Graduate Courses Fall 2007
SPAN 5106The Literature of the Reconquest and Feudal Spain
Visiting Prof. Benjamin Liu
SPAN 5526
Early Modernity and Colonialism in Spanish America, 1492-1800
Prof. Raul Marrero-Fente
The conquest and colonization of Latin America is a complex issue, which demands an interdisciplinary approach in order to achieve a better understanding of this multidimensional social conflict. The course examines the role of colonial discourse as producer of the epistemic colonial difference, and explores the legacies of colonialism. Students will be expected to focus on and to think about the organizational mechanisms through which aural and visual practices mediate reality in Colonial Latin America. Furthermore, students will learn to be critical readers by considering how cultural texts may be historically determined and by exploring how individuals may shape a particular cultural theme in a variety of manners. The course will focus on critical readings and discussion of cultural artifacts, texts and documents of Colonial Latin America. Studies will include material pertaining to the aural and visual production of the period, including European and indigenous accounts of the conquest, as well as indigenous, African, criollo, mestizo and women writings during the colony from an interdisciplinary perspective. Concentration will center on the textual strategies, topics, world views, motivations, projects and expectations explicit or implicit in the texts, their significance at the time, and their importance for understanding the formation of what we know as Latin America today. The course also is devoted to the conquest of Latin America by analyzing the role of colonial discourse and the legacies of colonialism in the region. Through the use of cultural artifacts, texts and documents, students will deal with different theoretical approaches deriving from the humanities and the social sciences. Such interdisciplinary method will provide the tools, concepts and strategic visions to carry on analytical tasks in class. All the work for the course, with the exception of certain supplementary readings, will be in Spanish. Requirements will include preparation of assigned readings, presentation of analytical and comprehensive tasks, class discussions, and a research project. The course provides training in analytical thinking and cultural critique of colonial society in Latin America, bringing a global perspective to our curriculum.
SPAN 5527
Nineteenth Century Latin America: Enlightened Thought, Nation Building, Literacy, Cultural Discourse
Prof. Ana Forcinito
En este curso discutiremos la literatura del siglo XIX en Hispanoamérica y su relación con los proyectos e identidades nacionales. Consideraremos, por lo tanto, el aspecto escriturario de los procesos de fundación y consolidación de los estados nacionales, deteniéndonos, en especial, en el análisis de las estrategias discursivas usadas en los textos. Discutiremos los procesos de adopción de los modelos liberales fundacionales, el pensamiento positivista, el énfasis en el progreso y en la modernización de las naciones en estrecha relación con las estéticas que, como el romanticismo, realismo y naturalismo, acompañaron la escritura y la narración sobre la/s patria/s. Algunos de los autores a discutir son: Simón Bolívar, Andrés Bello, Esteban Echeverría, Domingo Faustino Sarmiento. Jorge Isaacs, Clorinda Matto de Turner y José Hernández.
PORT 5530
Brazilian Literary and Cultural Studies
Prof. Ana Paula Ferreira
Introduction to majors works of Brazilian literature, from the sixteenth through the twentieth centuries, outlining the coming into being, development and problematization of “brazilianess” in specific historical periods vis-à-vis both material and symbolic cultures. The invention of Brazil; the Romantic nexus of nationality; liberalism and slavery; cosmopolitanism and national culture; the Modernist ‘rediscovery’ of Brazil; regionalism and social realism; and postmodernism in the backlands will be covered in chronological order, as thematic axis of literary and cultural analysis. The course will close with a discussion of the controversial “500 Years Celebration of the Discovery of Brazil.” Aside from literature, required readings include texts from musical and visual culture, cultural critique, economic history, and historiography. Three partial essay exams; two class presentations with written outlines; and a final research paper are required. Course taught in Portuguese, with all primary readings in Portuguese.
SPAN 5711
The Structure of Modern Spanish: Phonology
Prof. Tim Face
This course provides an investigation of the Spanish sound system and considers some of the major topics in Spanish phonology from theoretical and experimental perspectives. We will review the traditional articulatory descriptions of Spanish sounds, learn the basics of the acoustic nature of these sounds, and see how these form the basis for the building blocks of modern phonological theory. We will survey the major phonological theories that have been used and also consider the ways in which experimentation can expand upon these theoretical approaches. Coursework will consist of two exams, occasional homework assignments, and an annotated bibliography dealing with an area of Spanish phonology of the student’s choosing.
SPPT 5999
The Teaching of College-Level Spanish: Theory and Practice
Dr. Susan McMillen Villar
The main purpose of SPPT 5999 is to help Graduate Instructors engage in reflective foreign language teaching by providing them with an understanding of language acquisition theory as applied to foreign language instruction at the college level and an understanding of how current theory translates into practice. The latter will be accomplished through a series of hands-on "practical application" activities. In addition to coming to class prepared to discuss assigned readings, students will be expected to complete three class observation reports, biweekly teaching journals, a pedagogical materials portfolio, written exams, and a course project.
SPAN 8750
Seminar in Spanish and Portuguese Pragmatics: Language and Ideology: Gender. Feminist critical discourse analysis
Prof. Francisco Ocampo
The goal of this seminar is to discuss the workings of power and ideology in discourse in sustaining a hierarchically gendered social order. This is especially pertinent in present times where issues of gender, power and ideology have become increasingly complex and subtle. First, gender as a category intersects with other categories of social identity such as sexuality, ethnicity, social position, and political geography. Patriarchy is also an ideological system that interacts with corporatist and consumerist ideologies. Second, the workings of gender ideology and asymmetrical power relations in discourse are assuming more subtle forms, although there is considerable variation in different local communities. The works discussed in this seminar show the ways in which taken for granted social assumptions and hegemonic power relations are discursively produced, perpetuated, negotiated and challenged. We will first introduce the topic of critical discourse analysis by discussing excerpts of Norman Fairclough’s work. We will then enter into the issue of Language and Gender by discussing some chapters of Penelope Eckert and Sally McConnell-Ginet’s book. Finally, we will discuss the articles included in Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis. Gender, Power and Ideology in Discourse (2005), edited by Michelle Lazar. Students will be required to present the articles in class, to actively participate in the discussion, and to write a paper related to this topic, focused on any area of Spanish or Portuguese.
Span 8900
Advanced Research in Human Rights and Literature
Prof. Luis Ramos García
(Curso dictado íntegramente en Español)
Desde la perspectiva de las leyes sobre los Derechos Humanos Internacionales --tanto en tiempos de paz como en tiempos de violencia-- y tomando como base la lectura de una diversa gama de discursos hegemónicos, marginales, alternativos y disonantes-- el curso quisiera proponer la formulación de un marco teorético hacia un análisis experimental de interpretación textual de aquellos escritos político-literarios-performativos, cuya práxis podría servir de base para fabricar una agenda pedagógica y de investigación que respondiera a las necesidades actuales de la profesión. Entendido de esa forma, los DD.HH., su defensa y registro de violaciones son sólo algunas de las maneras cómo el ideario privilegiado del mundo occidental podría acercarse a la historia y literaturas sobre la opresión / supresión que caracterizaron las últimas décadas del siglo pasado. Por eso mismo, los DD.HH. no deberían ser vistos como enajenados de la historia, de la cultura, y/o de las artes, puesto que en teoría tendrían que co-existir con las vitales experiencias de aquellos seres humanos cuya muy personal y colectiva voz se sigue insertando dentro del cánon de la historia pública. Tal vez por eso, conscientes de sus escritos, oralidad y memorias, la literatura y performance transatlánticas se han dado a la tarea de recoger en sus narrativas (autobiografías, memorias, voces marginales), lo personal y lo político, lo íntimo y lo colectivo, elaborando un testimonio que exige del lector una complicidad, a lo Julio Cortázar, en cuanto a la comprehensión sobre esa violencia incontenible e irracional experimentada por aquellos “otros,” sean éstos mujeres, indígenas, minorías étnicas, homosexuales, inmigrantes ilegales o simplemente rivales políticos contestatarios.
Forjada una alianza de honda sensibilidad estético-moral entre el arte y la política, los discursos culturales transatlánticos van revelando en su propósito un acercamiento crítico al desarrollo histórico-social de sus literaturas, cuya vertiente analítica desde los DD.HH. hace posible prescribir un balance y equilibrio necesarios para dificultar los avances neocolonialistas de la política global. Imaginadas así, se hace imprescindible revisar esas propuestas, en cuanto su práctica y toma concreta de añejos y exclusivos espacios hegemónicos, obliga a redefinir la experiencia de la urbe, la representación ritualista, la memoria política, la violencia del colectivo, la diáspora del siglo, la invención de las dictaduras, el tejemaneje de los discursos culturales nacionales, pero muy por encima de todo, las medidas gubernamentales contra la insurrección, la desobediencia civil, y las reinvindicaciones sociales.
Aunque existe una lectura obligada de libros y sueltos, se espera que los alumnos traigan al seminario un corpus de textos y ensayos relacionados con la materia del curso, Derechos Humanos y literatura transatlántica: Latinoamérica y España. Los matriculados en el curso extraerán de los textos seleccionados, el material adecuado hacia sus trabajos finales. Se espera así que uno de los resultados del seminario sea la preparación de un ensayo de unas 25 páginas aproximadamente, en el cual se determine la agenda a seguir en sus estudios doctorales.
La nota final del curso se basará en los siguientes porcentajes:
a. Propuesta (escrita) del tema de investigación y bibliografía comentada 15%
b. Presentación oral y discusiónsobre el desarrollo de la investigación 25%
c. Participación oral y contribuciones 10%
d. Ensayo final 50%