Advanced Language, Literature and Cultural Studies

This course is designed for bilingual and/or bicultural students with a background in Spanish who wish to enhance their skills in writing and composition.  Course materials will reflect a multi-media approach to understanding the cultural experiences of U.S. Latino/as and the Spanish-speaking world.  The course will focus on structures related to languages and cultures in contact, review key grammatical concepts, and move to advanced stylistics.
As with Spanish 9 this course serves as prerequisite to Spanish 20.

SPAN 20 is the first course of the Major/Minor, and serves as transition between the skills acquired through the Spanish language courses (Spanish LSA or equivalent preparation) and those needed for all upper-division courses (30 and above). Through the study of critical and theoretical vocabulary, and the reading of short stories, poems, films, theatrical plays and journalistic articles, students will acquire analytic tools to comprehend and analyze several types of texts. This course is also designed to familiarize students with different textual genres and a wide array of literary and interpretative key concepts. Prerequisite: Participation in one of the Spanish LSA programs; SPAN 9 or 15; exemption from SPAN 9 based on test scores (see Department web site); or permission of instructor. SPAN 20 may be taken in conjunction with 30-level survey courses. It serves as a prerequisite for all Spanish courses 40 and higher. Dist: LIT.

In Summer 2016- LSA + Santander

In Fall 2016- LSA+ Cuzco

This course is designed to give students an understanding of the current intricacies of Peruvian Andean Cultures.  Peruvian society has undergone a series of historical transformations, complicated by the interface of Andean, Western, African and Amazonian traditions.  The running themes of the course will be interculturality, imposition of culture and cultural manipulations as they occur historically (conquest, mestizaje, racism, diglosia, globalization, etc.).  These themes will be addressed from a historical, anthropological, and sociological perspective.  The course program is coordinated with a variety of cultural visits and excursions that are an intrinsic part of its content. Dist: SOC WCult: NW.*

In Fall 2016- LSA+ Cuzco

This course will make students fluent in some of the main topics relevant to modern and contemporary Spanish cultural production, with a particular emphasis on Northern Spain.  The course will not count towards the major or minor. Dist: ART; WCult: W.

In Summer 2016- LSA+ Santander

This course deepens the student’s knowledge of the Argentine art and cultures through the study and discussion of the visual, architectural and plastic arts, as well as music and performance. The materials will expose the students to the main trends and topics of contemporary Argentine art, cultures and society. Prerequisite: Acceptance into the Dartmouth Foreign Study Program, Argentina. Dist: ART; WCult: NW.

In Spring 2015 and Spring 2016 - FSP Buenos Aires

This course deepens the student’s knowledge of the Spanish art and cultures through the study and discussion of the visual, architectural and plastic arts, as well as music and performance. The materials will expose the students to the main trends and topics of contemporary Spanish art, cultures and society. Prerequisite: Acceptance into the Dartmouth Foreign Study Program, Spain. Dist: ART; WCult: W.

Fall 2016- FSP Madrid

This course presents an overview of major literary trends and cultural productions from the Middle Ages to the 17th century in both their Spanish and Spanish American contexts. Students will read a representative selection of major literary works from that period, both Peninsular and Spanish-American, and discuss theoretical, aesthetic, and critical issues pertinent to the Renaissance, the Baroque, colonialism, syncretism, etc. Texts may also be cultural, visual, and/or filmic. Prerequisite: SPAN 20. Dist: LIT; WCult: W.

This course presents a chronological study of major trans-Atlantic literary trends and cultural productions, corresponding to the cultural and aesthetic movements of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Students will read a representative selection of major literary works, both Peninsular and Spanish-American, from that period and discuss theoretical, aesthetic, and critical issues pertinent to modernity, empire, enlightenment, nationalism, gender, democracy, etc. Texts may also be, cultural, visual, and/or filmic. Prerequisite: SPAN 20. Dist: LIT; WCult: W.

This course presents a chronological study of trans-Atlantic major literary trends and cultural productions, corresponding to the cultural and aesthetic movements from the 1880s to the present. Students will read a representative selection of major literary works from that period, both Peninsular and Spanish-American, and discuss theoretical, aesthetic, and critical issues pertinent to modernismo, the avant-garde, revolution, post-modernism, etc. Texts may also be cultural, visual, and/or filmic. Prerequisite: SPAN 20. Dist: LIT; WCult: W.

In Summer 2016- LSA+ Santander

In Fall 2016- LSA+ Cuzco

This course studies socio-political events in the Southern Cone that have shaped the contemporary configuration of society in Argentina. Emphasis will be placed on key political figures, social movements, oppositional tensions, dictatorship and democracy, and their articulation in the cultural field. Prerequisite: Acceptance into the Dartmouth Foreign Study Program. Dist: SOC; WCult: NW.

In Spring 2015 and 2016 - FSP Buenos Aires

This courses studies socio-political events in the Iberian Peninsula that have shaped the contemporary configuration of society in Spain. Emphasis will be placed on key political figures, social movements, oppositional tensions, dictatorship and democracy, and their articulation in the cultural field. Prerequisite: Acceptance into the Dartmouth Foreign Study Program, Spain. Dist: SOC; WCult: W.

In Fall 2016- FSP Madrid

This course is designed to offer students an opportunity to study a topic of interest in Spanish American literature and culture through the reading of a wide variety of literary and cultural texts. Emphasis will be placed on Argentina and the Southern Cone. Topics may vary. Prerequisite: Acceptance into the Dartmouth Foreign Study Program, Argentina. Dist: LIT; WCult: NW.

In Spring 2015 and 2016 - FSP Buenos Aires

This course is designed to offer students an opportunity to study a topic of interest in the literature's and cultures of Spain through the reading of a wide variety of literary and cultural texts. Topics may vary. Prerequisite: Acceptance into the Dartmouth Foreign Study Program, Spain. Dist: LIT; WCult: W.

In Fall 2016- FSP Madrid

This course will focus on the study of the significant historical periods and cultural movements of the Hispanic world. It is organized according to chronological eras that are marked by distinct cultural and literary movements. Areas covered will be the Middle Ages, the culture of the Renaissance and the Baroque, the Colonial Period, Enlightenment and Modernity, Nineteenth-Century Romanticism and Realism, the Avant-Gardes, Post-modernism, and new developments in the contemporary period. One or more periods will be selected for study. Spanish courses numbered 40 and above may be repeated for credit when offered as different topics. Prerequisite: SPAN 20. Dist: LIT; WCult: Varies.

In Winter 2017- Spanish 40.05: Federico García Lorca and his Time

This course will examine the works of this major Spanish poet, playwright and cultural figure of the early 20th century. The in-depth exploration of his poetry, plays, letters and other material will allow us to better understand modernist and avant-garde aesthetic in his time. The course will also study Lorca's figure in relation to poets, artists and intellectuals of his generation, in particular Juan Ramón Jiménez, Manuel del Falla,Luis Cernuda, and Rafael Alberti, among others. The course will be interdisciplinary in nature, including literature, music, theater, and film. Professor: Jose del Pino

In Spring 2017- Spanish 40.06: Love and All that Comes with It.

This course will trace the literary constructions, elaborations, and treatments of love in Spanish literature from the 18th to the beginning of the 20th century. The psychological and sociological implications and the cultural significance of love will be explored in a variety of art forms –drama, poetry, novel and opera— paying special attention to the representation of other literary topics that are inexorably attached to love: adultery, betrayal, incest, prostitution, and (in)fidelity. Readings include erotic poems by Samaniego and Meléndez Valdés, Espronceda’s El estudiante de Salamanca and “Canto a Teresa,” Bécquer’s Rimas y leyendas, Zorrilla’s Don Juan, Clarín’s La Regenta, Galdós’ Tristana and Valle-Inclán’s Sonata de otoño. Professor: Sara Muñoz

In Winter 2018- Spanish 40.08: Tell Me A Story! The Modern Spanish Short Story.

This course will explore the cultural, social, economic, and political history of modern Spain from 1700 to the present through a selection of Spanish short stories. We will examine how literature shapes everyday life and how short narrations play a central role in the configuration of society. Through the lens of this genre students will acquire a panoramic and comprehensive view of Spanish socio-cultural issues that will include, among others, war, violence, and power, memory, collective identity, citizenship, sexual identity, utopia, and the struggle for modernity. There will be in-depth analysis of short stories by Samaniego, Béquer, Alas Clarín, Fernán Caballero, Pardo Bazán, Valle- Inclán, Salinas, Mateo Díez, Tusquets and Benet, among others. Professor: Sara Muñoz

In Spring 2018- Spanish 40.07: Dark Mirror The Spanish Detective Novel.

This course examines Spanish contemporary society through the distorted lens of one of the most popular literary genres: detective fiction or crime novel. Departing from some early examples, students will read and analyze several novels published during the period of Francoism (1939-1975) and the ensuing decades until the present. Authors will include Francisco García Pavón, Manuel Vázquez Montalbán, Javier Marías, Antonio Muñoz Molina, Lorenzo Silva and Alicia Giménez Bartlett. Professor: José del Pino

A literary genre is defined as an established category of written work employing a set of recognizable common conventions, such as technique, style, structure or subject matter. This course will focus on the study of Hispanic literatures and cultures and is organized around one or more basic genres like poetry, drama, novel, and essay. Other articulating categories for the course may include epic poetry, tragic drama, short-fiction narrative, the picaresque novel, and the melodrama, among others. The course will provide students with the appropriate critical vocabulary to understand the specificity of the genre or sub-genre examined in this course. Prerequisite: SPAN 20, Dist: LIT; WCult: W.

This course studies the complex intersections between literatures, languages, cultures and their national, regional, and trans-Atlantic contexts in Spain, Latin America, and the US.  In this course, literary and cultural expressions are studied in relation to place in a wide array of historical contexts.  Issues may include literature and colonialism, "indigenismo," the city/country dialectic, regional and national languages and cultural interdependence, the arts as buffers of political/nationalistic violence, national borders and cultural identity, and the formation of national literatures. Prerequisite: Span 20. Dist: LIT; WCult: varies.

In Fall 2017- Spanish 45.04 Under the Influence- Intoxicating Good and Vicious Texts from Early Modern Spain

This course will explore the encounter with America in 1942 that radically transformed the Spanish marketplace. Previously unknown culinary delicacies, beverages and other novel intoxicating items from the New World (such as tobacco and chocolate) took Spaniards' forms of consumption and consumerism to a new level. These novelties introduced in the Spanish diets and habits reinforced attitudes of orientalism towards America, and by the same token, shaped the Spanish identity and taste in new ways. We will concentrate on practices of intoxication that include, but are not limited to, sniffing tobacco, drinking excessive amounts of chocolate, and eating indigestive clay for cosmetic purposes. We will study literary and historical texts that describe, decry and sometimes celebrate early modern new fashions and bad habits. Professor: Noelia Cirnigliaro.

In Spring 2018- Spanish 45.03: Spanish Leviathan.

Spain's modern history could be read as an almost incessant succession of wars, authoritarian dictatorships and repressive gestures. The state's monopoly of violence, its rhetoric of sacrifice and regeneration, and its self- arrogated historico-political superiority have been at the core of many of these tense processes. In this course, students will be exposed to a series of Iberian literary texts that deal with this issue and, in a concise and pedagogic fashion, to the most relevant theories and critiques of the modern state ( i.e. Hobbes, Kant, Hegel, Marx, Mill, Schmitt, Benjamin, Derrida, Agamben). Professor: Antonio Gómez.

In Spring 2023- Spanish 45.02: Diaspora and Economic Imaginaries in Hispanic Caribbean Literature

This course will explore how colonialism, slavery, migration, and exile have influenced the way Cubans, Dominicans, and Puerto Ricans imagine themselves as social agents who have or lack the ability to change their economic conditions. Students will gain an understanding of the economic theories that find their articulation in fiction, theater, and film through the representation of lived experience, cultural contact and conflict, and political and social movements. Readings will be in both Spanish and English, while class discussions and written assignments will be conducted in Spanish. Professor: Israel Reyes.

This course will explore how the study of gender and sexuality is integral to understanding the complexities of Hispanic societies and cultures. In addition to analyzing literary texts and cultural and artistic productions, students will also examine theoretical and critical approaches to the study of gender and sexuality. Topics may include feminist movements, the construction and performance of gender, the theories as they relate to Hispanic embodiments and representations in literature and culture. Prerequisites: SPAN 20. Dist: LIT; WCult: CI.

In Spring 2017- Spanish 50.03: Politics of Masculinity: Latin American Narrative, Film, and Politics

This course explores the fictions of gender that found national identities, postcolonial dreams of liberation, and dissident movements. We will study complex representations of masculinity in Latin American fiction, film, and political discourse in order to understand how certain ideas about masculinity subtend concepts of political legitimacy, and how some experimental texts critique those ideas. Readings include novels, short stories, films, and political claims as well as sociological, psychoanalytic, and feminist theories of masculinity. Professor: Rebecca E. Biron

In Winter 2018- Spanish 50.01: Of Machos and Malinches: Gender and Sexual Identities in Latin/o America.

This course examines how gender and sexuality align with or contest local discourses on Latin/o American cultural autochthony and national identity, and explores gender and sexuality in the context of global culture and transnationalism. We will also analyze how gender and sexual identities are articulated in language, performance, and visual and aural media. Along with primary literary texts, film, art, and music, students will engage with scholarly texts that contextualize the historical, cultural, and linguistic traditions from which gender and sexual identities emerge, as well as those critical and theoretical interventions that deconstruct essentialist notions of the body and scrutinize the political implications of oppositional discourses on gender and sexuality.  Professor: Israel Reyes

The focus of study for this course will be the evolution of the Spanish language from its old and early modern manifestations to contemporary uses. Specific geographical contexts will be given special attention. Topics may include the constitution of Castilian as a national language and its relation to other peninsular languages; the history of linguistic change on all levels (phonetic/phonological, morphological, syntactic, and semantic); the influence of Arabic, indigenous languages of the Americas, English, and dialectal variants. Fundamental notions of rhetoric and poetics will be central to this course as well. Spanish courses numbered 40 and above may be repeated for credit when offered as different topics. Prerequisite: SPAN 20. Dist: LIT; WCult: Varies.

This is an interdisciplinary course that studies through diverse representations in literature and the arts major sociopolitical realities that have shaken and transformed the Hispanic world such as the Conquest, colonialism, the rise of the modern nation states, the Mexican and Cuban revolutions, the Spanish Civil War, Latin America's "dirty" wars, etc.  The course will explore the interconnection between culture and politics allowing the student to read culture as a political text and political events as texts. Prerequisites: Span 20. Dist: SOC; WCult: varies.

In Summer 2016 -

Spanish 55.05: Indignant Spain: Crisis and New Social Movements Today

This course exams the notion of "crisis" as a creative paradigm for rethinking traditional experiences of the political, social, and cultural spheres in today's Spain. The course will focus on the deep connections between democracy and alternative ways of thinking about the political participation of citizens confronting the dismantling of their social, family, and individual welfare by global and national neoliberalist economic and social policies. Students will read from a wide array of texts (literature, cultural and political theory) and also watch documentaries and films on the idea of "crisis" as it is currently playing itself out in Spain's 15-m and Indignados movements. Works by: Martin Patino, Alvarez, Thorton, Grueso, Lacuesta, Arce among others. Professor: Annabel Martín.

Spanish 55.06: Slaughterhouses. The Life and Death of Humans and Animals in the Southern Cone

This course focuses on the slaughterhouse as an image that has haunted Latin American cultures for centuries, especially in the Southern Cone region. The image of the slaughterhouse for a society can be used to define, contrast, compare or put into question our own subjectivity for it highlights the flesh and blood that go into human labor At the same time, the image of the slaughterhouse denounces the abusive nature of power, a regulating force applied to bodies, both human and non-human. Using the image of the slaughterhouse in texts and images spanning 250 years of Southern cone history, we will explore various issues and debates within animal studies, from animal right and biopolitics to modernization of killing, exploitation of bodies and zones of indetermination between animals and humans. Texts and images include: Echeverría, Lamborghini, Viñas, Walsh, Larra, Kohan, Busqued, Solanas, Sanjines, Foucault, Deleuze, Agamben and Giorgi. Professor: Sebastián Díaz-Duhalde

In Spring 2018- The New Argentine Love Story.

This course on writers born after 1970 offers and exciting overview of the diverse Argentine contemporary literature. We will be introduced to a generation of writers who witnessed the Malvinas war, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the end of the Cold War as well as the birth of the Internet, the September 11th attacks in NYC and the gravest political, economic and social crisis that Argentina faced in its entire history and the influencial haunting crisis of 2001. Works by: Florencia Abbate, Oliverio Coelho, Washington Cucurto, Mariana Enriquez, Federico Falco, Iosi Havilio, Luciano Lamberti, Nicolas Mavrakis, Pola Oloixarac, Pomina Paula, Lucia Puenzo, Patricio Pron, Hernan Ronsino, Samanta Schweblin, J.P. Zooey. Professor: Julio Ariza

A common misperception about race and ethnicity is that they are uniformly defined and that one region’s understanding of these terms is identical to any other. How are race and ethnicity conceptualized and represented in Spain, Latin America, and U.S. Latino communities? This course will examine the particular historical, regional, and cultural factors that give rise to different notions of race and ethnicity in the Hispanic world. Individual offerings of this course may focus on one or more of the following: Moorish Spain and the Reconquista; the Jewish Diaspora in Spain and Latin America; indigenous societies in Latin America; racial and cultural “mestizaje”; whiteness, racial purity, and “blanqueamiento”; slavery, the African Diaspora, and “afro-latinidades.” Spanish courses numbered 40 and above may be repeated for credit when offered as different topics. Prerequisite: SPAN 20. Dist: LIT; WCult: CI.

Film and the visual arts in Spain, Latin America, and/or the US will be studied under different approaches in order to: understand the historical evolution of film making within these contexts; examine the different film genres (surrealism, neorealism, melodrama, film noir, Hollywood realism, animation, documentary, etc.) in their Hispanic contexts; study the body of work of renowned Latino, Spanish, and Latin American filmmakers and visual artists; analyze important cultural or historical events through their visual representations (the Mexican Revolution, the Spanish Civil War, the Cuban Revolution, end of Francoism, etc.); etc. Students will become familiar with relevant concepts in film analysis, film theory, and cultural studies and learn how issues of representation in the visual arts are linked to their literary counterparts. Spanish courses numbered 40 and above may be repeated for credit when offered as different topics. Prerequisite: SPAN 20. Dist: ART; WCult: Varies.

In Winter 2016 - Spanish 63.03: Filming Fragility: The New Argentine Cinema

America. What has come to be known as New Argentine Cinema is a complex cultural phenomenon, an open category that needs to be addressed from an interdisciplinary point of view. This course will focus on how this heterogeneous corpus of films stage narratives of loss and disintegration as a way of representing not only the devastating effects of neo-liberal globalization, but also the creating power of fragility. Film directors include: Ezequiel Acu–a, Lisandro Alonso, Adrián Caetano, Albertina Carri, Lucrecia Martel, Martin Rejtman, Pablo Trapero, among others. Professor: Julio Ariza.

In Spring 2017- Spanish 63.01: Latin American Film

In this survey of Latin American film we will study the Mexican Golden Age of film (1936-1969), Cuba’s revolutionary film (Lucia) as well as other radical films of the 60s (Sangre del condor), and women’s films. We will end looking at the most important production coming out of Latin America today such as the films of Francisco Lombardi, Claudia Llosa, Lucrecia Martel and others. We will also study important film manifestos. Professor: Silvia Spitta

In our increasingly globalized society, what impact have transnationalism and new technologies had on the formation and articulation of local cultures in the Hispanic world? How do subjects remember and represent themselves as embodied actors in the spaces where conflicting and contestatory identities meet? How have television, the visual and graphic arts, and music redefined national space and identity in Spanish, Latin American, and U.S. Latino communities? Individual offerings of this course may focus on one or more of the following: theater, performance, and performativity; comics and the graphic arts; literature and the marketplace; the politics of mass media; sports and national identity; and popular culture’s strategies of resistance. Spanish courses numbered 40 and above may be repeated for credit when offered as different topics. Prerequisite: SPAN 20. Dist: ART; WCult: Varies.

In Summer 2017 - Spanish 65.06 - Crossing the US-Mexican Border: Myths and Icons of Hybridity

The US-Mexico is both a vital zone of contact and a death zone between two of the most diverse and vibrant cultures in the Americas. We will study how border writers and filmmakers from both sides of the border represent that in-between space that some argue is fast becoming a third nation. Readings and films will include Eduardo Parra, Tierra de nadie, Crosthwaite, La luna siempre será un difícil amor, Campbell’s Tijuana, Rosina Conde’s internet novel La genara, and María Novaro’s El jardín de Edén and Sin dejar huella.  Professor: Silvia Spitta

In Fall 2017- Spanish 65.02- Obscene Images. Introduction to Visual Studies in Latin America

Violence, death, sex, disability, race, gender, poverty, and politics were regarded as unthinkable, intolerable, offensive, or simply obscene in different times and regions in Latin America. This course will provide a critical and theoretical approach to textual and visual representations from the 19th century to the present, which have generated controversy over their depiction of these cultural topics. Images of destruction, pictures of war, or paintings excluded by the mainstream culture will be used to familiarize the students with the production and consumption of visual and textual culture and the ethics of representation. The goal of the course is first, to introduce students to Visual Culture/Visual Studies in Latin America, second, to problematize the relation between representation and culture, and, finally to evaluate the implications of these topics (sex, violence, race, gender, disability, etc) in relation to power, knowledge and ethics in Latin American culture. Professor: Sebastian Diaz

In Winter 2016 - Spanish 65.04:  Night at the Museum: A Cultural and Political History of El Prado

El Prado is considered one of the most important museums of art in the world. This course will explore several issues related to this institution: how and why the museum was founded, its connection to the construction of a national identity, and its transformations in order to become a touristic attraction for millions of visitors. Materials for the course will include maps, photographs, historical documents and official websites. Students will also analyze some of El Prado's better-known paintings and they will also read some literary works (novels and theatre plays) about this museum. Professor: Antonio Gómez.

In Winter 2017- Spanish 65.05: Staging Globalization

This course focuses on theatre and cultural production in relation to contemporary sites of political turmoil due to the advent of globalization and the neoliberal crisis. As such, we will be studying plays from different areas of Spanish-speaking America. In order to give coherence to this broad field, the readings will focus on plays that reflect on XX and XXI Century particularities in relation to the vast concept of globalization, such as Enrique Buenaventura, Diana Raznovich, Benjamín Galemiri, among others.  Our goal is to see how these themes are developed dramatically and theatrically, as well as within the historical and national context of each play text. An important part of our discussions and play analyses will involve the nature of globalization and its manifestations and consequences in theatrical discourses. Professor: Analola Santana

In Winter 2018- Spanish 65.07: Stage Rebellion: Dissidence in Latin American Theatre.

In this class, we will be studying plays from Spanish- speaking Latin America. In order to give coherence to this broad field, the readings will focus on plays with rebellion and the rebel as the central theme. Our goal is to see how these themes are developed dramatically and theatrically, as well as within the historical and national context of each play-text and performance. An important part of our discussions and performance analyses will involve the nature of rebellion, its manifestations, and consequences. Professor: Analola Santana

Few novels of the Hispanic world have had greater resonance than Cervantes’ Don Quijote (published between 1605 and 1615) and Gabriel García Márquez’ Cien años de soledad (1969). Both have continually fascinated their readers and provoked myriad interpretations and reinterpretations. This course seeks to understand each text as an autonomous work of literature and as a highly creative response to the literary and cultural forces in which it was forged. Individual offerings of this course will focus on one of these literary masterpieces. Spanish courses numbered 40 and above may be repeated for credit when offered as different topics. Prerequisite: SPAN 20. Dist: LIT; WCult: Varies.

In Fall 2016- Spanish 70.01:  Don Quijote

From the time of its publication in 1605 (Part I) and 1615 (Part II), Don Quijote has provoked radically different interpretations. Taking as point of departure both the comic and the romantic interpretation, the course will explore, in the first place, the meaning of the Quijote across the centuries. Parallely the course seeks to understand the Quijote both per se--as an autonomous work of literature--and as a highly creative response to the literary and cultural forces from which it was forged. In addition to explore the historical context, such as social conflicts in the Hapsburg monarchy, in order to make understand better the work, the course will attend also to the literary history, and will offer an approach to novel as literary genre, product of the Medieval “mixtification” which flourished  in the Renaissance. Professor: Isabel Lozano.

This course is offered periodically with varying content so that writers, genres, historical contexts, or theoretical approaches not otherwise provided in the curriculum may be studied. The course can be offered any term and its distinct content, theoretical, or methodological approach will depend on the area of specialization of the instructor. Spanish courses numbered 40 and above may be repeated for credit when offered as different topics. Prerequisite: SPAN 20. Dist: LIT; WCult: Varies.

In Fall 2017- Spanish 73.04: Todo Borges

Jorge Luis Borges is one of the most difficult and influential Latin American writers. His fascination with labyrinths, mirrors, time, infinity, blindness, and memory are legendary. We will spend the term reading as much as we can of Borges: his stories, detective fiction, poetry, correspondence, and speeches. We will also study his literary trajectory including his influences (Cervantes, Kafka, Poe, Chesterton, Schopenhauer), his "forgeries," his editorial work, literary criticism as well as reflections by his critics and the works of some of the writers whom he influenced (for example Moroccan Ben Jalloun's Child of Sand). Students will be required to trace some of legendary (real and imaginary) arcane sources. Professor: Gomez

In Winter 2017- Spanish 73.05: Utopia is Alive and Kicking

The question is: where and how do we find it? During the 20th century, the utopian literary narrative field appeared to be dominated by dystopias. With growing skepticism, there was talk of the death of utopias… just as there was talk of the death of the novel. Undaunted and unfazed by such apocalyptic talk, this course will track down and explore the utopian in its multiple forms and manifestations. We will take as a theoretical point of departure Ernst Bloch’s fundamental distinction between classic narrative utopian paradigms such as More’s Utopia and the ever changing field of the utopian and its multiple manifestations —Bloch’s electricity—as we map out the creative movement of utopian thought. Beginning with the Avant-garde movements we will discuss new utopian paradigms as they intersect with artistic, literary and political discourses, exploring and displaying new visions of a better world for a better humankind. Materials will include Julio Cortázar’s Hopscotch, Fernández Mallo’s Nocilla trilogy as well as avant-garde painting, surrealist writings, experimental novels, political manifestoes, technological game changers and a fascinating journey into the new alternative utopian spaces opened up by a new frontier: the internet. Professor: Beatriz Pastor

This course offers a workshop in creative writing to be taught by prominent writers in residence in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese. It is designed for native speakers of Spanish, heritage speakers, and Spanish majors in their junior or senior years. Seminar-sized class meets twice or three times a week plus individual conferences when necessary. The class will consist of group workshops on student writing (fiction, poetry, and/or theater) and individual conferences with the instructor. Students will be admitted on a competitive basis and should submit a short writing sample of poetry, fiction, and/or a play to the Department’s Administrator prior to obtaining permission to enroll. The limit for this class is 14. Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor.

This course is designed to help students develop excellence in writing as they prepare for upper level literature and culture courses in Spanish. Topics will vary according to term and faculty as well as the "texts" studied in the course (literary, filmic, cultural, and visual). Given that thinking, reading, and writing are interdependent activities, Spanish 77 is designed to offer students an opportunity to study a topic of interest in Hispanic literature or culture while simultaneously emphasizing the advanced writing skills required of a research paper. Frequent exercises in writing and close textual study are basic to this course. Prerequisite: Spanish 20 or permission of instructor. (PDF). Dist: LIT; WCult: W.

In Fall 2016- Spanish 77.04: The Present that Was: Newspapers and the Modern Public Sphere in Spain

In the Iberian Peninsula, there is a long and complex literary tradition of newspaper writers. Many of these authors originally published their most successful and influential pieces in periodicals, journals, and magazines. This course has two main objectives. On one hand, we will try to understand the specificities of a medium (the press) that, due its inherent immediacy and futility, has also produced a series of sub-genres and styles. On the other hand, we will sketch out a map of those cultural and political problems that very influential intellectuals and columnists have recurrently been dealing with for two centuries. This conceptual map will also help us understand how the public sphere has evolved in modern Spain. Azorín, Estébanez Calderón, Foxá, González Ruano, Larra, Mesonero Romanos, Ortega y Gasset, Ortega y Gasset, Savater, Pla, Unamuno, Umbral. Professor: Antonio Gómez

This course is designed to help students develop excellence in writing as they prepare for upper level literature and culture courses in Spanish. Topics will vary according to term and faculty as well as the "texts" studied in the course (literary, filmic, cultural, and visual). Given that thinking, reading, and writing are interdependent activities, Spanish 77 is designed to offer students an opportunity to study a topic of interest in Hispanic literature or culture while simultaneously emphasizing the advanced writing skills required of a research paper. Frequent exercises in writing and close textual study are basic to this course. Prerequisite: SPAN 20 or permission of instructor. (PDF).

In Spring 2022- Spanish 77.05: Advanced Writing with Frederico Garcia Lorca 

This is a writing course, so expressing your ideas and thoughts in coherent and well-thought-out papers and essays is as important as discussing the topic of Lorca's Theater. You will need to support your writing with evidence taken from the plays, the films, and the critical essays. You will be writing short and long responses and will make oral presentations. Peer review is an essential component of this course. 
 
The purpose of this course is to engage in meaningful conversations with Lorca's main topics in his theatrical plays. This is the first step to explore theatrical strategies and aesthetics techniques used by Lorca to convey meaning. We need to go beyond the simple description of a play's plot in order to to focus on what the texts are telling us about the author's literary universe and his contemporary society. We want to discover Lorca's mythical universe and his critical take on Spain's most traditional society. In this course, reading and expressing your ideas in writing are equality as important. Dist: W; LIT. Professor Txetxu Aguado 

The senior seminar in Hispanic Studies is designed to provide Spanish majors with a small group setting that facilitates in-depth discussion of key concepts of critical theory, literary studies, and the discipline. The seminar will encourage students to research and explore relevant topics related to Hispanic literature and the arts and experiment with the application of the different concepts under discussion in creative ways (essay writing, visual arts projects, performance pieces, etc). Prerequisites: Spanish 20, Senior Standing.

In Winter 2017- Spanish 80.11: New Sexual and Social Identity in Film and Literature in Post-Franco Spain

This course addresses changes in Spanish society since the end of the dictatorship. These include new conceptualizations of family, love, eroticism, sexuality, sex (biology) versus gender (culture), masculinity, femininity, perverts, freaks, prostitution, sex-positive movements, pornography, and a reevaluation of morals and Spanish culture. Professor: Joseph Aguado

In Spring 2017- Spanish 80.12: The Aesthetics of Peronism

In a field as vibrant and heterodox as the study of Peronism, the Argentine populist movement unleashed by the stunning rise of pro-labor General Juan Perón in the mid-1940s that remains in power through infinite internal reconfigurations, this course will explore Peronism’s cultural appeal, not simply offering cultural explanations of political developments but taking the many forms of Peronist culture as our main object of inquiry –thereby seeking to illuminate the regime’s self-presentation in popular culture, the reception of Peronism as a cultural experience, and the state and market mechanisms that mediated and keep mediating this exchange. Professor: Julio Ariza

In Winter 2018- Spanish 80.13: Hispanophilia and Hispanophobia, Then and Now.

the US Census Bureau predicted that the US Hispanic community will grow to 96,500,000 by 2050 and will constitute a quarter of the total population of the country. This prediction occurred before anti-immigration and anti-Hispanic rhetoric permeated conservative political discourse in recent times. The political status of the Spanish language in local and global contexts is highly contested today, and so is the place of Hispanic cultures. This course looks at linguistic policies and politics that contributed to abhor or extol the Spanish language in Spain and across the Atlantic, both north and south of the Rio Bravo. We will look at case studies from Spain, Latin America and the US Latino communities from a modern and historical perspective, so as to understand how cultural and governmental institutions have shaped and shaken Spanish- speaking communities around the globe. Students will research perplexing history of pro and anti- Hispanic rhetorics in order to understand how the Spanish language came to be a global instrument of communication used by millions, but one that can be severely harmed and stigmatized. Professor: Noelia Cirnigliaro

A program of individual study directed by a member of the Spanish and Portuguese faculty. Spanish 83 will normally consist of a program of reading and research that is not covered in regularly scheduled course offerings. After consultation with the faculty advisor of the project, all Independent Study proposals must be submitted for approval to the Department. Only open to majors in Spanish or Romance Languages. Under normal circumstances, no student may receive credit for this course more than once. Students interested in pursuing and Independent Study must identify their topic and faculty advisor by the last week of the term prior to registering for Spanish 83. Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor.

Supervised independent research under the direction of a designated advisor. Honors majors will normally elect this course as the first in the required sequence (90 and 91) for completion of the Honors Program. SPAN 90 is intended to prepare the student for writing the Honors thesis, through readings in primary and secondary texts, theory and methodology. The course will include periodic written assignments and culminate in a final paper. Prerequisite: Admission to the Honors Program.

A prearranged program of study and research during any term of the senior year, on a tutorial basis, with individual faculty members (normally the thesis advisor). A thesis and public presentation are the expected culmination of the course. Prerequisite: Prior admission to the Department's Honors Program; clear evidence of capability to perform honors level work, normally indicated by completion of SPAN 90 with a grade of B+ or higher.