Laura M. Tarpill
There are billions of people in the world and many of them have homes. In fact, “home” is most likely the most important place in a person’s life as Csikszentmihalyi points out, “Few English words are filled with the emotional meaning of the word ‘home.’ It brings to mind one’s childhood, the roots of one’s being, the security of a private enclave where one can be free and in control of one’s life (Csikszentmihalyi 121, 1981).”
In these sacred spaces, many people have objects that are inextricably intertwined with their own being. These objects in many ways reflect the inhabitants of the dwelling, they “embody goals, make skills manifest, and shape the identities of their users” (Csikszentmihalyi 1, 1981). They also may “reaffirm the identity of the owner” (Csikszentmihalyi 187, 1981). I am interested in these objects (including art) in my students’ homes. We will also be interested in how these objects are similar or different to objects/art in the Hispanic home.
In the student resource part of this unit, there are some pictures that the students will look at to get an idea of what some Hispanic students classified as objects common to their homes. Csikszentmihalyi classifies some common objects considered important by people he interviewed as chairs, sofas, and tables. However, the author also notes that the “comfort” in a home depends on the culture. For example, a “Japanese or Hindu home, which is practically devoid of furniture” is just as comfortable to those who live there as an American house with an abundance of furniture (Csikszentmihalyi 58-59, 1968).
This unit will focus on the home as a space in which all people can potentially express themselves. The reason that this is so interesting to me is that homes can come in so many shapes and sizes, yet they can be defined in the same way, “…the three basic realms of home: the private and necessary sanctuary, the place of nourishment and community, the one where things get made. So long as the places we live can accommodate these three very different human activities, it might be called home (Busch 1999, 24).” In other words, the home may come in many different forms but each culture will have those three functions served in the home.
My students will be interested in the fact that they can find similarities between their homes and Hispanic homes even though “there is no longer a single pattern or cultural definition for comfort (Busch 1999, 17).” While there may be no set pattern, there are certainly commonalities within cultures and cross-culturally when it comes to the home.
As a class, we will be focusing on the connections we can find between our own families’/cultures’ use of space within the home and the Hispanic home. We will look at how these spaces may form a cultural identity for people of many cultures, including Hispanics, within the larger “American” culture or as put by Henry Glassie when talking about folk society, “a homogeneous, sacred, self-perpetuating, largely self-sufficient group isolated by any of many means, such as language or topography, from the larger society with which it moderately interacts (Glassie 3, 1968).”
I’m hoping that the students will notice differences or similarities between the Hispanic home and their own and also that they will see no matter what culture you come from, the “home space” is sacred.
I do have to be careful, however, and keep in mind that some students may not have homes at the time when the unit is taught. To avoid any embarrassment or hurt, I will give the students the choice of using any space (an aunt’s home, a grandparent’s home, a friend’s home). Also, there is a difference between the words “house” and “home.” Most students have a “home” but may not have a “house.” Many of my students live in condos, apartments, etc. This is an important distinction.
A few of the essential questions that the students will be asked in the unit are as follows: How is a Hispanic home different or similar to your space at home? What home objects does your culture (not) have in common with the Hispanic culture? What objects do you use at home that define who you are?
It will be a matter of looking at the use of space in the home and also the objects and their “form, construction, and use” (Glassie, 8, 1968). Something, like ceramic tiles, which may not be widely used in an assimilated family’s home, would be used in a Hispanic home because of carry over from the country of origin. Even though it is not advantageous as far as insulation in the winter (when compared to carpet) it is still used by Hispanics in New England.
I hope that through the study of the information, the students will acknowledge their own culture, compare it to Hispanic cultures and also take pride in their own culture while noticing the great pride of the current Hispanic population. This may be contrary to the previous generations of immigrants. For example, my great grandmother was Italian and moved here when she was 16. There was no Italian flag hanging outside of her house. Her children did not speak Italian outside of the home. Hispanics today may assimilate but they still keep their pride in their homeland.
This unit will be taught to a lower-level class and therefore a variety of materials will be used including but not limited to, documentaries, newspaper articles, first-person accounts, realia, pictures, video clips, etc. Many of these students might be seeing the inside of a Hispanic house and its contents for the first time so presenting the genuine objects to them will be important.
I feel that the topic of
Tools and Art in the Hispanic Home
is important to students because in the city of New Haven they are exposed to various Hispanic cultures on a daily basis. In learning about the content of this unit, the students will need to recognize and process the Spanish language and Hispanic culture that they see in their region, city or town. Students need the skill set that will help them sift through and recognize stereotypes, differences within the Hispanic populations, culturally relevant dress, customs, etc. Through the use of realia and different activities, I hope to engage all learners, and especially those students who are simply taking level III Spanish in order to graduate, move on to college, and forget they ever had to take a language.
