Spring 2011 Undergraduate Courses in Spanish

Spanish 110
Elementary Spanish I
Staff
(See Timetable(s) for time(s))

Prerequisite(s): A score below 380 on the SAT II or below 285 on the online placement examination.

Spanish 110 is a first-semester elementary language course designed for students who have not previously studied Spanish. This course emphasizes the development of foundational reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills while exploring the rich cultural mosaic of the Spanish-speaking world. Students will participate in pair, small-group and whole-class activities that focus on meaningful and accurate communication skills in the target language.

Students who have previously studied Spanish must take the online placement examination.
Students who have already fulfilled the language requirement in Spanish may not take basic level language courses (110-145) in the same language. Any questions about placement should be addressed to the directors of the Spanish language program.

Course materials/textbooks for all sections of this course will be available at the
Penn BOOKSTORE ( 3601 Walnut Street; (215)898-7595).

Spanish 120
Elementary Spanish II
Staff
(See Timetable(s) for time(s))

Prerequisite(s): Successful completion of Spanish 110 or permission of the course coordinator.

Spanish 120, the continuation of Spanish 110, is a second-semester elementary Spanish course. This course emphasizes the development of foundational reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills while exploring the rich cultural mosaic of the Spanish-speaking world. Students will participate in pair, small-group and whole-class activities that focus on meaningful and accurate communication skills in the target language.

Students who have previously studied Spanish must take the online placement examination.

Students who have already fulfilled the language requirement in Spanish may not take basic level language courses (110-145) in the same language. Any questions about placement should be addressed to the directors of the Spanish language program.

Course materials/textbooks for all sections of this course will be available at the
Penn BOOKSTORE ( 3601 Walnut Street; (215)898-7595).

Spanish 121
Elementary Spanish
Staff
(See Timetable(s) for time(s))

Prerequisite(s): A score of 380-440 on the SAT II or 285-383 on the online placement examination.

Spanish 121 is designed for students who have some prior experience in Spanish. It is an intensive elementary-level language course which in one semester covers the material studied over two semesters in Spanish 110 and Spanish 120. The course provides a quick-paced review of material normally covered in a first semester Spanish course and then proceeds to introduce new material so students will be prepared to take Spanish 130 during the subsequent semester.

As in other Spanish courses, Spanish 121 emphasizes the development of foundational reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills while exploring the rich cultural mosaic of the Spanish-speaking world. Students will participate in pair, small-group and whole-class activities that focus on meaningful and accurate communication skills in the target language.

By the end of this course, students will be able to engage in simple conversation on familiar topics, talk about the past and the future, make comparisons, give commands, describe people and things in increasing detail, etc. Students will also develop reading and listening skills that will allow them to understand simple articles in Spanish as well as pick out pertinent information when listening to a native speaker.

Students who have previously studied Spanish must take the online placement examination.

Course materials/textbooks for all sections of this course will be available at the
Penn BOOKSTORE ( 3601 Walnut Street; (215)898-7595).

Spanish 125
Spanish for the Medical Professions, Elementary II
Staff
(See Timetable(s) for time(s))

Prerequisite(s): Successful completion of Spanish 110 or 115 or a score of 380-440 on the SAT II or 285-383 on the online placement examination.

Spanish 125 is a second-semester elementary Medical Spanish Language that continues to develop the fundamentals of practical Spanish, with a special focus on medical situations and basic medical terminology. In this course, particular attention will be given to developing speaking and listening skills, as well as cultural awareness. Students will be expected to participate in classroom activities such as role-plays based on typical office and emergency procedures in order to develop meaningful and accurate communication skills in the target language.

Students who have previously studied Spanish must take the online placement examination.

Course materials/textbooks for all sections of this course will be available at the
Penn BOOKSTORE ( 3601 Walnut Street; (215)898-7595).

Spanish 130
Intermediate Spanish I
Staff
(See Timetable(s) for time(s))

Prerequisite(s): Successful completion of Spanish 112, 120, 121 or 125 or a score of 450-540 on the SAT II or 384-453 on the online placement examination.

Spanish 130 is a first-semester intermediate-level language course that emphasizes the development of the four basic skills (reading, writing, listening and speaking skills) within a culturally based context. Class time will focus on communicative activities that combine grammatical concepts, relevant vocabulary, and cultural themes. Students will participate in pair, small-group and whole-class activities to practice linguistics skills in meaningful contexts. Major course goals include: the acquisition of intermediate-level vocabulary, the controlled use of the past tense, and the development of writing skills at a paragraph level with transitions.

Students who have previously studied Spanish must take the online placement examination.

Course materials/textbooks for all sections of this course will be available at the
Penn BOOKSTORE ( 3601 Walnut Street; (215)898-7595).

Spanish 134
Intermediate Spanish I and II: Accelerated
Staff
(See Timetable(s) for time(s))

Spring semester prerequisite(s): Permit required from the course coordinator.

Spanish 134 is an intensive intermediate-level language course that covers the material presented in Spanish 130 and Spanish 140. The course emphasizes the development of the four canonical skills (reading, writing, listening, and speaking) within a culturally based context. Class time will focus on communicative activities that combine grammatical concepts, relevant vocabulary, and cultural themes. Students will participate in pair, small-group and whole-class activities to practice linguistics skills in a meaningful context. Major course goals include: the acquisition of intermediate-level vocabulary, the controlled use of the past tense and major uses of the subjunctive, and the development of writing skills.

During the spring semester, Spanish 134 is limited to those students who have satisfied the language requirement in another language.

Students who have previously studied Spanish must take the online placement examination.

Course materials/textbooks for all sections of this course will be available at the
Penn BOOKSTORE ( 3601 Walnut Street; (215)898-7595).

Spanish 140
Intermediate Spanish II
Staff
(See Timetable(s) for time(s))

Prerequisite(s): Successful completion of Spanish 130 or 135 or a score of 550-640 on the SAT II or 454-546 on the online placement examination.

Spanish 140, the continuation of Spanish 130, is a fourth-semester language course that offers students the opportunity to acquire communicative skills (reading, writing, listening and speaking) while developing their awareness and appreciation of the Spanish-speaking world. Topics studied may include the environment, the arts, social relations, and conflict and violence.

Students who have previously studied Spanish must take the online placement examination.

Course materials/textbooks for all sections of this course will be available at the
Penn BOOKSTORE ( 3601 Walnut Street; (215)898-7595).

Spanish 145
Spanish for the Medical Professions, Intermediate II
Staff
(See Timetable(s) for time(s))

Prerequisite(s): Successful completion of Spanish 130 or 135 or a score of 550-640 on the SAT II or 454-546 on the online placement examination.

Offered through the Penn Language Center as the continuation of Spanish 135, Spanish 145 is a second-semester intermediate-level medical Spanish language course. See the description of Spanish 135. This course satisfies the language requirement in Spanish.

Students who have previously studied Spanish must take the online placement examination.

Students who have completed SPANISH 140 or any SPANISH course above that level may not take SPANISH 145. Although these courses have different numbers, they are at the same level, and therefore students will not receive credit for SPANISH 145.

Course materials/textbooks for all sections of this course will be available at the
Penn BOOKSTORE ( 3601 Walnut Street; (215)898-7595).

Spanish 180
Spanish Conversation
Staff

La casa hispánica residents only.

Spanish 202
Advanced Spanish
Staff
(See Timetable(s) for time(s))

Prerequisite(s): Successful completion of Spanish 140 or equivalent.

The purpose of this course is twofold: (a) to develop students' communicative abilities in Spanish, that is, speaking, listening, reading and writing, and (b) to increase their awareness and understanding of Hispanic cultures and societies. Homework and classroom activities are designed to help students build their oral proficiency, expand and perfect their knowledge of vocabulary and grammatical structures, improve their reading and writing skills, and develop their critical thinking abilities. The material for this class includes short stories, newspaper articles, poems, songs, cartoons, video clips and a novel, such as César Aira's La villa. At the completion of this course students will feel confident discussing and debating a variety of contemporary issues (cultural and religious practices, family relationships, gender stereotypes, political events, immigration to the USA, etc.).

Any questions about placement should be addressed to the directors of the Spanish language program.

Course materials/textbooks for all sections of this course will be available at the
Penn BOOKSTORE ( 3601 Walnut Street; (215)898-7595).

Spanish 205
Advanced Spanish for the Medical Professions
Prof. García-Serrano
(See Timetable(s) for time(s))

Prerequisite(s): Spanish 140 or 145.

The goal of this course is to provide advanced practice in Spanish to those students who are interested in pursuing careers in the medical and healthcare fields. Through readings and authentic materials on contemporary health issues, for example, H1N1 influenza, comparative health care systems, obesity, “chagas” disease, etc., students will acquire the vocabulary and grammatical structures needed to discuss a wide array of topics pertaining to the health-related professions. Students will also gain awareness of those health care issues affecting the Hispanic/Latino patient. Oral and written presentations will complement topics covered in class.

Course materials/textbooks for all sections of this course will be available at the
Penn BOOKSTORE ( 3601 Walnut Street; (215)898-7595).

Spanish 208
Business Spanish I
Prof. Lebaudy
(See Timetable(s) for time(s))

Prerequisite(s): Successful completion of Spanish 140 or equivalent.

Spanish for Business I provides advanced-level language students with technical vocabulary and communicative skills covering business concepts as they apply to the corporate dynamics of the Spanish-speaking world, with a special emphasis on Latin America. Through readings, presentations, discussions, and video materials, we shall analyze those cultural aspects that characterize the business environment in the region as well as focus on economies and markets in light of their history, politics, resources and pressing international concerns.

Any questions about placement should be directed to the directors of the Spanish language program.

Course materials/textbooks for all sections of this course will be available at the
Penn BOOKSTORE ( 3601 Walnut Street; (215)898-7595).

Spanish 212
Advanced Spanish Grammar
Staff
(See Timetable(s) for time(s))

Prerequisite(s): Spanish 202 or equivalent.

Spanish 212 is an advanced grammar course that emphasizes the acquisition of a solid knowledge of those major points of Spanish grammar. Through discussion and correction of assigned exercises, analysis of authentic readings, and contrastive study of Spanish and English syntax and lexicon, students will develop an awareness of the norms of standard Spanish with the aim of incorporating these features into their own oral and written linguistic production.

Any questions about placement should be addressed to the directors of the Spanish language program.

Course materials/textbooks for all sections of this course will be available at the
Penn BOOKSTORE ( 3601 Walnut Street; (215)898-7595).

Spanish 215
Spanish for the Professions I
Staff
(See Timetable(s) for time(s))

Prerequisite(s): Spanish 202 or equivalent.

Spanish for the Professions is designed to provide advanced-level language students with a wide-ranging technical vocabulary and the enhancement of solid communicative skills within the cultural context of several developing Latin American countries. Focusing on topics such as politics, economy, society, health, environment, education, science and technology, the class will explore the realities and underlying challenges facing Latin America. Through essays, papers, articles, research, discussions, case studies, and videotapes, we shall take an in-depth look at the dynamics of Latin American societies. The course will focus on--but not be restricted to-- Mexico, Cuba and Argentina.

Any questions about placement should be addressed to the directors of the Spanish language program.

Spanish 219
Texts and Contexts
Staff
(See Timetable(s) for time(s))

Prerequisite(s): Spanish 212.

The primary aim of this course is to develop students' knowledge of the geographical, historical and cultural contexts of the Spanish-speaking world. At the same time that they are introduced to research techniques and materials available in Spanish, students strengthen their language skills through reading, oral presentations, video viewing, and regular writing assignments. The course is designed to give students a broad understanding of Hispanic culture that will prepare them for upper-level course work.

Course Materials/Textbooks for this course will be available at the Penn Book CENTER (130 S. 34th Street; (215) 222-7600).

Spanish 250-601
Major Works Spanish and Latin American Literature
Prof. Regueiro
(See Timetable(s) for time(s))

From the rise of the novel with Cervantes' Don Quixote in early-modern Spain to the Latin American "boom" with García Márquez' One Hundred Years of Solitude, this course will examine these and other major works in Hispanic literature within the cultural, political, and social context of each period.

Course Materials/Textbooks for this course will be available at the Penn Book CENTER (130 S. 34th Street; (215) 222-7600).

Span 325-301
Introduction to Translation: Spanish < > English
Prof. Grabner Travis
(See Timetable(s) for time(s))

Prerequisite(s): Spanish 219.

In an increasingly globalized world, communication takes place not only in a face-to-face, verbal/aural fashion, but also in written form, and with international business and other types of collaboration growing, this means that documents written in one language frequently need to be available in multiple other languages. Thus, it can only be an advantage for multilingual speakers to also have the knowledge to translate documents between languages. This is not as straightforward a process as it might seem; just because someone speaks two languages does not automatically mean they will be able to effectively transfer the meaning of a written document from one language to the other. There are innumerable considerations to be taken into account in transferring meaning from one language to another.

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to many of these considerations and to get them started on the road to mastering the art of communicating the same essential meaning in two different languages. This course is designed for students who already have a solid foundation in Spanish and English grammar. The course provides an introduction to the theory and practice of translating between English and Spanish, and offers a general review of any necessary grammar structures. It addresses important topics such as discourse strategies, register and mood, dialect, sociolect, genre, stylistic considerations, and cultural norms linked to written communication.

The course will offer intensive practice of the theoretical concepts studied, across a range of writing genres, including fiction, academic/professional/technical writing, journalism and advertising, persuasive writing and even subtitling of movies/videos. Class time will be spent discussing reading assignments, critiquing classmates’ work, and practicing shorter translation assignments. Although it is a writing-intensive course, class time will be spent primarily on discussion and interactive, collaborative activities.

Course Materials/Textbooks for this course will be available at the Penn Book CENTER (130 S. 34th Street; (215) 222-7600).

Span 380-301
Modern Spain
Prof. López
(See Timetable(s) for time(s))

Graduating senior majors only.

This course is designed to give students a basic knowledge of the history, politics, and culture of contemporary Spain. Reading materials and explanations during class meetings will cover the period 1868-2004; that is to say, from the liberal revolution in the second half of the nineteenth century to the Socialist victory in the elections following the Madrid terrorist attacks on March 11, 2004. In the first half of the course we will study the historical conditions, including a review of the constitutional monarchy (1875-1923) and its dissolution in Primo’s dictatorship (1923-1931), followed by the second Republic and the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). We will pay special attention to the international pressures that resulted in the defeat of the Republic followed by the advent of Franco’s dictatorship. The second part of the course concentrates on the study of Franco’s regime (1939-1975) and the transition to democracy (1979) as well as the consolidation of the monarchy and Spain’s integration into Europe.

Course Materials/Textbooks for this course will be available at the Penn Book CENTER (130 S. 34th Street; (215) 222-7600).

Span 386-401
Spanish Literature and Film in the Age of the Mass Media
Prof. Moreno Caballud
(See Timetable(s) for time(s))

Prerequisite(s): Spanish 219.

This course will focus on the relations between mass media and literary and filmic discourses in contemporary Spain. We will study the growth of mass culture during the post-dictatorship period in Spain (since 1975) and its relation with a standardization of social languages in the new culture of democracy. The course will examine how filmic and literary discourses have embraced, displaced, or resisted such standardization. Materials will include novels, short stories, documentaries, films, essays, and journal articles by authors such as Rafael Sánchez Ferlosio, Manuel Vázquez Montalbán, Javier Marías, Víctor Erice, José Luis Guerín, and Iván Zulueta.

Course Materials/Textbooks for this course will be available at the Penn Book CENTER (130 S. 34th Street; (215) 222-7600).

Span 388-401
The Great Illusion. Over a Century of Spanish Cinema
Prof. Solomon
(See Timetable(s) for time(s))

Prerequisite(s): Spanish 219.

Film in Spain has a rich but turbulent tradition that, until recently, occupied a marginal position within Cinema Studies departments in American universities. From the pioneering shorts of Segundo de Chomón —often nicknamed “the Spanish Méliès”— to the worldwide success of Pedro Almodóvar’s melodramatic and irreverent films that caricature contemporary (Spanish) culture, this course offers both a survey of Spanish film and an introduction to critical thought in the field of Film Studies. We analyze the trajectory of Spanish film beginning in its silent origins in the nineteenth century, passing through the censorship and hegemonic ideology of the Francoist regime, and ending in the years of Spain’s progressive transition to democracy that leads us to the present-day status of Spanish cinema. Along the way, we supplement the shorts and feature-length films with a diverse selection of critical readings that present pertinent historical and cultural contexts, fundamental cinematic concepts, as well as current theoretical debates in Film Studies. We conclude the class by exploring new trends in cinematic productions including short digital cinema, recent developments in new media, and the rise in participatory cinema.

Over the course of the semester students will learn to discuss the technical and stylistic aspects of cinema while developing a theoretical language to think critically about the cultural and historical contexts of Spanish cinema. We interrogate the specificity of cinema as a means of representation (in comparison with literature) and we question the particularities of a cinema “made in Spain.”

Required screenings include films by Segundo de Chomón (Hotel Electric), Luis Buñuel (Un Chien Andalou), Luis Berlanga (Bienvenido Mr. Marshal), Juan Antonio Bardem (Muerte de un ciclista), Carlos Saura (La caza), Victor Erice (El Espítitu de la Colmena), Narciso Ibáñéz Serrador (¿Quien puede matar un niño?), José Luis Borau (Furtivos), Pilar Miró (Crimen de Cuenca), Pedro Almodóvar (Pepe, Luci, Bom, La ley del deseo, Todo sobre mi madre), Julio Medem (La ardilla roja), Alex de la Iglesia (El día de la bestia), and Nacho Villalongos (Cronocrímenes).

Course Materials/Textbooks for this course will be available at the Penn Book CENTER (130 S. 34th Street; (215) 222-7600).

Span 390-401
20th Century Latin American Literature
Prof. Salessi
(See Timetable(s) for time(s))

Prerequisite(s): Spanish 219.

hrough the study of major works of twentieth century Latin American fiction, The course will offer a broad introduction to Latin America’s geographical and natural landscape, its literature, history, art, music, popular culture, and their imaginary constructions. Authors include Gabriel García Márquez, Juan Rulfo, Alejo Carpentier and Manuel Puig. This choice will help cover broad periods, cultures and natural landscapes, from colonial times to the twentieth century, from Mexico to the Caribbean, and from the northern tip of the South American mainland to the Southern cone, the pampas.

Course Materials/Textbooks for this course will be available at the Penn Book CENTER (130 S. 34th Street; (215) 222-7600).

Span 390-402
Literature and Politics in Contemporary Latin American Culture
Prof. Escalante
(See Timetable(s) for time(s))

Prerequisite(s): Spanish 219.

Literature and politics have always been closely related in Latin America. Many Latin American authors have played an important role in politics and many politicians have used literature to illustrate their political projects or as a discourse to attack political and ideological opponents. In some cases, the distinction between literary and political discourses becomes problematical. In this course, we will analyze the representation of power and authority in important contemporary works, the figure of the Latin American intellectual who has the double role of artist and politician, and literature as a subversive, critical discourse against political power. Among the authors to be considered are Simón Bolívar, D.F. Sarmiento, José Martí, Alejo Carpentier, Roa Bastos, Mario Vargas Llosa, Roberto Bolaño, and two films.

Course Materials/Textbooks for this course will be available at the Penn Book CENTER (130 S. 34th Street; (215) 222-7600).

Span 390-403
Mexican other Modernities: Sergio Pitol, Jorge Ibargüengoitia, and Juan García Ponce
Prof. Montoya
(See Timetable(s) for time(s))

Prerequisite(s): Spanish 219.

In this course we will focus on three of the most representative writers of the so-called Mexican “Generación del medio siglo”: Sergio Pitol, Jorge Ibargüengoitia, and Juan García Ponce. We will see how they brought new airs to Mexican and Latin American literature through the exploration of the comic, the grotesque and the erotic -topics that have had a marginal presence in the dominant canon of Latin American literary system.

Course Materials/Textbooks for this course will be available at the Penn Book CENTER (130 S. 34th Street; (215) 222-7600).

Span 390-404
Contemporary Latin American and Spanish Short Stories
Prof. García Serrano
(See Timetable(s) for time(s))

Prerequisite(s): Spanish 219.

In this course we will analyze a selection of short stories written by some of the best known Hispanic authors: Horacio Quiroga, Jorge Luis Borges, Julio Cortázar, Gabriel García Márquez, Augusto Monterroso, Roberto Bolaño, and Quim Monzó. The texts selected explore a variety of issues, such as subjectivity, gender, desire, love, power, fantasy, and language. Readings on contemporary literary theory --structuralism, post-structuralism, reader-response criticism, psychoanalysis, and feminism-- will provide students with analytical and interpretative tools to examine these narratives, especially its ideological underpinnings.

Course Materials/Textbooks for this course will be available at the Penn Book CENTER (130 S. 34th Street; (215) 222-7600).

Span 396-401
Biografía de Buenos Aires
Prof. Salessi
(See Timetable(s) for time(s))

Prerequisite(s): Spanish 219.

The course will trace a history of Buenos Aires as a space of representation. We will explore how the city becomes the site for the writing and re-writing of national and local histories of opportunity, hopes, anxiety and despair. The class will try to answer to questions that arise when looking at spaces. How are they represented? What do we see inside? What has been left out? Which are the spaces different subjects claims as theirs? Why are more spaces more permissive, or repressive, than others?

Course Materials/Textbooks for this course will be available at the Penn Book CENTER (130 S. 34th Street; (215) 222-7600).

Span 396-402
Detectives, Criminals, and Writers in Contemporary Latin American Literature
Prof. Montoya
(See Timetable(s) for time(s))

Prerequisite(s): Spanish 219.

Born as a sub-genre, crime fiction (a denomination which encompasses a wide number of texts: classical detective stories, hard-boiled, true-crimes and the non investigative crime novel) has become one of the most attractive literary forms for writers, and one of the favorites for readers. Because it is built around topics like the crime and the law, the search of the truth and the unstable identity of the subject in mass societies, it has become an ideal vehicle for the expression of the anxieties and fears that dominate the contemporary culture. Its versatility has been used by many Latin-American authors to express the social and political conflicts of the continent, as well as to explore its literary possibilities through formal searches, characterized by parody, meta-literary and auto referential games.

The aims of this course are, on the one hand, to offer a panoramic vision of the crime fiction in Latin America through the reading of some representative authors; and, on the other, to explore how they can be can be read from different theoretical approaches.

Course Materials/Textbooks for this course will be available at the Penn Book CENTER (130 S. 34th Street; (215) 222-7600).

Span 396-403
Views from the Top of the World; An Introduction to Literature and Film of the Andean Region of Latin America
Prof. Knight
(See Timetable(s) for time(s))

Prerequisite(s): Spanish 219.

This course explores important works of literature from the highlands of Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Colombia. Genres covered include the novel, essay, poetry, testimonial, short story, and film. As we progress through the syllabus we will examine how key components of the Latin American experience are manifest in the Andean context. These elements include representations of indigenous people, mestizaje, machismo, women’s roles, the Church, political terrorism, and the struggle for social justice. Among the longer narrative works covered are Aves sin nido by Clorinda Matto de Turner, Huasipungo by Jorge Icaza, and Historia de Mayta by Mario Vargas Llosa, the winner of the 2010 Nobel Prize for literature.

Course Materials/Textbooks for this course will be available at the Penn Book CENTER (130 S. 34th Street; (215) 222-7600).

Span 396-404
Representing Marginalities in Latin American Cinema
Prof. Caballo-Márquez
(See Timetable(s) for time(s))

Prerequisite(s): Spanish 219.

From its early origins, Latin American cinema has been particularly committed to giving visibility to marginality and representing both continental and national sociopolitical problems. Some of the most important cinematic movements of Latin America, such as tercer cine and other manifestations of nuevo cine latinoamericano, or cinema novo, have even found in the social margins a means of representing Latin American identity. A big portion of the more recent Latin American film production is still within that sociopolitical tradition, but the earlier genuine commitment to the political seems to be more blurred and questionable today due to the very nature of globalization and the current global cinematographical markets. In this course we will study a history of Latin American sociopolitical cinema, and through it we will discuss this cinema’s evolutions and involutions, its intricacies regarding social agency, and the different ways in which Latin American cinema represents Otherness as the historical, national, sociopolitical and cinematographical contexts change.

We will study the works of film directors such as Luis Buñuel, Fernando Birri, Fernando Solanas and Octavio Getino, Nelson Pereira dos Santos, Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund, Alejandro González Iñárritu, and Joshua Marston, among others. At the beginning of the semester, students will learn the basic vocabulary and analytical tools necessary to adequately discuss cinema.

Span 396-405
The Country, the City and the Borderland in Contemporary Latin American Literature Prof. Escalante
(See Timetable(s) for time(s))

Prerequisite(s): Spanish 219.

This course focuses on the relationship of space, culture and identity in nineteenth and twentieth century novels. In these works, the opposition between rural and urban spaces is crucial to understand the plot. This opposition is not only geographic but also a cultural; in many cases, it implies the opposition between indigenous and westernized spaces. It also represents an economic opposition; rural spaces are generally the domain of production, natural exploitation while urban spaces are places of commerce and luxury. However, in many novels and short stories this basic set of opposing factors, while remaining part of the general structure, is continually transgressed, either by the existence of intermediate spaces, that cannot not be properly classified as rural or urban, or by a narrative voice which deconstructs this opposition or by the character of a traveler, generally a migrant who does not belong to any of these spaces. We will also discuss the problem of massive migrations in contemporary Latin America and how this event has changed dramatically the relation between the country and the city. Among the authors included are Echevarría, Quiroga, Arguedas, Ribeyro, and films.

Course Materials/Textbooks for this course will be available at the Penn Book CENTER (130 S. 34th Street; (215) 222-7600).