Publication:
I’m in America: Critically exploring Latino cultural identity in West Side Story for English classrooms

dc.contributor.advisor Irizarry Rodríguez, José M.
dc.contributor.author Sárraga López, Yamil
dc.contributor.college College of Arts and Sciences - Arts en_US
dc.contributor.committee Román Pérez, Rosa I.
dc.contributor.committee Acosta Lugo, Maribel
dc.contributor.committee Rivera, Rosita L.
dc.contributor.department Department of English en_US
dc.contributor.representative Carrero Figueroa, Rebecca
dc.date.accessioned 2018-09-13T19:44:08Z
dc.date.available 2018-09-13T19:44:08Z
dc.date.issued 2015
dc.description.abstract Race, culture and identity, alongside portrayals of the Puerto Rican culture, are themes which are highly intertwined in the Broadway musical West Side Story. Starting from its Broadway premiere to its eventual film adaptation, the musical has often been challenged due to its limited and stereotypical portrayal of the Puerto Rican racial group in the United States. However, the musical has remained as one of the most important and influential pieces of United States popular performance. This research seeks to justify the integration of the musical as a text in English secondary classrooms in Puerto Rico as a way for students to critically examine and deconstruct this portrayal and the many discourses which surround it. Through the creation of lesson plans supported by Paulo Freire's Critical Pedagogy, this research aims for students to challenge racist and assimilation discourses in the musical through a close analysis of the social, racial, and gender conflicts, as well as power relations as portrayed in the musical. Additionally, Louise Rosenblatt's Reader's Response Theory allows teachers to measure students’ understanding of the conflicts portrayed and the stance they take upon the examination of the musical. Lastly, teachers are provided with a working framework towards the use of the musical in the classroom through the creation of lesson plans based on the Curriculum Maps provided by the Department of Education of Puerto Rico.
dc.description.abstract La raza, la cultura, la identidad y la representación de los puertorriqueños en los Estados Unidos son algunos de los temas que se encuentran entrelazados en el musical de Broadway, West Side Story. Desde su puesta en escena y posterior adaptación cinematográfica, este musical ha sido desafiado frecuentemente debido a la representación limitada y estereotipada de los puertorriqueños como grupo racial en los Estados Unidos. Sin embargo, West Side Story se ha mantenido como una de las piezas más importantes e influyentes de la cultura popular estadounidense. Este proyecto de investigación busca justificar la integración de este musical como elemento de análisis en las clases de inglés a nivel secundario en Puerto Rico para que los estudiantes examinen y deconstruyan críticamente la representación de la cultura puertorriqueña y los diferentes tipos de discursos que la rodean. A través de la creación de planes de enseñanza apoyados en la pedagogía crítica de Paulo Freire, se busca que los estudiantes reten los dicursos racistas y asimilistas en el musical, al analizar los conflictos sociales, raciales y de género, así como las relaciones de poder. Asimismo, la teoría de la recepción de Louise Rosenblatt permite que los maestros puedan medir el entendimiento y la postura de sus alumnos en cuanto a los conflictos que se representan en el musical. Por último, se les provee a los maestros un marco teórico para el uso del musical en el salón de clases por medio de la creación de una serie de planes educativos basados en los requerimientos de los mapas curriculares del Departamento de Educación de Puerto Rico.
dc.description.graduationSemester Summer en_US
dc.description.graduationYear 2015 en_US
dc.identifier.uri https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11801/872
dc.language.iso en en_US
dc.rights.holder (c) 2015 Yamil Sárraga López en_US
dc.rights.license All rights reserved en_US
dc.subject Musicals en_US
dc.subject Education in Puerto Rico en_US
dc.subject Lesson planning en_US
dc.subject Cultural assimilation en_US
dc.subject Secondary education en_US
dc.subject.lcsh Musical films -- Study and teaching (Secondary) en_US
dc.subject.lcsh Musical films -- Study and teaching -- Puerto Rico en_US
dc.subject.lcsh Critical pedagogy -- Puerto Rico en_US
dc.subject.lcsh English language -- Discourse analysis en_US
dc.subject.lcsh Reader-response criticism en_US
dc.subject.lcsh West Side Story (Motion picture) en_US
dc.title I’m in America: Critically exploring Latino cultural identity in West Side Story for English classrooms en_US
dc.type Thesis en_US
dspace.entity.type Publication
thesis.degree.discipline English Education en_US
thesis.degree.level M.A.E.E. en_US
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
INGL_SarragaLopezY_2015.pdf
Size:
1.24 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.64 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description: