Seminar Multicultural texts and voices

1. VOICES OF IMMIGRATION IN THE USA
Universidad Católica de Salta
6 y 7 de junio de 2014
Proyecto de investigación UCASAL:
“Identidad y migración en discursos anglófonos”
Lic. M. Fernanda Irrazábal
Prof. y Trad Públ. Ma. Soledad
Loutayf
Trad. Públ. Ma. Marta Michel

2. The aim of this workshop is to share the
voices of latino immigrants in the USA in
two articles published by The New York
Times with a view to rethinking metaphor
and hybrid identities and culture.

3. THE NEW YORK TIMES
 American newspaper founded in 1851.
 One of the most influential papers in the world
 112 Pulitzer Prizes.
 Its website is one of the most visited news
websites.
 It is organized in many different sections.
 Carlos Slim is the largest shareholder.

4.  Number of immigrants
 Documented immigrants
 Access to education
 Conflict with the law
 Nationalities of immigrants
2- WHY MIGHT IMMIGRATION IN THE US MATTER TO
US?
3- DO IDENTITY AND IMMIGRATION RELATE TO OUR
TEACHING PRACTICE IN ANY WAY?
1- WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT IMMIGRATION IN THE
US?

5. LET’S ANALYZE THE NEWSPAPER ARTICLE
REFER TO
 Section in the newspaper and aim of this section
 Titles or headlines
 Authors
 Format: online or printed version?
 Date
 Cities mentioned in the article
 What does ‘border’ mean?

6. METAPHOR
 The way we see the world is framed by
metaphors.
 They are inherent in cognition.
 Conceptual metaphors are linguistically
translated.
 Conceptual and linguistic metaphors are
translated into action.
 The metaphors we use reveal our views of the

7.  Metaphors are tied to history and culture.
 They pervade everyday language.
 They are conventional and easily interpreted.
 Literary language re-elaborates them.
“Our concepts structure what we perceive, how
we get around in the world and how we relate to
other people” (Lakoff & Johnson, 2003).

8. ARGUMENT IS WAR
 Your claims are indefensible.
 He attacked my argument.
 I demolished her argument.
TIME IS MONEY
 You’re wasting my time
 The queue cost me an hour
 I’ve invested too much time in her as it is.
What kind of actions are prompted/justified by these metaphors?

9. HOW ARE THE FOLLOWING METAPHORIZED IN THE ARTICLES?
KEEPSAKES…..
 USA (l 12, 23)
 Difference/distance
between Mexico and
USA (l 5, 10)
 Violence (l 31)
LA SANTA CECILIA
 Culture (l 6)
 Music (l 32, 41)
 ICE (l 57, 60)

10. IMMIGRATION IN THE USA

11.  Democratic party vs Republican party
 9/11
 11 million undocumented immigrants

13. http://www.rcinet.ca/espagnol/en-cartelera/entrevistas-2012/12-09_2012-11
29-seminario-sobre-el-pensamiento-de-raul-prebisch/http://factreal.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/cincodemayobeerday.jpg
MEXICANS IN AMERICAAMERICANS IN MEXICO

14.  Identity is a construct tied to temporal, social and
historical circumstances.
 Hybridity is a comprehensive term including a mix of
ethnic groups, musical fusion and religious syncretism.
 Hybridization implies power relations which, in turn,
imply economic inequality.
 Some people are denied the hibridizing experience while
others are forced into it (Garcia Caclini, 2010).

16. LET’S ANALYZE THESE ARTICLES…
ELEMENTS THAT
IDENTIFY
LATINOS
ELEMENTS THAT
IDENTIFY
AMERICANS
SPANISH LANGUAGE
HYBRIDITY -
HYBRIDIZATION

17. ELEMENTS THAT
IDENTIFY LATINOS
ELEMENTS THAT
IDENTIFY
AMERICANS
- SPANISH
- Besame mucho, Sabor a mi,
guayaberas, mariachi, salsa.
- ENGLISH
- Grammy Awards, punk rock,
reggae
- Gloria Stephan, Mercedes
Sosa, Trío Los Panchos,
Lucha Villa, etc.
- An Argentine born producer
- Pájaro loco
- Quinceañeras
- Janis Joplin, Nirvana,
Grammy Awards
- Star Wars
- Universal Studios
- The Flintstones, The
Jetsons
- Pan dulce
- Fe – Jesús – patrón saint
- Saturday Night Fever
- Clothes: hoop skirts, tutus,
bright colours, etc.
- Economic gap, violence,
insecurity
- Ocarino
- Green card – Social Security
Card
- ICE
- Interstate 7
- Disneyland, Mickey Mouse
- Cities: Yucatán, Mexico,
Chichen Itzá, Toluca, Tulum,
Cities: California,Hollywood,
Los Angeles, New York, Miami.
HYBRIDITY -
HYBRIDIZATION
- Spanish and English
- Switching (and
translations)
- Latino rock
- La Marisoul
- La Santa Cecilia band
- Eclectic mixture
- American cartoons
with ads dubbed in
Sapanish
- Interstate
- LAX
- Up North – Better

19.  Culture refers to routine practices, beliefs
and meanings that have become thickly
sedimented.
 Identity refers to feelings of belonging to a
collective based on emotions or shared
interests.
Cultural borders do not always coincide with
identity borders

20. CONFIGURATIONS OF CULTURE
 A configuration is a space of shared symbolic
patterns, horizons of possibilities, power
inequality and historicity (Grimson, 2011).
 It emphasizes heterogeneity.
 It is articulated in a certain way depending on its
contexts.
 Difference is often based on inequality; it is
often exoticized, folklorized….but nobody wants
to live there.

21.  Interculturality: multiple intersections existing
between cultural configurations
 Different cosmovisions, myths, celebrations,
rituals, ideologies….are learnt in social life.
 Cultural configurations refer to specific ways in
which actors confront each other, ally or
negotiate.

22. MIGRATION & DIASPORA
 The meaning of migration has changed.
 Hypervisibility of migratory processes + space-temporal
compression of the planet impossible to interpret other
cultures as distant worlds.
 New critical line circulation, permeabillity of borders hybrid
cultures.
 Diaspora specifically related to strong feelings of belonging or
identification. It involves more or less fluid ties between the
groups living in different countries through religious, political
and cultural associations.
 It is a transnational cultural configuration.

23. DIASPORIC TEXTS
 Diasporic literature/ A diasporic text is about
remembering pervaded with a general
sense of nostalgia but also about re-
membering … creating and imaginary
homeland.

24. IDENTITY & LANGUAGE LEARNING
 Identity how a person understands his/her relationship to
the world, how that relationship is constructed across time &
space.
 SLA needs to develop a conception of identity that is
understood with reference to larger and frequently
inequitable social structures social interactions must be
understood with reference to relations of power as well as
the ongoing production of a language learner’s identity.
 Identity as a site of struggle= identity is multiple and
contradictory.
 Immigrants: accumulated memories + families their
relationship with the public world in the host country.

25. REFERENCES
George Lakoff and Mark Johnson (2003) Metaphors we live by.
(http://shu.bg/tadmin/upload/storage/161.pdf)
The Metaphorical Structure of the Human Conceptual System in
COGNITIVE SCIENCE 4, 195-208 (1980)
http://csjarchive.cogsci.rpi.edu/1980v04/i02/p0195p0208/MAIN.PDF
García Canclini, N (2010) Culturas Hhíbridas. Estrategias para entrar y salir
de la modernidad. Buenos Aires: Paidós.
Grimson, A. (2011). Los límites de la cultura. Crítica de las teorías de la
identidad. Buenos Aires: Siglo Veintiuno.
Hall, S. (1994). “Cultural Identity and Diaspora”. Colonial Discourse and
Post- colonial Theory: a Reader. Ed. Patrick Williams and
Chrisman. London: Harvester Wheatsheaf, pp. 392-401.
Král, F. (2009). Critical Identities in Contemporary Anglophone Diasporic
Literature. United Kingdom: Macmillan.
Norton, B. (2000). Identity and Language Learning. England: Pearson.
Prebisch, R. (2011). http://www.rcinet.ca/espagnol/en-cartelera/entrevistas-
2012/12-09_2012-11-29-seminario-sobre-el-pensamiento-de-raul-prebisch
Wordpress (2012).
http://factreal.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/cincodemayobeerday.jpg

26. “EL HIELO”
Eva pasando el trapo sobre la mesa ahí está
cuidando que todo brille como una perla.
Cuando llegue la patrona, que no se vuelva quejar.
No sea cosa que la acuse de ilegal.
José atiende los jardines, parecen de Disneyland
Maneja una troca vieja sin la licencia.
No importa si fue taxista allá en su tierra natal
Eso no cuenta para el Tío Sam.
Estribillo
El Hielo anda suelto por esas calles
Nunca se sabe cuándo nos va tocar
ahora los niños lloran a la salida
Lloran al ver que no llegará mamá
Uno se queda aquí, otro se queda allá,
Eso pasa por salir a trabajar.
Marta llegó de niña y sueña con estudiar.
Pero se le hace difícil sin los papeles.
Se quedan con los laureles los que nacieron acá,
Pero ella nunca deja de luchar.

27. LAST BUT NOT LEAST…
 Freewriting: the practice of jotting and
scribbling; writing without rules; writing non-
stop.
“Keep scribbling. Something will happen”
(Frank Mc Court)