Description

The purpose of this proposed series of coursesCE is to use Spanish and French speaking countries in proximity to each other in the Caribbean or Africa as a point of departure for literary, cultural, social and service learning exploration.  We propose as our first offering in fall 2007 to study the literature and cultural traditions of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, the two nations which occupy the island of Hispaniola.  The Haitian and Dominican peoples on the island and throughout their diaspora (including essentially those residing within the metro Atlanta area), will constitute a critical component of the student’s learning experience in this course.  Future courses may focus upon Martinique and/or Guadeloupe in relation to the Dominican Republic and/or Puerto Rico and Cuba, French Guyana in relation to Trinidad and Tobago, Equatorial Guinea in relation to Senegal, or other appropriate pairings.  French majors will read a significant number of selected texts in French, and Spanish majors will read in Spanish.  Translations into English of some of the works will be read by all students, as well as some selected texts originally written in English.  The course will be taught in English, and students without advanced skills in French or Spanish may therefore also register.  There will be ample opportunity in class for separate discussion groups in French, Spanish and English. 

The course’s service learning focus in the fall 2007 course will allow students to interact directly and through meaningful experiences with Dominicans, Haitians and other communities of Spanish and French speakers.  Atlanta, in recent years, has been an important migratory destination for people from Haiti and the Dominican Republic, which will provide opportunities for our students to engage with members of these two communities, using Spanish and French as an essential vehicle of communication and interaction. 

Students will be required to log at least 2 hours of service per week at local organizations composed largely of Haitians and Dominicans.  The two communities frequently interact with other Francophone (Caribbean and African) and Hispanic groups in the Atlanta area, often sharing similar cultural backgrounds and common experiences in their countries of origin as well as in their adjustment to life in the United States.  As a result, Civic Engagement in this course cannot be too rigidly restricted to Haitian and Dominican interactions.  Indeed, the projected course plans to consider the interaction of Francophone and Hispanophone peoples in the Caribbean and Africa in a very broad sense through a series of offerings over the space of several years.   The engaged interaction in French and Spanish with Haitians, Dominicans, and other communities sharing affinities with these focus groups will yield valuable insight into Hispaniola and its people.  The field experience of the students will be considered an integral and essential part of classroom discussion on campus.  We will also expect students to find ways to share their knowledge about these countries and their experience with people who come from these countries and linguistic and cultural communities.  This could include participation in various programs on campus during the fall semester and voluntary participation in a panel for the Liberal Arts Symposium in the spring.

The fall course will also include a one-day Air Tran trip to experience the large Haitian community in Miami.

Students will also have the opportunity to participate in a separate language immersion travel course in French and/or Spanish to the Dominican Republic in January 3-15, 2008 focused upon the Haitian and Dominican diasporas.  The study experience in the Dominican Republic will include first-hand experience with a large Haitian community outside the borders of Haiti which will complement the study of Haitian and Dominican migration to the United States, Canada, France, and other countries.  Students must have completed FRE 101 or SPN 101 in order to participate in the course.

CEThis course is designated as an Oglethorpe University Civic Engagement course.