Department of Modern Languages and Cultures
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Item Foreign language learning: an exploratory study on the external and internal influences affecting success.(2006-07-24T19:46:50Z) Johnson, Brianne J.; McManness, Linda M.; Modern Foreign Languages.; Baylor University. Dept. of Modern Foreign Languages.This study explores the influence that determinants such as age, length of exposure, learning environment, personality, attitude, study habits, personal practice, and personal motivation have on individuals studying a foreign language. Participants provide feedback on their own experiences while learning a foreign language to ascertain which elements are most influential in predicting future success in the areas of oral production, written production, aural comprehension, and reading comprehension.Item Gestos posmodernos en la novela latinoamericana: los casos de Cristina Rivera Garza, Ana Maria Shua y Laura Restrepo.(2006-07-24T22:03:53Z) Lopez, Seir.; García-Corales, Guillermo.; Spanish.; Baylor University. Dept. of Modern Foreign Languages.Proponemos en esta tesis que las novelas La muerte como efecto secundario (1997) de Ana María Shua (1951), La cresta de llión (2003) de Cristina Rivera Garza (1961) y Delirio (2004) de Laura Restrepo (1955) exhiben gestos posmodernos que enfatizan la dislocación del sujeto, la duda con respecto al concepto de la verdad y la subversión radical del orden ideológico y cultural. Estos textos narrativos cuestionan los valores modernos fundados en la razón, las ideologías fundamentalistas y las utopías tradicionales. El marco teórico de este estudio es de carácter ecléctico, inclinado hacia la crítica ideológica que incluye las teorías relacionadas con la condición posmoderna sobre el discurso esquizofrénico que desarrolla Fredric Jameson, las expresiones del concepto del poder de Michel Foucault y el pensamiento rizomático propuesto por Gilles Deleuze y Félix Guattari. Además, utilizamos las teorías de carnavalización de Mijail Bajtín para abordar la escena posmoderna del mundo al revés.Item El nuevo historicismo y la otredad en la narrativa contemporánea nicaragüense: el caso de Sergio Ramírez.(2006-07-30T14:06:16Z) Tipton, Keny Elizabeth.; García-Corales, Guillermo.; Spanish.; Baylor University. Dept. of Modern Foreign Languages.En la presente tesis se analiza la narrativa nueva-histórica del autor nicaragüense Sergio Ramírez (1942), la cual consideramos como una de las tres tendencias fundamentales de la literatura latinoamericana contemporánea junto con la literatura de mujeres y la narrativa detectivesca. Nuestro análisis, de carácter ecléctico, inclinado hacia la crítica ideológica nuevo-historicista que proponen Fernando Aínsa, María Cristina Pons y Seymour Menton, y que considera la noción del otro propuesta por Renato Martínez Torres, incluye una lectura detallada de tres de las novelas más recientes de Ramírez: Margarita, está linda la mar (1998), Sombras nada más (2002) y Mil y una muertes (2004). Proponemos que estos textos narrativos desafían el discurso absolutista de la historiografía oficial reemplazándolo con las voces del otro, el cual emerge como una figura central de los relatos. Hemos concluido que las novelas consideradas en esta tesis expresan una lucha ideológica entre verdad histórica y ficcionalización histórica que incluye una lucha entre el discurso desatendido del otro y el discurso totalizador de los que ostentan el poder.Item La relevancia de la memoria en la nueva narrativa chilena: el caso de Marcela Serrano y Ramón Díaz Eterovic.(2006-07-30T18:54:08Z) Elder, Breeanne Brooke.; García-Corales, Guillermo.; Spanish.; Baylor University. Dept. of Modern Foreign Languages.The objective of this thesis consists of following the trajectory of the concept of memory in the New Chilean Narrative while employing a critical literary approach oriented toward Cultural Criticism. We analyze Lo que está en mi corazón (2001) by Marcela Serrano (1951), and A la sombra del dinero (2005) by Ramón Díaz Eterovic (1956) as illustrative cases. We propose that the conceptual idea of memory acquires a profound relevance, as demonstrated in two fundamental manifestations of the New Chilean Narrative: the New Feminist Novel, and the New Detective Novel, represented by Serrano and Díaz Eterovic, respectively. Furthermore, we suggest this focus on memory represents a certain disenchantment with the various expressions of modernity. It is toward this purpose that we analyze how the narratives explore the contemporary subject within his or her cultural circumstances, emphasizing the valoric reconstitution of this subject despite the complicating obstacles of a precarious world.Item The existential search for national, individual and spiritual identity in selected works of Miguel de Unamuno.(2008-06-10T12:39:14Z) Rice-Mills, Faith A.; Blackwell, Frieda Hilda.; Spanish.; Baylor University. Dept. of Modern Foreign Languages.Miguel de Unamuno, a well-known twentieth century Spanish writer and member of the Generation of ’98, exemplified the human struggle with collective and individual identity in many of his essays, dramas and novels. As a young writer, he and the other noventayochistas posed the question “who are we” to the Spanish people as they sought national identity and the true meaning of being Spanish. Later, Unamuno questioned individual purpose in life as well as the role of human life in relation to a divine Creator. One of Unamuno’s best known compilations of essays, En torno al casticismo (1912), addresses the question of “who are we” in reference to Spanish national identity, while two of his best known novels, Niebla (1914) and San Manuel Bueno, Mártir (1931), utilize the existential struggles of the protagonists to examine the questions and often tentative answers to the personal and spiritual existential quest for identity.Item La búsqueda de los valores perdidos en el cuento latinoamericano contemporáneo.(2008-06-11T18:21:51Z) Smith, Genesis.; García-Corales, Guillermo.; Spanish.; Baylor University. Dept. of Modern Foreign Languages.Through the lens of ethical criticism, the ideas of the Russian cultural theorist Mikhail Bahktin, and the assertions of the Spanish psychiatrist Enrique Rojas, this thesis examines the search for values in four Latin American short stories, “Luvina” (Juan Rulfo), “La prodigiosa tarde de Baltazar” (Gabriel García Márquez), “Érase una vez, en un supermercado muy lejano” (Darío Oses) and “El nuevo" (David Toscana). The present analysis reveals that the individual’s deep desire for significance and a unique impact on society influences one’s daily choices for acting in relationship with others. Only through intentionally and deliberately serving others (true love) and clinging tightly to those dreams which may seem impossible (real faith), will one live purposefully despite adverse circumstances. By contrast passivity and coldness towards others results in a futile cycle of failure and cowardice.Item A 2007 aircraft-based study of plumes from biomass burning origin from Mexico and Central America advected over south Texas and the western Gulf of Mexico.(2009-06-10T12:57:33Z) Alvarez, Sergio L.; Shauck, Maxwell Eustace.; Air Science.; Baylor University. Institute for Air Science.Biomass burning is the burning of living and dead vegetation which includes grasslands, forests, and agricultural lands (Levin, 1998). It is a global phenomenon and serves a multitude of purposes such as clearing of forests and brushland for agricultural use; control of weeds; production of charcoal; and energy production for cooking and heating (Crutzen and Andreae, 1990). The Baylor Institute for Air Science (BIAS) equipped an aircraft to measure trace gases and aerosols during two science flights in the south Texas region. One science flight was flown to collect "background" continental and marine layer air data and the other to collect data in biomass-burning smoke plumes from Mexico and Central American countries. Measurements were taken in the geographic region along the US-Mexico Border and adjacent area over the western Gulf of Mexico. Results of this study indicate that individual smoke plumes may occur episodically over the Texas border region to Mexico under prevailing southeasterly wind directions. The origin of these plumes may be diverse ranging from individual local fire emissions to medium range transport of biomass burning.Item La búsqueda de la redención individual como utopía en la narrativa de Gabriel García Márquez.(2010-06-23T12:28:22Z) Johnson, Amanda (Amanda Luisa); García-Corales, Guillermo.; Spanish.; Baylor University. Dept. of Modern Foreign Languages.En la literatura latinoamericana existe un gran énfasis en lo social con respecto a la búsqueda utópica. Mientras la sociedad puede representar un vehículo o un obstáculo en la búsqueda utópica, a veces ésta resulta ser más individual que colectiva. En las novelas de Gabriel García Márquez analizadas en esta tesis, El coronel no tiene quien le escriba (1961) y Memoria de mis putas tristes (2004), se observa una búsqueda solitaria de la redención que en esta investigación consideramos como una forma de impulso utópico. La condenación y la redención, entonces, se refieren a la habilidad del individuo de desarrollar la búsqueda utópica inherente a la existencia humana. En esta búsqueda se pone en juego el concepto propuesto por Albert Camus de la insatisfacción con estabilidad y la realización del yo como el único vehículo para la salvación, la cual también se conecta con el concepto camusiano de utopía mesurada.Item Compliments and politeness among Mexican and Puerto Rican couples.(2011-05-12T15:22:07Z) Carruth, Melissa D.; Hardin, Karol J.; Modern Foreign Languages.; Baylor University. Dept. of Modern Foreign Languages.This paper explores the speech act of complimenting among Mexican and Puerto Rican couples. The study applies Brown and Levinson’s Politeness Theory (1987) in analyzing spontaneous, face-to-face compliment giving between each romantic couple of the same nationality, that is, Mexican or Puerto Rican. Following Holmes (1986), it examines compliments according to their form, function, and topic. Results are compared with previous studies in the field. The results show that dialect, education level and gender of the speaker influence the style and delivery of compliments. In addition, the results show that both Mexican and Puerto Rican females in this data set initiated compliments and gave more compliments than the male Mexican and Puerto Rican participants. Mexican males spoke the least and gave fewer compliments. Puerto Rican males spoke more than any other group and gave the most compliments. Underlying values and explanations for these results are discussed.Item La condición posmoderna y el absurdo en el cuento latinoamericano contemporáneo.(2011-05-12T15:22:58Z) Cogburn, Julie A.; García-Corales, Guillermo.; Spanish.; Baylor University. Dept. of Modern Foreign Languages.Esta tesis analiza el enlace de la condición posmoderna y el absurdo en los cuentos "Chac Mool" (1954) del mexicano Carlos Fuentes (1928), "Un señor muy viejo con unas alas enormes" (1972) del colombiano Gabriel García Márquez (1928) y "El ángel caído" (1986) de la uruguaya Cristina Peri Rossi (1941). Se sugiere que estas selecciones representativas de la narrativa de América Latina durante la segunda parte del siglo XX incorporan elementos posmodernos, según los conciben Jean-François Lyotard y Gilles Lipovetsky, que configuran la imagen de un mundo absurdo. De acuerdo con Albert Camus, en este mundo absurdo emerge principalmente una ruptura entre la necesidad del ser humano de aclarar su existencia con orden y significado y la respuesta indiferente del universo. En este sentido, la imagen del absurdo incluye componentes ideológicos y culturales como lo irracional, la perplejidad y el extrañamiento que caracterizan una parte significativa de la sociedad latinoamericana contemporánea.Item Las dos habilidades comunicativas en los estudiantes de segundo idioma.(2011-05-12T15:31:19Z) Gottardi, Sara A.; McManness, Linda M.; Spanish.; Baylor University. Dept. of Modern Foreign Languages.Hay una gran variedad de literatura que examina la conexión entre la lectura y la escritura y entre el habla y la compresión oral. Esta investigación se enfoca en examinar estrategias dirigidas a desarrollar la comunicación oral y escrita en adultos que estudian un segundo idioma. Se hizo una encuesta para ver si había una conexión entre el desarrollo de estas dos habilidades. 181 estudiantes de los primeros cuatro semestres de francés, italiano, portugués y español contestaron preguntas acerca de su medio de comunicación preferido, el enfoque de su clase, su personalidad, y el uso de estrategias comunicativas en su clase. La encuesta revela que hay una gran preferencia para la comunicación escrita que no está influida por el enfoque de la clase ni la personalidad. Los resultados de la encuesta de los profesores concuerdan que los estudiantes en sus primeros cuatro semestres de estudio de un segundo idioma suelen tener un poco más destreza en su comunicación escrita que en su comunicación oral.Item The death of Celestina : "othering" in changing times.(2011-05-12T15:50:27Z) Stanislaw, Casey D.; Larson, Paul Earl.; Modern Foreign Languages.; Baylor University. Dept. of Modern Foreign Languages.La Celestina, as the definitive literary work of its period, portrays in microcosm the destructive forces at work within a Spanish society which was successful on the exterior but unraveling at its core as it transitioned from medieval to modern times. The definitive and pivotal moment within the tragicomedia is the murder of its central character, perpetrated by two servants seeking their share of the loot extorted from their master. On the surface the murder can be viewed as a moralistic tale of greed, but upon closer observation we find a depiction of larger social forces at work and that Celestina’s death is something wholly new and unexpected which not only portrays a society losing its moral compass but announces the end of the medieval period and the advent of the modern.Item La imagen de la nostalgia en la novela latinoamericana de mediados del siglo XX.(2011-05-12T15:54:38Z) Witt, Amber L.; García-Corales, Guillermo.; Spanish.; Baylor University. Dept. of Modern Foreign Languages.En base a un acercamiento ecléctico que percibe la literatura como una expresión simbólica de crítica social, en esta tesis se considera la nostalgia como un concepto fundamental en la literatura latinoamericana contemporánea, además de ser parte inherente de la condición humana. Siguiendo en particular las conceptualizaciones de Julia Kristeva, Svetlana Boym y Martin Buber, en este estudio se define la nostalgia como el sentimiento de un individuo marginado de la felicidad, que padece de un obsesivo deseo y búsqueda por algo perdido o imposible de alcanzar, por lo cual jamás puede resignarse. Esta tesis se enfoca en las distintas formas, significados y causas de esta percepción de la nostalgia en tres novelas latinoamericanas publicadas a mediados del siglo XX que anuncian el Boom de la literatura hispanoamericana: El túnel (1948) del argentino Ernesto Sábato, Pedro Páramo (1955) del mexicano Juan Rulfo y El coronel no tiene quien le escriba (1961) del colombiano Gabriel García Márquez.Item The teaching of the impersonal and passive SE in first and second year Spanish textbooks.(2011-12-19) Pendley, Alyssa J.; McManness, Linda M.; Modern Foreign Languages.; Baylor University. Dept. of Modern Foreign Languages.This study explores the syntax of the impersonal and passive SE structures in the Spanish language and inspects how these two constructions are explained in three first and three second-year Spanish textbooks. A discussion of the syntax of the impersonal SE and passive SE leads to an examination of the instruction of these two phrasal constructions in the six textbooks. The purpose of this study is to understand how these two important uses of the pronoun SE are described to first and second-year Spanish students.Item A semantic and pragmatic analysis of the Spanish word 'lie' : implications and applications for the second language learner.(2012-08-08) Eichelberger, Julie; Hardin, Karol J.; Spanish.; Baylor University. Dept. of Modern Foreign Languages.In 1981 Coleman and Kay asserted a semantic prototype to define the English word lie. Hardin (2010) and Cole (1996) both replicated Coleman and Kay’s analysis in Ecuador and Saudi Arabia respectively and analyzed whether or not there is a cross cultural similarity in the interpretation of lie. The following paper examines whether or not the Spanish word mentira or 'lie' in Madrid, Spain includes the same elements from Coleman and Kay’s prototype, and also offers a pragmatic explanation for some lies, specifically, social lies. Secondly, the present study explores possible pragmatic acquisition in a second language with regard to the interpretation of lie according to interlanguage pragmatics and the acculturation theory.Item Exploring questions of Spanish national identity in selected works of Miguel de Unamuno, Azorín, and Antonio Machado.(2012-08-08) Natividad, Ross D.; Blackwell, Frieda Hilda.; Spanish.; Baylor University. Dept. of Modern Foreign Languages.Critics of La Generación de 1898 claim that the group’s aims were purely philosophical and intellectual – thus having no practical applications for the country. However, a careful examination of the respective works by Miguel de Unamuno, Azorín, and Antonio Machado indeed reveal how each author specifically strove to rediscover and to resolve the issue of Spanish national identity. A nation is a collective identity engendered by a united moral consciousness. Thus, acting as nation-builders to a nation suffering from longstanding decadence, confusion, and humiliation, these noventaochistas not only offered diverse interpretations of Spanish identity during the crises at the end of the nineteenth century but also sought to awaken the moral consciousness they believed Spaniards were seeking.Item Rebeldía femenina en la narrativa latinoamericana contemporánea.(2012-08-08) Martinez, Araceli S.; García-Corales, Guillermo.; Spanish.; Baylor University. Dept. of Modern Foreign Languages.The objective of this thesis is to examine the concept of rebellion in contemporary Latin American literature written by women. On the basis of the ideas of cultural critics Michel Foucault and Julia Kristeva, rebellion is understood in this study as a driving force for survival, cultural development, and resisting diverse aspects of the status quo. To this effect, we investigate diverse expressions of feminine rebellion in the short stories “La muñeca menor” by Rosario Ferré, “El ángel caído” by Cristina Peri Rossi and “Dos palabras” by Isabel Allende. We will demonstrate that rebellion is an essential element of the feminine Latin American narrative, examining three unifying characteristics in each of the analyzed texts: first, a prominence of female figures; second, a reference to narrated worlds with multiple conflicts that intermingle within psychological, cultural, political, and social spheres; and third, the possibility of a magical resolution of conflicts.Item The evolving narrator in the Spanish novel (1884-1958) : La de Bringas, Niebla, and Entre visillos.(2013-09-16) Muir, Jane, 1989-; Blackwell, Frieda Hilda.; Modern Foreign Languages.; Baylor University. Dept. of Modern Foreign Languages.The function of the narrator in Spanish literature is evolving, but the narrative voice continues to play a crucial role in communicating the message of the work, whether forcefully, playfully, or subtly. La de Bringas (1884), by Benito Pérez Galdós, exemplifies the Realist movement with its monolithic, intrusive narrator who mocks his society and those around him, yet the narrator also ironizes himself and undercuts his narrative though unreliable narrating. Part of the Generation of 1898, Niebla (1914), by Miguel de Unamuno, is ostensibly narrated by the author, yet this fictive Unamuno enters into the text to converse with his characters; the narrative innovation reflects the work’s philosophical approach, which deals with questions of individual authentic existence. Entre visillos (1958), written by Carmen Martín Gaite in a time of strict censorship, uses multiple narrators in a Social Realist style that critiques its oppressive society between the lines.Item Developing a Spanish for Heritage Speakers Program for universities in Texas.(2013-09-16) Woodard, Andrea Ruth.; McManness, Linda M.; Modern Foreign Languages.; Baylor University. Dept. of Modern Foreign Languages.In 2010, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that 37.6% of the persons in Texas were of Hispanic or Latino origin, up from 32.0% in 2000. As demographic trends across Texas show growing Hispanic populations, universities face increasingly Hispanic classrooms. For university-level Spanish programs, this increase demands a response to the fundamental learning differences between Spanish heritage speakers and foreign language learners. While some universities have implemented Spanish for Heritage Speakers (SHS) Programs, there exists a continuing need for state-wide expansion. This thesis argues for the development of SHS Programs in Texas by presenting various approaches to the teaching of SHS and by investigating the success of those already existing programs. This study provides a basis for the development of such a program, using the ACTFL Position Statement on Language Learning for Heritage and Native Speakers. Finally, the thesis proposes the development of these programs on a state-wide level.Item La trayectoria de la justicia en la literatura latinoamericana.(2014-01-28) Riley, Caterina S.; García-Corales, Guillermo.; Spanish.; Baylor University. Dept. of Modern Foreign Languages.Esta tesis propone que el concepto de la justicia conforma un elemento fundamental e ineludible en la literatura latinoamericana. Siguiendo las ideas planteadas por filósofos sociopolíticos de la actualidad tales como Axel Honneth, Martha Nussbaum y Amartya Sen, la justicia se define en este estudio como la creencia en la igualdad de todos los seres humanos basada en el imperativo de reconocer y respetar la dignidad del otro y admitir el compromiso necesario de luchar a favor de tal dignidad para que se pueda gozar de la vida. Para comprobar esta perspectiva de la justicia y en base a un acercamiento crítico culturalista, la tesis se enfocará en textos representativos de la narrativa breve del argentino Esteban Echeverría (1805-1851), el nicaragüense Rubén Darío (1867-1916), el chileno Baldomero Lillo (1867-1923), el mexicano Juan Rulfo (1918-1986), el colombiano Gabriel García Márquez (1928), la puertorriqueña Rosario Ferré (1938) y la uruguaya Cristina Peri Rossi (1941).
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