Linguistic Proficiency
Here, I explore the coursework that best defined my linguistic proficiency, as seen through the analysis and comprehension of Spanish multimedia.
Artifacts
The pieces that matter most.
SPAN3050:
Intermediate
Spanish Conversation & Composition I
SPAN 4350:
Contemporary Hispanic Culture
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Course objective:
Practice in spoken Spanish with emphasis on vocabulary, pronunciation, intonation, and comprehension. Includes written work to increase accuracy and assignments in the language laboratory.
01
In SPAN 3050, a course I took abroad, students were tasked with identifying a location significant to the Galician people and creating a tour guide for it. The purpose of this assignment was to further familiarize ourselves with the relics of Santiago de Compostela and understand its significance to insiders and outsiders alike. This assignment allowed me to expand my cultural competence as well as my linguistic proficiency through the studying of texts written in Spanish and exploration of cultural value held by one historical landmark, in particular, of the region: El Palacio de Fonseca, the oldest building created for the Universidade de Santiago. The structure now stands as a source of tourism with profits supporting the university's scholarships. Reviewing its history was challenging as most of the sources were written in Galician, so I asked locals and employees to aid me in Castilian. Improving my cultural competence and catering to a specific language aligns with my future goals of working in the Public Health sector as it reflects my commitment to meet the never-ending demand for promoting equity in healthcare by reducing gaps in access as I understand the significance of culture and customs and remain conscientious of the frustrations brought about by barriers to language.
Course objective:
Study the social, political, economic, and artistic manifestations of contemporary Hispanic culture through literature, music, art, and film.
02
To end the course on a thought-provoking note, SPAN 4350 students were assigned with reviewing the film Eva, a sci-fi that discusses a future in which humans coexist with artificial intelligence (AI) and androids. Relating the film’s themes of human’s technological codependency, ethical decision-making, and social empathy to pre-existing concerns in public health influenced my greater appreciation for the exploration of hypothetical, yet very realistic, dilemmas of the modern world in Spanish filmography. As we quickly transition into a world dominated by AI, we will bear witness to the transformation of healthcare -- with advantages and disadvantages. Knowing how events like these could quickly take a turn for the worse is essential to the core preventional aspect of public health; we must expect the best and prepare for the worst. Through this process, I enhanced my understanding of Spain’s very own questions of morality and fears of the unknown which is a transferable skill to a career in community health as morality often limits our understanding, our reach, and our ability to do more. Acknowledging its threat to health is key to addressing inequities within the population, which is a topic relevant to my future career in public health.