Course Description
Students work with the instructor and WLC faculty advisors to research, synthesize, write and present their Capstone projects. Students will also complete a Graduation ePortfolio reflecting how each MLO was met. This course is required for all Japanese Language and Culture, and Spanish Language and Hispanic Cultures majors.
Reflective Narrative
In WLC 400, I integrated all my linguistic, literary and cultural knowledge to complete my Capstone: The Perceptions of Binary and Non-Binary Inclusive Language in Communities of Buenos Aires, Argentina and California, United States. Without a doubt, the process of completing my Capstone was complex, because my topic is very recent and there is very limited research that would have served as a basis for our investigation. For this reason, in our literature review we included background information on inclusive language, Spanish grammar, perspectives (for and against), current usage, and research on the topic in Argentina and Spain. We then conducted a virtual survey in Buenos Aires, Argentina and in Baja California, Mexico to explore the perceptions of binary (unfolding and the @ symbol) and non-binary (letter x, as well as the -e morpheme) inclusive language variants. The results demonstrate that there is tolerance for the use of binary inclusive language, but that most participants will continue to use the unfolded variant, because it is the form to which they are accustomed. The information obtained in this study contributes to the phenomenon of non-binary inclusive language in Spanish that has started to take great relevance because more people are employing it with the purpose of fostering a more inclusive society. Another important task I completed in this class was my community project, where I addressed the issue of access to education of two Mexican immigrants. Finally, I completed the ePortfolio that aims to document my academic and professional experiences that resulted in my successful completion of my B.A. in Spanish Language and Hispanic Cultures at CSUMB. This class is related to WLC 300 and SPAN 300.