Course Information
This course introduces students to the study of Hispanic literature, that is, the literature written in Spanish in Spain and Latin America from the past 500 years. It provides them with critical, analytical, and methodological tools for the study of literature and prepares them for advanced discussion in class and rigorous academic writing in Spanish. Furthermore, students will think critically about what literature is and what is involved in its study. The course has four core components:
1) A wide variety of samples from the Hispanic literary tradition, which will expose students to different periods and movements from the rich and multicultural literatures of Latin America and Spain.
2) An introduction to the main literary genres (lyric poetry, narrative, and drama), their conventions, and the theoretical problems posed by each.
3) An introduction to key problems in literary theory and cultural studies.
4) An incremental training in academic writing in Spanish, from short commentaries to a research paper. Upon successful completion of this course, students will be prepared for more in-depth study of Hispanic texts in the 3600-level survey courses.
