W&M ScholarWorks Undergraduate Honors Theses Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 5-2017 En Busca de la Alfabetización. Three 20th Century Literacy Movements in Spanish Speaking Countries: Impacts and Implications Morgan Sehdev College of William and Mary Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/honorstheses Part of the Curriculum and Social Inquiry Commons, Educational Methods Commons, Latin American Literature Commons, Modern Languages Commons, Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons, and the Spanish Literature Commons Recommended Citation Sehdev, Morgan, "En Busca de la Alfabetización. Three 20th Century Literacy Movements in Spanish Speaking Countries: Impacts and Implications" (2017). Undergraduate Honors Theses. Paper 1086. https://scholarworks.wm.edu/honorstheses/1086 This Honors Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Undergraduate Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. En Busca de la Alfabetización Three 20th Century Literacy Movements in Spanish Speaking Countries: Impacts and Implications A thesis submitted in the partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Hispanic Studies from The College of William & Mary by Morgan Sehdev Accepted for ________________________________________ ________________________________________ Jonathan Arries, Ph.D., Advisor ________________________________________ David Aday, Ph.D. ________________________________________ Francie Cate-Arries, Ph.D. ________________________________________ Monica Griffin, Ph.D. Sehdev 2 Acknowledgments What happens to a dream deferred? (Langston Hughes) As many know, The College of William & Mary was by no means where I had envisioned myself studying four years ago. In fact, William & Mary took me in, heartbroken by another. My English teacher and mentor at the time, upon hearing the news of what happened and my final decision in the college process, simply asked me: Morgan, what happens to a dream deferred? (We had read Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun in his class, which opens with this Langston Hughes poem.) I respond: It explodes. My time at William & Mary has been nothing short of an explosion. It feels almost fated that I would end up here, because it has been here that I have flourished, come to understand who I am, developed an appreciation for hard hitting research, and met some of the most amazing professors, mentors, and friends. The experience, the dream deferred, the explosion that has been my time at William & Mary has brought me to today, presenting this body of work and perhaps one of my proudest achievements to date. This work has not been done in isolation, though. I would like to take a moment to thank all of those who have contributed to this work and my experience. Above all, I am extremely thankful for the guidance, support, and friendship I have found in my advisor, Prof. Jonathan Arries. Three years ago, he could have easily turned me, the overambitious sophomore, away when I asked if we could start a project together. As much as I joke about it, I am grateful every day that he decided to take up arms with me in the fight against illiteracy, as we try to understand the issue together. I would be remiss if I said I won’t feel a little lost without our regular coffee/work sessions and I won’t miss all of the debates, the conversations, and the jokes. I have never felt more challenged intellectually than during meetings with Prof. Arries, who has always set the bar high for me. Because of this, I have reached a point where I am comfortable as a Spanish speaker, cultural studies researcher, and writer. Prof. Arries: From, the bottom of my heart, thank you. This work has also been greatly impacted by those who have so graciously offered to serve on my Honors Committee: Prof. David Aday, Prof. Francie Cate-Arries, Prof. Monica Griffin. All three of you have been instrumental in my growth and success at the college and I could not be more fortunate to have such a wonderful group to support me. To Prof. Aday, Doc: Thank you for always being there, for always challenging me as an academic and a person, for helping redefine my notions of community, public health, and participatory research. To Prof. Cate-Arries: Thank you for setting the bar high when it comes to my writing, for always encouraging me to do the research, for calling on me to think critically about memory and identity, and for always being a supportive and caring force. To Prof. Griffin: Thank you for teaching me how to conduct community based research, for encouraging me to always be kind and courteous, and for always being a guiding light. Additional thanks are necessary for other collaborators and support across campus. Thank you to Prof. Ann Marie Stock, for advising me on my work in Cuba. To Aram Vidal, for speaking at length with me about literacy movements. To Prof. Dan Cristol, for inspiring me to do research in the first place and being one of the best mentor anyone could ask for. To Provost Halleran, for asking me, “But how are you defining literacy?”, and causing me to think more critically about my topic. To my friends, who have supported me every step of the way, especially Emily Thomas, Kyle McQuillan, and Nathaniel Clemens for helping me edit this beast. And to the 1693 Murray Sehdev 3 Scholarship, without the support of the Murray Family, my time at William & Mary might not have ever been possible. I would also like to thank John Duffy and Nancy Motolese, for teaching me to love the Spanish language and culture -- without you two I might never have been a Hispanic Studies major. And finally, a thank you to my mother. You have been my role model, friend, and constant support through everything. Even when I feel the most lost, I know I can count on you to be there for me as I find my way back. I hope one day to be half the woman you are. Morgan Sehdev Sehdev 4 Table of Contents Acknowledgments 2 En Busca de la Alfabetización 6 Why Literacy? 6 Approach 9 Spain: Las Misiones Pedagógicas 12 Introduction 12 Spain Before the “Missions” 13 Las Misiones Pedagógicas 20 Facets of Each Mission 26 Las Bibliotecas: The Libraries 27 La Música, El Coro, El Teatro: Music, Choir, and Theater 28 Las Películas: The Movies 29 Los Museos Circulantes: The Travelling Museums 30 Outcomes, Repercussions, Critiques 31 Conclusion 38 Cuba: El Año de la Educación 39 Introduction 39 Pre-Revolutionary Cuba: Nearly Non-existent Education 40 Seeds of Revolution and Education 45 Revolution 51 Outcomes 64 Lessons, Critiques, and Limitations 71 Conclusion 79 Nicaragua: La Cruzada del Alfabetismo 81 Introduction 81 Independence through Somoza: Generating a Culture of Illiteracy 82 Sandino Returns: The Nicaraguan Revolution 90 The Crusade 96 Outcomes, Lessons, and Critiques 103 The Fall of Sandino... Again 114 Figure 1. El amanecer del pueblo example lesson page 116 What Does it All Mean? A Theoretical Understanding 117 Sehdev 5 Introduction 117 Figure 2. Representational Diagram of How to Organize of the Case Studies 119 Figure 3. Summary Table 120 The Meanings of Literacy 120 “Literacy as…”: The Metaphors We Learn By 133 Beyond the “Banking Model”: Popular Education and Continued Support 137 Revolution 140 Political Will 143 Cultural Capital: Finding a Cornerstone Artform 145 Conclusions 148 “People and Stories”, Health Literacy, Future Directions: What Is to Be Done? 150 So Why Should We Care? 150 Health Literacy 155 Proposed Health Literacy Campaign 162 Applying “People and Stories” for Health Literacy Promotion 166 “Juan Holgado and Death” by Fernán Caballero: An Example 175 Step 1: Introduction 176 Step 3: Context, Definitions, Allusions 176 Step 5: Discussion Questions (abridged) 177 Final Conclusions 180 Appendix A. “Juan Holgado and Death” by Fernan Caballero 184 Works Cited 189 Sehdev 6 Introduction En Busca de la Alfabetización Three 20th Century Literacy Movements in Spanish Speaking Countries: Impacts, and Implications Why am I here? [At an ESL class] Because what makes me human is my ability to interact with others. Every day that I am unable to read and write in English and limited by sole knowledge of Spanish, I feel less human here [in the United States]. - Angél, Guatemalan migrant worker Why Literacy? Well… at least it happened, I thought to myself. After months of organizing, making phone calls, and recruiting participants, I had completed my first lesson for a pilot of the “People & Stories/ Gente y Cuentos” cultural reading circle with Hispanic, migrant participants from the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Locating and recruiting both participants and local partners had proved trying, if not near impossible, given the resources on the Shore. But that Sunday morning in late July, eight people finally showed up after mass to read and discuss a short story with me. We had read “Juan Darien”, by the Uruguayan writer Horacio Quiroga, a story filled with magical realism that invites readers to question, “What qualities or traits make us human?”. That week, I had caught a summer flu and found myself without a voice. A participant had to help me read the story aloud to the group, but I managed to ask all of the designated questions, raspy as my voice was. At best, I would have said it went well, but not great. Tired and little discouraged, worried about whether or not these participants would show up next week, I began cleaning up my things after the lesson when I felt a tap on my shoulder. Startled, I turned quickly. It was Angél, a middle-aged Guatemalan poultry plant worker.