like any other class, one of the hardest classes I have ever had to take. This was due to the complex linguistic grammar system of the Quechua language and the troublesome pronunciation it has evolved into. I really enjoyed taking the class because it gave me yet another aspect of Latin America that was not directly related to Chile, which at that time was refreshing. In the class we did many exercise on grammar, pronunciation, and storytelling through folk songs. The professor was Chilean but had roots that tied back to Perú and to natives who spoke Quechua and Aymara.