El Mundo Hispanohablante Contempor Neo

El mundo hispanohablante contemporáneo: historia, política, sociedades y culturas is a comprehensive and innovative book for advanced students of Spanish. Offering a constructivist approach to the study of the civilizations, cultures and histories of the contemporary Spanish-speaking world, the book focuses on learning as an active process that enables learners to develop high-level critical thinking skills through the exposure, research, examination and discussion of a variety of authentic films, songs and literary texts. Divided into twelve chapters, each chapter begins with an introduction to the general topic followed by various activities that lead students to critically analyse a range of authentic materials. Learners are able to practice higher level critical-thinking and linguistic skills through a wealth of tasks and exercises which culminate in a capstone section that requires the application of the concepts learned and sources utilized throughout the lesson. El mundo hispanohablante contemporáneo: historia, política, sociedades y culturas offers great flexibility and adaptability to suit advanced courses in Hispanic culture and civilization. Each chapter is methodologically designed with a balanced mix of activities for individual and teamwork. Additional resources are available online for both instructors and students. These include an instructor’s guide with answer key, a grammar supplement and links to the authentic materials referenced within the book.

This book is an innovative course for advanced students of Spanish. It offers a new approach to the study of the contemporary civilizations, cultures and histories of the Spanish speaking world. High-interest topics covered include: politics, economic organization and behaviours, identity, attitudes and belief, food and shelter and cultural products. Each chapter introduces the general topic and provides various activitites that lead students to critically analyze a range of authentic materials. Learners are able to practice higer level linguistic skills and are guided to write an essay at the end of each chapter using the concepts learned and sources utilized throughout the lesson.

Christianity in Latin America provides a complete overview of over 500 years of the history of Christianity in the ‘New World’. The inclusion of German research in this book is an important asset to the Anglo-American research area, in disclosing information that was hitherto not available in English. This work will present the reader with a very good survey into the history of Christianity on the South American continent, based on a tremendous breadth of literature.

Cuban American artist Luis Cruz Azaceta addresses what author Alejandro Anreus calls the "wounds and screams" of the human condition. Although Cruz Azaceta's work is extensively exhibited and widely collected, this is the first book on the artist's life and creations. Anreus traces Cruz Azaceta's career and explores the themes that are the focus of his singular art. Anreus discusses how the Cuban diaspora, above all, has shaped the artist and how the experience of exile has found expression through starkly forceful self-portraiture in many of his works. Anreus also examines the artist's ongoing concern with current events. Cruz Azaceta has responded to national crises, such as the AIDS epidemic, the Oklahoma City bombing, and the devastation of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina, with graphically powerful paintings, mixed-media pieces, and installations. Over the past four decades Cruz Azaceta has experimented with his visual vocabulary, moving from the flat, pop style of his early canvases, through neo-Expressionism, and into the abstraction of more-current work. His commentary on humanity, however, has not changed. His art continues to remind us that there are no easy solutions to the presence of violence and cruelty, exile and dislocation, and solitude and isolation.

The failure to manage cultural diversity in Morocco and Equatorial Guinea in an egalitarian manner has been linked to the hallmark of colonialism. First, because the policy practiced upon Arabs and Moroccan Imazighen since the French colonization comprised one of the reasonings employed to justify the pro-Arab policies developed after independence. Second, because the discriminatory policy deployed by Spain in Equatorial Guinea, was overridden by the installation of a dictatorship that established a system of Fang predominance. This book clarifies the degree to which the Spanish colonization is responsible for the present-day management of cultural diversity in both countries.