The course studies Latin American literature and its socio-cultural setting. The main objective is to broaden students’ knowledge and reading skills, and to help them develop the comprehension and interpretation strategies needed to understand “literary” language.

Syllabus (first term)

The course begins with a historical introduction to the richly varied identity of Latin America, from the legends of the pre-Hispanic civilizations to the chronicles of the Spanish conquerors of the New World. This is backed up with visual material presenting pre-Columbian art and excerpts from literary works and essays of leading authors of the modern era such as Miguel Angel Asturias, Carlos Fuentes and Arturo Uslar Pietri.

After the short historical and artistic introduction, we focus on contemporary prose, particularly on the short story, due to its central role in the rise of Latin American fiction. We analyse Juan Rulfo’s poetic prose, the historical and social context in the work of Gabriel García Márquez, and “Neo-fantastic literature” in Julio Cortázar’s short stories.

Reading List

FRANCO, J., (1990), Historia de la Literatura Hispanoamericana, Barcelona, Ariel.
GOIC, C., (1988), Historia de la Literatura Hispanoamericana, Tomo III, Época contemporánea, Barcelona, Crítica, S. A.

Assessment

As the classes have both theoretical and practical components, the assessment of the course will be based on a final exam and a series of commentaries the students are expected to hand in during the term.