Lectures by BLC Fellows (D. Southard, S. Hicks, M. Romani), Dec 5, 2014

Fall 2014 BLC Fellows Instructional Development Research Projects

Memoria Histórica: A Film Module for Intermediate Spanish
Donna Southard, Lecturer, Spanish & Portuguese
The purpose of this project was to develop pedagogical material for a film module on historical memory in Intermediate Spanish, as part of a larger departmental goal of increasing the presence and effectiveness of cinematic resources in our literacy-based curriculum. This presentation will describe the development, piloting, and evaluation of a unit on historical memory that will ultimately be expanded into a full course.
Download handout as a PDF

ASL Pedagogy: A Further Exploration of Deaf Culture Within the ASL Curriculum
Sherry Hicks, Lecturer, Linguistics Department
Infusing pertinent Deaf cultural aspects into the American Sign Language, (ASL) classroom requires an in-depth analysis of what is currently included in the ASL curriculum, and further identification of areas for inclusion.
Identified as crucial concepts for introductory, and all levels, of ASL are:  understanding linguicism and its roots, dysconscious audism, language acquisition challenges that D/deaf children face to actualize access to a “natural language”, and the historical framework.  From this history, an understanding of the differences of what is deafness versus Deafhood will be developed. Finally, examples of Deaf Literature and ASL Poetry shared through multimedia access, and the basis of gesture as origins of language, will be synthesized.

Italian in Performance: Opera as a Holistic Framework for Language Pedagogy
Marina Romani, GSR, Italian Studies
From musical references woven into urban landscapes to the use of arias in films, opera has forged a certain idea of Italianness, whether ironic, serious or stereotypical. Because of its powerful cultural reach and multimedial and collaborative dimensions, opera is a gateway to approaching specific aspects of the Italian language. My project investigates the potential of opera for performance-based pedagogy. I propose the study of one or more operas over one semester, in their historical, linguistic, gestural, and musical aspects; then, students will stage a performance of selected scenes. Though Italian opera is my case study, I will present a set of guidelines for a performance-based course that could be used by instructors across languages and cultures. I aim not only to develop a pedagogic strategy but also to raise awareness in order to think critically about different cultural soundscapes – a crucial dimension that is rarely addressed in the language classroom.
Download handout as a PDF

Friday, December 5, 2014
3 – 5 pm
B4 Dwinelle Hall

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