Menlo Magazine Summer 2021

Page 24

Literary Lessons:

Reading as Critical Thinking and Catharsis By Lisa Ann Villarreal, Ph.D. On the afternoon of November 4, as we all waited anxiously to learn the results of the previous day’s presidential election, I met with my Modern World Literature class to open our discussion of a new book; that day, we were scheduled to begin studying Cristina Garcia’s Dreaming in Cuban, a 1992 novel that showcases the multigenerational connections and conflicts in a Cuban family. The course curriculum was designed around four novels by women of color from across the globe. Most of these I had chosen because they engaged directly with contemporary issues that touched my students’ lives; Dreaming in Cuban, a thirty-year-old book about communist Cuba, seemed less topical by comparison, but I thought my students would enjoy reading it. I could never have anticipated how this story would reflect our own experiences and emotions on that November day. The primary conflict of the novel is the estrangement between the matriarch Celia del Pino and her middle-aged daughter Lourdes. Celia is a devotee of Castro and a fervent supporter of the revolution, while Lourdes, an expatriate who started a successful chain of bakeries in New York, is its most bitter critic. Their political differences have driven a wedge between mother and daughter, forcing the rest of the family to choose sides. As my student Alan Arreola ’24 characterized it, “Dreaming in Cuban paints a conflict between family and their values that diminishes their ability to achieve closeness with each other.” As we began our discussion, it quickly became clear that, in the wake of the election, my students had been coping with similar conflicts. Melissa Herrera ’22 commented, “It’s heartbreaking to see people who I thought were my friends vote for someone to take away family rights. And then they still expect to stay friends.”

21 SUMMER 2021


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New Residence Hall

2min
pages 62-64

In Memoriam

4min
pages 60-61

Pandemic Play

0
pages 58-59

Lady Oaks

2min
pages 56-57

Athletes Shine Off-Field

2min
page 55

Charles Jordan ’70

3min
page 54

Recent Graduates

5min
pages 52-53

Ten Campus Secrets

3min
page 51

Lu -’au Online

1min
page 50

International Students

4min
page 49

Oral Communication

2min
page 48

Keeping Students Safe

1min
page 47

Cosette Fitzgerald Speaks

4min
page 45

Dean of Student Affairs Rease Miles

3min
page 46

Commencement 2021

8min
pages 38-42

Class of 2021 Valedictorian

2min
pages 43-44

Salary Negotiation Workshop

3min
page 37

Internship Search

2min
page 36

New Minor: Equity and Justice

4min
pages 32-33

The Menlo ROI

2min
page 35

Reading as Critical Thinking

5min
pages 24-25

Faculty News

8min
pages 28-31

E-Portfolios

2min
pages 22-23

Menlo Serves All

2min
pages 20-21

New Course Explores Racism

4min
pages 26-27

Executive Education

2min
page 34

Coping and Resilience

3min
pages 18-19

Distance Learning

2min
pages 14-15

Pandemic Problem Solvers

2min
page 13

Letters to the Editor

2min
pages 8-9

Welcome Back

1min
pages 4-5

The Learning Process Continues

3min
pages 6-7

The Future of Teaching

5min
pages 10-12

Individual Attention

5min
pages 16-17
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