360°: Nicaragua: Places and Names
This cluster focuses on the rich geologic and linguistic history and present of Nicaragua to explore the ongoing interconnectedness between landscape and language.
This cluster focuses on the rich geologic and linguistic history and present of Nicaragua to explore the ongoing interconnectedness between landscape and language.
This cluster focuses on the rich geologic and linguistic history and present of Nicaragua to explore the ongoing interconnectedness between landscape and language. Central to this cluster is the theme that a place must be explored through a variety of lenses to be more fully understood. In geology, the places of Central America are often discussed because of the active tectonism that affects that region but rarely cover how geology and people intersect to produce the full history of a place. Likewise, the languages spoken in Nicaragua and those used to name (the places of) Nicaragua offer an additional view into the history of colonialism and empire and the ongoing power dynamics resulting from this.
Courses
In this course we will explore places in Nicaragua primarily through a geologic lens, but with strong emphases on histories and cultures. Our goal is to understand not only the Earth processes that created the beautiful landscapes and structures of Nicaragua, but also the intersections between those places and the peoples who interacted with them. This course will primarily discuss the geologic history of places in Nicaragua while exploring how historical events have intersected with them (e.g., land modification, wars, natural hazards). These interrelationships factor into the names given to places by different peoples. Places must be explored from diverse viewpoints in order to be fully understood. Taught by Pedro Marenco.
This project-based course, taught by , focuses on hands-on research in a small group setting in order to collaboratively come to understand the relationship between a place and the languages of that place. Through seeking to understand the languages of Nicaragua, their histories and social dynamics, students will also learn basics of linguistics, especially historical linguistics and sociolinguistics.