Course overview
Introduction to Spanish Literature is a core Topics course of the Department of European Languages, and Linguistics. Taught at a lower-advanced level entirely in the target language, the course introduces students to the study of literature through a focus on canonical and popular literary texts.
Although the specific focus of the course will vary from semester to semester, you can expect to encounter a broad range of genres and historical periods. This course is designed to be a forum where students can use their encounter with literature to hone their language skills in the areas of speaking, writing, listening and reading.
For students enrolling through the discipline of Spanish Studies, Introduction to Spanish Literature will explore some cultural artistic productions that have been emerging from Anahuac/Abya-Yala/America since 1492. This course builds on the knowledge and competencies students have acquired in the second year. The main aim is on the development of interpretative skills to interculturally comprehend the cognitive value of Latin American Literature with special emphasis in de-colonial practices of the literary imagination of Latin American writers. Authors explored will vary from semester to semester. The literary production selected will emphasize genre cross-pollination, for example, we may explore comics (i.e. Alejandro Jodorowsky, Enrique Lihn, Julio Cortazar), as well as more generic texts such as poetry of the Earth and ecopoetry.
Reading these texts will be commented and discussed in groups (MyUni). Both lectures and seminars will be conducted in Spanish.
Course learning outcomes
- Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:Identify literary techniques and creative uses of language in literary texts
- Articulate a thesis and present evidence from primary sources to support it
- Identify genres, conventions, and period-specific discourses and their relevance to broader historical forces
- Demonstrate a broad understanding of literature(s) written in Spanish and appreciate the role that historical context plays in the creation and interpretation of literary and cultural production
- Engage questions of justice, gender, religion, class, national or global identity, sexuality and identify their intersection
- Further enhance the ability to synthesize, analyse, and present information both in written and oral forms in Spanish
- Develop their capacity to write academic documents in Spanish