Descripción (del catálogo)

A close reading of selected texts that illustrate the intersection of African, Spanish, and indigenous oral and literary traditions. Genres include autobiographies ("testimonio"), essays, and poetry. Individual authors to be studied include Rigoberta Menchú, Esteban Montejo, Luis Palés Matos, Nicolás Guillén, Nancy Morejón, and Daisy Rubiera Castillo. Topics include the relationship between identities and aesthetics, the marginal and the canonical, literature and the affirmation of the nation state, and the uses of contemporary race and gender theory in literary analysis.

Prerequisite: Spanish 241 or 242 or permission of Professor Roses.

Textos disponibles en la Wellesley College Bookstore:

Burgos, Elisabeth, ed. Me llamo Rigoberta Menchú y así me nació la conciencia

Barnet, Miguel, Ed. Cimarrón

Palés Matos, Luis. Tuntún de pasa y grifería

• Increase your proficiency in Spanish through close readings and class discussion.
• Expand your vocabulary and develop your powers of expression.
• Confront enduring myths and stereotypes.
• Familiarize yourself with major writers while learning about discourses of mestizaje, transculturation, and syncretism.
• Acquire new knowledge about the ethnic elements that constitute the unique face of Latin America, its literary and artistic production, and specific socio-political dynamics
• Distinguish among multiple voices, both hegemonic and subaltern, and be able to interpret them critically.

Expectativas

1. That students will take the risk of engaging in dialogue, expressing thoughts and ideas even while formulating them.
2. That students will engage with each other in "cross-dialogue" as part of class discussions (as opposed to professor-centric dialogue).
3. That students will both read and re-read assignments.
4. That students will start early to identify a topic (a question, a problem) that can blossom into a final project.

Evaluación (grade): 40% oral work, 60% written work

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