Students will enroll in SPN 394 (3 credits), SPN 494 (3 credits) or HON 212 during Spring 2024. Both native and non-native speakers of Spanish are encouraged to apply.
Each class will meet weekly at UNCW throughout the spring semester (15 contact hours) and the remaining contact hours will occur in Mexico.
While in Oaxaca, class will be conducted daily in the morning at the Universidad Autónoma Benito Juárez de Oaxaca. Additional 'class' time will involve students participating in cultural activities and excursions, as well as reflections and discussions.
This course fulfills the Explorations Beyond the Classroom component of University Studies as well as the Applied Learning requirement for the Spanish major.
In this course, we will explore home language maintenance among immigrants in North Carolina and speakers of indigenous languages in Oaxaca through the study of immigration patterns, demographics, policies, and one-on-one interviews with Oaxacans living in Wilmington and in Oaxaca.
During the course, we will examine:
• Language maintenance policies in the US and Mexico
• Migration patterns within and between the US and Mexico
• Linguistic landscape of both Oaxaca and North Carolina
• Demographic trends in the Hispanic population of our region
• Acquisition of home languages by G2 and G3 Latinos in the US
We will address these topics and others with the help of readings, podcasts, and projects.
Students will participate in socioeconomic and cultural discussions focused on the growth of the US Latino purchasing power and impact, followed by an immersive experience in Oaxaca, Mexico. Special focus will be placed in the impact of remittances to Mexico, and in particular to the State of Oaxaca. Interviews with Oaxacans living in Wilmington and in Oaxaca will shed light on how economy impacts and is impacted by immigration patterns, demographics, and policies. The majority of the Mexican immigrants in this region of North Carolina are from Oaxaca which will allow students the opportunity to learn from immigrants residing in Wilmington, followed by travel to the state of Oaxaca.
The majority of the Mexican immigrants in this region of North Carolina are from Oaxaca which will allow students the opportunity to learn from immigrants residing in Wilmington and then travel to their home state/country to meet their relatives, as well as immigrants who have returned to Oaxaca from the U.S.