In this model, the modules would be focused on iconic individuals: people who are somehow signal images, or producers of signal images, of the Hispanic world. I do not just want people who are important, but people who have created images which are.
Another way to do it would be to lead in from single images or cultural products, e.g. GUERNICA (lead in to both modern art and Civil War).
LIST OF POSSIBLE PEOPLE: WHO ARE THE BEST CHOICES AS STARTING POINTS FOR THE STUDY OF CULTURAL OBJECTS PRODUCED AROUND THEM?
CARMEN MIRANDA [leads to the discussion of the production of images of what "Hispanic" is]
MALINTZIN [leads to discussion of castas, mestizaje, malinchismo, etc.]
JOSE MARTI [add Bolivar here, and this adds to discussion of identity, mestizaje, nation, nationalism]
VILLA [we could also have corridos, Zapata, Marcos, and Sabina Berman's play "Entre Villa y una mujer desnuda]
DOLORES IBARURRI [note that she was actually the propagandist / publicist for the Republic and created the phrase NO PASARAN]
EVA PERON
FRIDA KAHLO
CHE GUEVARA
Other possibilities: Rigoberta Menchu, Pablo Picasso
Actually, I might make these the research projects, after using teaching modules from the other module. This way, they would have learned already how to study a cultural object, how to contextualize, etc.
At this level I would choose just a few of these figures, and I’d TELL the students what the representations by/representations of I want them to study are. Then they’d know what they were doing, etc.
These might be best as the list of things for research projects.
Meanwhile, look at Sophia McClennen’s readings, at the early graduate level, at Penn State: http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/s/a/sam50/cultstudplan.htm