Con la pluma entre dos mundos

This magazine is authored and edited by students in Dr. Damaris Serrano's Spanish classes at Wright State University. It is a way to showcase student work from Composition I, II, and III to seminars on special topics in Spanish, which included culture and literature. From the elementary language to Conversation courses, in which participants had to become storytellers and communicators, or where they put their creative ability to the test by writing film scripts. And so, essays, stories, poems, songs, and socio-dramas emerged from the encounter between two languages, English and Spanish, and the negotiation of strategies to understand and write in a second language.

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Con la pluma entre dos mundos - Vintatge Edition - Prologue

Damaris Serrano, Fátima Araúz, Megan McKarns, Michael Daniel Curtis Stanley, and María Astudillo

It has been said that writing is knowledge. This second season of the student magazine Con la pluma entre dos mundos [With the Pen Between Two Worlds] is a testament to that.

This project was born in 2005, when I arrived at Wright State. It was the result of my wanting to share the amazement and admiration I felt on reading the written works of my students in very different subjects: from Composition I, II and III to seminars on special topics in Spanish, which included culture and literature. From the elementary language to Conversation courses, in which participants had to become storytellers and communicators, or where they put their creative ability to the test by writing film scripts. And so, essays, stories, poems, songs, socio-dramas emerged from the encounter between two languages, English and Spanish, and the negotiation of strategies to understand and write in a second language.

During the first period of Con la pluma entre dos mundos, the wealth of Spanish as a means of exploration between two worlds, two cultures, two regions could be clearly observed. Each participant composed texts from their own profession: engineers, nurses, social workers, psychologists, international relations and political science students, drama students, students of Spanish … all experienced this second language from the perspective of their own profession.

The first era of the journal was supported from the beginning by the writing-intensive program at Wright State University, and by the chairs of the Department of Modern Languages, from David Garrison to Marie Hertzler. The second era presented here has been supported by the faith and perseverance of Dr. Ksenia Bonch-Reeves. The third era on the horizon will have a new cultural accomplice: Dr. Laura Luehrmann. The use of a second language at a professional level, as shown by those writing in this journal, is a tool to find new and better opportunities in life. From Modern Languages to the Department of Social Sciences and International Studies, Spanish will always be a bridge between two worlds ... or more.
Con la pluma entre dos mundos - Vintage Edition - Prologue, Volume 1, Numbers 1 and 2

Damaris Serrano, Fátima Araúz, Megan McKarns, Michael Daniel Curtis Stanley, and María Astudillo

It has been said that writing is knowledge. This second season of the student magazine Con la pluma entre dos mundos [With the Pen Between Two Worlds] is a testament to that.

This project was born in 2005, when I arrived at Wright State. It was the result of my wanting to share the amazement and admiration I felt on reading the written works of my students in very different subjects: from Composition I, II and III to seminars on special topics in Spanish, which included culture and literature. From the elementary language to Conversation courses, in which participants had to become storytellers and communicators, or where they put their creative ability to the test by writing film scripts. And so, essays, stories, poems, songs, socio-dramas emerged from the encounter between two languages, English and Spanish, and the negotiation of strategies to understand and write in a second language.

During the first period of Con la pluma entre dos mundos, the wealth of Spanish as a means of exploration between two worlds, two cultures, two regions could be clearly observed. Each participant composed texts from their own profession: engineers, nurses, social workers, psychologists, international relations and political science students, drama students, students of Spanish … all experienced this second language from the perspective of their own profession.

The first era of the journal was supported from the beginning by the writing-intensive program at Wright State University, and by the chairs of the Department of Modern Languages, from David Garrison to Marie Hertzler. The second era presented here has been supported by the faith and perseverance of Dr. Ksenia Bonch-Reeves. The third era on the horizon will have a new cultural accomplice: Dr. Laura Luehrmann. The use of a second language at a professional level, as shown by those writing in this journal, is a tool to find new and better opportunities in life. From Modern Languages to the Department of Social Sciences and International Studies, Spanish will always be a bridge between two worlds ... or more.
Con la pluma entre dos mundos - Vintage Edition - Prologue, Volume 1, Number 2

Damaris Serrano, Fátima Araúz, Megan McKarns, Michael Daniel Curtis Stanley, and María Astudillo

It has been said that writing is knowledge. This second season of the student magazine Con la pluma entre dos mundos [With the Pen Between Two Worlds] is a testament to that.

This project was born in 2005, when I arrived at Wright State. It was the result of my wanting to share the amazement and admiration I felt on reading the written works of my students in very different subjects: from Composition I, II and III to seminars on special topics in Spanish, which included culture and literature. From the elementary language to Conversation courses, in which participants had to become storytellers and communicators, or where they put their creative ability to the test by writing film scripts. And so, essays, stories, poems, songs, socio-dramas emerged from the encounter between two languages, English and Spanish, and the negotiation of strategies to understand and write in a second language.

During the first period of Con la pluma entre dos mundos, the wealth of Spanish as a means of exploration between two worlds, two cultures, two regions could be clearly observed. Each participant composed texts from their own profession: engineers, nurses, social workers, psychologists, international relations and political science students, drama students, students of Spanish … all experienced this second language from the perspective of their own profession.

The first era of the journal was supported from the beginning by the writing-intensive program at Wright State University, and by the chairs of the Department of Modern Languages, from David Garrison to Marie Hertzler. The second era presented here has been supported by the faith and perseverance of Dr. Ksenia Bonch-Reeves. The third era on the horizon will have a new cultural accomplice: Dr. Laura Luehrmann. The use of a second language at a professional level, as shown by those writing in this journal, is a tool to find new and better opportunities in life. From Modern Languages to the Department of Social Sciences and International Studies, Spanish will always be a bridge between two worlds ... or more.
Con la pluma entre dos mundos - Post Edition - Prologue, Volume 2, Numbers 1-4

Damaris Serrano, Fátima Araúz, Megan McKarns, Michael Daniel Curtis Stanley, and Morgan Foister

In Volume II, there are 4 issues or journals, three of Latin American literature and one of Advanced Composition (years 2020-2021). This volume has been named “Post” because of its postmodern approach within Hispanic Cultural Studies.

These issues are also of great importance because they respond to the literary, professional, and linguistic work in Spanish produced during the peak of the pandemic, when teaching had to become a synchronous experience through virtual space.

The Survey of Spanish American Literature is part of the core curriculum for the B.A. in Spanish, offered by the Spanish program, at Wright State University. However, the texts here follow a thematic axis which guide the development of the course as the learners walk the path of the history of Spanish American Literature, throughout the centuries to the present era. In occasions the thematic axis was: “The power, the people and the voice”. In other occasion it was: “The text in context”. Another general topic was: “The path of the word”. This thematic structure allowed the writers to produce from essays, to poems, to book reviews to other original pieces in different genres. The aim was to participate in the Latin American studies with a fresh point of view. By discussing the ideologies, influences and circumstances that have produced power struggles in Latin America, the writers were able to envision literature as a counter / encounter text that represents the canon, but from different angles. In the end, that is what shapes Latin American diversity and unity.
Con la pluma entre dos mundos - Post Edition - Prologue, Volume 2, Number 1

Damaris Serrano, Fátima Araúz, Megan McKarns, Michael Daniel Curtis Stanley, and Morgan Foister

In Volume II, there are 4 issues or journals, three of Latin American literature and one of Advanced Composition (years 2020-2021). This volume has been named “Post” because of its postmodern approach within Hispanic Cultural Studies.

These issues are also of great importance because they respond to the literary, professional, and linguistic work in Spanish produced during the peak of the pandemic, when teaching had to become a synchronous experience through virtual space.

The Survey of Spanish American Literature is part of the core curriculum for the B.A. in Spanish, offered by the Spanish program, at Wright State University. However, the texts here follow a thematic axis which guide the development of the course as the learners walk the path of the history of Spanish American Literature, throughout the centuries to the present era. In occasions the thematic axis was: “The power, the people and the voice”. In other occasion it was: “The text in context”. Another general topic was: “The path of the word”. This thematic structure allowed the writers to produce from essays, to poems, to book reviews to other original pieces in different genres. The aim was to participate in the Latin American studies with a fresh point of view. By discussing the ideologies, influences and circumstances that have produced power struggles in Latin America, the writers were able to envision literature as a counter / encounter text that represents the canon, but from different angles. In the end, that is what shapes Latin American diversity and unity.
Con la pluma entre dos mundos - Post Edition - Prologue, Volume 2, Number 2

Damaris Serrano, Fátima Araúz, Megan McKarns, Michael Daniel Curtis Stanley, and Morgan Foister

In Volume II, there are 4 issues or journals, three of Latin American literature and one of Advanced Composition (years 2020-2021). This volume has been named “Post” because of its postmodern approach within Hispanic Cultural Studies.

These issues are also of great importance because they respond to the literary, professional, and linguistic work in Spanish produced during the peak of the pandemic, when teaching had to become a synchronous experience through virtual space.

The Survey of Spanish American Literature is part of the core curriculum for the B.A. in Spanish, offered by the Spanish program, at Wright State University. However, the texts here follow a thematic axis which guide the development of the course as the learners walk the path of the history of Spanish American Literature, throughout the centuries to the present era. In occasions the thematic axis was: “The power, the people and the voice”. In other occasion it was: “The text in context”. Another general topic was: “The path of the word”. This thematic structure allowed the writers to produce from essays, to poems, to book reviews to other original pieces in different genres. The aim was to participate in the Latin American studies with a fresh point of view. By discussing the ideologies, influences and circumstances that have produced power struggles in Latin America, the writers were able to envision literature as a counter / encounter text that represents the canon, but from different angles. In the end, that is what shapes Latin American diversity and unity.
Con la pluma entre dos mundos - Post Edition - Prologue, Volume 2, Number 3

Damaris Serrano, Fátima Araúz, Megan McKarns, Michael Daniel Curtis Stanley, and Morgan Foister

In Volume II, there are 4 issues or journals, three of Latin American literature and one of Advanced Composition (years 2020-2021). This volume has been named “Post” because of its postmodern approach within Hispanic Cultural Studies.

These issues are also of great importance because they respond to the literary, professional, and linguistic work in Spanish produced during the peak of the pandemic, when teaching had to become a synchronous experience through virtual space.

The Survey of Spanish American Literature is part of the core curriculum for the B.A. in Spanish, offered by the Spanish program, at Wright State University. However, the texts here follow a thematic axis which guide the development of the course as the learners walk the path of the history of Spanish American Literature, throughout the centuries to the present era. In occasions the thematic axis was: “The power, the people and the voice”. In other occasion it was: “The text in context”. Another general topic was: “The path of the word”. This thematic structure allowed the writers to produce from essays, to poems, to book reviews to other original pieces in different genres. The aim was to participate in the Latin American studies with a fresh point of view. By discussing the ideologies, influences and circumstances that have produced power struggles in Latin America, the writers were able to envision literature as a counter / encounter text that represents the canon, but from different angles. In the end, that is what shapes Latin American diversity and unity.
Con la pluma entre dos mundos - Post Edition - Prologue, Volume 2, Number 4

Damaris Serrano, Fátima Araúz, Megan McKarns, Michael Daniel Curtis Stanley, and Morgan Foister

In Volume II, there are 4 issues or journals, three of Latin American literature and one of Advanced Composition (years 2020-2021). This volume has been named “Post” because of its postmodern approach within Hispanic Cultural Studies.

These issues are also of great importance because they respond to the literary, professional, and linguistic work in Spanish produced during the peak of the pandemic, when teaching had to become a synchronous experience through virtual space.

The Survey of Spanish American Literature is part of the core curriculum for the B.A. in Spanish, offered by the Spanish program, at Wright State University. However, the texts here follow a thematic axis which guide the development of the course as the learners walk the path of the history of Spanish American Literature, throughout the centuries to the present era. In occasions the thematic axis was: “The power, the people and the voice”. In other occasion it was: “The text in context”. Another general topic was: “The path of the word”. This thematic structure allowed the writers to produce from essays, to poems, to book reviews to other original pieces in different genres. The aim was to participate in the Latin American studies with a fresh point of view. By discussing the ideologies, influences and circumstances that have produced power struggles in Latin America, the writers were able to envision literature as a counter / encounter text that represents the canon, but from different angles. In the end, that is what shapes Latin American diversity and unity.
Con la pluma entre dos mundos - Blogs of Latin American Culture and Identity - Prologue, Blog 1-2

Damaris Serrano, Fátima Araúz, Megan McKarns, and Michael Daniel Curtis Stanley

This volume III contains two blogs on Hispanic/Latin American culture and identity but goes beyond a link in cyberspace: the creative work presented in these blogs represent a journey through the culture of Spanish-speaking countries –including the United States– and dwell on the peculiarities that shape identity.

The works are the product of intense discussion and analysis in class, by groups and in individual and collective presentations, and consider historical aspects from the conquest by the Spaniards to the present time.

A dynamic that contrasts Modernity with Postmodernity, the classic with the innovative prevails. Here you will find texts in diverse literary genres... from poems to essays, from songs to film reviews. What is special is that their authors (yes, the group of women who were the participants in the class) got immersed in the style of Latin American popular music to rewrite boleros or to re-interpret merengue or salsa.

What was impressive was that they delved so deeply into the history of “Our America” (José Martí) that they were able to recreate it, essentially decanted into cultural tales that seem to have been written in the best Latin American Boom style, albeit focused on different epochs.

The most outstanding quality of these “posts” was that their authors became cultural critics (clairvoyant, combative, philosophers, feminists), seeing how the struggles, injustices, and adverse events, experienced by the Latin American people, were turned into art. They managed to show how, paradoxically, the best of culture many times emerged from pain.

The texts offered here are diverse: you will sing, you will remember, you may be moved to tears, but you will surely enjoy yourself.

We invite you to explore the cultural connections of the diverse identity of the Spanish language in the Americas.
Con la pluma entre dos mundos - Blogs of Latin American Culture and Identity - Index and Links

Damaris Serrano, Fátima Araúz, Megan McKarns, and Michael Daniel Curtis Stanley

This volume III contains two blogs on Hispanic/Latin American culture and identity but goes beyond a link in cyberspace: the creative work presented in these blogs represent a journey through the culture of Spanish-speaking countries –including the United States– and dwell on the peculiarities that shape identity.

The works are the product of intense discussion and analysis in class, by groups and in individual and collective presentations, and consider historical aspects from the conquest by the Spaniards to the present time.

A dynamic that contrasts Modernity with Postmodernity, the classic with the innovative prevails. Here you will find texts in diverse literary genres... from poems to essays, from songs to film reviews. What is special is that their authors (yes, the group of women who were the participants in the class) got immersed in the style of Latin American popular music to rewrite boleros or to re-interpret merengue or salsa.

What was impressive was that they delved so deeply into the history of “Our America” (José Martí) that they were able to recreate it, essentially decanted into cultural tales that seem to have been written in the best Latin American Boom style, albeit focused on different epochs.

The most outstanding quality of these “posts” was that their authors became cultural critics (clairvoyant, combative, philosophers, feminists), seeing how the struggles, injustices, and adverse events, experienced by the Latin American people, were turned into art. They managed to show how, paradoxically, the best of culture many times emerged from pain.

The texts offered here are diverse: you will sing, you will remember, you may be moved to tears, but you will surely enjoy yourself.

We invite you to explore the cultural connections of the diverse identity of the Spanish language in the Americas.