Madeleine Pollitzer
Linguistic Artifacts
Here you can see a few examples of my Spanish language proficiency, and how the courses I have taken have allowed me to integrate culture with Spanish and the health sciences. Feel free to click the examples to get a better idea of my language understanding!
SPAN 3020: Current News in Catalonia
For this content analysis, I researched current news about the Catalonian (northeast Spain) motivation for seeking independence from Spain in 2023. The basis of the project was analyzing Spanish news articles and publications to uncover the reasons behind this movement and the effects it had on both Catalonia and Spain as a whole. I found that this movement had historical ties to The War of Succession in 1712, leading to many problems and attitudes that still persist today. In today’s world, these independence driven viewpoints affect political perspective and fuel disagreement with many forms of infrastructure that are not reflective of the Catalan heritage, but that of the rest of Spain. In modern day, the younger generation seems to care less about the independence movement, but attitudes in older generations still persist. In this paper, I had to use many Spanish linguistic forms that were new to me including the reflexive, conditional, and preterite forms. This helped my Spanish composition ability when writing, that can directly be carried into the workplace!
SPAN 4180: Analysis of the Health Care System in the Dominican Republic (D.R.), A Literature Review
This semester-long research project involved selection and investigation of the health care system in a certain Spanish speaking country in Latin America or the Caribbean. In this review, I explored the model of organization, levels of decentralization, reforms, financing, and indicators of performance of the health care system in the Dominican Republic. Throughout the project, I was able to enhance my research and review skills, and gain a better perspective of the reality of healthcare systems in countries other than my own. More specifically, how culture and history can shape a country's health system and their specific health outcomes. After completing this paper, I developed an understanding of how health and culture interconnect, which is necessary for a career in public and international health.