Lorena Cuya Gavilano

Currently Teaching

At ASU, I'm currently teaching the following courses for our Spanish for the Professions Certificate/Minor

Spa 494: Markets, Migrants and Work: Case Studies for Professionals (Fortcoming fall 2020)

Latino immigrants are not only influential in U.S. culture, they are also a driving force in its economy. Today, workers from all over Latin America as well as U.S.-born Latinos make up 18.2 million active workers according to the Pew Research Center. The improving labor market prospects for Latinx/Hispanix reflect migrants’ efforts and their adaptability to new economic, social, cultural, and political contexts. This course is designed to educate students about Latinx/Hispanix participation in the workforce, either as skilled or unskilled laborers, documented or undocumented workers, blue or white-collar personnel, employees or small business owners, and, of course, as consumers too. The course prepares students to work effectively and empathetically with different generations of immigrant workers. Although the class is interdisciplinary in nature, it emphasizes the cultural characteristics of Latinix/Hispanix populations as they influence and adapt to the workplace and the job market. Through lab sections, films, memoirs, podcasts, academic articles, and other varied materials, the course examines the role of Latinix/Hispanix as consumers and professionals while generating social sensibilities. Case studies in this class include but are not limited to the fashion, food, and tech industries, as well as the agricultural field, domestic labor, and informal economies.

Spa 494: Latino/Latin American Film: Ethical Discussions for the Professions

This course is not only an introduction to the numerous ways in which Latino/Latin American cinema approaches ethical crossroads dealing with inequality, discrimination, human rights violations, and corruption. It is also about decision-making processes. It offers a series of case studies through which students from different field learn how to proceed before difficult situations at work.

The class analyzes the main movements, features, and trends in Latin American Cinema, and offers the space to discuss and question the roles played by different professionals when facing difficult situations in which social conflict, personal loyalties, and individual interests interfere with ethical decisions. Through the exploration of socio-political and historical factors related to Latino and Latin American populations, this class explores the connections between ethics and social justice. It examines the position and reponsability of lawyers, journalists, entrepreneurs, social workers, teachers, politicians, and police officials among others vis-à-vis issues such as economic dependence, migration, indigenous rights, racial discrimination, social mobility, and globalization that beg to be considered in different work places. 

Spa 404: Spanish in U.S. Professional Communities

This course studies key social and linguistic aspects of the Spanish language within different Latino and professional communities in the US. It explores the intersections among the Spanish spoken in different U.S. regions, the cultural variables of Latinx groups, and specific professional agendas. The class examines the history of Spanish in the U.S., as well as the different socio-cultural policies affecting its use and the life of its speakers in this country. It helps students reflect on multiple aspects that need to be considered when interacting with Spanish speaking populations in a variety of professional settings. Accordingly, students learn about the use of Spanish in government agencies, social work settings, medical settings, journalism, education, language planning at state and local levels, Spanish language assessment of public sector employees, among other issues of professional bilingualism.

Spa 405: Latino Cultural Perspectives for the Professions

How the Latino and Latin American cultures affect professional practices? How can one become inter-culturally competent? This class is a journey into the hispanic culture and an exploration through different cultural models that help professionals to succeed in a globalized world. The development of bilingual leaders is one of the most precious assets in today's world and this course directs students in this direction.

Spa 317: Introduction to Spanish for the Professions

The creation of a professional profile is a delicate and necessary job. This course helps students to create a bilingual professional profile through the elaboration of their personal portfolios (CVs, mision, vision, projects, online presence, job application, job interviews, etc.). It is also about learning how to improve their professional interactions through the study of field-focus vocabulary and specific professional skills culturally adequate for the Hispanic world. 

SPRING 2016

Spanish 311: Latin American Popular Culture

Different Latin American cultures have been shaped by a series of socio-economic and political tensions that begin with the conflict of and exchange between groups of different geographic origin during the conquest and colonization of the New World. The course discusses the reverberations of these tensions through history—from colonial times, through the 19th century independence wars, 20th century revolutions, to the present period of physical and virtual global exchanges. This course analyzes the evolution of different groups in the region, as well as the impact of globalization on their traditions and cultural productions. The course is interdisciplinary in nature and features Latin American history, cultures, traditions, and stereotypes through films, music, paintings, architecture, narratives, and journalism. 

FALL 2015

Spanish 426: Representations of Social (In)justice in Latin American Literature and Film

In Latin America, the practice of storytelling about social injustice is vast and varied. This course is an introduction to the numerous ways in which Latin American literature and cinema have, against the odds, exposed and denounced inequality, discrimination, human rights violations and so on. Since Colonial times, Fray Bartolomé de las Casas, whose Brevísima relación de la destrucción de las Indias chronicled the abuse of the native populations, to the comic strip Migra Mouse by Lalo Alcaraz which reflects human trafficking and border problems, Latin American narratives offer examples of the ways in which diverse narrative forms have been used to call attention to atrocity, abuses of power, and the violations of rights. The narration of violence and atrocities in the region is not only long, but also quite diverse. The course focuses on understanding the history of social justice advocacy and appreciating the role that culture has played in those processes in the region. The course emphasizes a cluster of long-lasting colonial issues: economic dependence, political and military interventionism, indigenous rights, dictatorships, racial discrimination, social mobility, and globalization.

 FALL 2014 - SPRING 2015

Span 280 Latin American Cultural Traditions

Different cultural traditions of Latin America have been shaped by a series of socio-economic and political tensions that begin with the conflict of and exchange between groups of different geographic origin during the conquest and colonization of the New World. The course discusses the reverberations of these tensions through history—from colonial times, through the 19th century independence wars, 20th century revolutions, to the present period of physical and virtual global exchanges. This course analyzes the evolution of different groups in the region, as well as the impact of globalization on their traditions and cultural productions. The course is interdisciplinary in nature and features Latin American history, cultures, traditions, and stereotypes through films, music, paintings, architecture, narratives, and journalism. 

Span 103 Toward Intermediate Spanish

Toward Intermediate Spanish (Span 103) is designed to put English-speaking students in touch with today’s Hispanic culture through its language. The course includes a grammar review that stresses communication. The purpose of this course is to develop and improve communication skills when listening, reading, speaking, and writing in Spanish. The courses follow a communicative information-based task approach, which springs from the idea that languages are best learned when real-world information becomes the focus of students’ activities. Therefore, during the semester, you will exchange real-life information about yourself and your classmates.

SPRING 2014

Span 285 Latino/a Literature in the U.S.

Course Description:

Through the analysis of literature and other cultural productions of Latino/a authors in the U.S., this course analyzes the relationship between the U.S. and the region that since the 19th Century has come to be known as Latin America. Immediately after the independence period, Latin America became the largest trading partner of the U.S, and the most powerful foreign influence in Latin America has consistently been the U.S. However, the influence goes both ways. Consequently, the U.S. has experienced a demographic and cultural transformation with a significant presence of people from Latin America (Cuba, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Peru and other countries) over the last century. In this course, you will learn how the U.S. and Latin American socio-economic and cultural interactions have become increasingly important—and sometimes problematic—for both the U.S. and Latin American cultural identity. The course, therein, analyses issues of human rights violations and related geographic, familiar and emotional dislocations. This analysis is necessary to better understand geographic and socio-cultural displacements and the literature—in English, Spanish, or both—that results from them.

An interesting project that my students enjoyed:

Steve Inskeep went on a journey along the U.S.-Mexico border—from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean. He and other NPR reporters pursued stories of people, goods and culture crossing the border. This team has prepared a beautiful project that now we can share and enjoy with students in any class about Latino issues in the U.S.

Required Book: Harvest of Empire. A history of Latinos in America by Juan González

Span 103 Toward Intermediate Spanish

Course Description:

Toward Intermediate Spanish (Span 103) is designed to put English-speaking students in touch with today’s Hispanic culture through its language. The course includes a grammar review that stresses communication. The purpose of this course is to develop and improve communication skills when listening, reading, speaking, and writing in Spanish. The courses follow a communicative information-based task approach, which springs from the idea that languages are best learned when real-world information becomes the focus of students’ activities. Therefore, during the semester, you will exchange real-life information about yourself and your classmates.

Required book: Facetas. 3rd ed.

FALL 2013

Span 280 Latin American Cultural Traditions

Course Description:

Different cultural traditions of Latin America have been shaped by a series of socio-economic and political tensions that begin with the conflict of and exchange between groups of different geographic origin during the conquest and colonization of the New World. The course discusses the reverberations of these tensions through history—from colonial times, through the 19th century independence wars, 20th century revolutions, to the present period of physical and virtual global exchanges. This course analyzes the evolution of different groups in the region, as well as the impact of globalization on their traditions and cultural productions. The course is interdisciplinary in nature and features Latin American cultures, traditions, and stereotypes through films, music, paintings, architecture, narratives, and journalism.

Required Books: Alejo Carpentier. El Reino de este mundo. Prol. Guillermo Samperio.

Span 105 (sec. 01 & 02) Intermediate Spanish

Course Description:

Intermediate Spanish (Span 105) is designed to put English-speaking students in touch with today’s Hispanic culture through its language. The course includes a grammar review that stresses communication. The purpose of this course is to develop and improve communication skills when listening, reading, speaking, and writing in Spanish. The courses follow a communicative information-based task approach, which springs from the idea that languages are best learned when real-world information becomes the focus of students’ activities. Therefore, during the semester, you will exchange real-life information about yourself and your classmates.

Required Books: En Contacto: Gramática en Acción. 9th ed. 

Spanish 111 (Intermediate Spanish 1)

This intermediate course uses with Imagina.

Spanish 102 (Elementary spanish 2)

This basic Spanish course uses with Panorama.