Pavel Andrade, Ph.D.

Course Description

This entry level course serves two purposes, on the one hand, it seeks to develop a baseline knowledge of different currents in literary theory & cultural analysis, on the other, it allows students to familiarize themselves with modern and contemporary Latin American cultural production. Building a common language to approach cultural artifacts and literary texts, students will develop the necessary analytical skills and broaden their working knowledge to approach Latin American literature and societies. This course prepares students for upper-level courses in Spanish, Hispanic studies & Latin American studies. Readings in Spanish.

Learning Objectives

• Obtain a working knowledge of Latin American cultural history.
• Familiarize yourself with the research questions that drive literary and cultural studies and interact with them in an academic manner.
• Read and analyze texts from a variety of literary genres closely and critically.
• Recognize the role of literary studies as a subfield in the humanities.

Requirements

Attendance and Participation (15%). Students are expected to read all assigned materials in order to contribute to group discussion and actively engage in class activities. Students should be able to demonstrate they have: 1) reflected upon the readings; 2) synthesized main ideas, and; 3) identified key concepts and categories. Periodical quizzes will be given to gauge your preparation and will contribute to this grade.

Concept Map (20%). Throughout the semester students will work on a concept map (broadly defined) using a digital platform of their choosing. The concept map should be based on class materials and aspire to present a comprehensive overview of discussed topics, with particular emphasis on the genealogy of studied concepts and categories. Students are encouraged to be creative in developing this assignment and should feel free to incorporate any number of media. Students may decide to work in small groups or individually. Additional guidelines will be presented in class.

Short Presentation & Discussion Facilitation (15%). Each student will deliver a short presentation and facilitate one class discussion on assigned material. The presentation (5-10 minutes) should include brief background information on the selected author and focus on a short passage of the assigned reading. The presenter should prepare a set of 2-3 questions to guide class discussion. Presentation materials (selected passage and discussion questions) must be submitted in writing at least 48 hours before the date of the presentation. A sign-up sheet will be circulated on the second week of class.

In-Class Exams (20%). Two in-class, non-cumulative exams.

Seminar Paper (30%). Additional guidelines will be presented in class.

Reading Calendar

Week 1, What is Literature?
Eagleton, Terry. “Preface” & “Introduction: What is Literature?” Literary Theory: An Introduction, University of Minnesota Press, 1996, pp. ix-x; 1-14.
Juan José Arreola, “El guardagujas” (1952)

Week 2, All That is Solid Melts into Air
Berman, Marshall. “Introduction: Modernity—Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow.” All That Is Solid Melts into Air: The Experience of Modernity. Viking Penguin, 1988, pp. 15-36.
Vicente Huidobro, Altazor (Preface) & “Voz de esperanza”
Gabriela Mistral, “Una palabra”
Nicanor Parra, “Soliloquio del individuo”
Pablo Neruda, “Walking around”
Idea Vilariño, “El miedo”, “Se está solo”, “No hay ninguna esperanza”, “Ya no” & “Comparaciones”

Week 3, Interpretation & the Fusion of Horizons
Eagleton, “Hermeneutics, Phenomenology, Reception Theory.” Literary Theory: An Introduction, University of Minnesota Press, 1996. (Excerpts)
Esteban Echeverría, “El matadero” (1871)
Baldomero Lillo, “La compuerta número 12” (1904)

Week 4, Signs/Structures
Eagleton, “Structuralism & Semiotics.” Literary Theory: An Introduction. University of Minnesota Press, 1996. (Excerpts)
José Emilio Pacheco, Las batallas en el desierto (1980)

Week 5, Post-Structuralism & Deconstruction
Eagelton, “Post-Structuralism.” Literary Theory: An Introduction, University of Minnesota Press, 1996. (Excerpts)
Luisa Valenzuela, “Aquí pasan cosas raras” (1975)

Week 6, The Symbolic, the Imaginary, and the Real
Eagelton, “Psychoanalysis.” Literary Theory: An Introduction, University of Minnesota Press, 1996. (Excerpts)
Amparo Dávila, “Alta cocina” (1959)
Gabriel García Márquez, “Sólo vine a hablar por teléfono” (1974)

Week 7, Marxist Literary Criticism
Williams, Raymond. “Literature” & “Ideology.” Marxism and Literature. Oxford University Press, 1977, pp. 45-71.
Eagleton, “Conclusion: Political Criticism.” Literary Theory: An Introduction, University of Minnesota Press, 1996. (Excerpts)
Foley, Barbara. “Literature and Literary Criticism.” Marxist Literary Criticism Today. Pluto Press, 2019, pp. 87-94.
Juan Rulfo, “¡Diles que no me maten!” & “No oyes ladrar los perros” (1953)

Week 8, Dependency and Underdevelopment
Candido, Antonio. “Literature and Underdevelopment”. Antonio Candido: On Literature and Society. Edited by Howard Saul Becker, Princeton University Press, 1995, pp. 119-141.
Rama, Angel. “Literature and Culture,” Writing Across Cultures: Narrative Transculturation in Latin America. Duke University Press, 2012, pp. 3-35.
João Guimarães Rosa, “A terceira margem do rio” [“La tercera orilla del río”] (1962)

Week 9, The End of History
Eagleton, “Afterword,” Literary Theory: An Introduction. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1996. pp. 190-208.
José Agustín, “Cuál es la onda” (1968)
Luis Britto García, “Usted puede mejorar su memoria,” “Muerte de un rebelde” & “Grupo” (1970)

Week 10, Feminism & Feminist Literary Criticism
Delmar, Rosalind. “What Is Feminism?” Theorizing Feminism: Parallel Trends in the Humanities and Social Sciences, edited by Anne Herrmann and Abigail J. Stewart, Westview Press, 1994, pp. 5–28.
Giménez, Martha E. “Reflections on Intersectionality.” Marx, Women, and Capitalist Social Reproduction. Brill, 2018, p. 94-109.
Rosario Castellanos. Salomé (1959)
María Luisa Mendoza, “Regla de tres” (2008)

Week 11, Cultural Studies
Culler, Jonathan. “Cultural Studies.” Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press, 1997, pp. 82-93.
Castillo, Debra A. “Tentative Exchanges: Tijuana Prostitutes and Their Clients.” The Latin American Cultural Studies Reader, edited by Marc Zimmerman et al., Duke University Press, 2004, pp. 584–605.

Week 12, Chicano & Latinx Studies
Anzaldúa, Gloria. “Speaking in Tongues: A Letter to Third World Women Writers” & “Border Arte.” The Gloria Anzaldúa Reader. Duke University Press, 2009, pp. 26-35; 176-187.
Selena. Directed by Gregory Nava, Warner Home Video, 1997.
Frances R Aparicio. “Jennifer as Selena: Rethinking Latinidad in Media and Popular Culture.” Latino Studies, vol. 1, no. 1, Palgrave Macmillan, 2003, pp. 90–105.

Week 13, World Literature-World Systems
Moretti, Franco. “Conjectures on World Literature.” New Left Review, vol. 1, 2000, pp. 54–68.
Casanova, Pascale. “Literature as a World.” New Left Review, no. 31, 2005, pp. 71–90.

Week 14, The Rise of the New Humanities
Emmett, Robert S., and David E. Nye. “The Emergence of the Environmental Humanities.” The Environmental Humanities: A Critical Introduction. The MIT Press, 2017, p. 1-21.
Liu, Alan. “The Meaning of the Digital Humanities.” PMLA, vol. 128, no. 2, 2013, pp. 409–423.