Michael Benson
Coursework Documentation and Samples
Below you will find my coursework from my time at Clemson University!
You will find samples of my competence in:
Linguistic proficiency
Cultural competency
Humanities competency
Linguistic Proficiency
The Canyon's Painting
A short poem written for proof of my proficiency in the usage of subjunctive and conditional tenses written in Spanish.
Emma Zunz: a Search for Justice
An essay written about a short story by Jorge Luis Borges on the character Emma Zunz and the many misdeeds committed against her written in Spanish.
Cultural Competency
The Domination of the Secular Clergy
An essay written to further describe the indoctrination of indigenous peoples in Latin American countries written in Spanish.
The Countries of Mexico and Argentina
A presentation made to explore the cultural, political, religious, and geographical facets of both countries, written in Spanish.
Humanities Competency
The God of the Mayans: Quetzalcoatl
A short essay written on the God Quetzalcoatl's involvement in Mayan culture and history and an analysis of his stories, written in Spanish.
A Conquistador's Account of Major Screw-Ups
A midterm essay written from the perspective of a Conquistador in the New World, allowing for reflection on the misdeeds of Spain, written in English.
Language Oriented Instruction
SPAN 2010 Intermediate Spanish
A course instructed in Spanish, I learned to further my core understanding of the language and to better speak about more complex topic in Spanish.
SPAN 3020 Intermediate Spanish Grammar and Composition
Instructed in Spanish. This course forced me to better my writing and reading comprehension in the target language.
SPAN 2020 Intermediate Spanish II
A course instructed in Spanish that was similar to SPAN 2010, but also further pushed me to improve my fluency in the language.
SPAN 3040 Introduction to Hispanic Literary Forms
Instructed in Spanish. A course that allowed me to further understand the complexities of Spanish writings throughout the centuries, also furthering my comprehension skills.
SPAN 4350 Contemporary Hispanic Culture
While this course was not primarily a grammar and writing class, my classmates and I were taught subjunctive and conditional tenses further than previous courses.
Culture and Literature Courses
SPAN 3080 The Hispanic World: Latin America
This class focused on the history and culture of many Latin American countries, furthering my understanding of the cultural complexities and differences of different Spanish-speaking countries.
SPAN 4070 Hispanic Film
In this course I watched and analyzed many movies from Hispanic cinema, teaching me of both cultural and historical concepts from their respective areas.
SPAN 4190 Health and the Hispanic Community
In this course I learned more about the health care of different Spanish-speaking countries, and had the opportunity to interact with the local Latinx/Hispanic community through volunteer work.
SPAN 4030 Spanish American Women Writers
This course taught me of more recent concepts in film and writing made by Spanish-speakers, focusing on the everyday problems and generational trauma of women.
SPAN 4180 Technical Spanish Health Mangement
In this course I was taught about the basic health care systems and models that are used in different Spanish-speaking countries.
SPAN 4350 Contemporary Hispanic Culture
This class primarily taught me about more recent aspects of Hispanic culture, as well as the variety of problems that Spanish speakers may face within their own communities.