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CMLT174: Islands in the Stream |
"We came up with the course because we are both Caribbeanists; it was a match made in heaven." -Maria Acosta Cruz, associate professor of Spanish
Acosta Cruz, who grew up in Puerto Rico, co-teaches "Islands in the Stream" with assistant professor of French Odile Ferly who is from Guadeloupe in the French Antilles. Together, they draw on their research as Caribbeanists and their personal experiences growing up in the region to help students see the Caribbean as an interconnected region rather than a set of separate islands. Their pan-Caribbean approach allows students to understand the islands as part of a region that reflects processes such as globalization, migratory patterns, cultural trends and diversity.
Course themes include:
- the history of Puerto Rico and the French Antilles
- colonialism, postcolonialism, neocolonialism in Puerto Rico and the French Antilles
- the Départements d'Outre-Mer (DOM) and the Estado Libre Asociado (ELA)
- nationalism in Puerto Rico and the French Antilles
- assimilation, acculturation and alienation
- race and identity in Puerto Rico and the French Antilles
- gender and nationhood
- language, bilingualism and diglossia in Puerto Rico and the French Antilles
- emigration and the diaspora
Because this course is cross-listed with foreign languages, comparative literature and International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE), it attracts students interested in a wide range of areas, including history, foreign languages, international development, government and literature.
Teaching Duo
All the class sessions are team-taught by both Professor Acosta Cruz and Professor Ferly. For students, that means the class experience—from class discussions to double-graded assignments—is enriched by having two perspectives on everything. Both professors bring strong language backgrounds. Professor Ferly speaks French and Spanish and Professor Acosta Cruz speaks Spanish and reads French. Both teach comparative literature in addition to their language courses. Both are Caribbeanists. And both grew up in the Caribbean.
While both professors actively participate in every class, each is responsible for her own specific linguistic area. For example, when discussing the core texts, which are all read in English translation, (i.e., four novels, two from Puerto Rico, two from the French Antilles) each professor conducts the sessions for her respective texts, but the other acts as a respondent in the discussions stressing the comparative element.
Active Learning in the classroom
Because of the team-teaching format, this course is, in its nature, a continuous discussion and debate about the issues surrounding the Caribbean. Class participation is one of the course requirements. According to Professor Ferly, participation is "not just raising your hand to say something. It's making a meaningful and active contribution to the discussion." Students are evaluated not only on how often they participate, but on the quality of that participation. The capstone of the course is an oral presentation on one of the readings followed by a student-led discussion about their analysis of the text.
Professors Acosta Cruz and Ferly and their students also use BlackBoard—Clark's virtual classroom—throughout the course to post visual materials, assignments, guidelines and external Web sources. Students are also asked to post their papers and presentations on Blackboard and to use its e-mail and forum functions to continue class discussions after class time.
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Additional Resources
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