Through the thematic frame of ‘otherness,’ this course will consider how writers of different historical moments have portrayed their experiences with the unfamiliar and distinct.

Writing Otherness: Specters, Misfits, and Selves

The focus of SPAN 312 is the critical analysis of selected texts and periods representative of Spain's literary production from the 18th century to the present, with special attention paid to broader literary and cultural contexts. In this section of SPAN 312, we will approach texts from the thematic frame of ‘otherness’ to consider the ways in which different writers of different historical moments, with different individual identities, have portrayed their experiences with the unfamiliar and distinct through six key topics: interpersonal relations, societies in contact, the construction of gender, the duality of the self, the experience of time and space, and literary creation. Fundamentally, the texts we will read will raise questions about human identity through encounters with ‘others’ as they appear in various forms (e.g. robots, immigrants, and even our own selves). At the same time, this course will familiarize you with strategies to read, discuss, and write critically about literature in Spanish. This course will be conducted in Spanish.

MWF 1:00-1:50 pm, room TBD

CRN 66502

Instructor: Anna Torres-Cacoullos