Term 2
JAPN 313: Manga, Anime & Modern Japan
Course Description
Manga, Anime & Modern Japan, Reality of an Illusion. This class uses Japanese manga cartoons and Anime movies as modern mirrors that reflect the Japanese experience of rapid economic and social transformation over the past 150 years. From ancient Japanese styles of visual expression, this course traces how popular visual texts such as Manga and Anime sketch out a parallel world linked both historically and culturally to the imagined community of the Japanese nation-state. Taught in English.
Homework
Reading Quiz, Mangas 1, 2, and 3
Course Reflective Narrative
My cultural expansion of MLO 4 was brought with the Manga, Anime & Modern Japan class taught by Andy Painter during his last semester at CSUMB. With a limited knowledge of Japanese culture, I was able to enter this class with an open mind to learn new ways of life and leave the class with a greater understanding of Japan, Americans who are fanatics of Japanese culture, and with greater artistic ability.
At the time I was taking this class I was recently getting into a new hobby, disc golf. Coincidentally, Professor Painter also shared this interest, and I was able to focus all of my homework Manga drawings with one central theme. When learning about specific genres or characteristics of Anime or Manga I was able to utilize them in my drawings. For example, we learned about what "otaku" was. Otaku, as defined on Wikipedia, is a "Japanese term for people with obsessive interests, commonly the anime and manga fandom". An otaku could be someone who sits in his/her room all day reading Manga, watching Anime, drawing Manga, and dreaming of an Anime world. Every day this person would do more or less the same thing. In Argentina, as I observed studying abroad, there are many soccer otaku's due to the fact that their entire world view is centered around their soccer team. I exemplified this idea in a Manga with a disc golf Otaku who played every day inside and around his house, watched videos online, and dreamed about disc golf.
Along with my disc golf otaku, a few other examples of my worked are able to be viewed above.
SPAN 313: Intro to Spanish Linguistics
Course Description
Intro to Spanish Linguistics: Presents the principal branches of linguistic study, as it pertains to Spanish: the sound system (phonetics and phonology), the structure of words (morphology), and the structure of sentences (syntax). Additionally, attention is paid to bilingualism, especially Spanish in the US, and how Spanish is spoken/written differently by various social groups (sociolinguistics) and in various Spanish-speaking countries (dialectology).
Homework
Reflections, Linguistic Project 2, SPAN 313 Exam, Homework
Course Reflective Narrative
The class Intro to Spanish Linguistics helped me develop my MLO 2 skills. I was lucky enough to have attended CSUMB during Earl Brown's last semester teaching here, and this really helped spark my interest in Spanish linguistics. Although my emphasize lies with literary and cultural knowledge, SPAN 313 really made clear the sound system of Spanish (phonetics and phonology), the structure of words (morphology), and the structure of sentences (syntax). One linguistic phenomenon that struck me most interesting was one called "lambdacismo". This phenomenon is most commonly found in Puerto Rico, and is the action of vocally changing the /r/ to an /l/ at the end of a syllable. So instead of saying Puerto Rico, people say Puelto Rico.
Before this class, it was hard for me to understand certain sounds while listening to Spanish; however, the Intro to Spanish Linguistics class made the sound system clear enough that I was able to occasionally be able to label an accent to it's appropriate country of origin. Two words that I learned, and will always remember, are diphthong and hiato. A diphthong is when 2 vowels are next to each other and each represent their own sound, but in one syllable. The finite amount of diphthongs are as follows: ai (ay), ei (ey), oi (oy), ui (uy), au, eu, ia, ie, io, iu, ua, ue, and uo. A "hiato", pronounces as "a hiatus", is when 2 vowels are next to each other and each have their own syllable.
SPAN 321: Masterpieces of Hispanic Lit
Course Description
Reading and discussion of selected masterworks of literature as they reflect the historical, political, and social context of the Peninsular Spanish experience. Students will be introduced to reading and writing critically, and discussing both form and content within these works. All discussions will be carried out in Spanish.
Homework
Edad Media, El misticismo, Siglo de oro, Siglo XIX, Siglo XVIII, SPAN 321 Exam
Course Reflective Narrative
MLO 3 was completed with the help of course SPAN 321: Masterpieces of Hispanic Literature. In this class various epochs of literature were reviewed and analyzed, expanding my knowledge of historical, political and social events of Spain through classic works. Through the semester, the main periods we covered were La Edad Media (Middle Age), El Misticismo (Mysticism), Siglo de Oro (Golden Century), Siglo XIX (19th Century), and Siglo XVIII (18th Century).
Throughout these time periods, various topics and themes were present in the literature being produced. With the Middle Age's literature full of histories from the Iberians, the Celts, and Celtíberos along with the Catholic Kings, the works from this time were very religiously centered and full of historical figures. One of the greatest things I learned about this era were the religiously separated states of Spain: the northern Christian states included León, Castilla, Aragón, Navarra and Barcelona while the southern Muslim territories included Sevilla, Granada, Córdoba and Valencia.
According to the text book used in class, the poetry represented in Mysticism is “el conocimiento de la presencia divina por medio del contacto directo del alma con Dios”, or the knowledge of the divine presence through direct contact of the soul with God; therefore, some of the most religious works from Spain come from this time period.
During the Golden Era, also known as the beginning of modernity, Spain watches herself through 200 years go from one of the most powerful nations in the world to a state of decadence. Beginning towards the end of the 15th century with the publication of La Celestina, this intensively active artistic and literary period of time ends in 1681 with the death of Calderón, who wrote El gran mercado del mundo.
This class really provoked my interests in learning where the Spanish language came from. Although it was very difficult to read some of the old fashioned Spanish, I enjoyed the struggle and look forward to possibly visiting Spain to experience their dialect first hand.
Course Description
Manga, Anime & Modern Japan, Reality of an Illusion. This class uses Japanese manga cartoons and Anime movies as modern mirrors that reflect the Japanese experience of rapid economic and social transformation over the past 150 years. From ancient Japanese styles of visual expression, this course traces how popular visual texts such as Manga and Anime sketch out a parallel world linked both historically and culturally to the imagined community of the Japanese nation-state. Taught in English.
Homework
Reading Quiz, Mangas 1, 2, and 3
Course Reflective Narrative
My cultural expansion of MLO 4 was brought with the Manga, Anime & Modern Japan class taught by Andy Painter during his last semester at CSUMB. With a limited knowledge of Japanese culture, I was able to enter this class with an open mind to learn new ways of life and leave the class with a greater understanding of Japan, Americans who are fanatics of Japanese culture, and with greater artistic ability.
At the time I was taking this class I was recently getting into a new hobby, disc golf. Coincidentally, Professor Painter also shared this interest, and I was able to focus all of my homework Manga drawings with one central theme. When learning about specific genres or characteristics of Anime or Manga I was able to utilize them in my drawings. For example, we learned about what "otaku" was. Otaku, as defined on Wikipedia, is a "Japanese term for people with obsessive interests, commonly the anime and manga fandom". An otaku could be someone who sits in his/her room all day reading Manga, watching Anime, drawing Manga, and dreaming of an Anime world. Every day this person would do more or less the same thing. In Argentina, as I observed studying abroad, there are many soccer otaku's due to the fact that their entire world view is centered around their soccer team. I exemplified this idea in a Manga with a disc golf Otaku who played every day inside and around his house, watched videos online, and dreamed about disc golf.
Along with my disc golf otaku, a few other examples of my worked are able to be viewed above.
SPAN 313: Intro to Spanish Linguistics
Course Description
Intro to Spanish Linguistics: Presents the principal branches of linguistic study, as it pertains to Spanish: the sound system (phonetics and phonology), the structure of words (morphology), and the structure of sentences (syntax). Additionally, attention is paid to bilingualism, especially Spanish in the US, and how Spanish is spoken/written differently by various social groups (sociolinguistics) and in various Spanish-speaking countries (dialectology).
Homework
Reflections, Linguistic Project 2, SPAN 313 Exam, Homework
Course Reflective Narrative
The class Intro to Spanish Linguistics helped me develop my MLO 2 skills. I was lucky enough to have attended CSUMB during Earl Brown's last semester teaching here, and this really helped spark my interest in Spanish linguistics. Although my emphasize lies with literary and cultural knowledge, SPAN 313 really made clear the sound system of Spanish (phonetics and phonology), the structure of words (morphology), and the structure of sentences (syntax). One linguistic phenomenon that struck me most interesting was one called "lambdacismo". This phenomenon is most commonly found in Puerto Rico, and is the action of vocally changing the /r/ to an /l/ at the end of a syllable. So instead of saying Puerto Rico, people say Puelto Rico.
Before this class, it was hard for me to understand certain sounds while listening to Spanish; however, the Intro to Spanish Linguistics class made the sound system clear enough that I was able to occasionally be able to label an accent to it's appropriate country of origin. Two words that I learned, and will always remember, are diphthong and hiato. A diphthong is when 2 vowels are next to each other and each represent their own sound, but in one syllable. The finite amount of diphthongs are as follows: ai (ay), ei (ey), oi (oy), ui (uy), au, eu, ia, ie, io, iu, ua, ue, and uo. A "hiato", pronounces as "a hiatus", is when 2 vowels are next to each other and each have their own syllable.
SPAN 321: Masterpieces of Hispanic Lit
Course Description
Reading and discussion of selected masterworks of literature as they reflect the historical, political, and social context of the Peninsular Spanish experience. Students will be introduced to reading and writing critically, and discussing both form and content within these works. All discussions will be carried out in Spanish.
Homework
Edad Media, El misticismo, Siglo de oro, Siglo XIX, Siglo XVIII, SPAN 321 Exam
Course Reflective Narrative
MLO 3 was completed with the help of course SPAN 321: Masterpieces of Hispanic Literature. In this class various epochs of literature were reviewed and analyzed, expanding my knowledge of historical, political and social events of Spain through classic works. Through the semester, the main periods we covered were La Edad Media (Middle Age), El Misticismo (Mysticism), Siglo de Oro (Golden Century), Siglo XIX (19th Century), and Siglo XVIII (18th Century).
Throughout these time periods, various topics and themes were present in the literature being produced. With the Middle Age's literature full of histories from the Iberians, the Celts, and Celtíberos along with the Catholic Kings, the works from this time were very religiously centered and full of historical figures. One of the greatest things I learned about this era were the religiously separated states of Spain: the northern Christian states included León, Castilla, Aragón, Navarra and Barcelona while the southern Muslim territories included Sevilla, Granada, Córdoba and Valencia.
According to the text book used in class, the poetry represented in Mysticism is “el conocimiento de la presencia divina por medio del contacto directo del alma con Dios”, or the knowledge of the divine presence through direct contact of the soul with God; therefore, some of the most religious works from Spain come from this time period.
During the Golden Era, also known as the beginning of modernity, Spain watches herself through 200 years go from one of the most powerful nations in the world to a state of decadence. Beginning towards the end of the 15th century with the publication of La Celestina, this intensively active artistic and literary period of time ends in 1681 with the death of Calderón, who wrote El gran mercado del mundo.
This class really provoked my interests in learning where the Spanish language came from. Although it was very difficult to read some of the old fashioned Spanish, I enjoyed the struggle and look forward to possibly visiting Spain to experience their dialect first hand.