An Intellectually Stimulating Class

One of the main purposes behind a college education is to force us to become “deep thinkers”. By this I mean we do not simply take in information being taught to us, instead we analyze and look for deeper meanings, ask questions, and do research. Generally people have that one class where they are constantly learning new ways of thinking and their thought processes are being challenged. For me personally, that class has to be my Spanish Conversation and Culture class (level 305), taught by Professor Sobeira Latorre.

This is definitely a class where I feel intellectually stimulated. In my AP Spanish class last year we covered some topics that I have learned about this year, but the biggest difference is that we have gone more in depth. I have also learned about many new topics this year.  

In this class we cover different countries, their history, current events, and politics. We covered Puerto Rico and its transformation into a Commonwealth of the US. More deeply we discussed the most heated debate on the island: should it stay a Commonwealth, become a US state, or become an independent country. We had to weigh in with our opinions and our reasons why.

 One of the topics that I found most interesting was our work on the Mirabal sisters. While working on a chapter about Trujillo’s dictatorship in the Dominican Republic, we also did research on those who opposed him and what happened to them. The Mirabal sisters were four women who revolted against Trujillo and led underground opposition groups. The dictatorship was horrifying; people were constantly being captured, tortured, and killed. This was no different for three of the four Mirabal sisters. Three of them were tortured and jailed, eventually Trujillo had them assassinated. We were able to watch a movie about the women and learn about their impact on their country. It was so interesting it motivated me to want to learn more, so I went out and purchased a book by the only surviving sister, Dede Mirabal.

This class has shown me things I never even knew existed. I have the ability to express my opinion and back it up with facts; I do not have to just listen to a lecture. I leave the class with a list of topics to look up and learn more about!