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 study texts within the thematic frame of ‘strange worlds’: fictional works that portray seemingly otherworldly, fantastic, and speculative experiences, ranging from strange encounters with robots and ghosts, tales of madness, to horrific depictions of warfare and strange post-apocalyptic stories of survival. We will study how...

Within a backdrop of transformations in conceptions about knowledge, reason, and the spiritual experience and religious authority, throughout the 18th and 19th centuries Spain found itself experiencing a skeptical questioning of past truths, values, and methods. This brought about a plural and dissonant nature in representations of identity, the self and other, progress, modernity, and nationhood. These representations—across media, including literature and the visual arts—explored spaces, the natural world, human bodies, cultural beliefs, and the human imagination, and imbued these with...

What have been the political and cultural relations between Spain and Latin America in recent years? From a transatlantic perspective, we will explore key issues in Hispanic culture today through the study of literature, film, art, and music. Topics to be discussed include national identity; diversity, race, and ethnicity; immigration; colonialism and neocolonialism, dictatorship and democracy; feminism, modernity, and globalization. The selected materials will include texts by authors like María Fernanda Ampuero, Icíar Bollain, Luis Cernuda, Cristina Peri Rossi, Las Tesis, Remedios Varo,...

In this course, we will explore the construction of the image of Spain for foreign consumption from the turn of the twentieth Century to the present. We will analyze the presence of Spain beyond its borders, including aspects such as military and economic colonialism, migration, tourism, sports, arts, food, fashion, and language. We will study a wide array of documents (films, literary texts, articles, commercials, visual culture, etc) from the perspective of postcolonial theory and cultural studies. Taught in Spanish. Prerequisites SPAN 228 Section A1: T/R 09:30-10:50AM;...

This course analyzes the creation of memory of religious conflicts in the Spanish Empire through literature of entertainment and their interaction with other political and commercial conflicts during the Early Modern period. In this course we will examine short stories, plays, poems, and news pamphlets by authors of the Spanish Golden Age literature. Considering the religious conflicts these texts present, as well as the perspective they afford us on war, commerce, and politics, we will focus on how these topics intertwine with love and friendship in the context of the 16th and 17th...

Learn the fundamentals of social entrepreneurship and identify opportunities for positive change. We will focus on the question of how to create linguistically and culturally-appropriate programming within nonprofits. You will volunteer/work on projects for a local nonprofit, using your Spanish to learn from and serve our local Latino community. Come to class prepared to speak Spanish and to connect the headlines with our immigrant community’s realities.   M/W 11:00 – 11:50; Location pending CRN 47945 Prerequisite: SPAN 228 or permission of the professor Taught in Spanish ...

This course examines the dynamics of identity construction by and about black subjects in colonial Spanish America and its intrinsic relations to issues of race, gender, sexuality, spatiality, food and ecology. We will explore the racial politics of Church and State and the evolution of racial ideologies as seen through legal documents, chronicles, piracy accounts, religious literature, poetry, newspapers, and visual documents. The course focuses on how black bodies were categorized and constructed within specific political and cultural contexts by colonial authorities and other intellectual...