Coordinated studies classes are a type of learning community in which students and program faculty explore a theme together from a variety of disciplinary perspectives. The OSU Advanced Spanish Coordinated Studies course started in the spring of 2006 as a 12-credit course titled "Media as an Instrument of Social Change." Foreign Language faculty members Loren Chavarría, María Olaya, Juan Antonio Trujillo, and 20 students watched films, read books on agents of change in Latin America, analyzed the use of propaganda and stereotypes to control public opinion, wrote research papers, and worked together on a participatory media project. In addition to the classroom activities, students engaged in a minimum of six hours per week of community service within the local Spanish-speaking community. The second course, taught in 2007, was called Fronteras. We explored the physical and psychological barriers that impact the way we relate to each other.
We are pleased to again be offering a learning community experience in 2008 on the theme of SABOR -- Sustento, Agricultura, Biodiversidad, Orígenes, Resistencia. The course will again use a multidisciplinary approach including literature, film, and visual arts. Students who submit an application by the December 8 deadline and are accepted to the program will be invited to a planning retreat on in January, 2008.
Highlight reel from the 2006 program [Quicktime movie]
