Diabetic Publics in the Us/Mexico

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Diabetic Publics in the Us/Mexico UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SANTA CRUZ DISIDENTIFICATION WITH DIABETES: DIABETIC PUBLICS IN THE U.S./MEXICO BORDERLANDS A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in ANTHROPOLOGY by Celina E. Callahan-Kapoor June 2016 The Dissertation of Celina E. Callahan- Kapoor is approved: ____________________________________ Professor Danilyn Rutherford, Chair ____________________________________ Professor Matthew Wolf-Meyer, Co-chair ____________________________________ Professor Nancy N. Chen ____________________________________ Professor Charles L. Briggs ____________________________________ Tyrus Miller Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies Copyright © Celina Callahan-Kapoor 2016 CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................... viii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND KEY TERMINOLOGY ..................................... ix ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................. x DEDICATION ............................................................................................................ xii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ......................................................................................... xiii INTRODUCTION: PRODUCING, CIRCULATING, AND RESPONDING TO AN UNMOORED TRUTH ................................................................................................. 1 Dis-identifying with Diabetes ................................................................................... 1 Publics Formed through Identification and Dis-identification ................................. 6 Humiliation of Particularity: Publicity and the ever-present body as text .............. 13 Impossibility of Care in the U.S./Mexico Borderlands ........................................... 20 Methodology ........................................................................................................... 24 Mariana Clinic ........................................................................................................ 26 CrossFit and Zumba ................................................................................................ 27 Popular Media and Academic Scholarship ............................................................. 29 Outline of the Chapters ........................................................................................... 31 CHAPTER ONE: NEVERMORE THE “AMERICAN CONGO” ............................ 37 Who Belongs with Whom, and Why ...................................................................... 39 Contemporary Context of the Rio Grande Valley .................................................. 41 Constant Surveillance ......................................................................................... 42 Hub of Activity ................................................................................................... 44 iii Things You Can’t Know through the Census ..................................................... 45 Interconnection ................................................................................................... 47 Migration to the Rio Grande Valley ....................................................................... 50 Migrants for Work in Medicine .......................................................................... 51 Migrants for Work in Home Care, Construction, and to be With Family .......... 53 Colonias .................................................................................................................. 55 Bodies of Agriculture; Bodies of the Region .......................................................... 59 On Representation ................................................................................................... 62 Who Belongs with Whom, and Why ...................................................................... 67 INTERLUDE: SEDIMENTARY LAYERS OF HISTORY ...................................... 71 CHAPTER TWO: WHAT IS DIABETES? ............................................................... 72 Certainty and Doubt .................................................................................................... 72 Diabetes in Allopathic Medicine and Public Health ............................................... 77 Prevalence ........................................................................................................... 79 Social Science and Diabetes ............................................................................... 80 Diabetes History ...................................................................................................... 82 Melting Flesh, ‘Pissing Evil’, and a Dog Named Marjorie ................................ 82 Diabetic Economy ............................................................................................... 87 Diagnosis and Management in the Rio Grande Valley ........................................... 89 Diabetic Until Proven Otherwise ........................................................................ 89 Diagnosis............................................................................................................. 91 Management ........................................................................................................ 94 iv Making Up “We”: Who Is In The Measured Group? ......................................... 99 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 111 INTERLUDE: DIABETIC UNTIL PROVEN OTHERWISE ................................. 113 CHAPTER THREE: “YES, BUT:” LIVING WITH MURKY ETIOLOGY .......... 114 Esme: Una Vida Agringada .................................................................................. 119 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 131 INTERLUDE: EVERYDAY LIFE ........................................................................... 134 CHAPTER FOUR: TEMPTATION AND THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF CARE IN QDAY LIFE .............................................................................................................. 138 Learning QDay Life .............................................................................................. 144 Hopes and Dreams ................................................................................................ 146 Managing Consumer and Metabolic Temptation: Talking to Your Body, Caring for Your Family and the Nation ................................................................................. 150 Managing Temptation: Social Propriety ............................................................... 155 Responding to the Teaching of QDay Life ........................................................... 158 Gloria: Maintaining QDay Life by Imagining Necretizing Limbs ................... 158 Marianéla: Managing Temptation with Technology ........................................ 163 Edgar: Social and Seasonal Temptation ........................................................... 164 Temptation Nation: Non-profits, Raffles, Give-Aways, and Migration ............... 168 CHAPTER FIVE: BODY-BASED PUBLICS ......................................................... 178 CHAPTER SIX: MEDIATING BELONGING ........................................................ 211 Unmoored Statistics on TV ................................................................................... 234 v Gallup Polls: Questioning the Production ............................................................. 215 Responding to the Gallup Polls............................................................................. 218 Circulating the Unmoored Truth: Diabetesville, USA .......................................... 221 Diabetesville, USA ............................................................................................... 223 Description of Q&A .............................................................................................. 228 CHAPTER SEVEN: LEAVING DIABETESVILLE, USA ..................................... 243 A Visit to “Diabetesville, USA” ........................................................................... 243 Proxies and Publics ............................................................................................... 246 Aimée: Right Living, Genes, and the Nation ........................................................ 248 Illnesses You Have to Fight Not to Get ................................................................ 258 Estrella: Recalibration and the Feeling Body ....................................................... 260 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 264 INTERLUDE: Border Fright .................................................................................... 267 Hortensia: Paper Borders ...................................................................................... 271 Eugenia: Radio-mediated Border .......................................................................... 275 CONCLUSION: IMPOSSIBLE BELONGING……………………………………278 REFERENCES ......................................................................................................... 292 APPENDICES .......................................................................................................... 323 Appendix A. Diabetic Creed ................................................................................
Recommended publications
  • Mm H M H Mmmm Mmmmm Wmmlm • N Doctor
    .gaifiiiTBHHn |fnin •WWMPW M : iflaiPiM I^h^bsmhri ' lMww ' ilill *,x<- a.: • Student Weekly Publication 11 Mi Wi-iS The Rice Institute MK XXVI HOUSTON. TEXAS, FRIDAY. OCTOBER 25. 1940 Number ti The Nubbin Owl Defiance | Freshmen Play PARIS—-The opinion in diplomatic Shorthorns In circles here last night was that Pierre Laval would not dare lit bring about an open declaration of war I Night Prelude against Great Britain despite con- Conference Opener Pits stant German pressure, but would confine French aid to increasing Flames Of Owl Wrath Undefeated Steers naval activity, particularly in the To Mount At Huge vicinity of Dakar. Against Rice Pep Rally LONDON—The first air raid alarm Texas University campus life of the night was heard at 1 a.m.. Rally Club mttmbeFN aided hv moves directly from Austin to but damage from the ensuing rain of | hordes of freshmen were work- Houston today, as an estimated bombs was described as "slight." The Nazi air force continued to concen- in#? feverishly late Thursday; 5000 Longhorn students follow trate upon military objectives in the (upon final preparation* for the their undefeated football squad mm industrial Midlands us the British : bonfire that will symbolize Owl lil here for a traditionally bitter en- capital underwent the fifth succes- defiance to Texas t'myersity's^ counter with the Owls. sive night of lessened enemy bom- iffl® bardment. undefeated record at the tradi- Hundreds of these visitors bey in tional pep rally near West Hall arriving Friday afternoon, in time Zl'RICH—A report, as yet uncon- HMH firmed, which claimed that the loniyht at 7 o'clock.
    [Show full text]
  • “Spanglish,” Using Spanish and English in the Same Conversation, Can Be Traced Back in Modern Times to the Middle of the 19Th Century
    FAMILY, COMMUNITY, AND CULTURE 391 Logan, Irene, et al. Rebozos de la colección Robert Everts. Mexico City: Museo Franz Mayer, Artes de México, 1997. With English translation, pp. 49–57. López Palau, Luis G. Una región de tejedores: Santa María del Río. San Luis Potosí, Mexico: Cruz Roja Mexicana, 2002. The Rebozo Way. http://www.rebozoway.org/ Root, Regina A., ed. The Latin American Fashion Reader. New York: Berg, 2005. SI PANGL SH History and Origins The history of what people call “Spanglish,” using Spanish and English in the same conversation, can be traced back in modern times to the middle of the 19th century. In 1846 Mexico and the United States went to war. Mexico sur- rendered in 1848 with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. With its surrender, Mexico lost over half of its territory to the United States, what is now either all or parts of the states of California, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Wyoming. The treaty estab- lished that Mexican citizens who remained in the new U.S. lands automatically became U.S. citizens, so a whole group of Spanish speakers was added to the U.S. population. Then, five years later the United States decided that it needed extra land to build a southern railway line that avoided the deep snow and the high passes of the northern route. This resulted in the Gadsden Purchase of 1853. This purchase consisted of portions of southern New Mexico and Arizona, and established the current U.S.-Mexico border. Once more, Mexican citizens who stayed in this area automatically became U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • (1921 to 1963) Presented to the Graduate Council of the North Texas State University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
    10, /8( D. 0. ("PROF") WILEY: HIS CONTRIBUTIONS TO MUSIC EDUCATION (1921 TO 1963) DISSERTATION Presented to the Graduate Council of the North Texas State University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY By James I. Hansford, Jr., B.M.Ed., M.M.Ed. Denton, Texas May, 1982 Hansford, James I., Jr., D. 0. ("Prof") Wiley: His Contributions to Music Education (1921 to 1963). Doctor of Philosophy (Music Education), May, 1982, 236 pp., 21 illustrations, Bibliography, 88 titles. The purpose of the study was to write a history of a music educator the professional career of D. 0. Wiley as from 1921 to 1963. To give focus to the career of Wiley, answers were sought to three questions, stated as sub and influ problems: (1) What were the important events ences in the professional career of D. 0. Wiley as a college/university band director? (2) What impact did school Wiley have on the development of Texas public bands that earned him the title "Father of Texas Bands?" of and (3) What role did Wiley play in the development the Texas Music Educators Association and other professional music organizations? D. 0. Wiley was a powerful force in the development as director of public school bands of Texas. While serving of bands at Simmons College (now Hardin-Simmons University) in Abilene, and Texas Tech University in Lubbock, he trained scores of young band directors who accepted teaching positions across the state. Wiley is recognized by the Texas Bandmasters Associa tion as the "Father of Texas Bands," partially because of the large number of his students who became prominent 2 bandmasters and leaders in the professional state music education organizations, but primarily through his pioneer work with the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA).
    [Show full text]
  • Spanglish Code-Switching in Latin Pop Music: Functions of English and Audience Reception
    Spanglish code-switching in Latin pop music: functions of English and audience reception A corpus and questionnaire study Magdalena Jade Monteagudo Master’s thesis in English Language - ENG4191 Department of Literature, Area Studies and European Languages UNIVERSITY OF OSLO Spring 2020 II Spanglish code-switching in Latin pop music: functions of English and audience reception A corpus and questionnaire study Magdalena Jade Monteagudo Master’s thesis in English Language - ENG4191 Department of Literature, Area Studies and European Languages UNIVERSITY OF OSLO Spring 2020 © Magdalena Jade Monteagudo 2020 Spanglish code-switching in Latin pop music: functions of English and audience reception Magdalena Jade Monteagudo http://www.duo.uio.no/ Trykk: Reprosentralen, Universitetet i Oslo IV Abstract The concept of code-switching (the use of two languages in the same unit of discourse) has been studied in the context of music for a variety of language pairings. The majority of these studies have focused on the interaction between a local language and a non-local language. In this project, I propose an analysis of the mixture of two world languages (Spanish and English), which can be categorised as both local and non-local. I do this through the analysis of the enormously successful reggaeton genre, which is characterised by its use of Spanglish. I used two data types to inform my research: a corpus of code-switching instances in top 20 reggaeton songs, and a questionnaire on attitudes towards Spanglish in general and in music. I collected 200 answers to the questionnaire – half from American English-speakers, and the other half from Spanish-speaking Hispanics of various nationalities.
    [Show full text]
  • University of Texas Faces New Outcry Over Old Song with Minstrel Roots
    _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ University of Texas Faces New Outcry Over Old Song With Minstrel Roots Many students want “The Eyes of Texas” to go. Wealthy alumni insist it should stay. The dispute has become a flash point as universities struggle to deal with traditions spawned in earlier eras. Fans singing “The Eyes of Texas” at a University of Texas football game in Austin. By Edgar Sandoval and Simon Romero May 7, 2021 SAN ANTONIO — For generations, the fight song at the University of Texas at Austin has been etched into the state’s very fabric. For students, the words “the eyes of Texas are upon you” have been sung before and after every sporting event and commencement. Beyond the campus, the song is ever-present at weddings and funerals — and even space, where it was a wake-up call for astronauts on the Gemini, Apollo and Skylab missions. But since last summer, the anthem, which was first performed in 1903 at a minstrel show by white students who were likely in blackface, has divided the Longhorn community, pitting administrators and wealthy donors against students and faculty who want the university to abolish it and write a new alma mater. University leaders had hoped to quell the uproar over “The Eyes of Texas” after a committee issued a report in March determining that the song had “no racist intent.” But after administrators doubled down on the position that it would remain a central 2 feature of university life, tension has escalated, with student campus tour guides going on strike, pleas from Black legislators to lose the song and threats by wealthy alumni to cut off donations if that were to happen.
    [Show full text]
  • Eurolanguages-2019: Innovations and Development
    MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE OF UKRAINE DNIPRO UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY INSTITUTE OF POWER ENGINEERING TRANSLATION DEPARTMENT EUROLANGUAGES-2019: INNOVATIONS AND DEVELOPMENT 17th INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS’ CONFERENCE, DEVOTED TO THE EUROPEAN DAY OF LANGUAGES Collection of students’ scientific abstracts Digital Edition Dnipro 2019 МІНІСТЕРСТВО ОСВІТИ І НАУКИ УКРАЇНИ НТУ «ДНІПРОВСЬКА ПОЛІТЕХНІКА» ІНСТИТУТ ЕЛЕКТРОЕНЕРГЕТИКИ КАФЕДРА ПЕРЕКЛАДУ ЄВРОПЕЙСЬКІ МОВИ-2019: ІННОВАЦІЇ ТА РОЗВИТОК 17-a МІЖНАРОДНА СТУДЕНТСЬКА КОНФЕРЕНЦІЯ, ПРИСВЯЧЕНА ЄВРОПЕЙСЬКОМУ ДНЮ МОВ Збірник студентських наукових робіт Електронне видання Дніпро 2019 УДК 811.11 (043.2) ББК 81я43 Є22 Європейські мови – 2019: інновації та розвиток: за матеріалами 17-ї міжнародної студентської конференції. //Збірник наук.студ. робіт. – Електронне видання. – Дніпро, НТУ "Дніпровська політехніка", 2019. – 178 с. Збірник наукових студентських робіт призначено для широкого кола читачів, які цікавляться проблемами вивчення іноземних мов та перекладу в Україні та за кордоном. The collection of students’ abstracts is designed for a large circle of readers who are interested in the state of learning foreign languages and translation both in Ukraine and abroad. Редакційна колегія: Відповідальний редактор: канд. філол. наук, проф. Т.Ю. Введенська, Україна Члени редколегії: докт. філол. наук, проф. А.Я. Алєксєєв, Україна канд. філол. наук, доц. Л.В. Бердник, Україна магістр, ст. викладач О.В. Щуров, Україна Відповідальна за випуск: канд. філол. наук, проф. Т.Ю. Введенська, Україна УДК 811.11 (043.2) ©Державний вищий навчальний заклад ББК 81я43 «Національний гірничий університет»®, 2019 4 ЗМІСТ СЕКЦІЯ ПЕРША ФІЛОЛОГІЧНІ ДОСЛІДЖЕННЯ Ndiae Ibrahima. SENEGAL: CULTURAL AND GEOGRAPHIC PECULIARITIES…………………………………………………………………..10 Дрок Ю. ЛІНГВОСТИЛІСТИЧНІ ОСОБЛИВОСТІ ПОЕЗІЇ ЕДРІЕНН РІЧ “POWERS OF RECUPERATION”………………………………………………11 Кіяшко Д. ДЕЯКІ ОСОБЛИВОСТІ ПЕЙЗАЖНОГО ОПИСУ В РОМАНІ С.
    [Show full text]
  • Espanglish Y Cambio De Código En El Valle De San Joaquín, California
    Symposium Proceedings Espanglish y cambio de código en el Valle de San Joaquín, California Teresa Fernández-Ulloa, California State University. [email protected] Abstract En esta comunicación presentamos un análisis de estos dos fenómenos lingüísticos, muy extendidos en ciertas zonas de Estados Unidos, debido a las raíces hispanas de muchas de las personas que en él habitan. Como profesores, los hemos observado en el ambiente escolar, es especial en si- tuaciones poco formales, y presentamos aquí los resultados de un estudio sociolingüístico de un corpus de grabaciones realizadas escuelas del conda- do de Kern, al sur del Valle de San Joaquín, en California (USA). En esta comunidad se da bilingüismo social e individual (sólo por parte de la pobla- ción "chicana"), ambos de carácter diglósico: nos encontramos con dos lenguas (inglés y castellano), una de las cuales, está relegada a situaciones informales, mientras que el inglés es la lengua de enseñanza, negocios, etc. La alternancia de códigos (code-switching) es uno de los fenómenos más frecuentes en las comunidades bilingües: no es otra cosa que el uso alterno de dos lenguas en el mismo discurso. Este fenómeno ha sido objeto de estudio de varios investigadores como Poplack y Sakoff (1983). Estos inves- tigadores encontraron que lejos de las creencias superficiales de profanos (y no tan profanos), que ven el fenómeno como una clara manifestación de corrupción y deterioro lingüísticos, de conducta verbal indeterminada, el cambio de código resulta gobernado por requisitos funcionales y pragmáti- cos. En cuanto al espanglish o spanglish, los primeros indicios de este dia- lecto (también se la considera una lengua criolloide), se remontan a fines del siglo XIX, inmediatamente después del Tratado de Guadalupe Hidalgo.
    [Show full text]
  • 2017 SA Manual.Pdf
    Dear Longhorns: We are pleased to start this 2017-18 academic year with you! The Texas Athletics staff is 400-plus employees strong, and all are dedicated to helping each of you fulfill your academic and athletics goals. At Texas, we value integrity, excellence, teamwork, diversity and inclusion, creativity, accountability and loyalty. Our University is world ranked, with excellent faculty and staff, nearly 500,000 living alumni, unique traditions and high standards. Take the opportunity to et to know our staff and embrace the campus community and great city of Austin as resources. Your time here goes very quickly, so cherish every moment! This manual features information, policies and procedures to help you progress as a student-athlete. Enjoy the unwavering support and services you receive here, and learn and develop your tools for success. Study hard. Compete to the fullest. Be a leader. Above all, remember to represent yourself, the University and Texas Athletics with class and integrity. The Eyes of Texas are upon you! Have a great year, and Hook ‘em, Horns! Mike Perrin Chris Plonsky Men’s Athletics Director Women’s Athletics Director and Executive Senior Associate AD/Men’s & Women’s External Services Welcome to Texas The University of Texas Eligibility and Compliance Sports Medicine Athletics Councils ........................................... 8 Athletics & Academic Eligibility Sports Medicine Athletics Facilities Map & Access ...................9 Consensual Relationship Prohibition......32 Healthcare Resources .................................. 45 Mission & Vision Statements ..........................3 Continued Receipt of Benefits .................31 Overview........................................................ 45 Student-Athlete Code of Conduct Employment with Sport-Specific Staff....32 Reporting Injuries and Illnesses .................. 45 and Expectations ............................... 10-11 Enrollment Changes ...............................
    [Show full text]
  • 2020 Annual Report
    TEXAS ATHLETICS 2020 ANNUAL REPORT 2019-20 Annual Report 1 2 Texas Athletics Photo courtesy of Pinkle Toes Photography GREETINGS LONGHORN NATION, Our annual report is traditionally reserved for celebrating, honoring and were shut down along with campus activities across the country. Our lives reflecting on another wonderful year of events and accomplishments, were thrust into remote working and a virtual reality as student-athletes academics and athletics accolades, as well as more championships and headed home and staffers turned their houses into off-site offices. The victories on and off the field of competition. We enjoyed those for sure, but COVID-19 pandemic brought us to our knees and impacted collegiate also had just as many achievements that surrounded the human spirit, our sports like nothing before. Our country and world were in crisis mode and will and efforts in overcoming the impact of a devastating health crisis, and suddenly we found ourselves managing an unprecedented situation. the resolve as a unified Texas in forging ahead. However, with that patented Longhorn spirit and your immense support, The 2019-20 seasons started with lots of notable performances, steady we adapted and found ways to persevere as one in a very difficult situation. progress, entertaining action and exciting outcomes through the fall of 2019 Washing hands were critical, antibacterial wipes and sprays essential, and into the first couple months of 2020. There was the lively expansion masks became a must, COVID testing paramount, and looking out for the of BEVO Blvd. and Longhorn City Limits to Smokey’s Midway at Longhorn best interest of yourself and those around you was a crucial step to any Football games, and more fan amenities than ever were revving up around form of normalcy and eventually prosperity.
    [Show full text]
  • Announcements
    227 Journal of Language Contact – THEMA 1 (2007): Contact: Framing its Theories and Descriptions ANNOUNCEMENTS Symposium Language Contact and the Dynamics of Language: Theory and Implications 10-13 May 2007 Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (Leipzig) Organizing institutions: Institut Universitaire de France : Chaire ‘Dynamique du langage et contact des langues’ (Nice) Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology: Department of Linguistics (Leipzig) Information and presentation: http://www.unice.fr/ChaireIUF-Nicolai/Symposium/Index_Symposium.html Thematic orientation Three themes are chosen. I. “‘Contact’: an ‘obvious fact ? A notion to be rethought?” The aim is to open theoretical reflection on the importance of ‘contact’ as a linguistic and anthropological phenomenon for the study of the evolution and dynamics of languages and of Language. II. “Contact, typology and evolution of languages: a perspective to be explored” Here the aim is to open discussion on what is constructed by ‘typology’. III. “Representation of the phenomena and the role of descriptors: a perspective to be established” In connection with the double requirement of theoretical reflection and empirical underpinning, the aim is to develop an epistemological reflection on the elaboration of knowledge in the domain of languages and Language. Titles of communications Peter Bakker (Aarhus) Rethinking structural diffusion Cécile Canut (Montpelllier) & Paroles et Agencements Jean-Marie Prieur (Montpelllier) Bernard Comrie (MPI-EVA, Leipzig & WALS tell us about the diffusion of structural features Santa Barbara) Nick Enfield (MPI, Nijmegen) Conceptual tools for a natural science of language (contact and change) Zygmunt Frajzyngier & Erin Shay (Boulder, Language-internal versus contact-induced change: the case of split Colorado) coding of person and number.
    [Show full text]
  • Tales of Travels Across Languages: Languages and Their Anti-Languages
    Tales of travels across languages: Languages and their anti-languages Marcela Polanco and David epston Marcela Polanco works as a Counsellor at the Student Counseling Center, at Nova Southeastern University, Florida, and teaches at the Farquhar Department of the same university. She can be contacted via email: [email protected], or 3301 College Ave., Parker Building Suite 150, Ft. Lauderdale, FL. 33314, USA. David Epston is one of the originators of what has come to be known as narrative therapy. He lives and works in Auckland, New Zealand, and travels widely to teach. Appropriately, his latest book is entitled Down under and up over: Travels in narrative therapy (2009). David can be contacted by email: [email protected] This paper is a collaboration between an apprentice bilingual translator/ narrative therapist (Marcela) and one of the originators of narrative therapy (David). Studies of translation and bilingualism offer interesting and useful contributions to the renewal of narrative therapy. As narrative ideas migrate cultures, these crossings can enrich, acculturate, and diversify narrative practices. At the same time, considerations of bilinguality or multilinguality can influence our practice within languages. The example of therapeutic practice that is offered illustrates how narrative therapeutic conversations can move between and across multiple namings of people’s predicaments. In this process, understandings need not be ironed out, as often happens in monolingual conversations. Instead, multilinguality puts names in play as transitory constructions, susceptible to renewal or reinvention. Keywords: bilingualism, narrative therapy, multilingualism, language, anti-language. 62 The International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work The International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work 2009 No.
    [Show full text]
  • Spanglish: a Controversial Dystopic Or Utopic Language? Controversial
    1 Spanglish: A Controversial Dystopic or Utopic Language? Controversial opinions abound about Spanglish making it a “sizzling topic” (Montes- Alcalá, 2009, p. 98) and “an emotionally charged issue” regardless of whether it is viewed as good or bad (Rothman & Rell, 2005, p. 516). There are diverse opinions on how to define it and what to call it given that the term itself is controversial. The editor of Hispania, the prestigious journal of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese, states, “I cannot think of a more innovative research area than what I will dub ‘Spanglish Studies’” (Spaine Long, 2013, p.435). Indeed teachers’ interest in the influence of English on the Spanish language has increased as the number of immigrants and subsequent generations has increased the population of heritage speakers in our classrooms. However, outside of the academic environment, there is interest as well in how people use language daily and varying attitudes surrounding the issue. In the movie Elysium, released in August 2013, we are introduced to upper class individuals who live on a utopian habitat in space and speak flawless English, French, and Afrikaans, while those living on chaotic and dystopic Earth are depicted as criminals, dirty, and members of the lower class who speak Spanish mixed with English, or Spanglish. This movie, set in the year 2150, is a social commentary of our current society and its beliefs and practices. In this paper I will present varied opinions and definitions of Spanglish and arguments over what we should call this phenomenon, a linguistic analysis including some rules governing its usage, and issues related to speakers using Spanglish as an identity marker.
    [Show full text]