Global Arc

This course is an introduction to crime fiction from early 20th-century "locked room" mysteries to 21st century narco-narratives. It examines short stories, novels, films and critical writings about detective and crime fiction in Latin America and Spain. Topics include the genre's links to high and low literature, to film and to historical contexts such as immigration, state crime, drug culture and globalization. Authors include Roberto Arlt, María Elvira Bermúdez, Adolfo Bioy Casares, Roberto Bolaño, Jorge Luis Borges, Alicia Giménez Bartlett, Leonardo Padura Fuentes, Ricardo Piglia, Fernando Vallejo, and others.

Introduction to modern Latin American cultural and literary traditions with emphasis on the political uses of writing and art, national identity vis-à-vis popular and indigenous groups, memory and representation, the definition of modernity, and trans-American dialogues. The course may focus on national foundational fictions, the literary and artistic avant-gardes of the 1920s and 1960s, Mexican and Peruvian indigenismo, and memory art and cinema. Two 90-minute classes. Prerequisite: SPA 207 or higher, or instructor's permission. Strongly recommended before 300-level courses.

An examination of key issues regarding 19th and 20th century Spanish culture in its connections with history and politics. Among the topics covered: Goya, nationalism and liberalism; the country and the city in 19th century literature; artistic vanguards (Buñuel, Dalí, García Lorca); cultural crossroads in Barcelona ("modernisme," Gaudí, Picasso); cultural responses to the Spanish Civil War; political protest against Franco in literature, film and music; the transition to democracy; Almódovar and the "movida;" history and memory in democratic Spain.

Discover the great tradition of the short story in modern Latin American literature. A wide range of short stories will be available to read, analyze and debate from modern and contemporary writers. Students will be encouraged to investigate the internal structure of this genre through critical and theoretical essays, many written by the authors themselves. Readings included works by Jorge Luis Borges, Julio Cortázar, Gabriel García Márquez, Silvina Ocampo, Felisberto Hernández, and Virgilio Piñera.

This course will focus on current political, social, and cultural issues in Latin America and/or Spain, including social movements, new artistic developments, economic changes, environmental debates, globalization and culture, politics of memory, immigration and cultural conflicts, nationalist movements, etc. Each semester, the course will focus on one of two particular regions and countries, such as the Southern Cone, the Andean region, Central America, Brazil, Mexico and the borderlands, Spain, etc. This course will also strengthen the students' conversational skills through team discussion and oral presentations.

This course explores the cultural, social, economic, and political history of modern Spain from the early 19th century to the present. It discusses the role of war, memory, collective identity, citizenship and utopia, as they appeared in Spanish film, literature, and the visual arts.

An overview of literary and cultural production in the Americas before and after the Spanish invasion. Topics include pre-Columbian visual and verbal expressions; discovery, invention, conquest, and resistance; the historiography of the New World; native depictions of the colonial world; gender, grammar and power. We read texts in a variety of genres that were written and performed in numerous linguistic and visual codes. The Native American chronicles will include texts written in alphabetic script as well as visual representations that draw elements from pre-colonial forms of iconic script.

In Latin American literature, the opposition between civilization and barbarism has defined America since its "discovery" by Columbus. With a focus on the intersections of time, space, language and violence in seminal texts, we look at ways their authors position the Americas and their peoples in universal history. We will also consider the role of the public intellectual and writer as political figure and founder of new national movements. Authors include Columbus, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, Teresa de Mier, Sarmiento, Martí, Darío, Vallejo, Borges, Arguedas, Vargas Llosa, and Bolaño.

This course explores the vast linguistic diversity of the Americas: native languages, pidgins, creoles, mixed languages, and other languages in North, Central, and South America, including the Caribbean. We will examine historical and current issues of multilingualism to understand the relationship between language, identity, and social mobility. We will discuss how languages played a central role in colonization and nation-building processes, and how language policies contribute to linguistic loss and revitalization. This course has no prerequisites and is intended for students interested in learning more about languages in the Americas.

From animal and human interactions, to social hierarchies, fantasies, controversies over zoos, natural habitats, and slaughterhouses, this course will give us a platform to discuss some of the most timely topics of our day. We will consider some theoretical perspectives on animal-human relationships as we read and discuss works by such authors as Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, Quiroga, Monterroso, Rulfo, Borges, Cervantes, Lorca, Delibes, Clarín, Hidalgo and Atxaga.