BA Politics and Spanish

In the 20th century, Latin American writers invigorated the art of short story by experimenting with new genres, styles, forms and through interaction with disciplines such as journalism and philosophy. It was mainly through the short story that Latin American literary production first impacted and, to some extent, transformed world literature. This course will focus on 20th-century Latin American short stories by various authors like Juan Rulfo, Elena Garro, Silvina Ocampo, Julio Cortázar and Jorge Luis Borges, combining literary analysis with a discussion of the historical and contextual circumstances that shaped the production and circulation of these texts. By reading Spanish American short stories in the original, students will increase their vocabulary and improve their syntax while developing skills in literary and cultural analysis.   

• To widen students’ knowledge of Latin American literature, histories and societies.
• To improve students’ vocabulary and syntax in Spanish through the analysis of literature in the target language, and listening to lectures in Spanish.
• To train them to handle complex materials with focus, precision and perspective.
• To improve students’ structure, coherence, clarity and fluency in written and oral expression through essay-writing and seminar discussion.
• To enhance students’ skills in literary analysis by engaging critically with a body of literature from different Latin American societies and periods. 

The following list is indicative of the authors that will be covered and not all these will be featured in every iteration of the module:

Elena Garro

Felisberto Hernández

Horacio Quiroga

Jorge Luis Borges

Juan Rulfo

Juan Carlos Onetti

Juan Bosch

Julio Cortázar

Inés Arredondo

Pablo Palacio

Silvina Ocampo

Yolanda Oreamuno

Lectures (delivered in Spanish)

Seminar discussions (in English, though Spanish is an option if students want to use it) 

 
Upon completion of this unit, students will be able to:

• Have an understanding of key aspects of 20th century Spanish-American literature
• Have an understanding of important characteristics of the short story as a literary genre
• Have an understanding of literary analytical skills
• Have an understanding of key aspects of Latin American culture and society 

Upon completion of this unit, students will be able to:

• Engage critically with literature.
• Develop arguments related to literature, history and society.
• Be able to discuss theoretical material and connect it with the analysis of literature.

By the end of this unit students will have enhanced their ability to:

• Read and understand Spanish
• Comprehend the different varieties of Spanish spoken in Spanish America
• Communicate ideas in written form
• Deploy effective research strategies
• Undertake close-reading of literary texts
• Work in groups  
   

By the end of this unit students will have enhanced their ability to:

• Demonstrate independent, analytical and critical thinking
• Utilise research into literary texts and debates about the relationship between literature, society and politics
• Present an argument in written and oral form, both individually and collectively
• Work constructively in group activities
• Participate in group discussion
• Use theory to analyse literature where appropriate  

Resit Assessment:

Essay

On the history and general characteristics of the Latin American short story:

Bethel, Leslie, A Cultural History of Latin America (Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1998).¿

Foster, David William, Studies in the Contemporary Spanish American Short Story (Columbia and London: University of Missouri Press, 1979).

González-Echeverría, Roberto, ‘Introduction’, in The Oxford Book of Latin American Short Story, ed. by González-Echeverría (Oxford: Oxford UP, 1997), pp.3-22.

González-Echeverría, R., and Pupo-Walker, Enrique (eds), The Cambridge History of Latin American Literature, 3 vols (Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1996).

Menton, Seymour, ‘Prólogo’, in El cuento hispanoamericano. Antología crítico-histórica (Mexico: Fondo de Cultura Económica, 1986), pp.1-21.

Peden, Margaret Sayers (ed), The Latin American Short Story A Critical History (Boston, Massachusetts: Twayne Publishers, 1983).

Valcárcel, Eva, 'El cuento latinoamericano. Una aproximación teórica', in El cuento hispanoamericano del siglo XX: teoría y práctica, ed. by Valcárcel (A Coruña: Universidade da Coruña, 1997), pp.21-29.

Literary theory:¿

March-Russell, Paul (ed.), The Short Story: An Introduction (Edinburgh: Edinburg University Press, 2009).¿

May, Charles, The Short Story: The Reality of Artifice (New York and London: Routlegde, 2002).¿

Piglia, Ricardo, ‘Nueva tesis sobre el cuento’, in Formas breves (Buenos Aires: Temas Grupo Editorial, 1999), pp.103-34.¿

Pratt, Mary Louise, ‘The Short Story: The Long and the Short of It’, Poetics, 10 (1981), 175-94.

2015/16 Timetable:

Lecture: Friday 1100-1200

Seminar 1: Tuesday 1100-1300

OR

Seminar 2: Tuesday 1500-1700