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Fall 2008
494-01 CONSUMING CULTURE: LATIN AMERICAN LITERATURE AND CONSUMER CULTURE
Leila Lehnen, office and phone TBD
Can a generation of writers raised on MTV and McDonald’s instead of Cien años de soledad speak about Latin American culture in an adequate manner?
In this course we will discuss how present day Latin American cultural production, specifically the literature of the so-called McOndo Generation and of contemporary Brazilian writers, represents and, at the same time, interrogates traditional conceptions of national culture in Latin America. We will examine how globalization, neoliberalism and consumer culture have affected recent Latin American literary and cinematic productions and how these phenomena are resulting in a paradigm change in the articulations of cultural identities in Latin American countries such as Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Brazil and Mexico. In light of this, we will read recent fiction from several Latin American countries that no longer posit national belonging in terms of the utopian projects, which have prevailed in Latin America’s cultural discourse since colonial times, but rather as rituals of consumption and practices of postmodern tribalism. At the same time, we will also view films that portray the direct and indirect changes/challenges that globalization is creating in Latin America.
All the Brazilian texts will be read in English (or Spanish) translations. The Brazilian films will have English (or Spanish) subtitles. Texts in Portuguese will also be available in the original for students interested in reading them in Portuguese.
The class will also read theoretical texts that will complement the primary reading. Some of the main topics of study/discussion of this course will be:
· Consumption and culture.
· Globalization and culture.
· Globalization and the transformation of civil society.
· Globalization and the changing of the nation state.
· Globalization/consumption and social inequality (and ensuing practices of violence).
· Grading Components: Class preparation and participation, short response papers, in-class presentations, mid term paper and final paper.
Topics courses offer a variety of themes and approaches not found in regular course offerings.
The following upper-division courses are being offered:
305 VISIONS OF THE HISPANIC WORLD: ORAL AND WRITTEN EXPRESSION
Margaret (Molly) Olsen, Humanities 200B, x 6885
Primarily designed to improve oral communication and to strengthen the student's written proficiency and his or her awareness of grammar intricacies in relation to writing, it serves as a bridge to upper-level courses. Conversations and compositions are based on cultural and literary topics. Class activities vary according to the instructor but usually include five to fifteen minute presentations, interviews with native speakers, commentary on videos and movies, short stories, plays and short novels, writing strategies, and self-correction exercises. It often involves extensive reading appropriate to the level. Prerequisite: 204, 220, or consent of the instructor.
307 INTRODUCTION TO THE ANALYSIS OF HISPANIC TEXTS
Toni Dorca, Humanities 200, x 6489
Teresa Mesa Adamuz, Humanities 220, x 6396
(Same as Latin American Studies 307)
This course presents the student with some basic tools for the systematic analysis of a broad range of topics and forms of cultural production (literature, cinema, art, e-texts...) in the Hispanic world. It also seeks to develop advanced language skills in composition and presentation. Prerequisite: 305 or consent of the instructor.
308 LOCATING US LATINO STUDIES: INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACHES
Galo González, Humanities 218, x 6133
By 2003, individuals of Latin American descent living in the United States numbered approximately 38 million, constituting the country’s largest “minority” group. In this course, we will study the interdisciplinary field of contemporary U.S. Latino Studies that has emerged in response to this growing population. Here we will trace the fundamental questions and concerns within Latina/o Studies, ranging from the field's activist origins in the Chicano and Puerto Rican movements of the 1960s and 70s to its current emphasis on pan-Latino, comparative, and “new Latino” avenues of inquiry. For example, what is a U.S. Latina/o? What is U.S. Latina/o Studies, and how is it different from (and similar to) Latin American Studies? Where does U.S. Latina/o Studies “belong” in institutions of higher learning? In addition to these questions regarding the academic location of U.S. Latina/o Studies, in this class you will learn to describe the main demographic features of the various U.S. Latino communities and compare each group's unique (im)migration history, settlement patterns, and transnational activities. Finally, we will devote a significant portion of the course to a broader discussion of U.S. Latina/o identity as it relates to questions of class, race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and national origins. Prerequisite: 305 or consent of the instructor.
309 INTRODUCTION TO HISPANIC LINGUISTICS
Cynthia Kauffeld, Humanities 221, x 6389
A linguistic survey of the Spanish language aimed at improving pronunciation and increasing comprehension of the structure of the language, deepening students’ understanding of the sound system, word formation, grammar and meaning. Study will emphasize phonetics and provide an introduction to transcription, phonology, morphology and syntax, as well as provide an overview of linguistic change and geographic variation. Prerequisite: 305 or consent of the instructor.
(Area 3)
414 HERE AND THERE: SUPERANDO LÍMITES
Laura Wasenius, Humanities 201, x 6766
Living an identity that is multipositional is a familiar reality for many people in the 21st century. The seventeenth century in the Hispanic world reveals surprisingly diverse and complex societies in which literature — and sometimes life itself — provided a space for trying on different social clothes, so to speak, in an exploration of early modern identity. This course will allow students to enjoy prose, drama, poetry and historiography from both Spain and Spanish America and to witness how writers from both sides of the Atlantic were pushing aesthetic and societal limits of religion, ethnicity and gender in their writing. We will be viewing Baroque art from Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, and colonial Mexico and Peru, and will also read some pertinent critical perspectives that will help enrich our readings of the literature. To bring the plays to life, students will select fragments of dramas to “rescript” and perform for their classmates. Prerequisite: 307 or consent of the instructor.
(Area 1)
421 ROMANTICS, MODERNISTS AND AVANT-GARDISTS
Toni Dorca, Humanities 202, x 6489
“Romantics, Moderns and Avant-Gardists” offers a panorama of the Hispanic culture from the nineteenth century to the Spanish Civil War. It centers on the literature and the arts during the periods of the Enlightenment, Romanticism, Realism, and the Avant-Garde. The period from 1800 to 1936 is crucial to the development of art. We will examine critical issues such as the limits of authority and the freedom of choice; the origins of modern subjectivity; the pursuit of the ideal and the impossible; the conflict between individualism and nationalism, and that between empire and colonies; the rise of the bourgeoisie and the transition to a secular world; the crisis of reason; and the autonomy of art. Our goal will be to shed light on the Janus-faced mingling of progress with tradition that defines modernity in the Hispanic world. To this end, we will deal with the social, cultural, aesthetic and political dimensions that shape the evolution of literature and the arts during the 19th- and the first half of the 20th-centuries. Course requirements include a midterm exam, group presentations, an individual PowerPoint presentation, and a final paper.
(Area 2)
431 SPANISH IN THE WORKPLACE
Susana Blanco-Iglesias, Humanities 200A, x 6791
HISP 431 provides practical, on-the-job linguistic and cultural knowledge you need to communicate appropriately and tackle with confidence different contexts of interaction at the workplace in the United States and abroad. Emphasis is placed on such fields as health care and medicine, legal matters and law enforcement, social services, and business. Students pursue individual interests in specific career areas with a community involvement component. Prerequisite: 305 or 309 or consent of the instructor.
(Area 3)
444 THE FAMILY AS HISTORY: STORIES OF U.S. LATIN@S
Teresa Mesa Adamuz, Humanities 220, x 6396
examine and compare the stories of Latinas/os in the U.S. as told by themselves. Students will read authors of Puerto Rican, Cuban, Dominican, and Mexican-American origin. We will place a special emphasis on practices and values held both here and in the cultures of origin. The course will cover such subjects as family, social and economic struggles, individual aspirations and spiritual needs. The course will highlight language issues and use film to complement the readings. Prerequisite: 307 or 308 or consent of the instructor. (Area 4)
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