Barrios and Borders: Language and Identity amongst US Latinos

Learning Outcomes

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• The demographic, sociocultural and linguistic profile of the US Latinos
• The historical context of Latino/Hispanic migration patterns and settlement in the US
• The vitality of the Spanish language in the US in those contexts where it is used
• The ambiguous meaning of identity labels such as ‘Hispanic’ or ‘Latino’
• The similarities and dissimilarities between the cultures, history, politics and society of the US Latinos in comparison with your own

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Demonstrate effective written and oral communication skills through the development of ideas and arguments in various written formats, informal class discussions and formal assessments
• Critically evaluate, analyse, and report on a range of textual and multimedia sources
• Plan and organise your learning, showing independence and initiative
• Use libraries, archives, learning resources and ICT to access relevant information
• Adhere to guidelines and deadlines

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Engage with subject matter and opinion related to relevant aspects of US Latino experience in both breadth and depth
• Analyse and discuss questions about US Latinos by drawing on a range of relevant sources in both English and Spanish
• Define, present and exemplify concepts relating to the US Latino communities
• Apply knowledge, understanding and analysis critically to different topics related to US Latinos
• Formulate and clarify critical questions about the contemporary situation of US Latinos

We will begin this module by exploring key concepts of language, nation and identity which will give you a framework to be able to explore and discuss the case of US Latinos as we move on to consider the other topics on this module, which may include:

• contemporary migration patterns and their relationship to identity
• Language policy and language politics
• Bilingual education across the US
• Language, identity and changing media representations
• Cultural representations of Latinos: TV, film, music and literature
• The Latino Vote in contemporary US elections
• Languages in contact: crossing borders, bilingualism and translanguaging
• The future: Spanish in the US, standard languages and global languages

Teaching and learning methods for this module include:

• Short lectures to introduce concepts and context
• Interactive seminars in which we discuss key readings, consider guiding questions, and cascade findings firstly through small discussion groups and then to the whole group with some facilitating from the lecturer.
• Independent reading, thinking and writing
• Accessing a wide range of materials (academic texts, websites, social media, novels, poetry, videos, online radio, press coverage, and music)
• Preparing and delivering presentations
• One-to-one support in tutorials

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Repeat

An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.