This seminar studies the poetry of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Particular attention is paid to three currents: the Petrarchan tradition of love poetry, Neostoic moral poetry and the Burlesque. Emphasis is placed on the works of Garcilaso, Fray Luis de León, Góngora, Lope de Vega and Quevedo.
This seminar studies the techniques and themes of the comedia as exemplified primarily in the works of Lope de Vega, Calderón de la Barca and Tirso de Molina.
This course first explores the historical and literary circumstances surrounding the rise of realism in nineteenth-century Spain, paying particular attention to aspects of the tradition that are peculiar to the Spanish tradition. Representative works from the height of Spanish realism are examined, and the course ends with the study of texts from the last decades of the century that sought to transcend the limitations inherent in the realist movement.
This course studies selections from the major genres of the colonial period (1492-1810): the chronicles of the Discovery and Conquest, lyric and epic poetry, and colonial theater. Among the themes explored are: utopian images of the New World; the Hispanic rewriting of indigenous cultures; and the emergence of a mestizo identity in literature. The course also considers the repercussions of the colonial era in contemporary Latin-American literature and culture.
A study of representative texts from the period 1810-1930, covering such movements as the Enlightenment, Romanticism, Realism and Modernismo, this course pays particular attention to these works as expressions of Latin America's growing political and cultural independence in the nineteenth century.
This course offers a critical assessment of the Generation of '98 through an in-depth reading and discussion of selected texts (fictional, poetic, dramatic, philosophical, etc.) by such authors as Unamuno, Ganivet, Baroja, Ville-Inclán, Azorin, Machado, etc.
From the turn of the century until the Civil War, Spanish literature enjoyed an artistic explosion the likes of which had not been seen since the Golden Age. A profusion of literary movements, including the Generation of '98, modernism and the avant-garde, reflected the creative vibrancy of the nation even as it slipped into political and social chaos. This course analyzes the novels of this period, both in terms of literary innovation and relationship to the ideological trends and social reality in early twentieth-century Spain.
In post-Civil War Spain, the prolonged tenure of Franco and strict censorship seriously crippled the process of cultural regeneration. For literature, the repression was particularly severe, forcing most prominent writers into political exile. Those who remained, however, cloaked their literary discourse on war, repression and other themes in an array of new narrative forms and languages. This course analyzes the most significant works of this period, both in terms of their literary innovativeness and their relationship to the sociocultural context.
Thorugh close study of representative dramatists and their respective visions, this course acquaints the student with major formal and thematic developments in contemporary peninsular Spanish theater. Dramatic texts of the pre- and post-war periods are studied within the general framwork of their sociocultural context.
An in-depth study of the relationship between gender and genre in literary texts written by women in contemporary Latin America and the Hispanic Caribbean, the course addresses questions of authorship within the development of Latin-American women's literary traditions as well as the relationship between patriarchal societies and women's literary discourses.
This course is a close study of the Hispanic literature of the island nations of the Caribbean, with particular attention paid to ethnic and cultural diversity. Representative authors in the various genres are studied within the general framework of their social and literary contexts. Emphasis is placed on contemporary writers.
This course offesrs critical study of selected contemporary Latin-American texts in the light of current modes of writing and interpretation. The course delineates the major patterns of formal and thematic development within the literary history of Latin-American letters, but emphasizes the analysis of structural and linguistic problems posed by the texts.
This seminar, offered on an irregular basis, provides an opportunity for extensive study of the works of the most distinguished authors writing in the Spanish language. It is taught by a staff member who has particular interest in the literature to be examined.
