HSRP program examines Oscar-nominated film about immigration in the 1980s
Posted on June 20, 2016 by Jennifer McManamay
Assistant professor of modern languages and literatures Alessandra Chiriboga will present “ ‘El Norte’ by Gregory Nava: A Cinematic Narrative” at 10 a.m. Tuesday, June 21, in Haskell Learning Studio. It is part of the Honors Summer Research Program lecture series.
“ ‘El Norte’ is a captivating film, a migratory epic that dramatizes the plight of Central American immigrants to the United States,” Chiriboga says. “While dealing with the early 1980s wave of immigration, the film speaks to the timelessness of the immigrant experience.”
The film received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay in 1985.
Chiriboga is a faculty advisor with professor of psychology Tim Loboschefski to Holly Rueger ’17, who is conducting honors research this summer on the exodus of women and children fleeing violence in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. Rueger is examining a number of factors, including how the psychological impacts of violence and sexual assault impairs women’s ability to make a case for asylum.
Rueger is still in the early stages of her research, but is already appreciative of the experience.
“The most exciting part for me is how relevant the research is, and that it gives me an opportunity to educate people about a humanitarian crisis that is happening in our backyard,” she says.
“ ‘El Norte’ is a captivating film, a migratory epic that dramatizes the plight of Central American immigrants to the United States,” Chiriboga says. “While dealing with the early 1980s wave of immigration, the film speaks to the timelessness of the immigrant experience.”
The film received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay in 1985.
Chiriboga is a faculty advisor with professor of psychology Tim Loboschefski to Holly Rueger ’17, who is conducting honors research this summer on the exodus of women and children fleeing violence in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. Rueger is examining a number of factors, including how the psychological impacts of violence and sexual assault impairs women’s ability to make a case for asylum.
Rueger is still in the early stages of her research, but is already appreciative of the experience.
“The most exciting part for me is how relevant the research is, and that it gives me an opportunity to educate people about a humanitarian crisis that is happening in our backyard,” she says.
