Contacts | Programs of Study | Degree Program in French and Francophone Studies | Minor Program in French and Francophone Studies | Degree Program in Italian Studies | Minor Program in Italian Studies | Degree Program in Spanish Language, Literature, and Culture | Degree Program in Latin American and Iberian Languages, Literatures, and Cultures | Minor Programs in Catalan, Portuguese, or Spanish | Degree Programs in Romance Languages, Literatures, and Cultures (Multiple Languages) | Minor Program in Romance Languages, Literatures, and Cultures (Multiple Languages) | Basque Courses | Catalan Courses | French Courses | Italian Courses | Kreyol Courses | Portuguese/Luso-Brazilian Courses | Romance Languages and Literatures Courses | Spanish Courses
Department Website: http://rll.uchicago.edu
Listhosts: Spanish and HLBS: rll-spundergrad@lists.uchicago.edu; Italian: rll-itundergrad@lists.uchicago.edu; French and Francophone Studies: rll-frundergrad@uchicago.edu
Programs of Study
The Department of Romance Languages and Literatures (RLLT) offers several programs of study leading to the BA degree in French, Italian, or Spanish literature and culture; or in some combination, which may include Catalan, Portuguese, Basque, Haitian Creole (Kreyòl), or non-Romance languages of the Iberian Peninsula, the Caribbean, and Latin America. The BA programs are designed to give students knowledge of the literature and culture of their area of concentration, as well as to develop their linguistic competence in one or more of the Romance languages.
Students in other fields of study may also complete a minor in RLLT. Information follows the description of the major.
Courses in the major may not be counted toward general education requirements. For courses that are not taken as part of a University of Chicago study abroad program, students must petition for elective credit from the College before requesting departmental credit. Advanced language students should consider taking special topic courses at the 20000 and 30000 levels. Some of these courses may require consent of the instructor. In addition to the courses offered in this catalog, please check the UChicago Summer Session website for courses that may be offered each summer.
Degree Program in French and Francophone Studies
Program Requirements
Students who elect the major program must contact the French undergraduate adviser before the end of Spring Quarter of their third year to declare their intention to complete the major and to complete the required paperwork. Students are strongly encouraged to build their own program in consultation with the French undergraduate adviser. Students must submit to the departmental office an approval form for the major program signed by the French undergraduate adviser by the end of Spring Quarter of their third year.
The major program in French consists of ten courses beyond FREN 20300 Language, History, and Culture III. One course must be FREN 20500 Ecrire en français or FREN 20503 Modes De Raisonnement Francais (taught in Paris). The remaining courses should be upper-level courses in or related to French, and determined according to the student’s interests and with approval from the French Undergraduate Adviser.
All students must take at least one departmental course at the introductory level. Introductory-level courses (as designated in the course title or description) are designed as “gateway” courses that provide foundations for the major and are suitable for students who have just completed the advanced language requirement. All students must also take at least two courses that include pre-nineteenth-century material.
The program offers a number of introductory, bilingual, and cross-listed literature/cultural courses that are open to students before FREN 20500 and that can count toward the major. Please ask the undergraduate adviser for details.
Students have the flexibility to explore their own interests while developing in-depth knowledge of the language, literature, society, and culture of the Francophone world. The department offers a wide range of courses in language, literature, theater, visual arts, cinema, and music. Departmental courses allow students to gain advanced proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing French and to understand the historical, social, and cultural complexity of France and the Francophone world. Students are encouraged to discuss their course selections with the French undergraduate adviser.
All students must take a majority of their courses in the department but are encouraged to explore appropriate course offerings in History, Political Science, Sociology, Art History, Cinema and Media Studies, Music, and Theater and Performance Studies and seek approval from the French undergraduate adviser to include non-RLLT courses in their major.
Study Abroad
Students are encouraged to participate in the College's study abroad programs in France. Many of these programs confer major or minor credit, including the courses in the summer Advanced French program. The three civilization courses in the French-language European Civilization in Paris program can be used for credit in the French major or minor, assuming a student is not using these courses to fulfill the general education civilization studies requirement. The three courses from the Autumn Quarter African Civilizations in Paris program or the three courses from the Winter Quarter Cinema and Media Studies program in Paris can be used for credit (if they are not being used to meet the general education requirements in civilization studies or the arts). The three courses from the Winter Quarter Middle Eastern Civilizations program in Morocco or the three courses from the Winter Quarter African Civilization program in Dakar can also be used for credit if they are not being used to meet the general education requirements in civilization studies or the arts. Further information is available from the Study Abroad office or at study-abroad.uchicago.edu.
Students may also petition for credit for other courses taken at the University of Chicago Center in Paris, depending on the course content, or for courses taken at other institutions (for instance, at French universities as part of the year-long study abroad program), subject to College procedures and departmental approval. Up to four courses taken at other institutions can be counted toward the major with the approval of the French undergraduate adviser.
Grading
French majors must receive quality grades in all required courses. Non-majors may take departmental courses for P/F grading with consent of instructor. However, all language courses must be taken for a quality grade.
Honors
To qualify for honors, students must have an overall GPA of 3.25 or higher and an average GPA of 3.5 or higher in the major. They must also submit a completed BA paper to their adviser no later than Friday of fifth week of Spring Quarter of their fourth year. Students with papers judged superior by the BA paper adviser and another faculty reader will be recommended to the Master of the Humanities Collegiate Division for honors. Only students who wish to be considered for honors are required to write a BA paper.
Students who wish to complete a BA paper are strongly encouraged to register for FREN 29901 Academic Research and Writing in Winter Quarter. If FREN 29901 is not offered, students may instead take FREN 29900 BA Paper Preparation: French. Students seeking honors may count either of these courses towards their course requirements; they must be taken for a quality grade. The BA paper typically is a research paper with a minimum of 15–20 pages, as agreed upon with the BA advisor, and a bibliography written in the language of specialization.
Students must seek permission from their BA paper adviser to use a single paper or project to meet both the major requirements of Romance Languages and Literatures and those of another department or program. Students must also obtain the approval of both program chairs on a form available from the College adviser, to be completed and returned to the College adviser by the end of Autumn Quarter of the student's year of graduation.
Summary of Requirements: Major Program in French and Francophone Studies
One of the following: | 100 | |
Ecrire en français | ||
Modes De Raisonnement Francais | ||
Nine courses in advanced language, literature, or culture (FREN 20601 or above) * | 900 | |
BA paper (if the student wishes to qualify for honors) ** | ||
Total Units | 1000 |
* | This must include at least one introductory-level course and at least two courses which include pre-nineteenth-century material. While the majority of courses must be taken in the department, up to three courses may be taken outside the department and up to four courses may be taken at other institutions. Courses must include a French language component. FREN 23333 Reading French for Research Purposes can be counted on a case-by-case basis and with approval from the French Undergraduate Adviser. Courses in KREY may be considered upon consulation with the French Undergraduate Adviser. |
** | Students writing a BA honors paper may include FREN 29900 BA Paper Preparation: French or FREN 29901 Academic Research and Writing as one of their literature and culture courses. |
Sample Program: Major in French and Francophone Studies
FREN 20500 | Ecrire en français | 100 |
FREN 20601 | Expression orale et phonétique | 100 |
KREY 21600 | Francophone Caribbean Culture and Society: Art, Music, and Cinema | 100 |
FREN 22203 | The Literary Avant-Garde | 100 |
FREN 23444 | Voyages littéraires, XXe-XXIe siècles (introductory-level course) | 100 |
FREN 24100 | Nature and the Natural in the Middle Ages | 100 |
FREN 25000 | Molière: Comedy, Power and Subversion (pre-19th century course) | 100 |
FREN 25505 | Grandes voix féminines des Lettres africaines | 100 |
FREN 25910 | Racine (pre-19th century course) | 100 |
FREN 29901 | Academic Research and Writing | 100 |
BA Paper (if the student wishes to qualify for honors) | ||
Total Units | 1000 |
Minor Program in French and Francophone Studies
Students who elect the minor program must contact the French undergraduate adviser before the end of Spring Quarter of their third year to declare their intention to complete the minor. Students are strongly encouraged to build their own program in consultation with the undergraduate adviser. Students must submit to the departmental office the Consent to Complete a Minor Program form signed by the French undergraduate adviser.
Courses in the minor (1) may not be double counted with the student's major(s) or with other minors and (2) may not be counted toward general education requirements. Courses in the minor must be taken for a quality grade. Students must complete a substantial part of the course work (e.g., readings, writing) in French in order to receive credit.
The minor program in French and Francophone Studies requires a total of six courses beyond the second-year language sequence (FREN 20100-20200-20300 French Language, History, and Culture I-II-III). One course must be FREN 20500 Ecrire en français or FREN 20503 Modes De Raisonnement Francais. The remaining courses must consist of five courses in advanced language (20601 and above), literature, society, and culture, including at least one introductory-level course in French. At least one of the courses (at any level) must include pre-nineteenth-century material. With approval from the French undergraduate adviser, one course may be taken outside the department and up to two courses may be taken at other institutions (for instance, at French universities as part of the year-long study abroad program). The program offers a number of introductory, bilingual, and cross-listed literature/cultural courses that are open to students before FREN 20500 and that can count toward the minor. Please ask the undergraduate adviser for details.
Summary of Requirements: Minor in French and Francophone Studies
One of the following: | 100 | |
Ecrire en français | ||
Modes De Raisonnement Francais | ||
Five courses in French language (20601 and above*), literature, culture, and society, including at least one introductory-level course in French and at least one including pre-nineteenth-century material. Students may receive credit for one course taken outside the department, in consultation with the undergraduate adviser. With approval from the undergraduate adviser, up to two courses may be taken at other institutions. | 500 | |
Total Units | 600 |
* | FREN 23333 Reading French for Research Purposes can be counted on a case-by-case basis and with approval from the French Undergraduate Adviser. Courses in KREY may be considered upon consultation with the French Undergraduate Adviser. |
Sample Program: Minor in French and Francophone Studies
FREN 20500 | Ecrire en français | 100 |
FREN 21601 | Francophone Caribbean Culture and Society: Art, Music, and Cinema | 100 |
FREN 23406 | Contemporary French Cinema | 100 |
FREN 25910 | Racine (pre-19th century course) | 100 |
FREN 26003 | Introduction à l'autobiographie (introductory-level course) | 100 |
FREN 28410 | Ecrire le « Printemps arabe » au Maghreb : témoignages et perspectives littéraires | 100 |
Total Units | 600 |
Degree Program in Italian Studies
Program Requirements
Students who elect the major program must meet with the Italian undergraduate adviser before the end of Spring Quarter of their third year to declare their intention to complete the major and to complete the required paperwork. Students are strongly encouraged to build their own program in consultation with the undergraduate adviser. Students must submit to the departmental office an approval form for the major program signed by the Italian undergraduate adviser by the end of Spring Quarter of their third year.
The program in Italian consists of ten courses beyond ITAL 20300 Language, History, and Culture III, and is aimed at developing a broad knowledge of the field through the close study of major works and the critical techniques appropriate to their interpretation. These courses must include ITAL 20400 Corso di perfezionamento. The nine remaining courses should be upper-level courses in or related to Italian. Any of these courses may be courses in advanced Italian language beyond ITAL 20400 Corso di perfezionamento. Four of these nine courses may be on Italian cultural topics taken outside of the department with approval from the Italian undergraduate adviser.
Study Abroad
Students are encouraged to participate in the College's study abroad program in Italy. Further information is available from the Study Abroad office or at study-abroad.uchicago.edu.
Grading
Italian majors must receive quality grades in all required courses. Non-majors may take departmental courses for P/F grading with consent of instructor. However, all language courses must be taken for a quality grade.
Honors
To qualify for honors, students must have an overall GPA of 3.25 or higher and an average GPA of 3.5 or higher in the major. They must also submit a completed BA paper to their adviser no later than Friday of fifth week of Spring Quarter of their fourth year. Students with papers judged superior by the BA paper adviser and another faculty reader will be recommended to the Master of the Humanities Collegiate Division for honors. Only students who wish to be considered for honors are required to write a BA paper.
Students who wish to complete a BA paper are strongly encouraged to register for ITAL 29901 Academic Research and Writing in Winter Quarter. If ITAL 29901 is not offered, students may instead take ITAL 29900 BA Paper Preparation: Italian. Students seeking honors may count either of these courses towards their course requirements; they must be taken for a quality grade. The BA paper typically is a research paper with a minimum of 15–20 pages, as agreed upon with the BA adviser, and a bibliography written in the language of specialization.
Students must seek permission from their BA paper adviser to use a single paper or project to meet both the major requirements of Romance Languages and Literatures and those of another department or program. Students must also obtain the approval of both program chairs on a form available from the College adviser, to be completed and returned to the College adviser by the end of Autumn Quarter of the student's year of graduation.
Summary of Requirements: Major in Italian Studies
ITAL 20400 | Corso di perfezionamento | 100 |
Nine upper-level courses in or related to Italian * | 900 | |
BA paper (if the student wishes to qualify for honors) ** | ||
Total Units | 1000 |
* | Any of the nine may be courses in advanced Italian language beyond ITAL 20400. Up to four of the nine may be courses on Italian cultural topics taken outside of the department with approval from the Italian undergraduate adviser. |
** | Students writing a BA honors paper may include ITAL 29900 BA Paper Preparation: Italian or ITAL 29901 Academic Research and Writing as one of their upper-level courses. |
Minor Program in Italian Studies
Students who elect the minor program must meet with the Italian undergraduate adviser before the end of Spring Quarter of their third year to declare their intention to complete the minor. Students are strongly encouraged to build their own program in consultation with the Italian undergraduate adviser. Students must submit to the departmental office the Consent to Complete a Minor Program form signed by the Italian undergraduate adviser.
Courses in the minor (1) may not be double counted with the student's major(s) or with other minors and (2) may not be counted toward general education requirements. Courses in the minor must be taken for a quality grade. Students must complete a substantial part of the course work (e.g., readings, writing) in Italian in order to receive credit.
The minor in Italian requires a total of six courses beyond ITAL 20300 Language, History, and Culture III. One of the six courses must be ITAL 20400 Corso di perfezionamento. The five remaining courses in the minor will be upper-level courses in Italian. Any of these may be courses in advanced Italian language beyond ITAL 20400 Corso di perfezionamento. Up to three courses may be on Italian cultural topics taken outside of the department, with approval from the Italian undergraduate adviser.
Summary of Requirements: Minor in Italian Studies
ITAL 20400 | Corso di perfezionamento | 100 |
Five upper-level Italian courses * | 500 | |
Total Units | 600 |
* | Any of these may be courses in advanced Italian language beyond ITAL 20400. Up to three of these courses may be on Italian cultural topics taken outside of the department, with approval from the Italian undergraduate adviser. |
Undergraduate Programs in Hispanic and Luso-Brazilian Studies (HLBS)
The major and minor programs in Spanish, Portuguese, and Catalan prepare students to succeed in a multilingual and multicultural world. Students will be provided with the knowledge and critical skills necessary to understand and engage with the vastly diverse societies and cultural histories of Iberia and Latin America, while also learning how to read and analyze texts with rigor and insight, write carefully and with well-supported arguments, and refine their written and oral expression.
Interdisciplinary Study
Students may choose from a wide range of courses in Iberian and Latin American languages, literatures, and cultures—including Basque, Catalan, Portuguese, and Spanish—and courses taught by visiting faculty from abroad. Some of our students concentrate on more than one language, in several adaptable combinations. Our students are often double majors who bring to the classroom a multiplicity of perspectives that enrich our interdisciplinary approach to the study of language, literature, and culture. Moreover, many of our majors and minors take cross-listed courses that focus on cinema and media studies, art history, Latino studies, music, and Latin American history, among others.
Study Abroad
Students are encouraged to participate in the College's study abroad programs in Mexico or Spain. The three civilization courses in the Spanish-language Civilization in the Western Mediterranean program in Barcelona can be used for credit in the Spanish major or minor, if these courses are not used to fulfill the general education civilization studies requirement. Further information is available from the Study Abroad office or at study-abroad.uchicago.edu.
Program Requirements
Students who elect the major program must meet with the HLBS undergraduate adviser before the end of Spring Quarter of their third year to declare their intention to complete the major and to complete the required paperwork. Students are strongly encouraged to choose their track and build their own program in consultation with the HLBS undergraduate adviser. Students must submit to the departmental office an approval form for the major program signed by the HLBS adviser by the end of Spring Quarter of their third year.
Degree Program in Spanish Language, Literature, and Culture
The program in Spanish consists of ten courses beyond SPAN 20300 Language, History, and Culture III, and is aimed at developing an academic command of the language as well as a broad knowledge of the field of Spanish and Spanish-American literatures and cultures through the close study of major works and the critical techniques appropriate to their interpretation. These courses must include two to four advanced language courses. Students must also take three to four survey courses in the history of the literature (SPAN 21705 Iberian Literatures and Cultures: Medieval and Early Modern, SPAN 21805 Iberian Literatures and Cultures: Modern and Contemporary, SPAN 21905 Latin American Literatures and Cultures: Colonial and 19th-Century, or SPAN 22005 Latin American Literatures and Cultures: 20th and 21st Centuries, which may be taken in any order), plus three to six additional courses in literature and culture. In courses not taught in Spanish, students must complete a substantial part of the course work (e.g., readings, writing, LxC sessions) in Spanish in order to receive credit.
Grading
HLBS majors must receive quality grades in all required courses. Non-majors may take departmental courses for P/F grading with consent of instructor. However, all language courses must be taken for a quality grade.
Honors
To qualify for honors, students must have an overall GPA of 3.25 or higher and an average GPA of 3.5 or higher in the major. They must also submit a completed BA paper to their adviser no later than Friday of fifth week of Spring Quarter of their fourth year. Students with papers judged superior by the BA paper adviser and another faculty reader will be recommended to the Master of the Humanities Collegiate Division for honors. Only students who wish to be considered for honors are required to write a BA paper.
Students who wish to complete a BA paper in Spanish are strongly encouraged to register for SPAN 29901 Academic Research and Writing in Winter Quarter. If SPAN 29901 is not offered, students may instead take SPAN 29900 BA Paper Preparation: Spanish. Those who wish to write a BA paper in Catalan or Portuguese may take CATA 29900 BA Paper Preparation: Catalan or PORT 29900 BA Paper Preparation: Portuguese. Students seeking honors may count these courses towards their course requirements; they must be taken for a quality grade. The BA paper typically is a research paper with a minimum of twenty pages and a bibliography written in the language of specialization.
Students must seek permission from their BA paper adviser to use a single paper or project to meet both the major requirements of Romance Languages and Literatures and those of another department or program. A significant and logical section of the BA paper must be written in the appropriate Romance language in consultation with the student's BA paper adviser. Students must also obtain the approval of both program chairs on a form available from the College adviser. The form must be completed and returned to the College adviser by the end of Autumn Quarter of the student's year of graduation.
Summary of Requirements: Major in Spanish Language, Literature, and Culture
A total of ten courses from the following: | 1000 | |
Two to four language courses: | ||
Gramática avanzada y cultura contemporánea para la argumentación I | ||
Curso de redacción académica para hablantes nativos | ||
Gramática avanzada y cultura contemporánea para la argumentación II | ||
Discurso académico para hablantes nativos | ||
Three to four survey courses: | ||
Iberian Literatures and Cultures: Medieval and Early Modern | ||
Iberian Literatures and Cultures: Modern and Contemporary | ||
Latin American Literatures and Cultures: Colonial and 19th-Century | ||
Latin American Literatures and Cultures: 20th and 21st Centuries | ||
Three to six additional courses in Spanish literature and culture | ||
BA paper (if the student wishes to qualify for honors) * | ||
Total Units | 1000 |
* | Students writing a BA honors paper may include SPAN 29900 BA Paper Preparation: Spanish or SPAN 29901 Academic Research and Writing as one of their literature and culture courses. |
Degree Program in Latin American and Iberian Languages, Literatures, and Cultures
The program in Latin American and Iberian Languages, Literatures, and Cultures (i.e., in more than one HLBS literature) consists of ten courses and is aimed at developing an academic command of at least one Latin American and/or Iberian language, and at least a basic knowledge of a second language, as well as a broad knowledge of the field through the close study of major works and the critical techniques appropriate for their interpretation. These courses must include two to four advanced language courses, with at least one in each of the languages selected by the student. Students must also take six to eight additional courses in the respective Iberian and/or Latin American literatures and cultures (with at least three of the ten courses in the second Latin American or Iberian language). In courses not taught in the target language, students must complete a substantial part of the course work (e.g., readings, writing, LxC sessions) in that language in order to receive credit.
Summary of Requirements: Major in Latin American and Iberian Languages, Literatures, and Cultures
A total of ten courses from the following: * | 1000 | |
Two to four language courses: at least one advanced language course in one HLBS language (Basque, Catalan, Portuguese, or Spanish) and the completion of at least the first-year language sequence (or equivalent) in a second Latin American or Iberian language | ||
Six to eight additional courses in Latin American and/or Iberian languages, literatures, and cultures | ||
BA paper (if the student wishes to qualify for honors) ** | ||
Total Units | 1000 |
* | At least three of the 10 courses have to be in a second Latin American or Iberian language. |
** | Students writing a BA honors paper may include CATA 29900 BA Paper Preparation: Catalan, PORT 29900 BA Paper Preparation: Portuguese, SPAN 29900 BA Paper Preparation: Spanish, or SPAN 29901 Academic Research and Writing as one of their literature and culture courses. |
Sample Program for: Major in Latin American and Iberian Languages, Literatures, and Cultures
Two to four language courses: at least one advanced language course in one HLBS language (Basque, Catalan, Portuguese, or Spanish) and the completion of at least the first-year language sequence (or equivalent) in a second Latin American or Iberian language | 200-400 | |
Llengua, societat i cultura I | ||
Composição e Conversação Avançada | ||
Curso de redacción académica para hablantes nativos | ||
Discurso académico para hablantes nativos | ||
Six to eight additional courses in Latin American and/or Iberian languages, literatures, and cultures | 600-800 | |
Ecocritical Perspectives in Latin American Literature and Film | ||
The Amazon: Literature, Culture, Environment | ||
Literature and Society in Brazil | ||
Iberian Literatures and Cultures: Medieval and Early Modern | ||
Golden Age Poetry. Theory and Practice of Lyric Reading | ||
Theater and Performance in Latin America | ||
Academic Research and Writing | ||
BA paper | ||
Total Units | 1000 |
Minor Programs in Catalan, Portuguese, or Spanish
Students who elect the minor program in Catalan, Portuguese, or Spanish must meet with the HLBS undergraduate adviser before the end of Spring Quarter of their third year to declare their intention to complete the minor. Students are strongly encouraged to build their own program in consultation with the HLBS adviser. Students must submit to the departmental office the Consent to Complete a Minor Program form signed by the appropriate HLBS adviser.
Courses in the minor (1) may not be double counted with the student's major(s) or with other minors and (2) may not be counted toward general education requirements. Courses in the minor must be taken for a quality grade. Students must complete a substantial part of the course work (e.g., readings, writing, LxC sessions) in the appropriate language in order to receive credit.
Catalan
The minor in Catalan requires a total of six courses beyond second-year language. One or two courses must be advanced language courses (CATA 21100 Llengua, societat i cultura I or CATA 21200 Llengua, societat i cultura II). The balance must consist of four to five literature and culture courses.
Summary of Requirements: Minor in Catalan
A total of six courses from the following: | 600 | |
One or two advanced language courses: | ||
Llengua, societat i cultura I | ||
Llengua, societat i cultura II | ||
Four to five additional courses in Catalan literature and culture | ||
Total Units | 600 |
Portuguese
The minor in Portuguese requires a total of six courses beyond second-year language. One or two courses must be advanced language courses (above 20100). The balance must consist of four to five literature and culture courses.
Summary of Requirements: Minor in Portuguese
A total of six courses from the following: | 600 | |
One or two advanced language courses: | ||
Cultura do Mundo Lusófono | ||
Composição e Conversação Avançada | ||
Curso de Aperfeiçoamento | ||
Four or five additional courses in Luso-Brazilian literature and culture | ||
Total Units | 600 |
Spanish
The minor in Spanish requires a total of six courses beyond second-year language. One or two courses must be advanced language courses (above 20300). The balance must consist of four to five literature and culture courses, including at least two in the survey sequence.
Summary of Requirements: Minor in Spanish
A total of six courses from the following: | 600 | |
One or two advanced language courses: | ||
Gramática avanzada y cultura contemporánea para la argumentación I | ||
Curso de redacción académica para hablantes nativos | ||
Gramática avanzada y cultura contemporánea para la argumentación II | ||
Discurso académico para hablantes nativos | ||
Four to five courses from the following: | ||
Two or three survey courses: | ||
Iberian Literatures and Cultures: Medieval and Early Modern | ||
Iberian Literatures and Cultures: Modern and Contemporary | ||
Latin American Literatures and Cultures: Colonial and 19th-Century | ||
Latin American Literatures and Cultures: 20th and 21st Centuries | ||
Two or three additional Spanish literature and culture courses | ||
Total Units | 600 |
Degree Programs in Romance Languages, Literatures, and Cultures (Multiple Languages)
This major is designed to accommodate the needs and interests of students who would like to broaden their linguistic, literary, and cultural experience beyond the scope of monolingual programs. Romance languages have never existed in isolation and, now more than ever, we live in a globalized society that traverses linguistic borders. This major prepares students to flourish in an increasingly multicultural and multilingual world. In addition, movements of migration and territorial expansion make the domain of Romance languages one of porous borders. The BA program in Romance languages therefore also welcomes students to study additional languages (Basque, Creole, Quechua).
The major program in Romance Languages, Literatures, and Cultures consists of ten courses beyond the second-year language sequences. Linguistic competence in at least two Romance languages, non-Romance languages of the Iberian Peninsula, or languages of the Caribbean or Latin America, is assumed.
Students who elect a major program in Romance Languages, Literatures, and Cultures must meet with the undergraduate adviser in each relevant language/literature before the end of Spring Quarter of their third year to declare their intention to complete the major and to complete the required paperwork. Students are strongly encouraged to build their own program in consultation with relevant RLLT undergraduate advisers. Students must submit to the departmental office an approval form for the major program signed by relevant RLLT undergraduate advisers by the end of Spring Quarter of their third year.
Grading
RLLT majors must receive quality grades in all required courses. Non-majors may take departmental courses for P/F grading with consent of instructor. However, all language courses must be taken for a quality grade.
Honors
To qualify for honors, students must have an overall GPA of 3.25 or higher and an average GPA of 3.5 or higher in the major. They must also submit a completed BA paper to their adviser no later than Friday of fifth week of Spring Quarter of their fourth year. Students with papers judged superior by the BA paper adviser and another faculty reader will be recommended to the Master of the Humanities Collegiate Division for honors. Only RLLT students who wish to be considered for honors are required to write a BA paper.
Students should select a faculty supervisor for the BA paper early in Autumn Quarter of their fourth year. During Autumn or Winter Quarter they may register for CATA 29900 BA Paper Preparation: Catalan, ITAL 29900 BA Paper Preparation: Italian, FREN 29900 BA Paper Preparation: French, PORT 29900 BA Paper Preparation: Portuguese, or SPAN 29900 BA Paper Preparation: Spanish with the faculty member chosen to direct the writing of the BA paper. Students writing a BA paper in French, Italian, or Spanish are strongly encouraged to take FREN 29901 Academic Research and Writing, ITAL 29901 Academic Research and Writing, or SPAN 29901 Academic Research and Writing if this course is offered, in lieu of FREN/ITAL/SPAN 29900 BA Paper Preparation. Students seeking honors may count one of these courses towards their course requirements; it must be taken for a quality grade. The BA paper typically is a research paper with a minimum of twenty pages and a bibliography written in the language of specialization. It should engage with sources and scholarship from one or multiple fields and literatures.
Students must seek permission from their BA paper adviser to use a single paper or project to meet both the major requirements of Romance Languages and Literatures and those of another department or program. A significant and logical section of the BA paper must be written in the appropriate Romance language in consultation with the student's BA paper adviser. Students must also obtain the approval of both program chairs on a form available from the College adviser. The form must be completed and returned to the College adviser by the end of Autumn Quarter of the student's year of graduation.
Summary of Requirements: Major in Romance Languages, Literatures, and Cultures (Multiple Languages)
A total of ten courses from the following: | 1000 | |
Two to four advanced language courses in at least two Romance languages (Basque*, Catalan, French, Haitian Creole (Kreyòl), Italian, Portuguese, or Spanish) | ||
Six to eight additional courses in Romance literatures and cultures, with at least two courses in two different Romance languages | ||
BA paper (if the student wishes to qualify for honors) ** | ||
Total Units | 1000 |
* | BASQ 29700 Readings in Special Topics or other advanced language Basque course if available |
** | Students writing a BA honors paper may include CATA 29900 BA Paper Preparation: Catalan, FREN 29900 BA Paper Preparation: French, FREN 29901 Academic Research and Writing, ITAL 29900 BA Paper Preparation: Italian, ITAL 29901 Academic Research and Writing, PORT 29900 BA Paper Preparation: Portuguese, SPAN 29900 BA Paper Preparation: Spanish, or SPAN 29901 Academic Research and Writing as one of their literature courses. |
Sample Program for Major in Romance Languages, Literatures, and Cultures (Multiple Languages)
Two to four advanced language courses in at least two Romance languages: | 200-400 | |
Corso di perfezionamento | ||
Translating Italian Comics: Discovering 20th- and 21st-Century Language and Culture | ||
Composição e Conversação Avançada | ||
Curso de Aperfeiçoamento | ||
Six to eight additional courses in Romance literatures and cultures, with at least two courses in two different Romance languages: | 600-800 | |
Machiavelli and Machiavellism | ||
Reading and Practice of the Short Story | ||
Italy and the Bomb | ||
Ecocritical Perspectives in Latin American Literature and Film | ||
The Amazon: Literature, Culture, Environment | ||
Literature and Society in Brazil | ||
BA paper | ||
Total Units | 1000 |
Minor Program in Romance Languages, Literatures, and Cultures (Multiple Languages)
This minor is designed to accommodate the needs and interests of students who would like to broaden their linguistic, literary, and cultural experience beyond the scope of monolingual programs. Romance languages have never existed in isolation and, now more than ever, we live in a globalized society that traverses linguistic borders. This minor prepares students to flourish in an increasingly multicultural and multilingual world. In addition, movements of migration and territorial expansion make the domain of Romance languages one of porous borders.
The minor program in Romance Languages, Literatures, and Cultures consists of six courses in beyond the second-year language sequences. It is designed to accommodate the needs and interests of students who would like to broaden their linguistic and literary experience. Linguistic competence in at least two Romance languages is assumed.
Students who elect this minor program must meet with the undergraduate adviser in each relevant language/literature before the end of Spring Quarter of their third year to declare their intention to complete the minor and to complete the required paperwork. Students are strongly encouraged to build their own program in consultation with each relevant RLLT undergraduate adviser. Students must submit to the departmental office the Consent to Complete a Minor Program form signed by all relevant RLLT undergraduate advisers by the end of Spring Quarter of their third year.
Courses in the minor (1) may not be double counted with the student's major(s) or with other minors and (2) may not be counted toward general education requirements. Courses in the minor must be taken for a quality grade. Students must complete a substantial part of the course work (e.g., readings, writing) in the target language in order to receive credit.
Students must take at least one advanced language course in each relevant language. The rest of the minor is designed in consultation with the undergraduate adviser/s.
Summary of Requirements: Minor in Romance Languages, Literatures, and Cultures
A total of six courses from the following: | 600 | |
At least two advanced language courses (one per relevant language): | ||
Readings in Special Topics | ||
Llengua, societat i cultura I | ||
Llengua, societat i cultura II | ||
Ecrire en français | ||
or FREN 20503 | Modes De Raisonnement Francais | |
Expression orale et phonétique | ||
Expression orale : Décrire l'art moderne et contemporain en français | ||
Corso di perfezionamento | ||
L'Italia di oggi: Contemporary Italian Society and Culture | ||
Cinema italiano: lingua e cultura | ||
Translating Italian Comics: Discovering 20th- and 21st-Century Language and Culture | ||
Kreyòl for Speakers of Romance Languages I | ||
Language Identity and Power in French-Creolophone Contexts | ||
Cultura do Mundo Lusófono | ||
Composição e Conversação Avançada | ||
Curso de Aperfeiçoamento | ||
Gramática avanzada y cultura contemporánea para la argumentación I | ||
Curso de redacción académica para hablantes nativos | ||
Gramática avanzada y cultura contemporánea para la argumentación II | ||
Discurso académico para hablantes nativos | ||
Remaining courses may be selected in consultation with the relevant undergraduate advisers | ||
Total Units | 600 |
Sample Program 1: Minor in Romance Languages, Literatures, and Cultures (Catalan and Spanish)
Six courses, with at least one advanced language course per relevant language: | 600 | |
Llengua, societat i cultura I | ||
Alone in the Mountains: Tales of Freedom and Violence in Contemporary Catalan Literature | ||
Readings in Special Topics | ||
Gramática avanzada y cultura contemporánea para la argumentación I | ||
Latin American Literatures and Cultures: Colonial and 19th-Century | ||
Ecocritical Perspectives in Latin American Literature and Film | ||
Total Units | 600 |
Sample Program 2: Minor in Romance Languages, Literatures, and Cultures (Catalan, French, Italian, and Portuguese)
Six courses, with at least one advanced language course per relevant language: | 600 | |
Llengua, societat i cultura I | ||
Ecrire en français | ||
Expression orale et phonétique | ||
Corso di perfezionamento | ||
Translating Italian Comics: Discovering 20th- and 21st-Century Language and Culture | ||
Composição e Conversação Avançada | ||
Total Units | 600 |
Basque Courses
Language
Must be taken for a quality grade. No auditors are permitted.
BASQ 12000-12100-12200. Elementary Basque I-II-III.
Elementary Basque I-II-III
BASQ 12000. Elementary Basque I. 100 Units.
First of the three basic-language sequence in Basque language. It provides students with a solid foundation in the basic patterns of spoken and written Basque (e.g., grammar, vocabulary, sociolinguistic norms) and emphasizes all four skills: speaking, listening, writing, and reading. This course is intended for students with no previous exposure to Basque and for those who need an in-depth review of the patterns of the language.
Terms Offered: Autumn
BASQ 12100. Elementary Basque II. 100 Units.
Second segment of the first-year course sequence in Basque language. It provides students with a solid foundation in the basic patterns of spoken and written Basque (e.g., grammar, vocabulary, sociolinguistic norms) and emphasizes all four skills: speaking, listening, writing, and reading.
Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): BASQ 12000 or consent of instructor.
BASQ 12200. Elementary Basque III. 100 Units.
Third and final segment of the basic-language Basque sequence. It provides students with a solid foundation in the basic patterns of spoken and written Basque (e.g., grammar, vocabulary, sociolinguistic norms) and emphasizes all four skills: speaking, listening, writing, and reading.
Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): BASQ 12100 or consent of instructor.
Literature and Culture
BASQ 21100. Basque Culture and Society. 100 Units.
Straddling the border of southern France and northern Spain, the Basque Country is the home of a complex national community without a state -but with a language that is unrelated to any other in the world and is perhaps the most remarkable feature of their cultural identity. Through the analysis of a wide variety of texts and artifacts, this course will give students the the background to navigate through different dimensions of Basque culture (traditions, gastronomy, music, the language) as well as the history that has marked the development of Basque society (including the so-called Basque Conflict).
Terms Offered: Winter
Note(s): Taught in English. Prior knowledge of Basque language or culture not required.
Equivalent Course(s): GLST 21100, SPAN 21101
BASQ 24700. Introduction to Basque Culture. 100 Units.
Straddling the border of southern France and northern Spain, the land of the Basques has long been home to a people who had no country of their own but have always viewed themselves as a nation. No one has ever been able to find their roots, and their peculiar language is not related to any other in the world, but they have managed to keep their mysterious identity alive, even if many other civilizations tried to blot it out. The aim of this course is to create real situations that will enable the students to learn the meaning of Basque culture. It will be a guided tour throughout Basque history and society. Students will learn about the mysterious origins of the language; they will visit the most beautiful places of the Basque country; they will get to know and appreciate Basque traditions, gastronomy, music . . . and most importantly, they will be able to compare and contrast their own cultures and share their ideas during the lessons, creating an enriching atmosphere full of entertaining activities, such as listening to music, reading legends and tales, watching documentaries, and much more.
Note(s): This course will be conducted in English. Prior knowledge of Basque language or culture is not required. Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): GLST 24700, SPAN 24701
BASQ 24710. Spanish Cinema-Basque Cinema. 100 Units.
This course explores Basque cinema from its beginnings to our days while also reviewing Spanish cinema from a Basque point of view. Among other topics, the course will explore the nationalist imaginary and its influence in film, the centrality of gender (and motherly) representations in Basque cinema, Basque films' recent tendency to become Spanish blockbusters outselling Hollywood, and allusions to the Basque Country in Spanish cinema.
Note(s): Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): SPAN 24716, CMLT 23810
BASQ 24730. The Revitalization of the Basque Language. 100 Units.
In the last 30 years, the Basque language has seen an increase in the number of speakers, especially among younger groups. The implementation of several language and cultural policies, along with a transformation in the educational system, has been key to this development. In this course we will explore these revitalizing practices used in the Basque Country by analyzing the sociolinguistic situation of Basque language from the transition to democracy in the late 1970s to the present.
Terms Offered: Spring
Note(s): Taught in English.
Equivalent Course(s): LING 24730, SPAN 24730
BASQ 29300. El ciclo de cuentos en la ficción ibérica contemporánea. 100 Units.
Short stories are usually read as discrete pieces of writing, valued for their individuality and the completeness of their effect on readers. However, they are not always presented in complete isolation, but come inserted in collections where the company of other stories may create connections similar to those found in larger works of fiction (to the extent that certain groups of short stories can almost be read like novels). The collection of stories has a long literary tradition, but in the last century a particular form -the so called short story cycle- has emerged as a way of testing the boundaries of extended narratives. In this course, and through the study of a number of books representative of the short story cycle in Iberian literatures, we will explore the poetics of fiction (short and long) and the formal and interpretative challenges presented by the genre.
Instructor(s): Mario Santana Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 20300 or consent of instructor
Note(s): Taught in Spanish. Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): SPAN 29300, SPAN 39300, CATA 29300
BASQ 29700. Readings in Special Topics. 100 Units.
This course is a study of advanced language or directed readings in special topics not covered by courses offered as part of the program in Basque. Subjects treated and work completed for the course must be chosen in consultation with the instructor no later than the end of the preceding quarter.
Prerequisite(s): BASQ 12200, depending upon the requirements of the program for which credit is sought.
Note(s): Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form.
Catalan Courses
Language
Must be taken for a quality grade. No auditors are permitted.
CATA 12200-12300. Catalan for Speakers of Romance Languages I-II.
Catalan for Speakers of Romance Languages
CATA 12200. Catalan for Speakers of Romance Languages I. 100 Units.
This course is intended for speakers of other Romance languages to quickly develop competence in spoken and written Catalan. In this introductory course, students learn ways to apply their skills in another Romance language to mastering Catalan by concentrating on the similarities and differences between the two languages. Students with a placement of 20100 or higher in any of the other Romance Languages are eligible to take CATA 12200 for completion of the College Language Competency Requirement.
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Autumn
Spring
Prerequisite(s): Although familiarity with a Romance language is strongly recommended, students with no prior knowledge of a Romance language are also welcome.
CATA 12300. Catalan for Speakers of Romance Languages II. 100 Units.
This course is intended for speakers of other Romance languages to quickly develop competence in spoken and written Catalan. In this intermediate-level course, students learn ways to apply their skills in another Romance language to mastering Catalan by concentrating on the similarities and differences between the two languages. This course offers a rapid review of the basic patterns of the language and expands on the material presented in CATA 12200.
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): CATA 12200 or consent of instructor.
CATA 21100. Llengua, societat i cultura I. 100 Units.
This advanced-level course will focus on speaking and writing skills through the study of a wide variety of contemporary texts and audiovisual materials. It will provide students with a better understanding of contemporary Catalan society. Students will review problematic grammatical structures, write a number of essays, and participate in multiple class debates. This course satisfies language competency.
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): CATA 11200, CATA 12300 or consent of instructor
CATA 21200. Llengua, societat i cultura II. 100 Units.
This advanced-level course will focus on speaking and writing skills through a wide variety of texts and audiovisual materials. We will study a wide range of Catalan cultural manifestations (e.g., visual arts, music, gastronomy). Students will also review advanced grammatical structures, write a number of essays, and participate in multiple class debates. This course satisfies language competency.
Instructor(s): Staff
Prerequisite(s): CATA 21100 or consent of instructor
Note(s): Course not offered in 24-25.
CATA 23333. Reading Catalan for Research Purposes. 100 Units.
This fast-paced course prepares students to read and do research using texts in Catalan. Students will work on grammar, vocabulary and reading skills, and they will also get introduced to some translation strategies. Part of the texts students will work on will be academic texts in their respective areas of research. This course may fulfill the graduate language requirement in some departments.
Prerequisite(s): Familiarity with a Romance language is highly recommended.
Note(s): Not Offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): CATA 33333
Literature and Culture
CATA 21500. Introduction to Contemporary Catalonia. 100 Units.
This course provides an interdisciplinary survey of contemporary Catalonia. We study a wide range of its cultural manifestations (architecture, paintings, music, arts of the body, literature, the folkloric calendar, cinema, gastronomy) as well as its current political situation and the role that emigration and immigration play in the constitution of the Catalan identity. Attention is also paid to some sociolinguistic issues, such as the coexistence of Catalan and Spanish, and the standarization of Catalan. A couple of sessions will be devoted to acquiring a "survival Catalan."
Instructor(s): Staff
Note(s): Course not offered in 24-25
CATA 21600. Catalan Culture and Society: Art, Music, and Cinema. 100 Units.
This course provides an interdisciplinary survey of contemporary Catalonia. We study a wide range of its cultural manifestations (architecture, paintings, music, arts of the body, literature, cinema, gastronomy). Attention is also paid to some sociolinguistic issues, such as the coexistence of Catalan and Spanish, and the standardization of Catalan.
Instructor(s): Bel Olid Terms Offered: Spring
Note(s): The course will be conducted in English.
Equivalent Course(s): SPAN 21610, GLST 21601
CATA 21950. Dark Stairways of Desire": Lusting beyond the Norm in Contemporary Catalan Literature. 100 Units.
Although we can find a significant number of authors exploring queer desire and identities throughout the history of Catalan Literature (from lesbian scenes in Joanot Martorell's "Tirant lo blanc" to expanding gender identities in Maria Aurèlia Capmany's "Quim/Quima"), more recent Catalan Literature is blooming with queerness and non-normative lust. This course will give an overview of contemporary Catalan works influenced by feminist and queer debates from the seventies on. Beginning with renowned poet Maria Mercè Marçal's only novel, "The Passion According to Rennée Vivien," winner of several of the most prestigious literary awards for Catalan Literature, we will go on to discover 21st-century works by Eva Baltasar and Anna Punsoda. We will also read poems, short stories and excerpts from authors such as Maria Sevilla, Mireia Calafell, Raquel Santanera, Sebastià Portell, Sil Bel and Ian Bermúdez, among others.
Instructor(s): Bel Olid Terms Offered: Winter
Note(s): Taught in English.
Equivalent Course(s): SPAN 21950, GLST 21950, GNSE 23150
CATA 22350. Speaking Truth to Power in Medieval Iberia. 100 Units.
In the multilingual and multireligious environment of the Iberian middle ages, poetry can express many things. And while literary history has granted a prestigious space to some of these things, such as love or spirituality, it has consistently neglected others, such as socio-political satire or vulgarity. This class will be paying attention to that other less talked-about poetry that gets into the political struggles of the period, that talks in profanities about profane things. In other words, the poetry that does not speak to the eternity of existence, but that gets its hands dirty with earthly matters. The poetry that savagely mocks and cuts through social conventions in a way that makes seem contemporary Twitter trolls benevolent in comparison. For this class we will be reading authors who wrote in Galician-Portuguese such as Joao Soares de Paiva or King Alfonso X, authors who wrote in Catalan such as Guillem de Bergueda or Ramon Vidal de Besalu, and authors who wrote in Spanish such as Juan Ruiz or Juan de Mena. Translations to Spanish will be provided or worked though class discussion.
Instructor(s): N. Blanco Mourelle
Note(s): Course not offered in 24-25
Equivalent Course(s): CATA 32350, SPAN 22350, PORT 32350, MDVL 22350, PORT 22350, SPAN 32350
CATA 23500. Alone in the Mountains: Tales of Freedom and Violence in Contemporary Catalan Literature. 100 Units.
From witches to "goges" ("water women"), Catalan folklore shows a tradition of women living on their own in the mountains, liberated from societal conventions. These women are portrayed as fascinating yet threatening figures. This ancient imagery has permeated contemporary literature, manifested in novels that depict women who remove themselves from "civilization" to inhabit rural areas of Catalunya, seeking freedom and having to confront at the same time societal norms, abusive partners or even their own personal demons. The mountains, far from ideal and peaceful, are an untamed and often brutal space in which human lives hold no greater value than those of goats, mushrooms, rivers. In this course we shall engage with four novels authored by women: "Solitude (1904) by Victor Català, "Stone in a Landslide" (1984) by Maria Barbal, "When I Sing Mountains Dance" (2019) by Irene Solà, and "Alone" (2021) by Carlota Gurt. Through the analysis of these literary works, we aim to delve into Catalan culture and explore its literary archetypes, while establishing significant connections among these texts and their place in modern and contemporary literature.
Instructor(s): Bel Olid Terms Offered: Autumn
Note(s): Taught in English, but students seeking credit for the HLBS major/minor must do part of the readings and written work in Catalan or Spanish as necessary for their degree.
Equivalent Course(s): GNSE 23157, GLST 23500, SPAN 23501
CATA 25605. Inquisiciones. 100 Units.
The Inquisition was, if not the most important juridical and religious institution of premodern Iberia, certainly the most emblematic. In truth, there was not one Inquisition, but many. Without them, terms such as heresy, conversion, or auto-da-fé would not have the currency they do today. These terms are best understood as tools for the disciplining of religious communities and the controlling of the circulation of ideas. This is a class designed to help students understand the Inquisition as a complex historical phenomenon that left a rich archive where anthropological research and theological debate were made to coexist.
Instructor(s): Noel Blanco Mourelle Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Note(s): Taught in Spanish.
Equivalent Course(s): SPAN 25605, SPAN 35605, CATA 35605
CATA 26525. Literatura política en el Barroco: Espacios, géneros y lenguas de la propaganda en el mundo ibérico. 100 Units.
A la pregunta, ¿qué se leía en la Edad Moderna?, la respuesta suele ser: Cervantes. Ciertamente su difusión es innegable, pero las lecturas también fueron muchas otras y no siempre responden a lo que hoy entendemos por literatura de creación: relaciones de sucesos, romances, coplas, sermones, pronósticos, etc., se leían y/o escuchaban en la intimidad del hogar o en la calle, en formato libro, pliego suelto, expuestas en una pared, etc. El curso se ocupa de la literatura política y propagandística en el Barroco, entendiendo la literatura como sinónimo de cultura escrita, por un lado, y la literatura política y propagandística, por otro, como aquella que sirve de vehículo para la opinión en un contexto de guerra. Aunque cualquier decisión en el ámbito público tiene un componente político, se debe considerar la propaganda como aquella destinada a diseminar una ideología de legitimación (o deslegitimación) bélica en un contexto de confrontación territorial (entre coronas y/o entre territorios), aunque se base en elementos que en principio pueden parecer diferentes (religión, lengua, tradiciones, etc.). En esta asignatura vamos a: definir el género, identificar cuáles son estos textos, estudiarlos en su contexto y dilucidar su importancia en la transmisión de mensajes orientados ideológicamente. Se partirá principalmente de las obras que generaron varios conflictos bélicos en la Península y se trabajará con textos en todas las lenguas vernáculas peninsulares y en latín.
Instructor(s): Eulàlia Miralles Jori Terms Offered: Spring
Note(s): Taught in Spanish.
Equivalent Course(s): SPAN 36525, SPAN 26525, CATA 36525
CATA 26555. Self-determination and Democracy in Spain: The Case of Catalonia. 100 Units.
In recent years, tensions between Spain and Catalonia have called attention to a number of long-standing issues that have remained unresolved in modern Spanish cultural and political history: the recognition of national or regional identities, the rights of minority cultures and languages, the nature of democracy and citizenship… This course will study the history of Spanish and Catalan nation-building, as well as the ideological and cultural discourses generated around those projects, and it will pay particular attention to current debates regarding Catalonia's claim to self-determination.
Instructor(s): M. Santana Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): SPAN 26555, CATA 36555, SPAN 36555
CATA 28024. Ficción del siglo XX, tradición y canon: la narrativa en catalán. 100 Units.
El curso ofrece una introducción al concepto de 'tradición' y a sus mecanismos de funcionamiento, y analiza su relación con la creación literaria contemporánea a partir del estudio de tres obras fundamentales de la narrativa catalana del siglo XX: "El quadern gris" de Pla, "Mirall trencat" de Mercè Rodoreda y "Estremida memòria" de Jesús Moncada. Estas obras de géneros distintos -diario y relato- serán puestas en relación con la ficción contemporánea universal: leeremos los textos de Pla a la luz de la tradición diarista contemporánea, de Woolf o Nin a Walser, Pavese, Gombrowicz, Torga, Ribeyro o Piglia; la novela de Rodoreda, desde el conocimiento de las técnicas experimentales del modernism; y la de Moncada, a través de los universos ficcionales de Faulkner, Bassani, Carpentier, o García Márquez, y de la novela clásica de aventuras de Dumas y Verne. El propósito es contribuir no sólo a clarificar un concepto esencial en las humanidades, como es el de 'tradición', sino a situar en el contexto literario de la ficción internacional tres autores de lengua catalana que han devenido clásicos por su éxito comercial y académico, por el elevado número de traducciones que han merecido, y por su ascendiente en autores posteriores. Estudiaremos el proceso creativo de la ficción contemporánea y sus lazos con la tradición a través de un enfoque comparatista que tiene en cuenta cuestiones como la tensión entre literaturas de lenguas minoritarias y literaturas dominantes.
Instructor(s): Javier Aparicio Maydeu
Note(s): Taught in Spanish. Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): SPAN 38024, SPAN 28024, CMLT 38024, CMLT 28024, CATA 38024
CATA 28620. Fiction, Memory, History: Jaume Cabré's Jo confesso. 100 Units.
A detailed reading, analysis, and discussion of Jaume Cabré's Jo confesso (Confessions, 2011), a monumental work of contemporary Catalan literature. We will explore the literary strategies and techniques at play in the novel, as well as its take on the relation between fiction and history, and the representation of memory and loss.
Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Note(s): Course not offered in 24-25
Equivalent Course(s): SPAN 28620, SPAN 38620, CATA 38620
CATA 29300. El ciclo de cuentos en la ficción ibérica contemporánea. 100 Units.
Short stories are usually read as discrete pieces of writing, valued for their individuality and the completeness of their effect on readers. However, they are not always presented in complete isolation, but come inserted in collections where the company of other stories may create connections similar to those found in larger works of fiction (to the extent that certain groups of short stories can almost be read like novels). The collection of stories has a long literary tradition, but in the last century a particular form -the so called short story cycle- has emerged as a way of testing the boundaries of extended narratives. In this course, and through the study of a number of books representative of the short story cycle in Iberian literatures, we will explore the poetics of fiction (short and long) and the formal and interpretative challenges presented by the genre.
Instructor(s): Mario Santana Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 20300 or consent of instructor
Note(s): Taught in Spanish. Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): SPAN 29300, SPAN 39300, BASQ 29300
CATA 29700. Readings in Special Topics. 100 Units.
This course involves directed readings in special topics not covered by courses offered as part of the program in Catalan. Subjects treated and work to be completed for this course must be chosen in consultation with the instructor no later than the end of the preceding quarter.
Prerequisite(s): CATA 10300 or 20200, depending upon the requirements of the program for which credit is sought
Note(s): Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form.
CATA 29900. BA Paper Preparation: Catalan. 100 Units.
In consultation with a faculty member, students must devote the equivalent of a one-quarter course to the preparation of a BA project.
Prerequisite(s): Consent of undergraduate adviser
Note(s): Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. Students seeking honors may count this course towards their course requirements. Must be taken for a quality grade.
French Courses
Language
Must be taken for a quality grade. No auditors are permitted.
FREN 10100-10200-10300. Beginning Elementary French I-II-III.
This three-quarter sequence is intended for beginning and beginning/intermediate students in French. It provides students with a solid foundation in the basic patterns of spoken and written French (e.g., grammar, vocabulary, phonetics, sociocultural norms) to develop students’ speaking, listening, writing, and reading skills. Our unique method guides students to learn French inductively, through authentic discourse, so that they learn to speak more like native speakers from the very beginning. Cultural awareness of the French and Francophone world is enhanced through the use and exploration of authentic materials. Although the three courses constitute a sequence, there is enough review and recycling at every level for students to enter the sequence whenever it is appropriate for them based on placement exam results. Completion of the final segment of this sequence fulfills the College’s language competence requirement.
FREN 10100. Beginning Elementary French I. 100 Units.
This course-intended for students who have no previous knowledge of French and for those who need an in-depth review of the very basic patterns of the language-is the first in a three-part language sequence that provides beginning students with a solid foundation in the linguistic and sociocultural norms necessary for everyday communication in the French-speaking world. Our unique method guides students to learn French inductively, through authentic discourse, so that they learn to speak more like native speakers from the very beginning. This course is designed to help students achieve functional competency in speaking, writing, listening, and reading, with a focus on present tense constructions, and to engage students in all three modes of communication (interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational). Exposure to French and Francophone materials will foster cultural awareness and encourage intercultural reflection.
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Autumn
Spring
Winter
Prerequisite(s): For students with no prior French, or placement into FREN 10100
FREN 10200. Beginning Elementary French II. 100 Units.
This course-the second in a three-part language sequence that provides beginning students with a solid foundation in the linguistic and sociocultural norms necessary for everyday communication in the French-speaking world-offers a rapid review of the basic patterns of the language, and expands on the material presented in FREN 10100. This course is designed to help students achieve functional competency in speaking, writing, listening, and reading, with a focus on present and past time frames, and to engage students in all three modes of communication (interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational). Students further explore French and Francophone materials that foster cultural awareness and encourage intercultural reflection.
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Autumn
Spring
Winter
Prerequisite(s): FREN 10100 or placement into FREN 10200
FREN 10300. Beginning Elementary French III. 100 Units.
This course-the last in a three-part sequence that provides beginning students with a solid foundation in the linguistic and sociocultural norms necessary for everyday communication in the French-speaking world-expands on the material presented in FREN 10200, reviewing and elaborating the basic patterns of the language with the aim of developing functional competency in all four skills (speaking, writing, listening, and reading) in most time frames. Students continue to engage in all three modes of communication (interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational), and to explore French and Francophone materials that foster cultural awareness and encourage intercultural reflection. Successful completion of FREN 10300 meets the College's language competence requirement.
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Autumn
Spring
Winter
Prerequisite(s): FREN 10200, FREN 12001, FREN 14100 or placement into FREN 10300
FREN 10402. Heritage French : Developing Foundational Skills. 100 Units.
This course is designed to build on heritage learners' skills to prepare them for success in subsequent French courses. Skill areas include in-depth practice in reading and writing, along with review and expansion of targeted grammar structures, and development of precision in vocabulary.
Terms Offered: Autumn
Note(s): This course satisfies the College Language Competency Requirement. Designed for heritage learners who placed into FREN 10200 or 10300, or who have not studied French formally. Can also be added with instructor consent. No auditors permitted. If course is full, or total enrollment is less than enrollment limit & you can't register, attend on 1st day. Registered students who don't attend on 1st day may lose spot.
FREN 12001-12002-12003. Intensive French I-II-III.
This intensive, three-quarter sequence brings students with no prior background in French to advanced-low levels in all four skills--reading, writing, speaking, and listening--thus preparing students to take third-year-level courses in French. Learners who are starting French late in their College careers or who wish to move forward swiftly will gain skills corresponding to two full years of study by completing the entire sequence. Although the three courses constitute a sequence, students may enter the sequence whenever it is appropriate for them based on prior courses or placement exam results. Students may also exit the sequence after any given course and continue in the appropriate course in the Elementary or Intermediate French track. NOTE: Each course is 200 units and corresponds in workload to taking two courses. FREN 12002, the second course in the sequence, covers the equivalent of FREN 10300 and 20100. Successful completion of FREN 12002 meets the College’s language competence requirement.
FREN 12001. Intensive French I. 200 Units.
Intensive French I, II and III: This intensive, three-quarter sequence brings students with no prior background in French to advanced-low levels in all four skills-reading, writing, speaking, and listening-thus preparing students to take third-year level courses in French. Learners who are starting French late in their College careers or who wish to move forward swiftly will gain skills corresponding to two full years of study by completing the entire sequence. Although the three classes constitute a sequence, students may enter the sequence whenever it is appropriate for them based on prior courses or placement exam results. Students may also exit the sequence after any given class and continue in the appropriate course in the Elementary or Intermediate French track. NOTE: Each course is 200 units and corresponds in workload to taking two courses. FREN 12001, the first course in the sequence, covers the equivalent of FREN 10100 and 10200.
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Autumn
Prerequisite(s): For students with no prior French, or placement in FREN 10100.
Note(s): Course is 200 units and corresponds in workload to taking two courses.
FREN 12002. Intensive French II. 200 Units.
Intensive French I, II and III: This intensive, three-quarter sequence brings students with no prior background in French to advanced-low levels in all four skills-reading, writing, speaking, and listening-thus preparing students to take third-year level courses in French. Learners who are starting French late in their College careers or who wish to move forward swiftly will gain skills corresponding to two full years of study by completing the entire sequence. Although the three classes constitute a sequence, students may enter the sequence whenever it is appropriate for them based on prior courses or placement exam results. Students may also exit the sequence after any given class and continue in the appropriate course in the Elementary or Intermediate French track. NOTE: Each course is 200 units and corresponds in workload to taking two courses. FREN 12002, the second course in the sequence, covers the equivalent of FREN 10300 and 20100.
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): FREN 10200, FREN 12001 or placement in FREN 10300.
Note(s): Course is 200 units and corresponds in workload to taking two courses.
FREN 12003. Intensive French III. 200 Units.
Intensive French I, II and III: This intensive, three-quarter sequence brings students with no prior background in French to advanced-low levels in all four skills-reading, writing, speaking, and listening-thus preparing students to take third-year level courses in French. Learners who are starting French late in their College careers or who wish to move forward swiftly will gain skills corresponding to two full years of study by completing the entire sequence. Although the three classes constitute a sequence, students may enter the sequence whenever it is appropriate for them based on prior courses or placement exam results. Students may also exit the sequence after any given class and continue in the appropriate course in the Elementary or Intermediate French track. NOTE: Each course is 200 units and corresponds in workload to taking two courses. FREN 12003, the third course in the sequence, covers the equivalent of FREN 20200 and 20300.
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): FREN 12002, 14500, 20100, or placement in FREN 20200.
Note(s): Course is 200 units and corresponds in workload to taking two courses.
FREN 13333. Reading French for Research Purposes Prerequisite Course. 100 Units.
This course is designed for students without prior experience or training in French who wish to take FREN 33333, Reading French for Research Purposes. In this course, students learn the basics of French grammar and syntax, some basic French vocabulary, and they also begin to learn some of the reading strategies they will need to be successful in FREN 33333. The prerequisite for FREN 33333 is either one year of college-level French language instruction or the equivalent, or successful completion of FREN 13333
Terms Offered: Autumn
Winter
Prerequisite(s): For students with no prior French, or placement into FREN 10100.
FREN 14100. French for Romance Language Speakers. 100 Units.
This course helps students quickly gain skills in spoken and written French by building on their prior working knowledge of another Romance language (Catalan, Italian, Portuguese or Spanish). By relying on the many similarities with other Romance languages, students can focus on mastering the different aspects of French. This class covers content from FREN 10100 and 10200.
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): 20100 in another Romance language or consent of instructor. Intended for students with no prior French.
FREN 14300. Phonétique et prononciation. 100 Units.
French sounds nothing like how it's written - until you know the code. Hone your accent and learn the sounds of French in this production-focused course for post-103 students. We will discuss and practice rhythm and intonation patterns as well as individual sounds, and introduce the underlying linguistic concepts that inform them. Towards the end of the course, we will explore varieties of French from around the world and the phonetic features that make them distinct. FREN 14300 satisfies Language Competency.
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): FREN 10300, 12002 or placement into FREN 20100, 20200, or 20300.
Note(s): Taught in (accessible) French.
FREN 14500. French for Global Studies and Economics. 100 Units.
Designed as an alternative to FREN 20100 for students in Business Economics, Global Studies and related fields of study, this four-skills course meets the grammatical objectives of FREN 20100 while equipping students with the basic communication skills and cultural awareness necessary in the areas of international exchange and economics. Through exposure to a wide range of material-including essays, newspaper and journal articles, film reviews, professional writing practices-and interactive exercises including discussions, in-class activities, and group projects in simulated professional situations, students will acquire the linguistic skills and sociocultural knowledge required for engagement in international exchange and business economics as well as to participate in larger debates in the Francophone context.
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): FREN 10300 or placement in FREN 20100.
Equivalent Course(s): GLST 24501
FREN 20100-20200-20300. French Language, History, and Culture I-II-III.
In this intermediate-level sequence, students review and extend their knowledge of all basic patterns (e.g., grammar, vocabulary, sociocultural norms) of the language to include all communicatively relevant patterns and common exceptions to those patterns in written and spoken French, and their use in interactive discourse. Our unique method guides students to learn French inductively, through authentic discourse, so that they learn to express themselves more like native speakers from the very beginning. In particular, students develop their oral and written skills in describing, narrating, and presenting arguments. Students are also exposed to texts and audio-visual materials that provide them with a deeper understanding of the French-speaking world.
FREN 20100. Language, History, and Culture I. 100 Units.
In this course-the first in the intermediate-level sequence-students will engage in all three modes of communication (interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational) and develop their oral and written skills in describing, narrating, and presenting arguments, reviewing all basic patterns of the language and acquiring new grammatical skills and a broader lexical base to speak and write in depth about leisure activities current and past (including movies), how weekends and vacations used to be spent, and studies. Listening and reading skills are also targeted through a variety of activities. Students will examine French cultural practices and perspectives on these topics, and will do their own research to present other French and Francophone practices and perspectives, which will raise cultural awareness and encourage intercultural reflection.
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Autumn
Spring
Winter
Prerequisite(s): FREN 10123, 10300 or placement into FREN 20100.
FREN 20200. Language, History, and Culture II. 100 Units.
In this course-the second in the intermediate-level sequence-students further develop their descriptive and narrative skills through a variety of texts, audio-visual materials, and activities to speak about the past objectively and subjectively; deepen their knowledge of various cultural practices and perspectives in the French context, including leisure activities, and health and health-care related issues; and learn to express personal and professional plans for the future. Students also carry out their own research to present other French and Francophone practices and perspectives on these same topics, which will enhance cultural awareness and encourage intercultural reflection. Students continue honing all skills (listening, reading, writing, and speaking) and engage in all three modes of communication (interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational).
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Autumn
Spring
Winter
Prerequisite(s): FREN 12002, 20100, or placement into FREN 20200
FREN 20300. Language, History, and Culture III. 100 Units.
In the third and last course of the intermediate sequence, students continue to hone all skills (listening, reading, writing, and speaking) and engage in all three modes of communication (interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational). Students learn how to make hypotheses, express regrets and opinions, craft an argument, narrate and report a conversation or interaction through indirect speech, talk about languages and cultures in the global Francophone context as seen in a variety of texts and audio-visual materials, and begin to master the vocabulary and grammatical structures needed to convey all of that. Additionally, this course helps students develop their skills in understanding and producing written and spoken arguments in French as they read, summarize, and comment on an article of their choice in the Francophone press, and listen to, summarize, and comment on a podcast of their choice in French. Students also carry out their own research drawing on other written and audio sources for a final project on any French or Francophone topic, and participate in a discussion. Thus this course, like the others in the sequence, enhances cultural awareness and encourages intercultural reflection, and furthermore helps students develop academic literacy.
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Autumn
Spring
Winter
Prerequisite(s): FREN 20200 or placement into FREN 20300.
FREN 20500. Ecrire en français. 100 Units.
The main goal of this course is to help students acquire advanced grammatical knowledge of the French language and develop their writing skills. This course is strongly recommended for all students who intend to take courses in which writing essays in French is required: French literature classes on campus, the Autumn Paris Civilization program, or the academic yearlong program in Paris. It is also strongly recommended for students who wish to take the advanced proficiency exam in French.
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Autumn
Spring
Winter
Prerequisite(s): FREN 20300 or placement into FREN 20500/20600
FREN 20503. Modes De Raisonnement Francais. 100 Units.
TBD
Note(s): Course not offered in 24-25
FREN 20601. Expression orale et phonétique. 100 Units.
This course focuses on developing the tools necessary for advanced oral proficiency in an academic context. Through active class participation involving a number of class presentations, students practice a variety of discourse styles (e.g., debates, lectures, seminars, interviews). Special emphasis is placed on correct pronunciation.
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): FREN 12003, 20300, or placement into FREN 20500.
FREN 20602. Expression orale : Décrire l'art moderne et contemporain en français. 100 Units.
This course explores major contemporary French and francophone artists, art forms and art works. Students will acquire basic linguistic and analytical skills to apprehend visual arts, graphic novels, movies and theatrical performance in French. They will work on individual and group art and academic assignments.
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Autumn
Prerequisite(s): FREN 12003, 20300, or placement into FREN 20500/20600.
Note(s): Taught in French. A screening and a museum field trip are required.
FREN 20604. Expression orale : Parler du monde francophone contemporain. 100 Units.
This course focuses on developing advanced oral proficiency skills in French in the context of contemporary cultural, social and political issues in the Francophone world. As Francophonie is a multifaceted concept that can be approached from various perspectives-institutional, linguistic, geopolitical, cultural, and literary-the course will start with a look at what Francophonie is and means in such places as the Caribbean, Europe, Francophone Africa, and North America. Students will read articles, watch and listen to films, reports, and interviews, engage in discussions and debates, conduct interviews, and carry out projects and presentations on themes of their own choosing within this framework.
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): FREN 20300, FREN 12003, or placement into FREN 20500
FREN 23333. Reading French for Research Purposes. 100 Units.
Reading French for Research Purposes prepares students to read and do research using scholarly texts in French. Students will build on their fundamental knowledge of French grammar and the most common vocabulary terms used in scholarly writing, while developing reading comprehension skills and working intensively with academic texts in their areas of research specialty. Students who perform well in FREN 33333/23333 will be able to synthesize key points, arguments and evidence in scholarly texts into their own research. The course also includes practice of skills necessary to pass the Academic Reading Comprehension Assessment (ARCA) in French, administered by the Office for Language Assessment (OLA). Undergraduate students have the option of taking the ARCA, or completing a final assignment in which they identify, cite, and describe the relevance of multiple French secondary texts in their discipline or to a specific project. Note: this course can be counted on a case-by-case basis and with approval from the French Undergraduate Adviser.
Instructor(s): Staff
Prerequisite(s): PQ for 23333: FREN 10300 or 13333, placement into FREN 20100, or instructor consent. PQ for 33333: FREN 10300 or 13333, placement into FREN 20100, or the equivalent of one year college-level introductory French.
Note(s): No auditors permitted. If course is full, or total enrollment is less than enrollment limit & you can't register, attend on 1st day. Registered students who don't attend on 1st day may lose spot.
Equivalent Course(s): FREN 33333
Literature and Culture
All literature classes are conducted in French unless otherwise indicated. Students who are taking a course for credit toward the French major or minor do all work in French. With prior consent of instructor, non-majors may write in English.
FREN 21000. Du Moderne Au Contemporain. 100 Units.
TBD
Note(s): Course not offered in 24-25.
FREN 21300. Introduction au cinéma français et francophone. 100 Units.
Ce cours vise à donner une vue d'ensemble du cinéma français et francophone à travers une approche thématique. À l'appui de textes dont nous privilégierons ceux originellement publiés en français, nous examinerons une grande variété de films dont le point commun se situe à leur opposition à la norme, au centre, à la métropole, au mainstream. L'œuvre de cinéastes issus des rives gauche et droite de la Nouvelle Vague, tels que Chabrol, Duras, Godard et Varda, celle de cinéastes africains, et de cinéastes de l'âge classique et moderne comme Alice et Mati Diop, permettra de passer du macro au micro, du personnel à l'autoréférentiel. Nous étudierons ainsi comment ces cinéastes utilisent l'outil cinématographique pour aborder des thèmes tels que la colonisation, la géographie, le genre et la sexualité, et le medium du cinéma lui-même. En mettant en lien l'image et le texte, nous étudierons la tension entre le langage du cinéma et celui de la littérature et leur différente capacité à traiter de ces sujets.
Instructor(s): Etienne Labbouz Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): FREN 20300 or placement into 20500
Note(s): Taught in French
Equivalent Course(s): CMST 21301
FREN 21500. Stylistique et analyse littéraire. 100 Units.
This course focuses on linguistic and literary problems of textual analysis. It examines literary and stylistic techniques in poetry and prose with concentration on the explication de texte method of literary study.
Instructor(s): A. James
Prerequisite(s): FREN 20400 or 20500, plus at least one French literature course
Note(s): Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): FREN 31500
FREN 21503. Approches à l'analyse littéraire. 100 Units.
Dans ce cours nous aborderons des techniques d'analyse littéraire des textes en vers et en prose. En outre, nous nous pencherons sur des écrits métatextuels-ceux qui traitent des aspects formels des ouvrages littéraires, de leur utilité morale et/ou politique, du rapport entre la littérature et la vie dite réelle. La production littéraire est non seulement une activiteé culturelle, intellectuelle, politique, éthique, et aesthétique, mais aussi l'objet d'une reflexion soutenue au cours des siècles.
Instructor(s): D. Delogu
Prerequisite(s): FREN 20500 or consent of instructor.
Note(s): Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): FREN 31503
FREN 21505. Lire les littératures francophones : éléments d'analyse littéraire. 100 Units.
Ce cours est une initiation aux méthodes et aux techniques d'analyse littéraire. En travaillant sur des textes en vers et en prose issus des littératures francophones du Maghreb, de l'Afrique sub-saharienne et du Moyen-Orient, on apprendra à analyser les formes littéraires, les figures de sens, les procédés esthétiques et stylistiques, les structures et les voix narratives ainsi que les choix syntaxiques et lexicaux. On travaillera également sur des textes théoriques et critiques qui nous permettront d'approfondir nos lectures et de saisir les enjeux littéraires, culturels et intellectuels qui sous-tendent la création littéraire francophone.
Instructor(s): Khalid Lyamlahy
Prerequisite(s): FREN 20500, 20503 or consent of instructor.
Note(s): Taught in French. Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): FREN 31505
FREN 21506. Approches à l'analyse littéraire: questionner les classiques. 100 Units.
Ce cours est une initiation aux techniques et méthodes de l'analyse littéraire, prenant le parti de lire, commenter, et questionner des œuvres et textes considérés comme « classiques » en France et dans le monde francophone. On apprendra à analyser les formes littéraires, les figures de style, les procédés esthétiques et stylistiques, les structures et les voix narratives ainsi que les choix syntaxiques et lexicaux. Le cours s'appuiera sur la critique littéraire, avec des auteur·e·s et textes choisi·e·s afin de continuer à interroger la validité de la notion de classique. Qui sont les nouveaux classiques ? Nous ne limiterons pas cette question au contemporain, ou à sa dimension géographique, et remonterons la chronologie linéaire afin de considérer les œuvres qui ont été écartées.
Instructor(s): Pauline Goul
Prerequisite(s): FREN 20500, 20503 or consent of instructor.
Note(s): Taught in French. Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): FREN 31506
FREN 21601. Francophone Caribbean Culture and Society: Art, Music, and Cinema. 100 Units.
This course provides an interdisciplinary survey of the contemporary Francophone Caribbean. Students will study a wide range of its cultural manifestations (performing arts like music and dance, literature, cinema, architecture and other visual arts, gastronomy). Attention is also paid to such sociolinguistic issues as the coexistence of French and Kreyòl, and the standardization of Kreyòl.
Instructor(s): Gerdine Ulysse Terms Offered: Autumn
Note(s): Taught in English.
Equivalent Course(s): KREY 21600, GLST 21600, CRES 21600, LACS 21600
FREN 21700. Le Roman de la Rose. 100 Units.
The "Roman de la Rose" (mid-13th century), a sprawling, encyclopedic summa composed by two separate authors, was arguably the single most influential vernacular text of the Middle Ages. Whether they hated or admired it, subsequent writers could not escape the long shadow cast by this magisterial œuvre. And, as Kate Soper's recent opera adaptation of the "Rose" demonstrates, this labyrinthine work remains a source of creative inspiration. In this course we will read the "Rose" together. Each student will choose a critical lens (e.g. gender and sexuality, animal and/or ecocritical studies, ethics and philosophy, reception studies, manuscript studies, text & image, etc.) to structure their engagement with the text, and together we will collaborate to chart a rich and diverse set of interpretive paths through this complex work.
Instructor(s): Daisy Delogu Terms Offered: Autumn
Prerequisite(s): For French majors/minors, FREN 20500, 20503 or a previous literature course taught in French.
Note(s): All registered students will attend the cours magistral (taught in English). In addition, all registered students will select and attend either the French discussion section, or the critical theory section. Students are welcome to attend both.
Equivalent Course(s): GNSE 37300, MDVL 21700, FREN 31700, GNSE 27300, FNDL 21700
FREN 21703. Introduction à la littérature française I. 100 Units.
This course is a historical overview of French literature of the Middle Ages, the sixteenth and the seventeenth centuries, with close readings and discussions of representative works of this period. Authors may include La Chanson de Roland, Christine de Pizan, Rabelais, Ronsard, Montaigne, Pascal, Racine, Molière, La Fontaine, and Mme de La Fayette.
Instructor(s): D. Delogu
Prerequisite(s): FREN 20400 or 20500, or consent of instructor
Note(s): Course not offered in 24-25.
FREN 21704. Introduction a la litterature francaise du XXe siecle. 100 Units.
This course includes close readings and discussions of major literary and dramatic works by twentieth-century authors (e.g., Apollinaire, Gide, Proust, Colette, Aragon, Camus, Beckett, Duras). Topics might include surrealism, absurdism, existentialism, gender and sexual identity, social upheaval, the post-modern condition, and the rise of cinema.
Instructor(s): A. James
Prerequisite(s): FREN 20500
Note(s): Course not offered in 24-25.
FREN 21740. Introduction à la poésie française du XXe siècle. 100 Units.
Ce cours donnera un aperçu des grands courants poétiques du XXe siècle-de l' "esprit nouveau" d'Apollinaire à la "littéralité" revendiquée par certains poètes contemporains-à travers la lecture et l'analyse de poèmes choisis dans des œuvres poétiques majeures. Nous examinerons notamment les transformations du lyrisme, l'évolution de la métrique et du vers libre, le poème en prose, les expérimentations visuelles et sonores, et les rapports entre la poésie et l'histoire. Parmi les poètes étudiés figurent Apollinaire, Reverdy, Éluard, Ponge, Char, Chedid, Métail, Roubaud, Bancquart, and Albiach.
Instructor(s): A. James
Prerequisite(s): FREN 20500 or consent of instructor.
Note(s): Course not offered in 24-25.
FREN 21801. Aut et Publics Dans Les Texts Medievaux. 100 Units.
TBD
Note(s): Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): FREN 31801
FREN 21901. L'Ecriture Autobiographique Au Moyen Age. 100 Units.
TBD
Note(s): Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): FREN 31901
FREN 22000. Poésie et Récit au Moyen Âge. 100 Units.
Ce cours examinera les capacités et les possibilités narratives de la poésie du Moyen Âge, ainsi que les rapports entre l'écriture lyrique et le récit. Nous nous concentrerons sur le dit narratif et les textes hybrides.
Instructor(s): D. Delogu
Prerequisite(s): FREN 20500 and one previous literature course taught in French.
Note(s): Taught in French. Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): FREN 32000
FREN 22101. l'ecriture De Quotiden Au XXe Siecle. 100 Units.
TBD
Note(s): Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): FREN 32101
FREN 22200. L'Autobiographie AU XXE Siecle. 100 Units.
TBD
Note(s): Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): FREN 32200
FREN 22203. The Literary Avant-Garde. 100 Units.
This course surveys the history and aesthetics of French avant-garde groups and tendencies in the twentieth century, from Dada and surrealism to the Nouveau Roman and Oulipo. While our focus will be on literary texts, we will also consider theoretical perspectives on the avant-garde and explore connections and contacts between literature and the other arts. Authors studied include Apollinaire, Artaud, Breton, Robbe-Grillet, Sarraute, and Perec.
Instructor(s): A. James
Prerequisite(s): FREN 20500 and one other literature course taught in French.
Note(s): Taught in French. Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): FREN 32203
FREN 22300. Introduction à la poésie française. 100 Units.
Capable de tout exprimer, de l'intimité de nos êtres et nos expériences à l'actualité du monde, la poésie s'ouvre à tous les sujets. Dans ce cours nous découvrirons la tradition lyrique française, incluant par exemple des textes de Louise Labé, Victor Hugo, Charles Baudelaire, et Apollinaire, entre autres.
Instructor(s): Daisy Delogu
Prerequisite(s): FREN 20300 or consent of instructor.
Note(s): Taught in French. This is an introductory-level course. Course not offered in 24-25.
FREN 22910. Medieval Beasts. 100 Units.
From fables to bestiaries, in the margins of medieval manuscripts and at the center of animal narratives, animals abound in medieval literature. Transformations from human to animal form (or vice versa), friendships between animals and humans, the anthropomorphization of animals, invite us to interrogate the relationship between animals and humans, and to put into question the boundary (if indeed one can be defined) between the two. In this course we will read a variety of medieval texts as well as modern critical theory in order to gain a better understanding of the textual, narrative, hermeneutic, and ethical roles that animals play in medieval literature, and in our contemporary critical posture vis à vis the natural world.
Instructor(s): Daisy Delogu
Prerequisite(s): Reading knowledge of French.
Note(s): Taught in English, with readings available in French and in English. Open to undergraduates with consent of instructor. Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): FREN 32910, MDVL 22910
FREN 23003. Introduction: Voix féminines dans la littérature française. 100 Units.
Ce cours nous permettra de réintégrer au canon de la littérature française des ouvrages parfois négligés, tout en prenant connaissance des principaux mouvements littéraires, culturels, et politiques auxquels ces textes appartiennent.
Instructor(s): D. Delogu Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): FREN 20300
Note(s): Taught in French. This is an introductory-level course.
Equivalent Course(s): GNSE 23003
FREN 23180. Introduction à la comédie: rire, société et genre. 100 Units.
In this introductory-level literature course we will study the evolution of French comedy from the seventeenth-century until today, probing issues such as the problem of laughter, theatricality and performance practices, and the depiction of social and political change. We will in particular study representations of gender from the Ancien Régime (Madame de Villedieu, Molière, Françoise de Graffigny), through the Revolution (Olympe de Gouges), and to twentieth-century experiments in queer performance (Genet) and biting social satire (Yasmina Reza).
Instructor(s): Larry Norman Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Prerequisite(s): FREN 20300.
Note(s): Taught in French. This is an introductory-level course.
Equivalent Course(s): TAPS 28475
FREN 23201. Racine: Phedre/Text/Sources/Translations. 100 Units.
TBD
Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): FNDL 29401, CMLT 28000
FREN 23444. Voyages littéraires, XXe-XXIe siècles. 100 Units.
Des voyages réels aux voyages imaginaires, du départ au retour, des excursions lointaines à des promenades de proximité, de l'exotisme au "post-exotisme," le récit de voyage littéraire connaît d'importantes variations au cours des XX et XXI siècles. Nous étudierons les différentes formes que peut prendre ces voyages littéraires, face au tourisme de masse, aux apports de ethnologie, et aux effets de la mondialisation. Parmi les auteurs étudiés figurent Victor Segalen, Blaise Cendrars, Ella Maillart, Aimé Césaire, Michel Butor, Jean Rolin, Antoine Volodine, et Nathalie Quintane.
Instructor(s): Alison James Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Prerequisite(s): FREN 20300 or consent of instructor.
Note(s): This is an introductory-level course. Taught in French.
FREN 23522. Introduction à la satire en France. 100 Units.
Le rire est souvent salué en France comme arme et gage de la liberté, mais la satire française suggère une histoire bien plus ambigüe. Dans ce cours, nous retracerons cette histoire (qui compte non seulement Rabelais, Molière, Boileau, Voltaire, Beaumarchais, et Hugo, mais aussi Antoinette Deshoulières, Mohamed Fellag, et Éléonore Pourriat), pour interroger les fonctions de la satire : amuser ou blesser, désabuser ou tromper, libérer ou contraindre, rassembler ou diviser ? Pour chaque roman, pièce de théâtre, poème, dessin, ou film, nous mènerons essentiellement une comparaison de perspectives, entre l'histoire de son interprétation, notre propre expérience de l'ouvrage, et les réactions probables des premiers lecteurs ou spectateurs, et des premières lectrices ou spectatrices, dans un contexte spécifique plus ou moins éloigné du nôtre.
Instructor(s): Peadar Kavanagh Terms Offered: Autumn
Prerequisite(s): FREN 20300.
Note(s): This is an introductory-level course. Taught in French.
FREN 23711. Litterature et photographie. 100 Units.
Ce cours se propose d'interroger les interactions entre littérature et photographie aux XIXe et XXe siècles à travers un parcours à la fois chronologique et thématique, en suivant trois pistes principales: l'influence du regard photographique sur l'écriture romanesque et poétique (Zola, Cendrars, Duras); les réflexions d'écrivains sur la photographie (Baudelaire, Barthes, Guibert); et les relations entre texte et image au sein du livre ou dans les œuvres de plasticiens (Rodenbach, Breton, Ernaux, Calle).Nous étudierons notamment: le rapport entre le visible et le lisible; la théorisation de l'image photographique; les fonctions narratives, illustratives et documentaires de l'image photographique dans la fiction et dans l'autobiographie; et l'histoire de la "photolittérature" comme genre spécifique. Des lectures théoriques et critiques accompagneront l'analyse des textes.
Instructor(s): A. James Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Prerequisite(s): FREN 20500 or 20503, and one other literature course taught in French.
Note(s): Taught in French.
Equivalent Course(s): FREN 33711
FREN 23725. La querelle des femmes. 100 Units.
La condition des femmes dans une société centrée sur l'homme est remise en cause en France au XVIIe siècle : naissent les premiers salons présidés par des femmes, qui défendent leur éducation intellectuelle et remettent en question le mariage ; la séparation cartésienne entre corps et esprit permet de prôner l'égalité des sexes. Ce proto-féminisme affronte aussitôt une forte réaction, qui s'exprime notamment par la satire, comme ses adhérentes sont traitées de « précieuses » et de « femmes savantes », dans le théâtre de Molière comme ailleurs. Dans un premier temps, nous écouterons les voix majeures de ce mouvement (telles que Madeleine de Scudéry, la salonnière dite Sapho), et examinerons ses diverses interprétations (notamment en longeant ensemble La Galerie des femmes fortes en Special Collections). Ensuite, nous ferons l'analyse des stratégies anti-féministes pour le miner. Enfin, la querelle de 1694 autour d'une satire misogyne de Boileau nous servira de conclusion pour un chapitre dans la longue histoire du féminisme et de sa réaction. Taught in French.
Instructor(s): Peadar Kavanagh Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): FREN 20500 or 20503.
FREN 23810. Memory and Identity in French Literature: Proust to the Present. 100 Units.
This introductory-level course takes as its point of departure Marcel Proust's conceptualization of memory as the foundation both for the self and for literature. For Proust, literary style conveys the singularity of an individual vision while rescuing experience from the contingencies of time. Literature, identity, and memory are inseparable. Later writers will follow Proust's lead in defining literature as an art of memory; but they develop this art in different ways, whether by inventing new forms of life-writing or attempting to revive, via fiction, a lived connection to history. How does memory serve as the foundation of individual or collective identities? How does fiction imagine and give form to memory, and how does literature serve as a medium for cultural memory? How do literary works register the intermittence of memory, its failings and distortions, its fragility as well as its attachment to bodies and places? We will tackle these questions through close analysis of a range of texts. In addition to Proust, authors studied may include Yourcenar, Perec, Modiano, Roubaud, and Ernaux.
Instructor(s): Alison James Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Note(s): Taught in English, with a weekly or biweekly session in French for those seeking FREN credit.
Equivalent Course(s): SIGN 26047, FNDL 23810
FREN 24100. Nature and the Natural in the Middle Ages. 100 Units.
In this course we will undertake a study of nature and ideas about what is "natural" centered around three main axes, and will adopt a variety of relevant critical perspectives (e.g., ecocriticism, studies of gender and sexuality, political theory) to support our analyses. First, we will explore nature as the created world of which humans are a part (as one of God's creations), yet from which they also stand apart (as sovereign caretakers). Second, we will examine how the diffusion of Aristotelian works (notably the Politics) in the later Middle Ages provided a justificatory framework for social and political hierarchies and practices of economic exploitation. Third, we will consider the intersection of nature with gender, sexuality, and reproduction, a topic complicated by the fact that Nature is itself represented, in allegorical terms, as a woman.
Instructor(s): Daisy Delogu Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Prerequisite(s): Reading knowledge of French for all students. FREN 20500, 20503 or a literature course taught in French for those seeking credit for the French major/minor.
Note(s): Taught in English.
Equivalent Course(s): FREN 34100, CEGU 24110, MDVL 24103, GNSE 24103, GNSE 34103, ENST 24110
FREN 24110. L'écriture du quotidien au XXe siècle. 100 Units.
Si les avant-gardes de la première moitié du siècle prétendent "changer la vie" (selon l'expression de Rimbaud), c'est surtout après la Seconde Guerre mondiale que s'élaborent des théories du quotidien (Lefebvre, de Certeau). Ce cours se propose de confronter les théories du quotidien aux différentes pratiques d'écriture du quotidien et au quotidien (des surréalistes à Annie Ernaux, en passant par Michel Leiris, Roland Barthes, et Georges Perec), afin de mieux cerner la spécificité des approches littéraires du réel.
Instructor(s): A. James Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Prerequisite(s): FREN 20500 or 20503, or consent of instructor
Equivalent Course(s): FREN 34110
FREN 24240. Drama Queens: Women Playwrights in the Renaissance. 100 Units.
This course introduces students to the works of early modern female playwrights from England--including Elizabeth Cary, Aphra Behn, and Margaret Cavendish--and from Continental Europe (in translation)--including the French Marguerite de Navarre (Comedy of Mont-de-Marsan), the Italian Margherita Costa (The Buffoons), the Spanish Ana Caro (The Courage to Right a Woman's Wrongs) and the Mexican Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz (Narcissus), among others. In this course, we will read and think through the complex plays and lives of those brilliant authors through various critical lenses such as intersectional feminism, transnationalism, and premodern critical race studies. (Drama, Pre-1650)
Instructor(s): Noémie Ndiaye Terms Offered: Winter
Equivalent Course(s): GNSE 20148, TAPS 24240, ENGL 24240
FREN 24516. La figure du héros : de Corneille à Sartre. 100 Units.
Du classicisme à l'existentialisme, la question de la représentation du héros dans l'œuvre littéraire a toujours été centrale. Pourquoi donner à un personnage un tel poids dans le récit ? Comment définir l'héroïsme et quelles sont ses formes ? En prenant en compte le genre littéraire et le contexte historique de chaque œuvre, nous nous attacherons dans ce cours à comprendre la nécessité du héros dans la fiction, et à analyser les motifs qui le poussent à agir et le résultat de ses actions. Nous examinerons les multiples facettes du héros : des grands héros tragiques de l'époque classique au personnage sartrien du XXème siècle en passant par le héros romantique. Notre réflexion s'appuiera sur une lecture précise de certaines œuvres marquantes sur le sujet, écrites par des auteurs majeurs (Corneille, Voltaire, Balzac, Maupassant…) et appartenant à des genres littéraires différents.
Instructor(s): I. Faton Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Note(s): Taught in French.
FREN 24555. Ecological Explorations of the Francophone World. 100 Units.
The environmental humanities - that is, the study of nature through humanistic disciplines such as literature and history - has long been dominated by texts and theories from privileged sections of Europe and North America. However, alternative understandings of our natural world, including the role of living beings within it, have always existed. In this course, we will explore how contemporary francophone literature can renew, expand and complicate our perceptions of the oceans, deserts, mangroves and forests that surround us. Particular attention will be paid to questions of race, gender, language and indigeneity; course material may include theoretical texts, fiction, poetry, songs, podcasts, film, graphic novels and social media material.
Instructor(s): Nikhita Obeegadoo Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): For students seeking French credit, FREN 20500 or equivalent.
Note(s): Taught in English or French, based on course composition
Equivalent Course(s): CEGU 24555, RDIN 24555, CEGU 34555, RDIN 34555, FREN 34555
FREN 24610. Introduction au théâtre français. 100 Units.
Dans ce cours nous examinerons la production théâtrale en France depuis le Moyen Âge jusqu'à nos jours, prenant en compte la variété et la richesse du théâtre français, ainsi que la place proéminente qu'il a occupé dans la culture française.
Instructor(s): D. Delogu Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Prerequisite(s): FREN 20500
Equivalent Course(s): TAPS 24878
FREN 24690. Fairy Tales. 100 Units.
La plupart des contes de fées que vous connaissez, de "Cendrillon" au "Chat Botté", ont été écrits en français d'abord, et au dix-septième siècle, qui a été l'âge d'or de ce genre en France. Les enfants et les adultes connaissent bien les contes d'auteurs comme Charles Perrault ou les frères Grimm. En France, pourtant, les femmes ont été cruciales au développement du conte de fées, avec Marie Catherine d'Aulnoy, la comtesse de Murat, ou Gabrielle Barbot de Villeneuve (qui a écrit "La Belle et la bête"). Etant donné qu'ils sont en grande partie responsables de ce en quoi consiste, de nos jours, la beauté, et d'une certaine image de l'amour et de la place de la femme dans la société, aussi bien que de ce qui est relégué aux marges, se pencher sur la formation de ce genre et analyser ses histoires est nécessaire pour comprendre pourquoi et comment ces idées prirent racine. Est-ce que les contes de fées sont les premiers récits à mettre en scène des héroïnes de caractère, ou est-ce qu'ils n'ont fait que perpétuer le motif de la demoiselle en détresse ? S'ils étaient, comme un article l'a récemment proposé, les premières critiques du patriarcat, peut-on le percevoir également chez ceux écrits par des hommes et ceux écrits par des femmes ? Nous étudierons des contes de fées français, anciens et modernes, à la fois des textes et des adaptations cinématographiques, en nous appuyant sur des lectures théoriques au sujet du folklore et du féminisme.
Instructor(s): Pauline Goul Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Prerequisite(s): FREN 20500, 20503, or a literature course taught in French.
Note(s): Taught in French.
Equivalent Course(s): FREN 34690
FREN 24700. Introduction à la littérature féminine au Maroc. 100 Units.
Depuis les années 1980, la littérature féminine au Maroc connaît un essor remarquable qui se traduit dans le renouvellement du paysage littéraire et la diversité des thèmes abordés. En mettant la femme marocaine et ses expériences au centre de l'acte littéraire, les écrivaines marocaines ont brisé les tabous et insufflé une dynamique sociale et politique à l'échelle du pays. Ce cours introductif donnera un aperçu des écritures féminines au Maroc à partir de questions majeures telles que la représentation du corps et de la sexualité, le rapport à la maternité et à la transmission, le poids des traditions et des injonctions sociales, les combats politiques, les droits des femmes ainsi que les luttes contre la discrimination et la violence. Parmi les autrices étudiées figurent Fatima Mernissi, Fatna El Bouih, Leila Abouzeid, Siham Benchekroun et Yasmine Chami. This is an introductory-level course. Taught in French.
Instructor(s): Khalid Lyamlahy Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): FREN 20500, 20503 or consent of the instructor.
Equivalent Course(s): GNSE 24700
FREN 24724. Empowering the Solo Voice: A Feminist Exploration of Francophone Theater Performance. 100 Units.
In this course, we will delve into the world of contemporary Francophone theater, focusing on the genre of solo performances, or "seules en scène''. We will examine the lineage, history, and practice of this genre, with a special emphasis on feminist playwrights and performers, such as Typhaine D, Jalila Baccar, Fanny Cabon, and Florence Foresti. We will study the underlying components of solo performances and learn how to integrate them into different modes, including storytelling, one-woman or one-man shows, and standup. The selected plays will illustrate how the art of the solo voice can empower under-represented communities and minorities to share powerful narratives and create a new space for visibility and listening. The class will combine history, practice, and creative writing, and will afford students the opportunity to apply this knowledge in a series of live performances that will allow them to creatively connect to the issues raised in the readings and draw from their own experiences, inspirations, and questions. Students will develop creative and critical tools to fully explore the solo voice as a form of artistic expression, honing their talents in writing, devising, composing, producing, and creating work. Performance recordings will be obtained and shared with the class to further enhance the learning experience. One of the unique opportunities of this course is the opportunity to work with texts obtained directly from the playwrights.
Instructor(s): Khouloud Gargouri Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Prerequisite(s): Reading knowledge of French.
Note(s): Class will be conducted in English with a separate discussion section available for students seeking credit for the major/minor. Readings will be in French and in English.
Equivalent Course(s): TAPS 20235, GNSE 23156
FREN 24725. Transatlantic Feminism. French, Francophone, and North American perspectives (20th-21st c.) 100 Units.
This course explores modern and contemporary feminism through a transatlantic lens. We will consider three major moments and sites of a multi-centered conversation. First, we will explore the modernist desire for cosmopolitanism which drew writers across the Atlantic (Simone de Beauvoir's adventures in the US; Djuna Barnes and Gertrude Stein's lives in Paris). In the central part of the quarter, we will focus on the period between 1960 and 1990 which witnessed intense conversation and contestation between a French paradigm of "écriture féminine" (Hélène Cixous, Monique Wittig), and the rivalling practices and theories in America (from Adrienne Rich and Mary Daly to Judith Butler). Finally, we will explore the ways in which feminist thought has endeavored to account for race, class, rurality, and disability (from Maryse Condé to Aurélie Olivier and Roseline Lambert). The course will explore various media (novels, poetry, theater and performance, film), and various ways to engage critically and creatively with this history of transatlantic feminism.
Instructor(s): Léon Pradeau Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): Taught in English but reading knowledge of French is required. Students taking this class for French credit must have taken FREN 20500, 20503 or a literature course taught in French, and will complete assignments in French.
Equivalent Course(s): CMLT 24725, GNSE 23172
FREN 24888. Jeux littéraires, XXe/XXIe siècles. 100 Units.
Ce cours abordera l'histoire littérature à travers un prisme particulier: la fréquence des pratiques de jeu dans la production littéraire des XXe et XXIe siècles-des "cadavres exquis" du surréalisme à l'interactivité des littératures numériques, en passant par les contraintes formelles de l'Ouvroir de littérature potentielle (Oulipo). Nous analyserons le rôle de ces pratiques dans l'esthétique et la sociabilité des avant-gardes, tout en tenant compte des théories du jeu les plus pertinentes (Huizinga, Caillois). En plus des travaux d'analyse littéraire, les étudiants participeront à des exercices de création individuels ou collectifs.
Instructor(s): A. James Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Prerequisite(s): FREN 20500 or 20503, and one other literature course taught in French.
Note(s): Taught in French.
Equivalent Course(s): FREN 34888
FREN 24900. Nouvelles du Maghreb. 100 Units.
Ce cours est une introduction au genre de la nouvelle au Maghreb. En travaillant sur une sélection de nouvelles et de textes courts d'auteurs marocains, algériens et tunisiens, on s'intéressera aussi bien aux thèmes abordés (reconstruction historique, critique sociale ou politique, réflexions sur l'identité et l'altérité, etc.) qu'aux schémas narratifs et aux procédés esthétiques. À travers l'étude de la mise en scène des personnages, de la construction de l'intrigue et du dénouement des récits, on interprétera la concision de la nouvelle et sa capacité à représenter, souvent de manière saisissante, des éléments majeurs de la société et de la culture maghrébines. Les auteurs étudiés comprennent Driss Chraïbi, Mohamed Leftah, Abdelfattah Kilito, Mohammed Dib, Maïssa Bey, Leïla Sebbar, Ali Bécheur, Hélé Béji et d'autres.
Instructor(s): Khalid Lyamlahy Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Prerequisite(s): FREN 20300 or consent of instructor.
Note(s): This is an introductory-level course. Taught in French.
FREN 25000. Molière: Comedy, Power and Subversion. 100 Units.
Molière crafted a new form of satirical comedy that revolutionized European theater, though it encountered strong opposition from powerful institutions. We will read the plays in the context of the literary, dramatic, and theatrical/performance traditions which he reworked (farce, commedia dell'arte, Latin comedy, Spanish Golden Age theater, satiric poetry, the novel), while considering the relationship of laughter to social norms, with particular emphasis on sexuality, gender roles, and cultural identities.
Instructor(s): Larry Norman Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Prerequisite(s): FREN 20500 or FREN 20503.
Note(s): Taught in French.
Equivalent Course(s): TAPS 38470, TAPS 28470, FNDL 25001, FREN 35000
FREN 25505. Grandes voix féminines des Lettres africaines. 100 Units.
Ce cours s'intéresse aux œuvres des écrivaines francophones majeures de l'Afrique sub-saharienne dont Mariama Bâ, Aminata Sow Fall, Fatou Diome, Léonora Miano, Scholastique Mukasonga, et Véronique Tadjo. Il s'agit d'étudier les thématiques abordées par ces auteures et les techniques qu'elles utilisent non seulement pour représenter et repenser la condition de la femme africaine mais aussi pour contribuer activement aux débats socioculturels et politiques qui résonnent à travers le continent et sa diaspora. Dans ce cours, on analysera les questions d'engagement, de résistance et d'émancipation telles que mises en scène par des voix féminines africaines qui luttent contre les préjugés et opposent aux stéréotypes la diversité et le dynamisme de leurs créations.
Instructor(s): Khalid Lyamlahy Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Prerequisite(s): FREN 20500 or 20503
Note(s): Taught in French.
Equivalent Course(s): GNSE 25506, GNSE 35506, FREN 35505
FREN 25600. Realism and Its Returns in 20th-Century France. 100 Units.
This course will examine the influence and continuation in twentieth-century French literature of the great realist enterprise of the previous century. Beginning with the crisis of naturalism in the late nineteenth century, we will consider the inflections given to literary representation by historical cataclysm, the avant-garde critique of the novel, and the postwar "age of suspicion." We will investigate the reformulations of literature's relationship to reality offered by theories of literary commitment and by the experiments of the Nouveau Roman. Finally, we will evaluate the phenomenon of the "return to the real" in contemporary French literature. Readings will include works by Aragon, Céline, Sartre, Robbe-Grillet, Sarraute, Perec, and Pierre Michon.
Instructor(s): Alison James Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Prerequisite(s): FREN 20500, 20503 or a literature course taught in French.
Note(s): Taught in French.
Equivalent Course(s): FREN 35600
FREN 25610. Figures de l'immigré dans la littérature maghrébine d'expression française. 100 Units.
La littérature maghrébine d'expression française s'est très tôt intéressée à la question de l'immigration et à la condition de l'immigré maghrébin en France. Associée notamment à la mobilisation des soldats maghrébins lors des deux guerres mondiales, cette immigration commence dès les années 1920 et connaît son apogée pendant les Trente Glorieuses (1946-1975), une période de croissance pendant laquelle l'économie française fait appel à la main d'œuvre maghrébine. L'évolution et les dynamiques du mouvement migratoire maghrébin ont fait l'objet de plusieurs lectures d'ordre historique, politique, économique et socioculturel. Ce cours s'intéresse à l'expérience de l'immigration telle que représentée par les écrivains maghrébins entre le milieu des années 1950 et les années 2000. En étudiant un corpus constitué de romans (Chraïbi, Ben Jelloun, Boudjedra, Mokeddem), de récits (Sebbar, Cherfi) et de théâtre (Kateb), nous nous intéresserons aux figures de l'immigré et à quelques thèmes récurrents tels que l'expérience de l'exil et du déracinement, la misère sociale et psychologique, les questionnements identitaires, les rapports ambivalents aux pays d'origine et d'accueil ainsi que l'expérience des enfants de l'immigration maghrébine. On analysera en particulier les motifs littéraires, les procédés narratifs et les outils esthétiques mis en œuvre par les auteurs maghrébins pour représenter, éclairer ou dénoncer la condition de l'immigré.
Instructor(s): K. Lyamlahy Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Prerequisite(s): FREN 20500 or 20503.
Note(s): Taught in French. This is an introductory-level course.
FREN 25703. Le Roman et L'Histoire (XIXe-XXe Siecles) 100 Units.
While the nineteenth-century novel has a privileged relationship with history, twentieth-century literature is marked by a double movement of engagement with and detachment from contemporary events. This course will examine this evolution through the study of some key works from the nineteenth century to the present. Themes will include the representation and fictionalization of history, memory and quest, and the transformations of realism. Among the authors studied will be Zola, Duras, Modiano, Nemirovsky, and Djebar.
Instructor(s): A. James Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Note(s): Taught in French.
Equivalent Course(s): FREN 35703
FREN 25725. Mental Health Conditions in French and Francophone Literature. 100 Units.
This course aims to survey the representation of mental health conditions in French and Francophone literature from the Middle Ages to the 20th/21st century. We will address three main categories of conditions: 1) neurodivergence/high-functioning mental illness, 2) severe mental illness, and 3) gender dysphoria and sexuality-related issues. Through these readings, the student will gain an interdisciplinary knowledge of contemporary diagnostic criteria and psychological theory as well as the sociohistorical discourse surrounding mental health during the given time period for each of the prominent French and Francophone writers and/or texts. We will investigate links between authors and texts with these mental health conditions - examining the author as a typical/atypical unit and the text as either a reflection and/or object of that condition - and how history, society and culture influence its representation in the French and Francophone context. Our selection of texts covers several different genres including poetry, novellas, essays, autobiographical writings, plays and novels. Authors studied may include: Michel de Montaigne, Gerard de Nerval, Joachim du Bellay, Marguerite Duras, Joy Sorman, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Maïssa Bey, Molière, Heldris de Cornüalle, and the Marquis de Sade.
Instructor(s): Enya Calibuso Terms Offered: Autumn
Prerequisite(s): For French majors/minors, FREN 20500 or 20503.
Note(s): Taught in English, with readings in French for those taking the course for French credit.
FREN 25900. The People v. The State: French Insurrections. 100 Units.
Pourquoi les peuples se soulèvent-ils contre l'Etat ? Quelle fin peut justifier l'insurrection comme moyen ? Qu'elles soient soudaines ou qu'elles germinent pendant des décennies, les insurrections peuvent être le seul moyen de changer les choses, particulièrement dans une démocratie. Parfois on ne s'en rend compte que des semaines ou des mois après l'événement lui-même. Les Français ont une réputation particulière pour les manifestations, les grêves, les barricades : est-ce à cause d'une tradition insurrectionnelle, ou s'agit-il simplement d'un stéréotype ? Dans ce cours, nous étudierons plusieurs insurrections dans l'histoire française et francophone. Nous lirons des textes littéraires et philosophiques de la première modernité à nos jours afin de mieux se représenter les complexités de tels moments, et de discuter les approches théoriques aux concepts socio-politiques d'insurrection, de révolution, violence, guerrilla, etc. La classe sera centrée sur l'idée de réagir au passé afin de trouver des réponses pour le présent ; pour cela, les étudiants seront immergés pendant cinq semaines dans un jeu de rôle historique où la classe deviendra l'Assemblée Nationale Constituante de 1791. Ils rechercheront, prépareront et joueront les rôles de députés conservateurs, Jacobins, Louis XVI, Lafayette, ou seront chefs révolutionnaires des sections de Paris, comme Danton.
Instructor(s): Pauline Goul Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Prerequisite(s): FREN 20500, 20503 or a literature course taught in French.
Note(s): Taught in French.
FREN 25910. Racine. 100 Units.
Racine's tragedies are often considered the culminating achievement of French classicism. Most famous for his powerful re-imaginings of Greek myth (Phèdre, Andromaque), his tragic universe nevertheless ranged considerably wider, from ancient Jewish queens to a contemporary Ottoman harem. We will consider the roots (from Euripides to Corneille) of his theatrical practice as well as its immense influence on future writers (from Voltaire to Proust, Beckett, and Genet).
Instructor(s): L. Norman Terms Offered: Autumn
Prerequisite(s): At least one French literature course, 21700 or higher.
Note(s): Course taught in French. All work in French for students seeking FREN credit; written work may be in English for those taking course for TAPS or FNDL credit.
Equivalent Course(s): TAPS 28476, TAPS 35910, FREN 35910, FNDL 25910
FREN 26003. Introduction à l'autobiographie. 100 Units.
This course traces the history of the autobiographical genre in France from the eighteenth century to the present. The study of key texts will be accompanied by an introduction to some critical perspectives. We will give special emphasis to questions of reference and authenticity, identity and subject formation, and gender and the family. Authors include Rousseau, Chateaubriand, Stendhal, Colette, Perec, and Sarraute.
Instructor(s): A. James Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Prerequisite(s): FREN 20500 or 20503
Note(s): Taught in French. This is an introductory-level course.
Equivalent Course(s): GNSE 26003
FREN 26012. Introduction au théâtre maghrébin. 100 Units.
Ce cours offre un aperçu de l'évolution de l'art dramatique au Maroc, en Algérie et en Tunisie en examinant des questions telles que l'apport des formes populaires, l'emprunt aux textes étrangers, et le lien entre l'écriture théâtrale et des débats d'ordre social, culturel ou politique. On analysera en particulier les formes d'écriture, de mise en scène et de performance pratiquées par les dramaturges maghrébins et la manière dont leurs créations permettent de repenser les cultures et les mémoires nationales, le rapport entre le théâtre et l'histoire ainsi que la représentation des identités maghrébines et de leur dialogue avec l'étranger. Les dramaturges étudiés comprennent Tayeb Saddiki, Driss Ksikes, Kateb Yacine, Aziz Chouaki, Jalila Baccar, Fadhel Jaïbi.
Instructor(s): Khalid Lyamlahy Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Prerequisite(s): FREN 20500 or 20503
Note(s): Taught in French. All work in French for students seeking FREN credit; written work may be in English for those taking the course for TAPS credit. This is an introductory-level course.
Equivalent Course(s): TAPS 24612
FREN 26043. Versailles: Art, Power, Resistance and the Sun King's Palace. 100 Units.
Louis XIV's Palace of Versailles helped shape European culture and history from the Baroque era through the French Revolution, and it continues to animate contemporary international culture. How does this astounding assemblage of architecture, visual arts, landscaping, performance spaces and political arenas reveal transformations in cultural tastes and power arrangements over the centuries? How do literature and art alternately support and subvert absolutist power and state propaganda? To respond we will range across media, from the bitingly satiric comedies and provocative tragedies of the seventeenth century (Molière, Racine), through royal edicts regulating colonial slavery and first-hand accounts of the 1789 Women's March on Versailles that upended the monarchy, and finally to cinematic depictions (from Jean Renoir to Sophia Coppola) and experimental palace installations by the world's leading contemporary artists (Jeff Koons, Anish Kapoor, etc.). While this course will broadly introduce major themes of French and European culture and history of the early-modern and modern periods, students are also encouraged to pursue in-depth projects in their own areas of interest, from history and political philosophy to the visual arts, theater and performance, and literature.
Instructor(s): L. Norman
Prerequisite(s): Students who register under FREN 26043 must have completed FREN 20300 or equivalent, and will read French texts in the original.
Note(s): Class conducted in English, with French discussion sessions and reading and writing in French for students registered under FREN 26043.
Equivalent Course(s): SIGN 26043, FNDL 26043
FREN 26220. Classicism and Romanticism. 100 Units.
This undergraduate/graduate course will examine the dynamic relationship between the French "Classicism" of the Age of Louis XIV and the later post-Revolutionary movement of Romanticism. We will pair readings of poetic, dramatic, and narrative works from the 17th century (e.g., Molière, Mme de La Fayette, Corneille, Racine) with later counterparts (Germaine de Staël, Chateaubriand, Stendhal, Hugo, George Sand), probing changing conceptions of the role of literature and art, as well as shifting attitudes towards erotic love, social norms, and nature.
Instructor(s): L. Norman Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Prerequisite(s): FREN 20500 and one introductory-level literature course taught in French.
Note(s): Taught in French.
Equivalent Course(s): FREN 36220
FREN 26300. Women in French Literature. 100 Units.
TBD
Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): GNSE 26301, FREN 36301
FREN 26333. La poésie maghrébine d'expression française. 100 Units.
Depuis son émergence vers le milieu des années 1930, la poésie maghrébine d'expression française a accompagné les bouleversements politiques dans les trois pays du Maghreb et influencé la production romanesque des écrivains maghrébins. Dans les années 1960, des expériences collectives majeures - telles que la revue Souffles au Maroc - placent la poésie au centre du projet de renouvellement culturel dans la région. A la suite de ces dynamiques de groupes, les poètes maghrébins développent des œuvres poétiques ancrées dans leurs expériences individuelles mais désormais ouvertes sur le monde. Des thématiques récurrentes telles que l'exil, l'errance, le désir de révolte et la quête de la liberté mobilisent des techniques poétiques aussi variées que la violence linguistique, le dialogue avec les mythes ou encore l'utilisation des ressources de l'oralité. En étudiant un corpus d'œuvres poétiques choisies du Maroc (Abdellatif Laâbi, Tahar Ben Jellou, Rachida Madani, Saïda Menebhi), de l'Algérie (Jean Sénac, Kateb Yacine, Assia Djebar) et de la Tunisie (Albert Memmi, Amina Saïd, Tahar Bekri), ce cours présente une introduction générale à la poésie maghrébine d'expression française. On analysera en particulier les formes, les procédés et les motifs poétiques permettant d'appréhender la figure du poète, sa représentation de la patrie, son discours politique ou encore son univers de représentations sensorielles et symboliques.
Instructor(s): K. Lyamlahy Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): FREN 20500 or 20503 for undergraduates.
Note(s): Taught in French.
Equivalent Course(s): FREN 36333
FREN 26510. Oulipo in Context. 100 Units.
TBD
Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): CMLT 36510, CMLT 26510, FREN 36510
FREN 26680. Literary Games: Oulipo and Onward. 100 Units.
Does constraint foster creativity? Can wordplay carry political meaning? Is formal innovation divorced from lyrical expression? How do experimental literary movements respond to their sociopolitical moments and local contexts, and how do they transform when they travel across geographical and linguistic borders? We will consider these questions via the work of the longest-lived French literary group, the Oulipo (Ouvroir de littérature potentielle or Workshop for Potential Literature), examining its origins as a quasi-secret society in 1960 and its expansion into an internationally visible and multilingual collective (with members from Italy, Spain, Argentina, and the US). We will investigate debates about inspiration and authorship, copying and plagiarism, collective creation, multilingualism, constraint and translation, and the viability of the lyric subject. While considering antecedents (Edgar Allan Poe, Raymond Roussel), our readings will explore several generations of Oulipians (Raymond Queneau, Georges Perec, Italo Calvino, Michèle Métail, Anne Garréta, Frédéric Forte), and conclude with some very contemporary Oulipo-inspired writing from around the world (Christian Bök, Urayoán Noel, Mónica de la Torre, K. Silem Mohammed). Alongside critical essays, students will carry out short experiments with constraint and procedure, as well as translation exercises; and they will have the opportunity for dialogue with acclaimed writers and scholars who will visit our seminar.
Instructor(s): Rachel Galvin and Alison James Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): Open to advanced undergraduates. Students who are taking the class for French credit will complete some readings and writings in French.
Equivalent Course(s): FREN 36680, ENGL 36680, ENGL 26680, CMLT 26680, CMLT 36680
FREN 26700. Jeanne d'Arc, histoire et legende. 100 Units.
S'appuyant sur l'exemple de Jeanne d'Arc, ce cours s'intéressera à la manière dont nous transformons le passé à la lumière des besoins et des soucis du présent. Nous situerons Jeanne d'Arc dans son contexte historique à l'aide des documents légaux, littéraires, et ecclésiastiques. Nous considérerons ensuite les représentations multiples et variées de Jeanne au cours des siècles suivants, examinant par exemple des textes de Voltaire, de Michelet, d'Anouilh, et d'autres, ainsi que des films qui présentent la vie de Jeanne d'Arc.
Instructor(s): Daisy Delogu Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Prerequisite(s): FREN 20500, 20503 or a literature course taught in French.
Note(s): Taught in French.
Equivalent Course(s): GNSE 26700, MDVL 26700
FREN 26770. Stories of Oceans and Archipelagos. 100 Units.
According to Fijian-Tongan writer Epeli Hau'ofa, "There is a world of difference between viewing the Pacific as 'islands in a far sea' and as 'a sea of islands.'" In this course, we will delve into the "world of difference" that exists between viewing islands as remote and insignificant, and considering them as crucial nodes in an ever-expanding planetary network. Simultaneously, we will consider the stakes of moving away from traditional representations of the ocean as a blank canvas for human movement, to instead consider it as a vibrant material and multispecies space. This course will encourage students to formulate their own approaches to cutting-edge debates in archipelagic theory and critical ocean studies, and to situate those debates within the broader fields of environmental humanities and postcolonial studies. Readings will be drawn from the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean (including the Caribbean Sea), and the Indian Ocean.
Instructor(s): Nikhita Obeegadoo Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): For students seeking French credit, FREN 20500 or equivalent.
Note(s): Taught in French.
Equivalent Course(s): CEGU 26770, RDIN 26770, CMLT 26771
FREN 27400. Autobiographies Maghrébines: de l'Ecriture de Soi à l'Ecriture de l'Histoire. 100 Units.
Dès sa naissance, la littérature maghrébine d'expression française s'est distinguée par son ancrage dans le contexte historique, politique et socio-culturel des trois pays du Maghreb que sont le Maroc, l'Algérie et la Tunisie. Souvent, l'écriture de soi a donné lieu à une (ré)écriture de l'Histoire, mettant l'individuel et le collectif en dialogue permanent. L'autobiographie, par exemple, devient le champ d'une exploration simultanée des identités individuelle et collective, le lieu d'un témoignage littéraire autour de l'expérience coloniale et de ses conséquences, ou encore de la confrontation entre le poids persistant de la tradition et le désir de liberté et de changement. En se racontant, l'écrivain maghrébin restitue les tensions qui hantent l'espace et la mémoire partagés tout en proposant des voies de reconstruction à travers la révolte, le désir, et le travail de la langue. En s'appuyant sur un corpus d'œuvres marquantes de la littérature maghrébine d'expression française (Albert Memmi, Driss Chraïbi, Kateb Yacine, Assia Djebar, Fatima Mernissi, Abdellatif Laâbi), ce séminaire sera consacré essentiellement à la question du rapport entre écriture personnelle et écriture de l'Histoire dans un contexte maghrébin. On s'interrogera en particulier sur les stratégies narratives et les outils esthétiques mis en œuvre par les auteurs maghrébins pour représenter, affronter ou déconstruire une réalité d'ordre historique, politique ou socio-culturel.
Instructor(s): K. Lyamlahy Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Prerequisite(s): FREN 20500 or 20503
Note(s): Taught in French.
FREN 27600. Ancien Francais/Old French. 100 Units.
This course will introduce students to the phonetics, morphology, syntax, and vocabulary of Old French in order to equip them with the skills necessary to work with Old and Middle French texts. We will examine and translate verse and prose passages from the twelfth to fifteenth centuries, discussing also their literary and historical contexts. The course will be conducted, as a practicum, in English.
Instructor(s): D. Delogu Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Note(s): Knowledge of Latin and/or modern French, though obviously helpful, is not required.
Equivalent Course(s): FREN 37600
FREN 27601. Debats et querelles litteraires au Moyen Age. 100 Units.
TBD
Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
FREN 27770. Existentialism and Its Literary Legacies. 100 Units.
More than a school of philosophical thought, existentialism was an intellectual movement that dominated French culture in the years following World War II. This course focuses on the literary legacy of existentialism, considering postwar debates over littérature engagée, the intersections of existentialism and the nouveau roman, and the importance of feminist existentialism for women writers. Why did existentialist thinkers turn to forms of literary expression, writing plays and novels? How did they shape the reception of other writers, and how did later writers revisit existentialist concerns? Readings may include texts by Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, Gabriel Marcel, Simone de Beauvoir, Nathalie Sarraute, Monique Wittig, Georges Perec, and Annie Ernaux.
Instructor(s): A. James Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Prerequisite(s): FREN 20500 or 20503 for undergraduates.
Note(s): Readings and discussion section in French.
Equivalent Course(s): FREN 37770
FREN 28000. The Theatrical Illusion: Corneille, Kushner and the Baroque. 100 Units.
TBD
Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): TAPS 28463, CMLT 31001, FREN 38000, REMS 38000, CMLT 21001
FREN 28102. Regendering the Medieval Body Politic. 100 Units.
TBD
Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): GNSE 28103, GNSE 38103, FREN 38102
FREN 28110. Le Roman Medieval, XIIe-XVe siecles. 100 Units.
TBD
Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): FREN 38110
FREN 28301. La Comedie Classique. 100 Units.
TBD
Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): FREN 38301
FREN 28410. Ecrire le « Printemps arabe » au Maghreb : témoignages et perspectives littéraires. 100 Units.
Fin 2010, l'immolation de Mohamed Bouazizi, un vendeur ambulant tunisien, déclenche un soulèvement populaire qui s'étend rapidement au reste du monde arabe, entraînant notamment la chute des régimes en Tunisie et en Egypte et une série de reconfigurations d'ordre politique et socio-économique. Si les pays du Maghreb ont vécu ces soulèvements et leurs conséquences de manières différentes, les écrivains maghrébins ont été particulièrement sensibles à l'élan et à la promesse de changement portés par la rue. Ceci étant, et à l'image de l'appellation « Printemps arabe », à la fois utilisée et récusée, les dynamiques et les résultats des protestations ont fait l'objet de nombreux débats. En s'appuyant sur ce contexte historique, ce cours s'intéresse aux différentes modalités d'écriture des soulèvements au Maghreb à travers divers genres littéraires, du témoignage à la fiction, en passant par l'essai, le théâtre ou encore la poésie. En étudiant un corpus de textes francophones issus de la Tunisie (Meddeb, Filali, Bekri), de l'Algérie (Benfodil, Boudjedra, Tamzali, Sebbar) et du Maroc (Ben Jelloun, Elalamy, Terrab), nous nous intéresserons à la représentation de la révolte populaire dans ses dimensions socio-politique et culturelle mais aussi à des questions clés telles que les formes d'engagement des écrivains, leurs approches et choix esthétiques et le rapport entre la dynamique des soulèvements et la construction narrative ou poétique des textes.
Instructor(s): K. Lyamlahy Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Prerequisite(s): FREN 20500 or 20503
Note(s): Readings and discussions in French.
Equivalent Course(s): FREN 38410
FREN 28900. La Princesse de Clèves and the Genesis of the Modern Novel. 100 Units.
Madame de La Fayette's 1678 novel represents a turning point in the international development of the psychological novel and historical fiction. Set in a Renaissance past of courtly international intrigue, the novel plumbs its characters' interiorized struggles with erotic desire, marriage, and adultery, forging a path for later novelists such as Flaubert, George Eliot, and Tolstoy. We will examine debates about its literary form and moral impact, as well as around gender and women's writing, placing the novel in a transnational context (Spanish, Italian, and English romances, drama, and moral philosophy) and its later reception, including film adaptations and its role in heated contemporary controversies around the place of the humanities in society. Students are encouraged to undertake individual comparative research projects in relation to the novel. Course taught in English but reading ability in French required.
Instructor(s): Larry Norman Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor required for undergrads; those seeking FREN credit must have completed at least one French literature course, 21700 or higher.
Note(s): All work in French for students seeking FREN credit; written work may be in English for others.
Equivalent Course(s): CMLT 38990, FREN 38900, FNDL 29405, CMLT 28990
FREN 29301. Language Identity and Power in French-Creolophone Contexts. 100 Units.
This course examines the concept of language identity (i.e., the language[s] people employ to represent themselves) in multilingual Creolophone communities, particularly in Haiti. This course also examines the relationships between language identity, learning, language use, and literacy development in these societies. By the end of the course, students will be able to explain: 1) what language identity in multilingual Creolophone community reveal about speakers and their language attitudes; 2) how context and mode of communication can impact language identity and language use; 3) literacy acquisition and achievement in Creole communities; and 4) how Creolophones' learning and literacy development are affected by language policies and ideologies. A final project will require students to design and conduct a preliminary sociolinguistic study based on students' interests in the French-Creolophone world.
Instructor(s): Gerdine Ulysse Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): Knowledge of French and Kreyòl will be helpful, but not required.
Note(s): Taught in English.
Equivalent Course(s): KREY 29300, LACS 29299
FREN 29401. Georges Perec Et L'Oulipo. 100 Units.
TBD
Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): FREN 39401
FREN 29700. Readings in Special Topics. 100 Units.
This course is a study of directed readings in special topics not covered by courses offered as part of the program in French. Subjects treated and work completed for the course must be chosen in consultation with the instructor no later than the end of the preceding quarter.
Prerequisite(s): FREN 10300 or 20300, depending upon the requirements of the program for which credit is sought
Note(s): Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form.
FREN 29900. BA Paper Preparation: French. 100 Units.
In consultation with a faculty member, students devote the equivalent of a one-quarter course to the preparation of a BA project.
Prerequisite(s): Consent of undergraduate adviser
Note(s): Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. Must be taken for a quality grade. Counts towards course requirements for French majors seeking honors.
Other Courses of Interest
FREN 37000. Neoclassical Aesthetics: Transnational Approaches. 100 Units.
Though "aesthetic" philosophy first developed as an autonomous field in the mid-eighteenth century, it has important roots in earlier eighteenth- and seventeenth-century debates concerning literature and the arts. In the wake of Cartesian rationalism, could reasoned method be reconciled with non-rational creativity, or decorous order with the unruly "sublime"? Just what kind of "truth" was revealed by poetry or painting? What is the value of the Greco-Roman models versus authorial innovation? We will consider the relation between literature and other media (particularly opera and the visual arts) and read French texts in dialogue with other, and often contending, national trends (British, German, Italian). Readings will include Descartes, Pascal, Perrault, Félibien, Dryden, Du Bos, Addison, Vico, Montesquieu, Staël, and A.W. Schlegel.
Instructor(s): Larry Norman Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): Reading knowledge of French is required. Undergrads permitted with consent of instructor.
Note(s): Taught in English. Students seeking FREN credit must complete all readings and written work in French.
Equivalent Course(s): CMLT 38600, SCTH 37000, ARTH 48301
Italian Courses
Language
Must be taken for a quality grade. No auditors are permitted.
ITAL 10100-10200-10300. Beginning Elementary Italian I-II-III.
This three-quarter sequence is intended for beginning and beginning/intermediate students in Italian. It provides students with a solid foundation in the basic patterns of spoken and written Italian (e.g., grammar, vocabulary, sociocultural norms) to develop their speaking, listening, writing, and reading skills. Although the three courses constitute a sequence, there is enough review and recycling at every level for students to enter the sequence at whatever level is appropriate for them. Cultural awareness is enhanced through the use of authentic audio-visual materials and literary texts.
ITAL 10100. Beginning Elementary Italian I. 100 Units.
This course is the first of a three-part language sequence that provides beginning students with a solid foundation in the language and the cultural norms necessary for everyday communication in Italy. It is designed to help students obtain functional competency in speaking, writing, reading, and listening. Students will practice all three modes of communication (interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational). They will also explore aspects of Italian culture, traditions, and regions through a selection of texts and audio-visual materials that aim to raise cultural awareness and encourage intercultural reflection.
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Autumn
ITAL 10200. Beginning Elementary Italian II. 100 Units.
This course offers a rapid review of the basic patterns of the language presented in ITAL 10100 and further explores the language and the cultural norms necessary for everyday communication in Italy. It is designed to help students obtain functional competency in speaking, writing, reading, and listening with a focus on present and past time frames. Students will practice all three modes of communication (interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational). They will also explore aspects of Italian culture, traditions, and regions through a selection of texts and audio-visual materials that aim to raise cultural awareness and encourage intercultural reflection.
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): ITAL 10100 or placement
ITAL 10300. Beginning Elementary Italian III. 100 Units.
This course is the third of a three-part language sequence that provides a solid foundation in the language and the cultural norms necessary for everyday communication in Italy. It expands on the language presented in previous parts of the sequence, and provides functional competency in speaking, writing, reading, and listening, with a focus on present, past and future time frames. Students will practice all three modes of communication (interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational). They will also explore aspects of Italian culture, traditions, and regions through a selection of texts and audio-visual materials that aim to raise cultural awareness and encourage intercultural communication. Successful completion of ITAL 10300 meets the language competence requirement.
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): ITAL 10200 or placement
ITAL 12200. Italian for Speakers of Romance Languages. 100 Units.
This course is intended for speakers of other Romance languages to quickly develop competence in spoken and written Italian. Students learn ways to apply their skills in another Romance language to Italian by concentrating on the similarities and differences between languages. Students with a placement of 20100 or higher in any of the other Romance Languages are eligible to take ITAL 12200 for completion of the College Language Competency Requirement.
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Spring
Winter
Prerequisite(s): 20100 in another Romance language or consent of instructor.
ITAL 13333. Reading Italian for Research Purposes Prerequisite Course. 100 Units.
This course is designed for students without prior experience or training in Italian who wish to take ITAL 33333, Reading Italian for Research Purposes. In this course, students learn the basics of Italian grammar and syntax, some basic Italian vocabulary, and they also begin to learn some of the reading strategies they will need to be successful in ITAL 33333. The prerequisite for ITAL 33333 is either one year of college-level Italian language instruction or the equivalent, or successful completion of ITAL 13333.
Note(s): Course not offered in 24-25
ITAL 20100-20200-20300. Italian Language, History, and Culture I-II-III.
In this intermediate-level sequence, students review and extend their knowledge of all basic patterns (e.g., grammar, vocabulary, sociocultural norms) of the language. They develop their oral and written skills in describing, narrating, and presenting arguments. They are exposed to literary and nonliterary texts and audio-visual materials that provide them with a deeper understanding of Italian culture and society.
ITAL 20100. Language, History, and Culture I. 100 Units.
In this course, students practice all three modes of communication (interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational), and further develop listening, reading, writing, and speaking skills through a variety of activities. This class reviews basic patterns of the language, and presents new grammatical structures and communicative functions. Students explore aspects of Italian society - with a focus on cultural practices and perspectives - through a variety of literary and non-literary texts and audio-visual materials, which raise cultural awareness and encourage intercultural reflection.
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Autumn
Prerequisite(s): ITAL 10300 or placement
ITAL 20200. Language, History, and Culture II. 100 Units.
In this second part of the intermediate sequence, Students explore aspects of Italian society - with a focus on social issues and socioeconomic changes - cultural practices, and perspectives through a variety of literary and non-literary texts and audio-visual materials. The course raises cultural awareness and encourages intercultural reflection, while offering students several opportunities to practice all three modes of communication (interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational). Students develop listening, reading, writing, and speaking skills through a variety of activities. This class presents new grammatical structures and lexical items, while reviewing patterns from ITAL201.
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): ITAL 20100 or placement
ITAL 20300. Language, History, and Culture III. 100 Units.
This course completes the study of the common grammatical functions and syntactical structures of the language, while reviewing previously-acquired patterns. Students practice all three modes of communication (interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational), and further develop listening, reading, writing, and speaking skills through a variety of activities. They continue exploring aspects of Italian society, through audio-visual materials and the reading of a contemporary Italian novel. Like the other parts of the sequence, this course raises cultural awareness, encourages intercultural reflection, and help students develop academic literacy.
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): ITAL 20200 or placement
ITAL 20222. Italian for Speakers of Romance Languages II. 100 Units.
This course is intended for speakers of other Romance languages who have completed ITAL 12200 "Italian for Speakers of Romance Languages." In this intermediate-level course, students will further develop their proficiency in Italian, by focusing on the similarities and differences between Romance languages. This course offers a rapid review of the basic patterns of the Italian language and expands on the material presented in ITAL 12200.
Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): ITAL 12200 or consent of instructor.
Note(s): Taught in Italian.
ITAL 20400. Corso di perfezionamento. 100 Units.
This course helps students achieve a very high level of composition and style through the acquisition of numerous writing techniques. Using a variety of literary and nonliterary texts as models, students examine the linguistic structure and organization of several types of written Italian discourse. This course is also intended to help students attain high levels in reading, speaking, and listening through readings and debates on various issues of relevance in contemporary Italian society.
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Autumn
Prerequisite(s): ITAL 20300, placement, or consent of instructor
ITAL 20600. Cinema italiano: lingua e cultura. 100 Units.
This course examines aspects of Italian language and culture through the study of a variety of Italian films. While acquiring the necessary vocabulary and conceptual tools to identify formal filmic elements, students will improve their language proficiency and broaden their knowledge of Italian culture, with a particular attention to historical and sociolinguistic features. Film analysis will also help foster intercultural reflection and awareness of selected past and current social issues in Italy. Taught in Italian.
Instructor(s): Staff
Prerequisite(s): ITAL 20300 or consent of instructor.
Note(s): Course not offered in 24-25
ITAL 20650. Translating Italian Comics: Discovering 20th- and 21st-Century Language and Culture. 100 Units.
This course offers insight into 20th- and 21st-century Italian language and culture through the practice of translating comics. As a verbal medium, comics present a variety of registers, from the elevated language of literary adaptations to creative parodies; from the standard Italian adopted in serial comics to the colloquial or regional Italian used in graphic novels and webcomics. As a visual medium, the interpretation of comics entails developing the ability to read the images together with the text, while keeping into consideration the space constraints imposed by captions and balloons. Using a variety of primary sources from 1908 to the present (comic strips, comic books, graphic novels, webcomics), students will have the opportunity to participate in translation tasks, gaining awareness of the Italian language and the cultural importance of translation; they will also expand their knowledge of well-known Italian comics and reflect upon the cultural context in which they were brought to life. In this course, students will practice translation from Italian to English as well as continue to perfect their speaking and writing skills in Italian through a variety of creative oral and written activities.
Instructor(s): Sara Dallavalle
Prerequisite(s): ITAL 20300 or consent of instructor.
Note(s): Taught in Italian. Course not offered in 24-25.
Literature and Culture
All literature and culture classes are conducted in Italian unless otherwise indicated. Students who are taking a course for credit toward the Italian major or minor do all work in Italian. With prior consent of instructor, non-majors may write in English.
ITAL 20660. Italian Comics: A Century Long (Hi)story. 100 Units.
This course offers an introduction to Italian comics and aims to explore their interaction with the historical and social contexts in which they are published. Italian comics have a history of power exchange among consumers, industry, and products, and thus, are particularly suitable for investigating how the Italian people reacted to significant 20th- and 21st-century historical events. This course will provide students with fundamental coordinates to read, interpret, and argue about comic strips, comic books, and graphic novels contextually as social commentary and products of the entertainment industry. Students will have the chance to develop critical thinking skills and multimodal literacy with activities such as visual analyses of digitized comics pages, evaluations of physical copies of magazines and books, discussions on the role of comics artists, and broader considerations on the change and development of Italian society and culture. This course will utilize the vast selection of Italian comics held at the Regenstein Library.
Instructor(s): Sara Dallavalle
Prerequisite(s): ITAL 20300 or consent of instructor.
Note(s): Taught in Italian. Course not offered in 24-25.
ITAL 21703. Survey-1: Lett Italiana. 100 Units.
TBD
Note(s): Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): ITAL 31703
ITAL 21800. Italo Calvino. 100 Units.
Italo Calvino is one of the most important authors of the twentieth century. We will read some of his most famous books in Italian. Among others, we will study Le Cita, Invisibili, Gli Amori Difficili, Il Barone Rampante, Se Una Notte D'Inverno Un Viaggiatore. Reading Calvino is an essential experience for all students of Italian culture. We will place his books and his poetics in the context of modern Italian culture and Western European post-modernism.
Instructor(s): A. Maggi
Note(s): Taught in Italian. Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): FNDL 21810
ITAL 21803. Survey-2: Lett Italiana. 100 Units.
TBD
Note(s): Course not offered in 24-25.
ITAL 21820. Italo Calvino: the Dark Side. 100 Units.
An intense reading of Italo Calvino's later works: we will contemplate the orbital debris of "Cosmicomics" and "t zero," and we will follow the labyrinthine threads of "The Castle of Crossed Destinies" and the "Invisible Cities." After stumbling upon the suspended multiple beginnings of "If On a Winter's Night a Traveler," we will probe the possibilities of literature with the essays collected in "Una pietra sopra." Finally, we will encounter "Mr Palomar," who will provide us with a set of instructions on how to neutralize the self and "learn how to be dead." The approach will be both philosophical and historical, focusing on Calvino's ambiguous fascination with science, his critique of the aporias of reason and the "dementia" of the intellectual, and his engagement with the nuclear threat of total annihilation.
Instructor(s): Maria Anna Mariani
Note(s): Taught in Italian. Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): ITAL 31820, FNDL 21820
ITAL 21822. Creative Ecologies: Environmental and Multispecies Storytelling. 100 Units.
Literature plays a pivotal role in addressing environmental issues: it can perpetuate damaging narratives or offer creative solutions for sustainable living. What is then the role of literature in an era of ecological crisis? How does literature forward environmental change? How do writers represent the natural world and imagine innovative ways of living ecologically? To answer these questions, we will turn to the field of ecocriticism informed by queer ecology, decolonial thought and critical animal studies. We will explore the themes of migration, extinction, displacement, hegemony, and biodiversity in texts of various genres, from poetry to speculative fiction, particularly in relation to imperial, colonial and capitalist ecologies. Besides questioning troublesome dichotomies within our corpus, such as domestic/wilderness and nature/culture, we will also examine the links between environmental concerns and gender, race, class, and species. While we will be attentive to the specificities of the Italian local environment to fully unravel the role of Italy in aggravating or lessening environmental problems, our approach will remain comparative and global in scope. We will also revisit the literary canon and privilege the stories of historically disenfranchised voices that narrativize ethical and sociopolitical issues related to ecology. The course will include visits to Special Collections and the Map Collection to further enrich our engagement with the literary sources.
Instructor(s): Elizabeth Tavella
Note(s): Taught in English. No prior knowledge of Italian is required. Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): CMLT 21822, ENST 21822
ITAL 21900. Dante's Divine Comedy 1: Inferno. 100 Units.
This is the first part of a sequence focusing on Dante's masterpiece. We examine Dante's Inferno in its cultural (i.e., historical, artistic, philosophical, sociopolitical) context. In particular, we study Dante's poem alongside other crucial Latin and vernacular texts of his age. They include selections from the Bible, Virgil's Aeneid, Augustine's Confessions, Ovid's Metamorphoses, and the stilnovist and Siculo-Tuscan poets. Political turmoil, economic transformation, changing philosophical and theological paradigms, and social and religious conflict all converge in the making of the Inferno.
Instructor(s): H. Justin Steinberg
Note(s): Taught in English. Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): MDVL 21900, FNDL 27200, ITAL 31900
ITAL 22000. Dante's Divine Comedy II: Purgatorio. 100 Units.
This course is an intense study of the middle cantica of the "Divine Comedy" and its relationship with Dante's early masterpiece, the "Vita Nuova." The very middleness of the Purgatorio provides Dante the opportunity to explore a variety of problems dealing with our life here, now, on earth: contemporary politics, the relationship between body and soul, poetry and the literary canon, art and imagination, the nature of dreams, and, of course, love and desire. The Purgatorio is also Dante's most original contribution to the imagination of the underworld, equally influenced by new conceptualizations of "merchant time" and by contemporary travel writing and fantastic voyages.
Instructor(s): H. Justin Steinberg
Note(s): Course conducted in English. Those seeking Italian credit will do all work in Italian. Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): MDVL 22003, ITAL 32000, FNDL 27202
ITAL 22010. Portrait and Self-Portrait. 100 Units.
In this course we will examine portraits and self-portraits in Italian literature and visual arts from the Middle Ages to Modernity, practicing close reading and creative writing. Visits to the Rare books Special Collection will allow us to investigate material aspects of selected works. We will analyse different literary forms, while paying attention to the evolution of Italian language from the Middle Ages up to today. You will see that your knowledge of Italian language allows you to read contemporary writing as well as Boccaccio's novels, Michelangelo's poems, or Leonardo's notes on art, science, and life.
Instructor(s): F. Caneparo
Note(s): Taught in Italian. Course not offered in 24-25.
ITAL 22101. Dante's Divine Comedy III: Paradiso. 100 Units.
An in-depth study of the third cantica of Dante's masterpiece, considered the most difficult but in many ways also the most innovative. Read alongside his scientific treatise the "Convivio" and his political manifesto the "Monarchia."
Instructor(s): H. Justin Steinberg
Prerequisite(s): Completion of the previous courses in the sequence not required, but students should familiarize themselves with the "Inferno" and the "Purgatorio" before the first day of class.
Note(s): Course conducted in English. Those seeking Italian credit will do all work in Italian. Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): MDVL 22101, FNDL 21804, ITAL 32101
ITAL 22200. Introduction to the Renaissance. 100 Units.
The Renaissance, which first and foremost flourished in Italy, founded our modern concept of the self. The way we see ourselves, the values we cherish, derive from the Renaissance. Modernity is a product of the Renaissance. This course emphasizes the importance of introspection in Renaissance culture, poetry, and philosophy. The books I have selected have a strong autobiographical element. However, they also illuminate how the Renaissance theorizes the relationship between the individual and society. We will read, in Italian, passages from major Italian texts in prose, such as Castiglione's Il cortigiano, Machiavelli's Discorsi, Campanella's Città del Sole, and poetry by Michelangelo, Monsignor della Casa, and numerous women poets, such as Veronica Franco, Vittoria Colonna, and Veronica Gambara.
Instructor(s): A. Maggi
Note(s): Taught in Italian. Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): CMLT 26400
ITAL 22210. Italian Renaissance Epic. 100 Units.
This course examines the evolution of Italian Renaissance epic from Pulci to Marino. The course will emphasize the intertextual nature of this genre and its significant borrowings from classical sources. The course will not be limited to the most famous texts but will also include epics that have not received the critical attention they deserve, such as for example Lucrezia Marinella's "Enrico."
Instructor(s): A. Maggi
Note(s): Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): ITAL 32210
ITAL 22300. The Literary Republic of Italy. 100 Units.
TBD
Note(s): Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): REMS 32300, ITAL 32300
ITAL 22440. Women in Italian Organized Crime Through Cinema. 100 Units.
In this course, we will study filmic representations of women in Italian organized crime, and the implications these portrayals have on the understanding of gender and the mafias through Italian cinema. Sociological and psychological studies have underscored the importance of female roles in relation to mafia organizations, notwithstanding the rigid patriarchal structure that allows only male affiliation. One of the main goals of this class is for students to gain an understanding of different Italian mafias and to get a deeper comprehension of the construction of gender in a selection of films centered around these organizations. We will also discuss how movies contribute to the perception of organized crime. This class will draw on a variety of fields, including sociology, gender studies, and film studies.
Instructor(s): Veronica Vegna Terms Offered: Winter
Note(s): Taught in English. Students seeking credit for the Italian major/minor must complete a substantial part of the course work (e.g., readings, writing) in Italian.
Equivalent Course(s): CMST 22440, GNSE 22440
ITAL 22560. Poetic Postures of the Twentieth Century. 100 Units.
Modern poetry begins with a crisis-the loss of the poet's authority. What are the cultural and historical factors that determine this loss of authority? And what are the Italian poets' reactions to such a this crisis? The variety of possible attitudes is wide and ranges between two extremes: the shame for the poetic gesture and the pride of reaffirming its importance. This survey course explores chronologically how these reactions are embodied by poetic postures that go range from the poet as idol (D'Annunzio) to the poet who is ashamed of his own verses (Gozzano), from the playful clown (Palazzeschi) to the sleepwalker (Sbarbaro). Throughout this course, we will see how these attitudes postures can expand into literary movements, but we will also pay attention to how postures can be textualized, manifesting themselves in specific stylistic elements, which we will analyze with careful close readings.
Instructor(s): Maria Anna Mariani
Note(s): Taught in Italian. Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): ITAL 32560
ITAL 22600. The Making and Unmaking of Petrarch's Canzoniere. 100 Units.
This course is an intensive reading of Petrarch's influential and groundbreaking self-anthology. Petrarch's collecting and ordering of his own work is in many ways without precedent. We examine in particular the historical redactions of the Canzoniere, its status as a work-in-progress, what Petrarch excluded from its various forms (especially the Rime disperse), early drafts, and authorial variants. The emergence of a new role for the vernacular author and the shifting space of handwriting and the book are central concerns in our discussions, and we make frequent use of facsimiles and diplomatic editions.
Instructor(s): J. Steinberg
Note(s): Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): ITAL 32600, FNDL 22601
ITAL 22722. Magic, Madness, and Marvels: Renaissance Epic Literature from the Page to the Stage. 100 Units.
Italian Renaissance epics present us with kaleidoscope worlds of complex plots, torrid romances, frenzied madness, and marvelous enchantments. Under the vestments of wonder and imagination, they give us a deeper understanding of and appreciation for Italian Renaissance culture. In this course, we will closely examine the intertextual nature of these works (e.g., Ariosto's "Orlando furioso," Tasso's "Gerusalemme liberata") along with their various renditions in musical spectacles (e.g., Handel, Vivaldi, Purcell) and in other artistic media. Using these diverse sources as a foundation, we will examine the roles of the magician, necromancer, and enchantress; demons and the possessed; the madman; and others. Engaging with an array of source materials, you will leave this course with a deeper understanding of why the Renaissance was called the "age of the marvelous" (Kenseth) and will have the tools to decipher the rich and diverse artistic mediations of Italian epics that continue to be relevant even today.
Instructor(s): Darren Kusar
Note(s): Taught in Italian, with texts read in Italian. Course not offered in 24-25.
ITAL 22800. Cinematic Sicily: Exploring the Island and its Otherness through Film. 100 Units.
This course explores portrayals of Sicily in Italian films and their relationship with the social, cultural, and political realities of the island. Students will analyze how these films construct the "otherness" of Sicily, enforcing or challenging stereotypes and preconceptions about the island and its people. This course will also examine Sicily's criminal underworld and its impact on society, as well as women's emancipatory efforts and achievements against patriarchy and misogyny. The class will reflect on the historical and cultural context in which the films were made, giving students a deeper understanding of the ways in which cinema shapes our perception of Sicily in relation to the rest of Italy. The course will include films from different genres and references to TV series set in Sicily. Vocabulary to discuss formal cinematic elements will be provided throughout the quarter. Films will be available with subtitles in English and Italian.
Instructor(s): Veronica Vegna
Prerequisite(s): ITAL 20300 or consent of instructor
Note(s): Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): GNSE 22805
ITAL 22888. Narrative Frescos in Early Modern Italy. 100 Units.
In this course we will observe different ways to tell a story through painting, and we will analyze strategies used by artists in early modern Italy to describe space and time in visual terms. Students will engage with different artists, from Giotto to Raphael and Pellegrino Tibaldi, and different cultural and geographic contexts, from Padua and Bologna to Florence, Venice, and Rome, over the span of about three centuries.Students will explore a wide range of visual examples and textual sources on various subject matters, from poetry to history, from the Bible to vernacular accounts about saints, from mythology to contemporary chronicles, in order to investigate what kind of stories were told on the walls of halls and courts of honor, private rooms, or public spaces, aiming at understanding why each of them was chosen. Complex projects such as narrative mural and ceiling paintings usually involved a tight collaboration among artists, patrons, and iconographic consultants, all figures with whom students will become familiar. We will also analyse the theory behind the comparison of poetry and painting ("ut pictura poesis", "as is painting so is poetry") by investigating the meaning and the reception of this ancient concept in early modern times, and its implications on the social role of the artist. Students will investigate the significance of narrative frescos in early modern times, while also asking questions about their value and impact today.
Instructor(s): F. Caneparo Terms Offered: Winter
Equivalent Course(s): ARTH 22816, ARTH 32816, ITAL 32888
ITAL 22900. Vico's New Science. 100 Units.
This course offers a close reading of Giambattista Vico's masterpiece, "The New Science" (1744) - a work that sets out to refute "all opinions hitherto held about the principles of humanity." Vico, who is acknowledged as the most resolute scourge of any form of rationalism, breathed new life into rhetoric, imagination, poetry, metaphor, history, and philology in order to promote in his readers that originary "wonder" and "pathos" which sets human beings on the search for truth. However, Vico argues, the truths that are most available and interesting to us are the ones humanity "authored" by means of its culture and history-creating activities. For this reason the study of myth and folklore as well as archeology, anthropology, and ethnology must all play a role in the rediscovery of man. "The New Science" builds an "alternative philosophy" for a new age and reads like a "novel of formation" recounting the (hi)story of the entire human race and our divine ancestors. In Vico, a prophetic spirit, one recognizes the fulfillment of the Renaissance, the spokesperson of a particular Enlightenment, the precursor of the Kantian revolution, and the forefather of the philosophy of history (Herder, Hegel, and Marx). "The New Science" remained a strong source of inspiration in the twentieth century (Cassirer, Gadamer, Berlin, Joyce, Beckett, etc.) and may prove relevant in disclosing our own responsibilities in postmodernity.
Instructor(s): Rocco Rubini Terms Offered: Autumn
Note(s): Taught in English.
Equivalent Course(s): CMLT 32501, FNDL 21408, CMLT 22501, ITAL 32900
ITAL 23000. Machiavelli and Machiavellism. 100 Units.
This course is a comprehensive introduction to Machiavelli's The Prince in light of his vast and varied literary corpus and European reception. The course includes discussion of Machiavelli as playwright ("The Mandrake"), fiction writer ("Belfagor," "The Golden Ass"), and historian ("Discourses," "Florentine Histories"). We will also closely investigate the emergence of myths surrounding Machiavelli (Machiavellism and anti-Machiavellism) in Italy (Guicciardini, Botero, Boccalini), France (Bodin and Gentillet), Spain (Ribadeneyra), and Northern Europe (Hobbes, Grotius, Spinoza) during the Counter Reformation and beyond.
Instructor(s): Rocco Rubini
Note(s): Course conducted in English. Those seeking Italian credit will do all work in Italian. Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): CMLT 25801, FNDL 21603, ITAL 33001, CMLT 35801
ITAL 23100. Dante E I Suoi Rivali. 100 Units.
TBD
Note(s): Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): ITAL 33100
ITAL 23101. Early Italian Lyric: Dante and His Rivals. 100 Units.
An intense reading of Dante's early experiment in autobiography, self-commentary, and self-anthologizing. The "Vita Nova" is an essential text for readers of Dante's Commedia since the poet constantly refers back to it, and we will read it keeping in mind this dialogue. However, our primary focus will be to examine the "Vita Nova" in the context of contemporaneous literary practices. How does Dante engage with the philosophical and aesthetic debates of his time? We will use "Vita Nova" to gain entry into the larger world of early Italian poetry (Guittone, Guinizzelli, Cavalcanti, and others) and we will examine his contribution to the courtly love tradition.
Instructor(s): H. Justin Steinberg Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25
Equivalent Course(s): ITAL 33101, MDVL 23101
ITAL 23125. Oral Performance and Gender from the Middle Ages to Slam Poetry. 100 Units.
Italian culture has been continuously enriched by oral artistic practices. While the written page has allowed these practices to endure over time, they were also, and often primarily, transmitted through the bodies of performers. Is it possible to reconstruct the voices beyond the page? How does thinking about performance enhance our understanding of the artistic product and, moreover, of the society where this product originated? What are the political implications of the binary division between the written page and the human voice? Why are oral practices largely excluded from the literary canon? Is there a correlation between marginalized oral practices and queerness? The content of this course will consist of various Italian oral practices, ranging from the courtly lyric poetry of the Middle Ages to the contemporary spoken word scene. Additionally, the course will focus on female and queer voices, with the goal of tracing a parallel between the ephemerality of performances and the marginalization of communities. The course will integrate artistic content with theoretical material on the topic of voice, as well as insights from feminist and queer studies, media studies, and performance theory. At the end of the course, students will produce their own creative project with the purpose of answering the following question: how does thinking about performance from a practical point of view help to inform our understanding of performance from a theoretical perspective?
Instructor(s): Alessandro Minnucci Terms Offered: Autumn
Note(s): Class will be conducted in English with a separate discussion section available for students seeking credit for the Italian major/minor. Readings will be in Italian and in English.
Equivalent Course(s): GNSE 24125, MUSI 23125, TAPS 20223
ITAL 23200. Children's Literature as an Avant-Garde. 100 Units.
This course explores a glorious season of Italian children's literature (1970-80), focusing on its highly experimental character, indebted to the lessons of the historical avant-gardes. The authors we will study were often active members in the movements of Futurism and Surrealism, and they applied these movements' aesthetic theories to their artifacts for children. Thus it is that in the calculated naiveté of this literary genre, we encounter elements of high sophistication, such as language games that subvert the existing order of things, research on spatial dynamism, and the exploration of nonlinear narrative. We will use children's literature to explore the avant-garde, and the avant-garde to better understand children's literature. We will begin with Iela Mari and Bruno Munari, who both challenged the nature of what constitutes a book, removing its primary function as an object that frames textual information, and instead transforming it into a visual and tactile object. We will then move to Toti Scialoja's non-sense infused poems and to Gianni Rodari's "Grammatica della fantasia," a theoretical exposition on the uses of imagination. We will conclude our exploration with Leo Lionni's fables of racial identity composed with cutting-edge materials and techniques.
Instructor(s): Maria Anna Mariani
Prerequisite(s): Taught in Italian.
Note(s): Course not offered in 24-25.
ITAL 23205. Food and Culture in Italian Literature. 100 Units.
The word "culture" is etymologically derived from the notion of cultivating the land, which evokes an act of care as well as of laboring. In this course we will explore this intrinsic link between food and culture in the Italian social context by analyzing a selection of literary works that tackle questions of identity, tradition, and the creation of a sense of belonging through the thematic thread of food. Bridging geopolitics, history, and environmental humanities, with a particular attention to animal ethics and gender studies, we will embark on a journey across time, geographical regions, and social classes, to understand the role of food in Italian culture beyond its symbolic and aesthetic value. We will ask: how have culinary practices and consumption changed over time? How does Italian literature engage with questions of food justice and sustainability? How do representations of food reproduce and thus perpetuate harmful hierarchies of class, gender, race, and species? Together, we will look for answers to these and other related questions in a wide range of texts by authors such as Boccaccio, Giovanni della Casa, Clara Sereni, Italo Calvino, and Carlo Levi. We will also examine artworks born out of food labor movements, such as the protest songs of the mondine, and contemporary literature by migrant writers. The course will include creative assignments, close readings exercises, and will culminate in a whole-class collaborative project.
Instructor(s): E. Tavella
Prerequisite(s): ITAL 20300 or consent of instructor.
Note(s): Taught in Italian. Course not offered in 24-25.
ITAL 23300. La Vita Nuova E Il Purgatorio. 100 Units.
TBD
Note(s): Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): ITAL 33300
ITAL 23325. (In)Visible Women from Dante to Elena Ferrante: Bodies, Power, Identity. 100 Units.
This course introduces students to both historical and current perspectives on gender, with a focus on Italian literature and cinema (14th-21st century). We will examine the representation of women in literature, as discussed in a variety of texts, including Dante's Divine Comedy, Machiavelli's comedies, and Elena Ferrante's novels. We will investigate key issues raised in and by women-authored works, across historical periods as varied as the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, and Fascism. And we will also explore conceptualizations of gender and sexuality in Italian and international films, unpacking concepts such as gaze, desire, and intersectionality. As students study topics such as identity, construction of difference, feminism and antifeminism, they will acquire the critical vocabulary to describe, interpret, and formulate arguments about women's agency in literature, film, culture, and society.
Instructor(s): Beatrice Fazio Terms Offered: Winter
Note(s): Taught in English.
Equivalent Course(s): GNSE 12128
ITAL 23333. Reading Italian for Research Purposes. 100 Units.
Reading Italian for Research Purposes prepares students to read and do research using scholarly texts in Italian. Students will build on their fundamental knowledge of Italian grammar and the most common vocabulary terms used in scholarly writing, while developing reading comprehension skills and working intensively with academic texts in their areas of research specialty. Students who perform well in ITAL 23333/33333 will be able to comprehend difficult scholarly texts and begin using them in their own research. The course also includes practice of skills necessary to pass the Academic Reading Comprehension Assessment (ARCA) in Italian, administered by the Office for Language Assessment (OLA).
Instructor(s): Staff
Prerequisite(s): PQ for 23333: ITAL 10200 or ITAL 122, or placement in ITAL 10300, or consent of instructor.
PQ for 33333: While there is currently no strict prerequisite for ITAL 33333, one year of introductory Italian or the equivalent is highly recommended.
Equivalent Course(s): ITAL 33333
ITAL 23403. Marinella. 100 Units.
TBD
Note(s): Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): ITAL 33403, REMS 23403, REMS 33403
ITAL 23410. Reading and Practice of the Short Story. 100 Units.
What are the specific features of the short story? How does this literary form organize different visions of time and space? Informed by these fundamental theoretical questions, this course explores the logic of the short story and investigates its position among literary genres. We will read together a selection of contemporary Italian short stories (privileging the production of Italo Calvino, Beppe Fenoglio, and Elsa Morante, but also including less visible authors, such as Goffredo Parise, Dino Buzzati, and Silvio D'Arzo). The moments of close reading and theoretical reflection will be alternated with creative writing activities, in which students will have the opportunity to enter in a deeper resonance with the encountered texts.
Instructor(s): Maria Anna Mariani
Note(s): Taught in Italian. This course is especially designed to help students improve their written Italian and literary interpretive skills. Course not offered in 24-25.
ITAL 23425. Love in the Middle Ages. 100 Units.
This course examines the theme of love in the literary production of late medieval Italy. We will privilege the tension between profane and sacred love, around which Italian writers take different postures. The variety of possible attitudes is wide and ranges from enthusiastic or painful representations of love passion to rejections of profane love, from daring experiments in the blending of sacred and profane love to representations of their irremediable dichotomy. Through close readings of poems and prose texts, we will see how these different attitudes not only explore the complex nature of love and love poetry, but also enter into dialogue with the historical context of 13th- and 14th-century Italy. In particular, we will probe how the literary debate on love sheds light on the socio-political and cultural developments of the time. Readings will include texts by Sicilian poets, Guittone d'Arezzo, Guido Guinizzelli, Bonagiunta Orbicciani, Guido Cavalcanti, Dante Alighieri, Francesco Petrarch and Giovanni Boccaccio, among others.
Instructor(s): Caterina Nicodemo Terms Offered: Spring
Note(s): Taught in Italian.
Equivalent Course(s): MDVL 23425
ITAL 23502. Boccaccio's Decameron. 100 Units.
One of the most important and influential works of the middle ages-and a lot funnier than the "Divine Comedy." Written in the midst of the social disruption caused by the Black Death (1348), the "Decameron" may have held readers attention for centuries because of its bawdiness, but it is also a profound exploration into the basis of faith and the meaning of death, the status of language, the construction of social hierarchy and social order, and the nature of crisis and historical change. Framed by a storytelling contest between seven young ladies and three young men who have left the city to avoid the plague, the one hundred stories of Boccaccio's "Decameron" form a structural masterpiece that anticipates the Renaissance epics, Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales," and the modern short story. Students will be encouraged to further explore in individual projects the many topics raised by the text, including (and in addition to the themes mentioned above) magic, the visual arts, mercantile culture, travel and discovery, and new religious practices.
Instructor(s): H. Justin Steinberg Terms Offered: Winter
Note(s): Taught in English.
Equivalent Course(s): ITAL 33502, MDVL 23502, FNDL 21714
ITAL 23510. Barocco e Neobarocco. 100 Units.
This course investigates the literary, cultural, and ideological facets of seventeenth-century Italian baroque and their role in twentieth-century Italian literature. We will analyze Marino's ekphrastic poems La galeria, Adone and the genre of "visual poetry" (poesia figurata) through a close reading of Guido Casoni's La passione di Cristo. To enlighten the baroque's emphasis on verbal/visual contamination, we will read passages from Emanuele Tesauro's Il cannocchiale aristotelico and Panegirici, particularly those dedicated to the Holy Shroud of Turin, which the baroque saw as an exceptional hybrid (representation made with Christ's blood). We will read the first chapter of Marino's Dicerie sacre (La Pittura. Diceria prima sopra la Santa Sindone), selections from Basile's Lo cunto de li cunti, and Torquato Accetto's Della dissimulazione onesta. From the modern Neo-baroque, we will read texts that reflect the concepts and rhetorical strategies we found in the seventeenth-century texts. We will analyze crucial novels such as Gadda's La cognizione del dolore, Ortese's Il cardillo addolorato, Manganelli's Dall'inferno, Discorso dell'ombra e dello stemma, and Centuria. We will focus on Sanguineti's Laborintus and Zanzotto's La beltà, which is a key text of Italian poetic canon. During the course we will discuss essential secondary literature such as Benjamin's The Origins of German Tragic Drama, Calabrese's Il neobarocco, and Harrison's Reflections on Baroque.
Instructor(s): A. Maggi
Note(s): Taught in Italian. Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): ITAL 33510
ITAL 23625. Middle Ages on Film. 100 Units.
This course will explore cinematic representations of the European middle ages. Ranging from the silent era to the present day, from arthouse pictures to swashbuckling epics, we will consider the uses of medievalism in the modern imagination. Where do these cultural fantasies come from? How do they change over time? How do they relate to the academic disciplines of history and medieval studies? And what role does cinema play in these questions? Screenings will be complemented with readings both from medieval source documents and from contemporary film and cultural theory. Works discussed will include "The Passion of Joan of Arc" (Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1929), "The Flowers of Saint Francis" (Roberto Rossellini, 1950), "The Seventh Seal" (Ingmar Bergman, 1957), "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" (1975), "Braveheart" (Mel Gibson, 1995), and "Hard to be a God" (Aleksei German, 2014), among others.
Instructor(s): Jane Vincent Terms Offered: Winter
Note(s): Taught in English.
Equivalent Course(s): MDVL 23625
ITAL 23710. Sulla sopravvivenza. 100 Units.
Questo corso è una riflessione sulla sopravvivenza attraverso pagine letterarie e filosofiche. Inizieremo ripercorrendo il pensiero di Elias Canetti, che senza sosta ha esplorato il concetto di sopravvivenza, specialmente nel suo intreccio col potere. Proseguiremo poi considerando come, nell'era dello sterminio di massa, la sopravvivenza si separi dal legame col potere e il trionfo e si leghi invece alla vergogna di chi resta in vita e al debito nei confronti dei morti. Affronteremo questo aspetto del problema attraverso un close reading dei testi di Primo Levi, che ci porteranno a riflettere sul rapporto tra sopravvivenza e testimonianza. La parte conclusiva del corso sarà dedicata emblematicamente a Anna Frank e alle appropriazioni e trivializzazioni postume della sua figura.
Instructor(s): M. A. Mariani
Note(s): Taught in Italian. Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): ITAL 32710
ITAL 23822. The Renaissance of Emotions. 100 Units.
Do emotions have a history? What are the relationships between thinking and feeling, between emotion and literary style? How do Italian texts construct or complicate our modern understanding of emotions? Students in this course will learn how emotions are described, analyzed, and represented in Renaissance and modern Italian literature, tracing their history and developments from the early 1500s to the late 1800s. Though the study of affects emerged in the late twenty-first century, an analysis of the passions ("hope," "shame," "desire") dates back to the poets of Trecento Italy, and Machiavelli famously shows how emotions play a role in establishing socio-political hierarchies. We will examine in what ways Italian writers, poets, and philosophers approached the study of emotions and how they laid the foundations for understanding them today as aesthetic, psychological, and sociopolitical phenomena that vary across time and cultures. Readings will include works by Dante, Boccaccio, Niccolò Machiavelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Torquato Tasso, Giambattista Vico, and Giacomo Leopardi, among others, and will span from poetry and novel to philosophical and political fictions, letters, and autobiography.
Instructor(s): Beatrice Fazio
Note(s): Taught in English, but students seeking Italian credit will do work in that language. Course not offered in 24-25.
ITAL 23900. Marsilio Ficino's "On Love" 100 Units.
This course is first of all a close reading of Marsilio Ficino's seminal book On Love (first Latin edition De amore 1484; Ficino's own Italian translation 1544). Ficino's philosophical masterpiece is the foundation of the Renaissance view of love from a Neo-Platonic perspective. It is impossible to overemphasize its influence on European culture. On Love is not just a radically new interpretation of Plato's Symposium. It is the book through which sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Europe read the love experience. Our course will analyze its multiple classical sources and its spiritual connotations. During our close reading of Ficino's text, we will show how European writers and philosophers appropriated specific parts of this Renaissance masterpiece. In particular, we will read extensive excerpts from some important love treatises, such as Castiglione's The Courtier (Il cortigiano), Leone Ebreo's Dialogues on Love, Tullia d'Aragona's On the Infinity of Love, but also selections from a variety of European poets, such as Michelangelo's canzoniere, Maurice Scève's Délie, and Fray Luis de León's Poesía.
Instructor(s): A. Maggi
Note(s): Course taught in English. Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): CMLT 36701, FNDL 21103, ITAL 33900, REMS 33900, CMLT 26701
ITAL 24100. Goldoni. 100 Units.
This class is a close reading (in context) of some selected works by Carlo Goldoni, Italy's most prominent playwright of the eighteenth century. It includes discussion of Goldoni's so-called "reform" of Italian theater, whereby elements of Renaissance and Baroque comedy where refashioned to serve a prototypical bourgeois theater; and Goldoni's antagonism with Carlo Gozzi, promoter of a more exotic yet old-fashioned type of comedy. In the latter part of the course we will focus on the Goldoni-Renaissance in the twentieth century, spearheaded by renowned stage director Giorgio Strehler (1921-1997).
Instructor(s): R. Rubini
Note(s): Taught in Italian. Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): TAPS 28420, ITAL 34100
ITAL 24110. Love and Transformation. 100 Units.
TBD
Note(s): Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): CMLT 24110
ITAL 24300. Francis Of Assis/Franciscanism. 100 Units.
TBD
Equivalent Course(s): RLST 21400, ITAL 34300, HCHR 34300
ITAL 24410. Vichianism: The Italian (Counter-) Enlightenment. 100 Units.
This course looks at the reception of Giambattista Vico (1668-1744), whose philosophy, largely neglected at first, eventually came to enjoy far-reaching influence as European thinkers set out on repeated quests for the source of a different "modernity" or "Counter-Enlightenment" in fields as varied as political theory (Romagnosi, Cattaneo, Ferrari), the historical and modernist novel (Cuoco, Manzoni, Joyce), Romantic historiography (Michelet, Gioberti), literary criticism (Auerbach), and intellectual history (Berlin). What is the secret behind the enduring appeal of Vico's anti-rationalist stance? This seminar, going further than dedicating itself to the legacy of a single thinker, wishes to investigate the "logic" (or lack thereof) that attends posthumous acclaim, eponymity, and etiological myths, and to provide guidelines for a disciplined approach to the history, practice, and theory of reception.
Instructor(s): R. Rubini
Note(s): Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): ITAL 34410
ITAL 24700. Giacomo Leopardi. 100 Units.
II corso prevede la letture di Operette morali, passi scelti dello zibaldone, e una serie di poesie. Partendo dal Cantico del gallo silvestre, nelle operette morali, si cercherà di mettere in duscussione l'idea completamento negative del "pessimisno leopardiano". Si mosterà un percorso di pensieri leopardiani dove la negazione e le "vedute pessimistche" fanno parte d'un lungo discorso antropologico. Quello che emerge è un uso del pensiero che non è da intendere come costruttivo, ma "dissipatorio." É un'altra e diversa forma di energia che, nel dissipare o dissolvere le aspettative del futuro, permette di vedere uno stato particolare dell'essere.
Instructor(s): A. Maggi
Note(s): Taught in Italian. Course not offered in 24-25.
ITAL 24910. Italo Svevo. 100 Units.
Visceralmente amato da Coetzee, Canetti e Perec - e prima ancora da Joyce e Montale, Italo Svevo potrebbe sembrare a tutti gli effetti un "writer's writer." Eppure è molto di più, perché anche il lettore comune è presto spinto a simpatizzare con questo autore dagli esordi sfortunati, costretto a pagare da sé la pubblicazione dei propri romanzi e incline a trattare l'italiano come una lingua straniera, rivoluzionandone la sintassi e il lessico. In questo corso introduttivo leggeremo tutte le sue opere, privilegiando la Coscienza di Zeno e addentrandoci anche nel romanzo postumo - Le confessioni del vegliardo - che celebra i borbottii della vecchiaia e descrive lo stupore della vita inghiottita dalla scrittura. Durante il corso porteremo spesso in primo piano lo sfondo filosofico delle pagine di Svevo, valorizzando in particolare gli elementi nietzschiani che vi sono disseminati: l'esaltazione dell'arte come potenza del falso e la scoperta del carattere di menzogna inseparabile dalla conoscenza.
Instructor(s): M. A. Mariani
Note(s): Taught in Italian. Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): ITAL 34910
ITAL 24920. Primo Levi. 100 Units.
Witness, novelist, essayist, translator, linguist, chemist, and even entomologist. Primo Levi is a polyhedral author, and this course revisits his work in all its facets. We will privilege the most hybrid of his texts: The Search for Roots, an anthology that collects the author's favorite readings--a book assembled through the books of the others, but which represents Levi's most authentic portrait. By using this work as an entry point into Levi's universe, we will later explore his other texts, addressing issues such as the unsettling relationship between survival and testimony, the "sinful" choice of fiction, the oblique path towards autobiography, and the paradoxes of witnessing by proxy.
Instructor(s): Maria Anna Mariani Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): Open to advanced undergrads with consent of instructor.
Note(s): Taught in Italian.
Equivalent Course(s): JWSC 24920, ITAL 34920, FNDL 24920
ITAL 24930. Italy and the Bomb. 100 Units.
A new form of literature, "indispensable for those who know and do not close their eyes" (Elias Canetti), was supposed to have emerged from the contemplation of the harrowing ruins of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This new literature was supposed to have been a form of reconciliation; and it should have been able to engender, with its rhetorical devices, an antidote against the human instinct of destruction. This is the kind of literature that Elsa Morante calls for in her lecture "For or Against the Atomic Bomb", in which she chooses to tackle such a "gloomy topic", and yet one that "nobody should dare ignore"-nobody, and especially not a writer. During our course we will read essays and novels written throughout the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s that faced the issues posed by the atomic bomb. We will privilege Italian works, but we will also be attuned to the echoes of these themes within a global literary context. Topics to be investigated include the writer's ethical response, the scientist's responsibility and dilemmas, the spreading of apocalyptic fear, and the specter of humanity's death drive. Readings include texts by Italo Calvino, Elsa Morante, Alberto Moravia, Leonardo Sciascia, Hannah Arendt, Jacques Derrida, Günther Anders, Hans Jonas, among others.
Instructor(s): Maria Anna Mariani
Note(s): Taught in Italian. Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): ITAL 34930
ITAL 25000. Machiavelli E Guicciardini. 100 Units.
TBD
Note(s): Course not offered in 24-25.
ITAL 25125. Different Traditions of the Detective Story and Neorealism in Literature and Cinema. 100 Units.
The course will analyze the rise and the development of the detective story in the American and Italian traditions, focusing in particular on the works of Leonardo Sciascia (1921-1989). We will investigate Sciascia's take on the detective story tradition as well as how he used this particular genre to overcome Neorealism.
Instructor(s): Raffaello Palumbo Mosca Terms Offered: Spring
Note(s): Taught in English.
ITAL 25201. Renaissance Treaties Oflov. 100 Units.
TBD
Note(s): Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): ITAL 35201
ITAL 25210. Brevitas. 100 Units.
Reflecting on his preference for short literary forms, Italo Calvino identifies brevitas as "the true vocation of Italian literature, which is poor in novelists but rich in poets, who even when they write in prose give their best in texts where the highest degree of invention and thought is contained in a few pages." Taking as a starting point Calvino's statement, this course explores the short and fragmentary forms of Italian literature. Not only short stories, but also aphorisms, epigrams, lyrical fragments, cases, and apologues. Some of our guiding questions will be: What are the resources of expressive density? Is a fragment the negation of a superior unity or the compendium of an entire universe? How does silence shape brevitas? The moments of close reading and theoretical reflection will be alternated with creative writing activities, in which students will have the opportunity to engage more closely and actively with the encountered texts. This course is especially designed to help students improve their written Italian and literary interpretive skills.
Instructor(s): Maria Anna Mariani
Note(s): Taught in Italian. Course not offered in 24-25.
ITAL 25218. Reading Nonhuman Animals: A Challenge to Anthropocentrism. 100 Units.
How can we "read" a literary nonhuman animal? In what ways does literature deal with ethical and political issues concerning nonhuman animals? What does it mean to live in a multicultural and multispecies world? What does it mean to be "human"? In this course we will ask these and other related questions as they are presented and represented in Italian 20th century literary texts, read alongside philosophical writings, scholarly essays, and visual materials. While maintaining a focus on Italian literature, a comparative approach involving literary works of non-Italian authors will be key in understanding the pervasiveness of the problems that have caused our detachment from nature and our broken relationship with nonhuman animals. We will closely analyze and critically evaluate the works of several authors, including those by Italo Calvino, Primo Levi, Anna Maria Ortese, Elsa Morante, Italo Svevo, Alice Walker, and Franz Kafka, giving particular attention to techniques of close reading. A thematic approach will enable us to explore a large number of critical discourses, from the moral status of nonhuman animals to the long-held assumptions regarding the anthropocentric set of values that have defined (Western) culture. We will also take into consideration different theoretical frameworks such as posthumanist theory and gender studies in order to discuss and evaluate the selected texts from different perspectives and entry points.
Instructor(s): E. Tavella
Note(s): Taught in English. No previous knowledge of Italian is required. Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): CMLT 25218, GNSE 25218
ITAL 25500. Poesia lirica del '500. 100 Units.
This course studies the complex Petrarchan and anti-Petrarchan poetic movement in sixteenth-century Italy. We will study in detail a number of major poetic figures, from Pietro Bembo, to Monsignor Della Casa, but also Michelangelo and Ludovico Ariosto. Special attention will be given to several women poets, such as Vittoria Colonna and Veronica Gambara. We will also study the technical aspects of Renaissance lyric poetry (verses, rhetorical devices, etc.) in its relationship with Petrarch's Canzoniere. We will also read some important self-commentaries that fundamental poets such as Torquato Tasso wrote about their own poetic compositions.
Instructor(s): A. Maggi
Note(s): Taught in Italian. Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): ITAL 35500, REMS 35500
ITAL 25550. Machiavelli: Politics and Theater. 100 Units.
Arguably the most debated political theorist of all time due to The Prince, Machiavelli genuinely aspired to be remembered for his creative prowess. He explored various literary genres, such as short stories, dialogues, satirical poetry, letter writing, and, notably, theater, where he demonstrated mastery with The Mandrake, an exemplary Renaissance comedy. This course aims to reintegrate these two aspects of Machiavelli: the serious politician and the facetious performer, a Janus-faced figure who serves as a precursor of both Hobbes and Montaigne. We will revive the image of this "Renaissance man," and, through him, shed light on his era and fellow humanists by restoring their intellectual unity of prescription and laughter. Indeed, we will discover that Machiavelli encourages us not to take things, including him and ourselves, too seriously! Taught in English.
Instructor(s): Rocco Rubini Terms Offered: Autumn
Equivalent Course(s): CMLT 25550, CMLT 35550, TAPS 38481, FNDL 29305, ITAL 35550, TAPS 28481
ITAL 25800. Childhood and Fairy Tale in Bachelard, Benjamin, and Agamben. 100 Units.
'The child' is a complex and fascinating notion that plays a crucial role in the writings of some of the major twentieth-century thinkers. The child is often linked to 'fairy tale,' as if one concept couldn't exist without the other. What constitutes a fairy tale, what is the difference between fairy tale, myth, and allegory, and who is the real narrator and listener of fairy tales are questions that can only be addressed through a second, fundamental query: What is 'the child'? What does 'the child' represent? What role does the imagination play in the formation of 'the child'? These issues are especially significant in the writings of Gaston Bachelard, Walter Benjamin, and Giorgio Agamben. Readings will include: Bachelard, "Poetics of Reverie: Childhood, Language, and the Cosmos"; Bachelard, "Air and Dreams. An Essay on the Imagination of Movement"; Bachelard, "The Flame of a Candle"; Benjamin, One-Way Street; Benjamin, "The Fireside Saga"; Benjamin, "Berlin Childhood around 1900"; Benjamin "Goethe's Elective Affinities,"; Benjamin, "The Storyteller"; Agamben, "Infancy and History"; Agamben, "Profanations"; Agamben, "Pulcinella or Entertainment for Children"; Agamben, "Pinocchio". We will also read an ample selection of classic fairy tales from Giambattista Basile ("The Tale of Tales"), the seventeenth-century French conteuses, The Brothers Grimm, Clemens Brentano, and Collodi's "Pinocchio." Taught in English.
Instructor(s): Armando Maggi Terms Offered: Spring
Equivalent Course(s): CMLT 35810, ITAL 35800, CMLT 25810
ITAL 26000. Gramsci. 100 Units.
In this course we read selections from Antonio Gramsci's Letters and Prison Notebooks side by side with their sources. Gramsci's influential interpretations of the Italian Renaissance, Risorgimento, and Fascism are reviewed testi alla mano with the aim of reassessing some major turning points in Italian intellectual history. Readings and notions introduced include, for the Renaissance, Petrarch (the cosmopolitan intellectual), Savonarola (the disarmed prophet), Machiavelli (the modern prince), and Guicciardini (the particulare; for Italys long Risorgimento, Vico (living philology), Cuoco (passive revolution), Manzoni (questione della lingua), Gioberti (clericalism), and De Sanctis (the Man of Guicciardini); and Croce (the anti-Croce) and Pirandello (theater and national-popular literature), for Italy's twentieth century.
Instructor(s): R. Rubini
Note(s): Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): CMLT 26002, FNDL 26206, CMLT 36002, ITAL 36000
ITAL 26002. Philosophical Petrarchism. 100 Units.
This course is a close reading of Petrarch's Latin corpus. Readings include the Coronation Oration, The Secret, and selections from Remedies for Fortune Fair and Foul, On Illustrious Men, On Religious Leisure, and The Life of Solitude. Special attention is devoted to Petrarch's letter collections (Letters on Familiar Matters, Letters of Old Age, Book without a Name, etc.) and his invectives. The aim of the course is to familiarize the student with the new and complete Petrarch that emerged in 2004 on the occasion of the 700th anniversary of his birth. Discussion will focus on Petrarch's self-consciousness as the "father of humanism," his relationship to Dante, autobiographism, dialogical inquiry, anti-scholasticism, patriotism, and Petrarch's "civic" reception in the Quattrocento as well as on a comparative evaluation of the nineteenth-century Petrarchs of Alfred Mézières, Georg Voigt, and Francesco De Sanctis.
Instructor(s): R. Rubini
Note(s): Taught in English. Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): MDVL 26002, FNDL 25802, ITAL 36002
ITAL 26200. Renaissance and Baroque Fairytales and Their Modern Rewritings. 100 Units.
We study the distinctions between myth and fairy tale, and then focus on collections of modern Western European fairy tales, including those by Straparola, Basile, and Perrault, in light of their contemporary rewritings of classics (Angela Carter, Calvino, Anne Sexton). We analyze this genre from diverse critical standpoints (e.g., historical, structuralist, psychoanalytic, feminist) through the works of Croce, Propp, Bettelheim, and Marie-Louise Von Franz.
Instructor(s): A. Maggi
Note(s): Class conducted in English. Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): ITAL 36200, CMLT 36700, REMS 36200, CMLT 26700
ITAL 26204. Italian Renaissance Humanism. 100 Units.
TBD
Note(s): Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): ITAL 36204
ITAL 26210. The World in Ruins. 100 Units.
In this course we will not limit ourselves to the traditional view of 'ruins' as remains of ancient or modern buildings. Our course will involve a variety of different artifacts (literary texts, paintings, films, philosophical tracts, etc.) from different cultural moments, in order to attain a clearer understanding of our notion of ruins, decay, and decadence. We will first examine 'ruins' in classical cultures, focusing on Plutarch's short treatise On the Obsolescence of Oracles. We will investigate the 'discovery' of ruins in the Renaissance through Petrarch's Letters on Familiar Matters, his canzoniere, and his epic poem Africa, Francesco Colonna's verbal/visual Hypnerotomachia Poliphili (The Strife of Love in a Dream), and Joaquim De Bellay's The Antiquities of Rome. 17th-century approach to ruins and decay will focus on Benjamin's texts (Origins of the German Tragic Drama among others), Agamben's response to Benjamin in Man Without Content, and European poetry and paintings. After an analysis of Piranesi's famous etchings Vedute di Roma, we will approach Romanticism through Leopardi's and Hölderlin's works. There will be a screening of Pasolini's The Walls of Sana'a (1970), which will open our discussion of the concepts of decay and annihilation in modern times. We will read Curzio Malaparte's novel The Skin and W. G. Sebald's On the Natural History of Destruction, César Aira's Episode in the Life of a Landscape Painter, and the recent Anthropocene: The Human Epoch.
Instructor(s): A. Maggi
Note(s): Taught in English. Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): CMLT 26211, ITAL 36210, CMLT 42311
ITAL 26401. Torquato Tasso. 100 Units.
This course investigates the entire corpus of Torquato Tasso, the major Italian poet of the second half of the sixteenth century. We read in detail the "Gerusalemme Liberata" and "Aminta," his two most famous works, in the context of their specific literary genre. We then spend some time examining the intricacies of his vast collection of lyric poetry, including passages from his poem "Il mondo creato." We also consider some of his dialogues in prose that address essential issues of Renaissance culture, such as the theories of love, emblematic expression, and the meaning of friendship.
Instructor(s): A. Maggi
Note(s): Taught in Italian. Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): FNDL 26401, ITAL 36401
ITAL 26500. Renaissance Demonology. 100 Units.
In this course we analyze the complex concept of demonology according to early modern European culture from a theological, historical, philosophical, and literary point of view. The term 'demon' in the Renaissance encompasses a vast variety of meanings. Demons are hybrids. They are both the Christian devils, but also synonyms for classical deities, and Neo-platonic spiritual beings. As far as Christian theology is concerned, we read selections from Augustine's and Thomas Aquinas's treatises, some complex exorcisms written in Italy, and a recent translation of the infamous "Malleus maleficarum," the most important treatise on witch-hunt. We pay close attention to the historical evolution of the so-called witch-craze in Europe through a selection of the best secondary literature on this subject, with special emphasis on Michel de Certeau's "The Possession at Loudun." We also study how major Italian and Spanish women mystics, such as Maria Maddalena de' Pazzi and Teresa of Avila, approach the issue of demonic temptation and possession. As far as Renaissance Neoplatonic philosophy is concerned, we read selections from Marsilio Ficino's "Platonic Theology" and Girolamo Cardano's mesmerizing autobiography. We also investigate the connection between demonology and melancholy through a close reading of the initial section of Robert Burton's "Anatomy of Melancholy" and Cervantes's short story "The Glass Graduate" ("El licenciado Vidriera").
Instructor(s): Armando Maggi Terms Offered: Spring
Note(s): Course taught in English.
Equivalent Course(s): HIST 22110, GNSE 26504, CMLT 27602, RLST 26501
ITAL 26600. Bruno/Campanella. 100 Units.
This course analyzes the philosophy and theology of Giordano Bruno and Tommaso Campanella, two crucial figures of European sixteenth-century culture. As philosophers, theologians, poets, and narrators, Bruno and Campanella embody the literary, religions, and philosophical syncretism of the Italian Renaissance. To study these authors necessarily entails a close analysis of Florentine Neo-Platonism, Hermetism, magic, and apocalyptism, along with the literary traditions that molded the Italian renaissance. We discuss Bruno's Italian Dialogues, De umbris idearum (his first major treatise on artificial memory), and a selection of his later Latin poems. We then examine Campanella's La Città del sole, most of his philosophical poems, De Antichristo, and a selection of his theological treatises.
Instructor(s): A. Maggi
Note(s): Classes conducted in English. Texts in English and the original. Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): ITAL 36600, RLIT 36600
ITAL 26703. Tasso's Jerusalem Delivered. 100 Units.
TBD
Note(s): Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): REMS 26703, ITAL 36703, FNDL 26705, REMS 36703, RLIT 36700
ITAL 27001. Teatro Italiano Moderno. 100 Units.
TBD
Note(s): Course not offered in 24-25.
ITAL 27125. Fiction, Nonfiction & Microhistory. 100 Units.
The course will focus on one of the most important trends of Italian/European literature, that of creative nonfiction, and its connection(s) with microhistory as it has been theorized by, among others, Carlo Ginzburg. In doing so, we will first touch upon several narratological issues - e.g. whether it is possible to clearly distinguish between fiction and nonfiction writing - and reflect upon the problematic epistemological status of historiographical writing. We will furthermore analyze different nonfiction novels from Europe (J. Cercas, "Soldiers of Salamin"; E. Carrère, "The Adversary"; R. Saviano, "Gomorrah"), focusing on the similarities and differences between contemporary European nonfictional writings and the American tradition of New Journalism and the nonfiction novel.
Instructor(s): Raffaello Palumbo Mosca Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): Undergraduates must be in their third or fourth year.
Note(s): Taught in English.
Equivalent Course(s): ITAL 37125
ITAL 27500. Women and the Mafia in Contemporary Italian Cinema. 100 Units.
This course will examine how gender dynamics within mafia contexts have been represented in a selection of Italian films. Students will engage in cinematic analysis by drawing from sociological and psychological studies on female roles in relation to organized crime. Both these fields, sociology and psychology, have underscored the important part that women play in relation to the mafia, notwithstanding the rigid patriarchal structure that allows only male affiliation. Although focusing primarily on Sicilian mafia, this course will include information on other types of Italian mafia, namely Camorra, 'Ndrangheta and Sacra Corona Unita. Vocabulary in Italian to identify formal elements of the films will be provided throughout the course.
Instructor(s): Veronica Vegna
Prerequisite(s): ITAL 20300 or consent of instructor.
Note(s): Taught in Italian. Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): GNSE 27508
ITAL 27600. Beyond Ferrante: Italian Women Writers Rediscovered and the Global Editorial Market. 100 Units.
In this class we read selected works from some of the most influential Italian women writers who are not named Elena Ferrante. Some of these writers contributed to the cultural and literary background that produced Ferrante as well. Others can be seen as Ferrante's peers and even heirs. The remarkable global success of Ferrante's work has created the so-called "Ferrante effect." Both in Italy and abroad, editors and scholars are finally paying attention to long overlooked Italian women writers. We will explore this trend of reissues, new publications, and new translations. How has the Ferrante effect recast our assumptions about literary value? Can restorative justice take place within the global editorial market? Is it legitimate to speak about an editorial affirmative action? What is the relationship between Italian periphery and the dominant literary empire? Among the authors we will read are classics--such as Elsa Morante, Natalia Ginzburg, and Anna Maria Ortese--but also new and overlooked voices--such as Fabrizia Ramondino, Fausta Cialente, Paola Masino, Brianna Carafa, Claudia Durastanti, and Veronica Raimo.
Instructor(s): Maria Anna Mariani
Note(s): Taught in Italian. Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): GLST 27600, GNSE 27606
ITAL 27700. The (Auto)Biography of a Nation: Francesco De Sanctis and Benedetto Croce. 100 Units.
At its core, this course examines the making and legacy of Francesco De Sanctis's History of Italian Literature (1870-71), a work that distinguished literary critic René Wellek defined as "the finest history of any literature ever written" and "an active instrument of aesthetic evolution." We will read the History in the larger context of De Sanctis's corpus, including his vast epistolary exchanges, autobiographical writings, and so-called Critical Essays in order to detail his reform of Hegelian aesthetics, his redefinition of the intellectual's task after the perceived exhaustion of the Renaissance, Enlightenment, and Romantic moments, and his campaign against the bent toward erudition, philology, and antiquarianism in 19th-century European scholarship. We will compare De Sanctis's methodology to that of his scholarly models in France (Alphonse de Lamartine, Alfred Mézières) and Germany (Georg Gottfried Gervinus, Georg Voigt) to explore De Sanctis's claim that literary criticisms - not just literary cultures - are "national." In the second part of the course, we assess Benedetto Croce's appropriation of De Sanctis in his Aesthetics (1902), arguably the last, vastly influential work in its genre and we conclude with Antonio Gramsci's use of De Sanctis for the regeneration of a literary savvy Marxism or philosophy of praxis.
Instructor(s): R. Rubini
Note(s): Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): ITAL 37700, CMLT 38800, CMLT 28800, KNOW 37700, KNOW 27700
ITAL 28400. Pasolini. 100 Units.
This course examines each aspect of Pasolini's artistic production according to the most recent literary and cultural theories, including Gender Studies. We shall analyze his poetry (in particular "Le Ceneri di Gramsci" and "Poesie informa di rosa"), some of his novels ("Ragazzi di vita," "Una vita violenta," "Teorema," "Petrolio"), and his numerous essays on the relationship between standard Italian and dialects, semiotics and cinema, and the role of intellectuals in contemporary Western culture. We shall also discuss the following films: "Accattone," "La ricotta," "Edipo Re," "Teorema," and "Salo".
Instructor(s): Armando Maggi
Note(s): Taught in English. Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): GNSE 28600, CMST 33500, FNDL 28401, CMST 23500, ITAL 38400, GNSE 38600
ITAL 28500. Petrarch and the Birth of Western Modernity. 100 Units.
This course offers a close reading of the theoretical works of Petrarch (known as the "father of humanism" or "first modern man") with the aim of pinpointing the literary and rhetorical skills, as well as the self-conscious agenda, that went into the proclamation of a new era in Western history: the "Renaissance." How do we at once pay homage to and overcome a time-honored past without severing our ties to history altogether? Is Petrarch's model still viable today in efforts to forge a new beginning? We will pay special attention to Petrarch's fraught relationship with religious and secular models such as Saint Augustine and Cicero, to Petrarch's legacy in notable Renaissance humanists (Pico, Poliziano, Erasmus, Montaigne, etc.), and to the correlation of Petrarchan inquiry with modern concerns and methodologies in textual and social analysis, including German hermeneutics (Gadamer) and critical theory (Gramsci).
Instructor(s): Rocco Rubini
Note(s): Taught in English. Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): FNDL 28500, ITAL 38500
ITAL 28702. Italian Comic Theater. 100 Units.
A survey of the history of Italian theater from the Erudite Renaissance Comedy to Goldoni's reform. We will pay particular attention to the tradition of commedia dell'arte (scenarios, stock characters, and plot formation), ancient and medieval influences, evolution and emancipation of female characters, and the question of language. Readings include works by Plautus, Ariosto, Machiavelli, Angelo Beolco (Ruzante), Flaminio Scala, and Goldoni. Toward the end of the course we will consider the legacy of Italian Comedy in relation to the birth of grotesque and realist drama in Pirandello.
Instructor(s): R. Rubini
Note(s): Taught in English. Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): TAPS 38702, TAPS 28702, ITAL 38702
ITAL 28705. Literature as Resistance: Reclaiming Italian Margins. 100 Units.
Resistance takes on many forms, some more explicit, some more elusive and covert; the act of writing is one of them. How has writing been used as an act of resistance in the Italian social landscape? How does literature present marginalized individuals with a way to resist cultural and physical oppression, and provide them with a means to promote social and cultural transformation? To answer these and other related questions, this course will explore the formation of counter-hegemonic discourse through the literary production of contemporary writers at the margins of Italian society.
Instructor(s): Elizabeth Tavella
Note(s): Taught in English. Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): CRES 28705, GNSE 28705
ITAL 29600. The Worlds of Harlequin: Commedia Dell'arte. 100 Units.
This course is an introduction to the Italian art of theatrical improvisation or commedia dell'arte, a type of theater featuring masked characters and schematic plots. We will look at the influence of Boccaccio's Decameron on the formation of stock-characters, the introduction of women into the realm of theatrical professionalism, the art of costume and mask making, and the Italian knack for pantomime and gestural expression. Readings include such masterpieces in the tradition of comic theater as Machiavelli's The Mandrake and Goldoni's Harlequin Servant of Two Masters, as well as their renditions in film.
Instructor(s): Rocco Rubini
Note(s): Taught in English. Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): TAPS 28480, TAPS 38480, ITAL 39601
ITAL 29700. Readings in Special Topics. 100 Units.
This course provides directed readings in special topics not covered as part of the program in Italian. Subjects treated and work to be completed for the course must be chosen in consultation with the instructor no later than the end of the preceding quarter.
Prerequisite(s): ITAL 10300 or 20300, depending upon the requirements of the program for which credit is sought
Note(s): Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form.
ITAL 29900. BA Paper Preparation: Italian. 100 Units.
In consultation with a faculty member, students must devote the equivalent of a one-quarter course to the preparation of a BA project.
Prerequisite(s): Consent of undergraduate adviser
Note(s): Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. Students seeking honors may count this course towards their course requirements. Must be taken for a quality grade.
Kreyol Courses
Language
Must be taken for a quality grade. No auditors are permitted.
KREY 12201. Kreyòl for Speakers of Romance Languages I. 100 Units.
This course is intended for speakers of other Romance Languages to quickly develop competence in spoken and written Kreyol (Kreyòl Ayisyen). In this introductory course, students learn ways to apply their skills in another Romance language to master Kreyol by concentrating on the similarities and differences between the two languages. Although familiarity with a Romance language is strongly recommended, students with no prior knowledge of a Romance Languages, and heritage learners, are also welcome.
Instructor(s): Gerdine Ulysse Terms Offered: Autumn
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 12201
KREY 12301. Kreyòl for Speakers of Romance Languages II. 100 Units.
This course is intended for speakers of other Romance Languages, to quickly develop competence in spoken and written Kreyol (Kreyòl Ayisyen). In this intermediate-level course, students learn ways to apply their skills in another Romance language to master Kreyol by concentrating on the similarities and differences between the two languages. This course offers a rapid review of the basic patterns of the language and expands on the material presented in KREY 12201. Although familiarity with a Romance language is strongly recommended, students with no prior knowledge of a Romance language, and heritage learners, are also welcome.
Instructor(s): Gerdine Ulysse Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): KREY 12201 or consent of instructor.
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 12301
KREY 20400. Ekspresyon ekri: Kreyòl lakay soti Ayiti rive nan dyaspora a. 100 Units.
This course will provide opportunities to promote deeper knowledge of the Haitian culture while emphasizing the development of writing skills in the Kreyòl language through the use of a variety of authentic texts and cultural experiences. Topics covered in the course will include the Haitian revolution, cuisine, and audio-visual and performing arts. Moreover, students will participate in different cultural exploration outings in the city of Chicago, which will provide additional opportunities to interpret cultural artifacts and reflect on the Haitian culture and its influence on the representation and daily lives of Haitians in the diaspora, particularly in Chicago. In this course, we will: 1) analyze different cultural artifacts in the Haitian cultures through primary and secondary texts, 2) examine the influences of these cultural phenomena on the representation of Haitians and the creation of Haitian identity in the diaspora, and 3) and reflect on the importance of cultural identity in a migration context. Those who will take the course for Kreyòl credits will also develop additional syntactic knowledge in the language through creation of diverse essays. This course will be conducted in two weekly sessions: a common lecture session in English and an additional weekly discussion session in English or Kreyòl.
Instructor(s): Gerdine Ulysse
Prerequisite(s): For those seeking credit in Kreyòl, this course is open to students who have taken KREY 12300 (Kreyòl for Speakers of French II), KREY 12301 (Kreyòl for Speakers of Romance Languages II), or instructor consent. Heritage learners are also welcome.
Note(s): Course not offered in 24-25
Equivalent Course(s): RDIN 20410, LACS 20401, CHST 20400
KREY 21100. Lang, Sosyete ak Kilti Ayisyèn I. 100 Units.
This advanced-level course will focus on speaking and writing skills through the study of a wide variety of contemporary texts and audiovisual materials. It will provide students with a better understanding of contemporary Haitian society. Students will review problematic grammatical structures, write a number of essays, and participate in multiple class debates.
Instructor(s): Gerdine Ulysse Terms Offered: Autumn
Prerequisite(s): KREY 12300, 12301 or consent of instructor
Note(s): Taught in Kreyòl.
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 21101
KREY 21200. Lang, Sosyete ak Kilti Ayisyèn II. 100 Units.
This advanced-level course will focus on speaking and writing skills through a wide variety of texts, audiovisual materials, and cultural experiences. We will study a wide range of Haitian cultural manifestations (e.g., visual arts, music, gastronomy). Students will also review advanced grammatical structures, write a number of essays, participate in multiple class debates, and take cultural trips to have a comprehensive learning experience with Haitian language and culture.
Instructor(s): Gerdine Ulysse Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): KREY 21100 or consent of instructor.
Note(s): Taught in Kreyòl.
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 21200
Literature and Culture
KREY 21600. Francophone Caribbean Culture and Society: Art, Music, and Cinema. 100 Units.
This course provides an interdisciplinary survey of the contemporary Francophone Caribbean. Students will study a wide range of its cultural manifestations (performing arts like music and dance, literature, cinema, architecture and other visual arts, gastronomy). Attention is also paid to such sociolinguistic issues as the coexistence of French and Kreyòl, and the standardization of Kreyòl.
Instructor(s): Gerdine Ulysse Terms Offered: Autumn
Note(s): Taught in English.
Equivalent Course(s): FREN 21601, GLST 21600, CRES 21600, LACS 21600
KREY 29300. Language Identity and Power in French-Creolophone Contexts. 100 Units.
This course examines the concept of language identity (i.e., the language[s] people employ to represent themselves) in multilingual Creolophone communities, particularly in Haiti. This course also examines the relationships between language identity, learning, language use, and literacy development in these societies. By the end of the course, students will be able to explain: 1) what language identity in multilingual Creolophone community reveal about speakers and their language attitudes; 2) how context and mode of communication can impact language identity and language use; 3) literacy acquisition and achievement in Creole communities; and 4) how Creolophones' learning and literacy development are affected by language policies and ideologies. A final project will require students to design and conduct a preliminary sociolinguistic study based on students' interests in the French-Creolophone world.
Instructor(s): Gerdine Ulysse Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): Knowledge of French and Kreyòl will be helpful, but not required.
Note(s): Taught in English.
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 29299, FREN 29301
KREY 29700. Readings in Special Topics. 100 Units.
This course is a study of directed readings in special topics not covered by courses offered as part of the program in Kreyòl. Subjects treated and work completed for the course must be chosen in consultation with the instructor no later than the end of the preceding quarter.
Instructor(s): Gerdine Ulysse
Prerequisite(s): KREY 12301, depending upon the requirements of the program for which credit is sought
Note(s): Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form.
Portuguese/Luso-Brazilian Courses
Language
Must be taken for a quality grade. No auditors are permitted.
PORT 10100-10200-10300. Beginning Elementary Portuguese I-II-III.
This sequence is intended for beginning and beginning/intermediate students in Portuguese. It provides students with a solid foundation in the basic patterns of spoken and written Portuguese (e.g., grammar, vocabulary, phonetics, sociocultural norms) to develop their speaking, listening, writing, and reading skills. Although the three courses constitute a sequence, there is enough review and recycling at every level for students to enter the sequence whenever it is appropriate for them.
PORT 10100. Beginning Elementary Portuguese I. 100 Units.
This sequence is intended for beginning and beginning/intermediate students in Portuguese. It provides students with a solid foundation in the basic patterns of spoken and written Portuguese (e.g., grammar, vocabulary, phonetics, sociocultural norms) to develop their speaking, listening, writing, and reading skills. Although the three courses constitute a sequence, there is enough review and recycling at every level for students to enter the sequence whenever it is appropriate for them. This course is intended for students who have no previous knowledge of Portuguese and for students who need an in-depth review of the basic patterns of the language.
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Autumn
PORT 10200. Beginning Elementary Portuguese II. 100 Units.
This course is a rapid review of the basic patterns of the language and expands on the material presented in PORT 10100.
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): PORT 10100 or placement
PORT 10300. Beginning Elementary Portuguese III. 100 Units.
This course expands on the material presented in PORT 10200, reviewing and elaborating the basic patterns of the language.
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): PORT 10200 or placement
Note(s): Successful completion of PORT 10300 fulfills the competency requirement
PORT 12200. Portuguese For Spanish Speakers. 100 Units.
This course is intended for speakers of Spanish to develop competence quickly in spoken and written Portuguese. In this intermediate-level course, students learn ways to apply their Spanish language skills to mastering Portuguese by concentrating on the similarities and differences between the two languages. Students with a placement of 20100 or higher in any of the other Romance Languages are eligible to take PORT 12200 for completion of the College Language Competency Requirement
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Autumn
Spring
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 10300 or consent of instructor.
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 12200
PORT 14100. Portuguese for Speakers of Romance Languages. 100 Units.
This course helps students quickly gain skills in spoken and written Portuguese by building on their prior working knowledge of another Romance language (Spanish, French, Catalan or Italian). By relying on the many similarities with other Romance languages, students can focus on mastering the different aspects of Portuguese, allowing them to develop their abilities for further study. This class covers content from PORT 10100 and 10200.
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): 20100 in another Romance language or consent of instructor.
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 14100
PORT 14500. Portuguese for the Professions: Intensive Business Portuguese. 100 Units.
This is an accelerated language course that covers vocabulary and grammar for students interested in working in a business environment where Portuguese is spoken. The focus of this highly interactive class is to develop basic communication skills and cultural awareness through formal classes, readings, discussions, and writings. PORT 14500 satisfies the Language Competency Requirement.
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): PORT 10200, SPAN 20100, or consent of instructor.
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 14500
PORT 20100-20200. Intermediate Portuguese; Advanced Portuguese.
PORT 20100. Intermediate Portuguese. 100 Units.
This course is a general review and extension of all basic patterns of the language for intermediate students. Students explore selected aspects of Luso-Brazilian tradition through a variety of texts. This course is intented for intermediate students.
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Autumn
Prerequisite(s): PORT 10300, 12200 or placement
PORT 20200. Advanced Portuguese. 100 Units.
This course helps students develop their descriptive and narrative skills through exposure to written and oral documents (e.g., literary texts, interviews). Students are taught the grammatical and lexical tools necessary to understand these documents, as well as to produce their own analysis and commentaries.
Prerequisite(s): PORT 20100 or placement
Note(s): Course not offered in 24-25
PORT 20500. Cultura do Mundo Lusófono. 100 Units.
In this course students will explore the culture of the Lusophone world through the study of a wide variety of contemporary literary and journalistic texts from Brazil, Portugal, Angola and Mozambique, and unscripted recordings. This advanced language course targets the development of writing skills and oral proficiency in Portuguese. Students will review problematic grammatical structures, write a number of essays, and participate in multiple class debates, using authentic readings and listening segments as linguistic models on which to base their own production.
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): PORT 20100 or consent of the instructor.
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 20500
PORT 20600. Composição e Conversação Avançada. 100 Units.
The objective of this course is to help students acquire advanced grammatical knowledge of the Portuguese language through exposure to cultural and literary content with a focus on Brazil. Students develop skills to continue perfecting their oral and written proficiency and comprehension of authentic literary texts and recordings, while also being exposed to relevant sociocultural and political contemporary topics. Students read, analyze, and discuss authentic texts by established writers from the lusophone world; they watch and discuss videos of interviews with writers and other prominent figures to help them acquire the linguistic skills required in academic discourse. Through exposure to written and spoken authentic materials, students learn the grammatical and lexical tools necessary to understand such materials as well as produce their own written analysis, response, and commentary. In addition, they acquire knowledge on major Brazilian authors and works.
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): PORT 20100 or consent of instructor.
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 20600
PORT 21500. Curso de Aperfeiçoamento. 100 Units.
This course helps students develop their skills in understanding, summarizing, and producing written and spoken arguments in Portuguese through readings and debates on various issues of relevance in contemporary Luso-Brazilian societies. Special consideration is given to the major differences between continental and Brazilian Portuguese. In addition to reading, analyzing, and commenting on advanced texts (both literary and nonliterary), students practice and extend their writing skills in a series of compositions.
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): PORT 20200, PORT 20600 or consent of instructor
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 21500
PORT 21600. Exploring the Lusophone World: New Perspectives in Portuguese Language and Culture. 100 Units.
This course aims to enhance linguistic abilities and cultural awareness of students of Portuguese by providing opportunities for structured discussion, analysis, and exploration of issues relevant to language use in academic, professional, and social settings. Through a variety of literacy-oriented exercises, including all modes of communication and related to different topics and genres, students continue to develop their proficiencies, cross-cultural knowledge, and general language ability. Students will explore, analyze, and discuss a variety of global topics as can be observed through the unique lenses of the cultures of Lusophone countries and communities. To develop both their linguistic and intercultural competence, linguistic skills will be honed through a variety of cultural products that allow the students to reflect on the practices and perspectives of the target society, as well as their own. These products will range from readings, multimedia content (videos and films), and Virtual Reality videos and images specifically created for this course. This course fosters the development of writing skills and oral proficiency in Portuguese. Students will review problematic grammatical structures, write several essays, and participate in multiple class debates on topics related to literature, politics, history, and popular culture. It builds linguistic proficiency to address issues of increasingly theoretical complexity and engage in critical thinking.
Instructor(s): Juliano Saccomani Terms Offered: Autumn
Prerequisite(s): PORT 20600, PORT 21500 or instructor consent
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 21601
Literature and Culture
PORT 21903. Brazilian Theater and Film. 100 Units.
This course offers an overview of theater and cinema in Brazil, from the late nineteenth century to the present. Through an array of films and plays, students will become familiar with cultural, aesthetic, political, social, and environmental aspects of Brazil. The course will also discuss performance, adaptation, and intersections between theater and film. Play writers and filmmakers may include Qorpo Santo, Oswald de Andrade, Nelson Rodrigues, Ariano Suassuna, Plínio Marcos, Denise Stoklos, Mário Peixoto, Glauber Rocha, Susana Amaral, Guel Arraes, Lucia Murat, Eduardo Coutinho, and Kleber Mendoça Filho, among others.
Instructor(s): Victoria Saramago
Note(s): Taught in English, with readings available in Portuguese and English. Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 21905
PORT 22350. Speaking Truth to Power in Medieval Iberia. 100 Units.
In the multilingual and multireligious environment of the Iberian middle ages, poetry can express many things. And while literary history has granted a prestigious space to some of these things, such as love or spirituality, it has consistently neglected others, such as socio-political satire or vulgarity. This class will be paying attention to that other less talked-about poetry that gets into the political struggles of the period, that talks in profanities about profane things. In other words, the poetry that does not speak to the eternity of existence, but that gets its hands dirty with earthly matters. The poetry that savagely mocks and cuts through social conventions in a way that makes seem contemporary Twitter trolls benevolent in comparison. For this class we will be reading authors who wrote in Galician-Portuguese such as Joao Soares de Paiva or King Alfonso X, authors who wrote in Catalan such as Guillem de Bergueda or Ramon Vidal de Besalu, and authors who wrote in Spanish such as Juan Ruiz or Juan de Mena. Translations to Spanish will be provided or worked though class discussion.
Instructor(s): N. Blanco Mourelle
Note(s): Course not offered in 24-25
Equivalent Course(s): CATA 32350, CATA 22350, SPAN 22350, PORT 32350, MDVL 22350, SPAN 32350
PORT 23424. Building a Nation: Brazilian Culture from Modernism to the Present. 100 Units.
In this course we will go over the last one hundred years in the cultural history of Brazil, a Latin American country which has dealt with multiple labels throughout the years, ranging from post-racial paradise to the country of the future. We will focus on Brazilian literature, from the 1920s to the present day, but we will also consider cinema and other types of art and how they have shaped artists' perception of their nation as a project. How have writers and filmmakers in the last century dealt with the legacy of colonialism and slavery? How have artists depicted and envisioned such a heterogenous continental country? What are the latest trends in Brazilian literature and arts and how do they engage with or depart from tradition? In this course, which will be taught in English, we will close read and discuss texts and films not only by canonical artists such as Clarice Lispector, Guimarães Rosa and Glauber Rocha but also by other artists who have been shaping the new directions of Brazilian art today.
Instructor(s): Eduardo Leão
Note(s): While all required texts and classroom instruction will be in English, the primary texts will also be available in Portuguese and interested students will have opportunities to practice the language in the classroom. Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 23424
PORT 24110. Ecocritical Perspectives in Latin American Literature and Film. 100 Units.
This course provides a survey of of ecocritical studies in Latin America. Through novels, poems, and films, we will examine a range of trends and problems posed by Latin American artists concerning environmental issues, from mid-nineteenth century to contemporary literature and film. Readings also include works of ecocritical criticism and theory that have been shaping the field in the past decades.
Instructor(s): V. Saramago Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): SPAN 34110, SPAN 24110, PORT 34110, LACS 34110, LACS 24110
PORT 25000. The Amazon: Literature, Culture, Environment. 100 Units.
From colonial travelers to contemporary popular culture, the Amazonian forest has been a source of endless fascination, greed and, more recently, ecological concern. The numerous actors that have been shaping the region, including artists, writers, scientists, anthropologists, indigenous peoples, and the extractive industry, among others, bring a multifaceted view of this region that has been described as the paradise on earth as much as a green hell. This course offers an overview of Amazonian history, cultures, and environmental issues that spans from the sixteenth to the twenty-first century. What are the major topics, works, and polemics surrounding the ways the Amazon has been depicted and imagined? How can the region's history help us understand the state of environmental policies and indigenous rights today? What can we learn about the Amazon from literature and film? What is the future of the Amazon in the context of Brazil's current political climate? From an interdisciplinary perspective, we will cover topics such as indigenous cultures and epistemologies, deforestation, travel writing, modern and contemporary literature, music, photography, and film, among others. Authors may include Claudia Andujar, Eduardo Viveiros de Castro, Euclides da Cunha, Susanna Hecht, Davi Kopenawa, the project Video in the Villages, among others.
Instructor(s): Victoria Saramago Terms Offered: Winter
Note(s): Taught in English. Materials available in English, Portuguese and Spanish.
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 35005, CEGU 25000, SPAN 25555, SIGN 26059, SPAN 35555, ENST 25000, PORT 35000, LACS 25005
PORT 26810. From Cannibalism to Tropicalism: Brazilian Avant-Gardes. 100 Units.
Avant-garde movements, tendencies, and artists have been present in Brazil throughout the twentieth century. From the paradigmatic Week of Modern Art in 1922 to the Tropicalism of the 1960s and 1970s, this course revisits works of fiction, poetry, essay, visual arts, film, and music that have shaped the Brazilian avant-gardes. We will focus on the Modernist Movement, Concretism, Neoconcretism, New Cinema, Tropicalism, and regional avant-garde movements produced across the country.
Instructor(s): V. Saramago
Note(s): Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): PORT 36810, LACS 26810, LACS 36810
PORT 26900. Travels to Backlands of Brazil and Portuguese-speaking Africa. 100 Units.
The "sertões" or backlands of Brazil are composed of a broad and varied number of areas. Since its early usage as all the space beyond the Portuguese gaze during colonial times to its more common identification with the Northeast of Brazil in the twentieth century, it has played an unstable and versatile role in Brazilian history, from rural banditry to the building of the country's capital. This course will study the variety of sociocultural facets with which the term "sertão" has been identified in Brazil, with a focus on the twentieth century. We will also examine how this trope of colonial discourse would take on a different connotation in Angola and Mozambique due to the attentive reading of Brazilian literature by Angolan and Mozambican writers. Authors may include Mia Couto, Ruy Duarte de Carvalho, Euclides da Cunha, Graciliano Ramos, Guimarães Rosa, João Cabral de Melo Neto, Nísia Trindade Lima, Janaína Amado, Alfredo de Taunay, José Luiz Passos, Glauber Rocha, Karim Aïnouz, Marcelo Gomes, Ana Rieper, and Sandra Kogut.
Note(s): Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): PORT 36900, LACS 36900, LACS 26900
PORT 27200. Introduction to Brazilian Culture. 100 Units.
This course provides a survey of Brazilian culture through its literature, music, cinema, visual arts, and digital culture. Through these different media, we will discuss topics such as urban development, racial issues, gender issues, modernity, deforestation, and internal migrations, besides samba, bossa nova, Tropicália, funk, and visual arts movements, among others. Authors may include Machado de Assis, Oswald de Andrade, Clarice Lispector, Caetano Veloso, Angélica Freitas, Glauber Rocha, Conceição Evaristo, and Karim Aïnouz.
Instructor(s): Thomaz Amâncio Terms Offered: Spring
Note(s): Taught in English. Students may do the assignments and readings in Portuguese.
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 27200
PORT 29700. Readings in Special Topics. 100 Units.
This course is directed readings in special topics not covered as part of the program in Portuguese. Subjects treated and work to be completed for the course must be chosen in consultation with the instructor no later than the end of the preceding quarter.
Prerequisite(s): PORT 10300 or 20200, depending upon the requirements of the program for which credit is sought
Note(s): Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form.
PORT 29900. BA Paper Preparation: Portuguese. 100 Units.
In consultation with a faculty member, students must devote the equivalent of a one-quarter course to the preparation of a BA project.
Prerequisite(s): Consent of undergraduate adviser
Note(s): Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. Students seeking honors may count this course towards their course requirements. Must be taken for a quality grade.
Romance Languages and Literatures Courses
Spanish Courses
Language
Must be taken for a quality grade. No auditors are permitted.
SPAN 10100-10200-10300. Beginning Elementary Spanish I-II-III.
This three-quarter sequence is intended for beginning and low-intermediate students in Spanish, with the goal to reach Intermediate Mid Proficiency according to ACTFL by the conclusion of the first year of instruction. The introductory course sequence in Spanish has two main objectives: (1) to enable students to understand simple texts and dialogues and communicate successfully with highly proficient speakers about everyday, concrete topics; and (2) to build students’ transcultural competence via exposure to different aspects of Spanish-speaking cultures. Using a task-based approach, the course will provide students with a solid foundation in the basic patterns of spoken and written communication in Spanish (grammar, syntax, vocabulary, sociolinguistic norms), with emphasis on all four linguistic skills (speaking, listening, reading, and writing).
SPAN 10100. Beginning Elementary Spanish I. 100 Units.
SPAN 10100 is the initial segment of the introductory-level course sequence in Spanish language and Hispanic culture, and presupposes no previous exposure to Spanish. The introductory course sequence in Spanish has two main objectives: 1) to enable students to understand simple texts and dialogues and communicate successfully with highly proficient speakers about everyday, concrete topics; and 2) to build students' transcultural competence via exposure to different aspects of Spanish-speaking cultures. Using a task-based approach, the course will provide students with a solid foundation in the basic patterns of spoken and written communication in Spanish (grammar, syntax, vocabulary, sociolinguistic norms), with emphasis on all four linguistic skills (speaking, listening, reading and writing).
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Autumn
Spring
Winter
SPAN 10200. Beginning Elementary Spanish II. 100 Units.
SPAN 10200 is the second segment of the introductory-level course sequence in Spanish language and Hispanic culture. The introductory course sequence in Spanish has two main objectives: 1) to enable students to understand simple texts and dialogues and communicate successfully with highly proficient speakers about everyday, concrete topics; and 2) to build students' transcultural competence via exposure to different aspects of Spanish-speaking cultures. Using a task-based approach, the course will provide students with a solid foundation in the basic patterns of spoken and written communication in Spanish (grammar, syntax, vocabulary, sociolinguistic norms), with emphasis on all four linguistic skills (speaking, listening, reading and writing).
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Autumn
Spring
Winter
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 10100 or placement
SPAN 10300. Beginning Elementary Spanish III. 100 Units.
SPAN 10300 is the third and final segment of the introductory-level course sequence in Spanish language and Hispanic culture. The introductory course sequence in Spanish has two main objectives: 1) to enable students to understand simple texts and dialogues and communicate successfully with highly proficient speakers about everyday, concrete topics; and 2) to build students' transcultural competence via exposure to different aspects of Spanish-speaking cultures. Using a task-based approach, the course will provide students with a solid foundation in the basic patterns of spoken and written communication in Spanish (grammar, syntax, vocabulary, sociolinguistic norms), with emphasis on all four linguistic skills (speaking, listening, reading and writing).
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Autumn
Spring
Winter
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 10200, SPAN 14100, or placement.
SPAN 12001-12002-12003. Intensive Spanish I-II-III.
Intensive Spanish I-II-III
SPAN 12001. Intensive Spanish I. 200 Units.
This intensive, three-quarter sequence brings students with no prior background in Spanish to Advanced-Low levels in all four skills (reading, writing, speaking, and listening), thus preparing students to take third-year level courses in the language. Learners who are starting Spanish late in their college careers or who wish to move forward swiftly will gain skills corresponding to two full years of study by completing the entire sequence. Although the three classes constitute a sequence, students may enter the sequence whenever it is appropriate for them based on prior courses or placement exam results. Students may also exit the sequence after any given class and continue in the appropriate course in the Elementary or Intermediate Spanish track. NOTE: Each course is 200 units and corresponds in workload to taking two courses. SPAN 12001 is the equivalent of SPAN 10100 and SPAN 10200.
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Autumn
SPAN 12002. Intensive Spanish II. 200 Units.
This intensive, three-quarter sequence brings students with no prior background in Spanish to advanced-low levels in all four skills (reading, writing, speaking, and listening), thus preparing students to take third-year level courses in the language. Learners who are starting Spanish late in their college careers or who wish to move forward swiftly will gain skills corresponding to two full years of study by completing the entire sequence. Although the three classes constitute a sequence, students may enter the sequence whenever it is appropriate for them based on prior courses or placement exam results. Students may also exit the sequence after any given class and continue in the appropriate course in the Elementary or Intermediate Spanish track. NOTE: Each course is 200 units and corresponds in workload to taking two courses. SPAN 12002 is the equivalent of SPAN 10300 and SPAN 20100.
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 10200, SPAN 12001, SPAN 14100, or placement into SPAN 10300.
SPAN 12003. Intensive Spanish III. 200 Units.
This intensive, three-quarter sequence brings students with no prior background in Spanish to advanced-low levels in all four skills (reading, writing, speaking, and listening), thus preparing students to take third-year level courses in the language. Learners who are starting Spanish late in their college careers or who wish to move forward swiftly will gain skills corresponding to two full years of study by completing the entire sequence. Although the three classes constitute a sequence, students may enter the sequence whenever it is appropriate for them based on prior courses or placement exam results. Students may also exit the sequence after any given class and continue in the appropriate course in the Elementary or Intermediate Spanish track. NOTE: Each course is 200 units and corresponds in workload to taking two courses. SPAN 12003 is the equivalent of SPAN 20200 and SPAN 20300.
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 20100, SPAN 12002, or placement into SPAN 20200
SPAN 20100-20200-20300. Spanish Language, History, and Culture I-II-III.
In this intermediate-level sequence, students review but most of all extend their knowledge of all basic patterns (e.g., grammar, vocabulary, sociocultural norms) of the language. They develop their oral and written skills in describing, narrating, and presenting arguments. Students are exposed to a variety of texts (literary and non-literary) and audio-visual materials that allow them to build on their intercultural competence by identifying the beliefs and practices of Spanish-speaking individuals and cultures and comparing them with their own worldview. The intermediate sequence is intended for students at the Intermediate Mid-level, and by the end of the sequence they should reach Advanced Low Proficiency level in the ACTFL scale.
SPAN 20100. Language, History, and Culture I. 100 Units.
This course is the first segment of the intermediate-level course sequence in Spanish language and Hispanic cultures. In this course, students build on the speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills that were acquired previously to communicate and discuss topics of local, national, and international interest. These topics include cultural identities, representation in media industry, human rights and current issues pertaining to education and the job market, with a special emphasis on how they operate in the Spanish-speaking world. SPAN 201 has three main objectives: 1) to express more nuanced ideas orally and in writing in grammatically accurate, lexically rich, and sociolinguistically appropriate Spanish; 2) to demonstrate listening and reading comprehension of authentic texts in a variety of social and academic contexts; and 3) to help students build on their intercultural competence by identifying the beliefs and practices of Spanish-speaking individuals and cultures and comparing them with their own worldview.
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Autumn
Spring
Winter
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 10300 or placement
SPAN 20200. Language, History, and Culture II. 100 Units.
This course is the second segment of the intermediate-level course sequence in Spanish language and Hispanic cultures. In this course, students build on the speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills that were acquired previously to communicate and discuss topics of local, national, and international interest. These topics include society and technology, creativity and leisure in the post-pandemic era, bilingualism and multicultural communities and environmental ethics, with a special emphasis on how they operate in the Spanish-speaking world. SPAN 202 has three main objectives: 1) to express more nuanced ideas orally and in writing in grammatically accurate, lexically rich, and sociolinguistically appropriate Spanish; 2) to demonstrate listening and reading comprehension of authentic texts in a variety of social and academic contexts; and 3) to help students build on their intercultural competence by identifying the beliefs and practices of Spanish-speaking individuals and cultures and comparing them with their own worldview.
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Autumn
Spring
Winter
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 20100 or placement
SPAN 20300. Language, History, and Culture III. 100 Units.
This course is the third segment of the intermediate-level course sequence in Spanish language and Hispanic cultures. In this course, students build on the speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills that were acquired previously to communicate and discuss topics of local, national, and international interest. These topics include human rights and social inclusion, indigenous peoples and communities, rural-urban transformations, and borders as liminal spaces with a special emphasis on how they operate in the Spanish-speaking world. SPAN 203 has three main objectives: 1) to express more nuanced ideas orally and in writing in grammatically accurate, lexically rich, and sociolinguistically appropriate Spanish; 2) to demonstrate listening and reading comprehension of authentic texts in a variety of social and academic contexts; and 3) to help students build on their intercultural competence by identifying the beliefs and practices of Spanish-speaking individuals and cultures and comparing them with their own worldview.
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Autumn
Spring
Winter
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 20200 or placement
SPAN 20102-20302. Language, History, and Culture for Heritage Speakers I-II-III.
SPAN 20102. Language, History, and Culture for Heritage Speakers I. 100 Units.
The curricular development of this first course in a two-course intermediate sequence for heritage learners of Spanish will target all communicative competencies. The weekly modules will help the student improve their language skills on all fronts and are designed from informal, mostly communicative (emails), to formal and well-structured (academic essays). The focus of this course is not on grammar per se, but grammar and style have an important role as we go along. There will be eight weekly writing assignments, which will receive instructor feedback. The student will also have a portfolio of work at the end; this portfolio will be presented to the class during the last week as a final project."
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Spring
Winter
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 10300 or SPAN 10402 or placement. Open only to heritage speakers.
SPAN 20302. Language, History, and Culture for Heritage Speakers II/III. 100 Units.
The curricular development of this second course in a two-course intermediate sequence for heritage learners of Spanish will target all communicative competencies. The weekly modules will help the student improve their language skills on all fronts and are designed from informal, mostly communicative (emails), to formal and well-structured (academic essays). The focus of this course is not on grammar per se, but grammar and style have an important role as we go along. There will be eight weekly writing assignments, which will receive instructor feedback. The student will also have a portfolio of work at the end; this portfolio will be presented to the class during the last week as a final project.
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Autumn
Spring
Winter
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 20102 or SPAN 20200 or placement. Open only to heritage speakers or with consent of instructor.
SPAN 20304. Spanish for the Professions. 100 Units.
This course is designed as an alternative to SPAN 20300 for students aspiring to use Spanish in a professional context. Students will expand their lexical and cultural knowledge of their chosen professional area through two course-long projects (a blog/vlog and a mini research project), and will hone linguistic skills relevant to any workplace environment. In order for 20304 to serve as preparation for the following course in the sequence (SPAN 20401, the textbook used and the vocabulary and grammatical topics covered in SPAN 20300 and 20304 are identical.
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 20200 or consent of instructor
SPAN 20305. Legal Spanish: Public Interest Law in the US. 100 Units.
This course brings students to high-intermediate levels in reading, speaking, and listening for the practice of public interest law in the US. Learners will build proficiency around relevant topic areas so that they can read, listen, explain, present and solicit information related to rights, client history / interviews, procedural language, legal actions, etc. Focus is on communication and strategy instruction. The final exam is a proficiency test offered through the University of Chicago Office of Language Assessment that yields a certificate and a proficiency rating on students' transcripts. This class will follow the College's academic calendar with flexibility for law students' schedules.
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): One year of university-level Spanish or equivalent.
SPAN 20310. Chicago Habla Español. 100 Units.
Chicago is known to have multiple, diverse Spanish-speaking communities. In this course, students will use these communities as their classroom to analyze and debate current issues confronting the LatinX experience in the United States and Midwest. In parallel, class instruction will reinforce and expand students' grammatical and lexical proficiency in a manner that will allow students to engage in real-life activities involving speaking, reading, listening and writing skills. This intermediate-high language course targets the development of writing skills and oral proficiency in Spanish and is designed as an alternative to SPAN 20300. Students will review problematic grammatical structures, write a number of essays, and participate in multiple class conversations using authentic readings and listening segments as linguistic models on which to base their own production. At the end of class, students are expected to produce an individual project.
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 20200 or placement
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 20310, CHST 20310
SPAN 20401-20501. Gramática avanzada y cultura contemporánea para la argumentación I-II.
The third-year language sequence is intended for students with an Advanced Low proficiency level according to ACTFL, with the goal of reaching Advanced Mid at the conclusion of the sequence. These courses aim to strengthen all four linguistic skills, advanced argumentation, critical thinking, and transcultural competence via discussion of press articles, short stories, films, and recorded interviews with native speakers from a variety of regions. Grammatical structures, syntactic patterns, and vocabulary known to be problematic for English speakers will be reviewed and practiced. Controversial topics in politics, contemporary culture, and modern Spanish and Latin American history will be debated and discussed orally and in writing through a formal debate, several argumentative essays, weekly posts on online discussion boards, class discussions, and summaries of texts and audios assigned. Students will also be asked to formulate well-supported arguments on these topics, and to reflect on similarities and contrasts between their own culture and those of the Spanish-speaking world. This course sequence is the equivalent of SPAN 20400-20500 in previous catalog versions.
SPAN 20401. Gramática avanzada y cultura contemporánea para la argumentación I. 100 Units.
This course is the first segment of the third-year (advanced) Spanish language sequence. It aims to strengthen all four linguistic skills, advanced argumentation, critical thinking and transcultural competence via discussion of press articles, short stories, films, and recorded interviews with native speakers from a variety of regions. Grammatical structures, syntactic patterns and vocabulary known to be problematic for English speakers will be reviewed and practiced. Controversial topics in politics, contemporary culture and modern Spanish and Latin American history will be debated and discussed orally and in writing through a formal debate, several argumentative essays, weekly posts on online discussion boards, class discussions, and summaries of texts and audios assigned. Students will also be asked to formulate well-supported arguments on these topics, and to reflect on similarities and contrasts between their own culture and those of the Spanish-speaking world.
Terms Offered: Spring
Winter
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 20300 or consent of instructor
SPAN 20501. Gramática avanzada y cultura contemporánea para la argumentación II. 100 Units.
This course is the second segment of the third-year (advanced) Spanish language sequence. It aims to strengthen all four linguistic skills, advanced argumentation, critical thinking and transcultural competence via discussion of press articles, short stories, films, and recorded interviews with native speakers from a variety of regions. Grammatical structures, syntactic patterns and vocabulary known to be problematic for English speakers will be reviewed and practiced. Controversial topics in politics, contemporary culture and modern Spanish and Latin American history will be debated and discussed orally and in writing through a formal debate, several argumentative essays, weekly posts on online discussion boards, class discussions, and summaries of texts and audios assigned. Students will also be asked to formulate well-supported arguments on these topics, and to reflect on similarities and contrasts between their own culture and those of the Spanish-speaking world.
Terms Offered: Spring
Winter
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 20400 or consent of instructor
Note(s): This course is the equivalent of SPAN 20500
SPAN 20402. Curso de redacción académica para hablantes nativos. 100 Units.
This advanced language course helps students achieve mastery of composition and style through the acquisition of numerous writing techniques. A wide variety of literary and non-literary texts are read. Through writing a number of essays and participating in class discussions, students are guided in the examination of linguistic structures and organization of several types of written Spanish discourse. This course also enhances awareness of the cultural diversity within the contemporary Spanish-speaking world and its historical roots.
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Autumn
Spring
Winter
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 20302 or placement. Open to native and heritage speakers.
SPAN 20602. Discurso académico para hablantes nativos. 100 Units.
The goal of this advanced conversation course is to help students identify and acquire the mechanisms necessary to engage in academic discourse. Throughout the course, students will participate in debates, lectures, and seminars. In addition, they will conduct a formal interview with a Spanish speaker. The topics of the different activities will be selected by the students according to their specializations at the University, but they will always try to establish a relationship with the Spanish-speaking world. All activities will expose the student to different styles of discourse and academic vocabulary. To also encourage spontaneous and informal conversation, six student-led get-togethers will be organized on a variety of topics. At the end of the course, students will know how to express themselves orally following the established academic conventions."
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Spring
Winter
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 20302 or placement. Open only to native and heritage speakers with consent of instructor.
SPAN 20702. Advanced Spanish through Latin American Food Culture. 100 Units.
In this advanced Spanish language course, students will delve into Spanish-language materials focusing on Latin American foodways and the associated social issues. While advancing their proficiency in Spanish, participants will explore Latin America's history, evolution, and culinary traditions within the U.S. context through theme-based projects. Students will gain insights by immersing themselves in a diverse cross-cultural landscape and into the impact of food on various aspects of society, including celebrations, family dynamics, social relationships, politics, and economics. Moreover, students will connect with their identity in the diverse environment, encouraging them to get involved with Chicago's lively Latin American communities. Students will understand that food is not merely a means of survival but a profound expression of culture and society. In this advanced Spanish course, language proficiency intertwines with a rich exploration of Latin American culinary heritage.
Instructor(s): Verónica Moraga Terms Offered: Autumn
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 20300 or Instructor Consent
Equivalent Course(s): CHST 20702
Literature and Culture
All literature and culture classes are conducted in Spanish unless otherwise indicated. Students who are majoring in Spanish do all work in Spanish. With prior consent of instructor, non-majors may write in English.
SPAN 20306. Latinx and Spanish Language for Social Workers. 100 Units.
Social Work students will strengthen their knowledge of the Spanish language, especially the vocabulary and functions relevant to clinical social work practice. In addition, they will develop greater cultural competence concerning the Latinx community, enabling them to function pragmatically appropriately in a range of contexts. The course explores a variety of communicative strategies to adapt phonetics, register, and diction to rhetorical situations commonly encountered by clinical social work professionals. It also provides cultural instruction through a variety of readings and participation in hands-on, authentic activities.
Prerequisite(s): Prerequisites: Two years of college-level Spanish, completed the Practical Proficiency Assessment in Spanish. Consent of the instructor is required for course registration. In addition, all interested students must complete a 20-minute assessment interview with the instructor, including a brief written component, to determine the appropriate skill level.
Equivalent Course(s): SSAD 64400, LACS 64400
SPAN 21100. Las regiones del español. 100 Units.
This sociolinguistic course expands understanding of the historical development of Spanish and awareness of the great sociocultural diversity within the Spanish-speaking world and its impact on the Spanish language. We emphasize the interrelationship between language and culture as well as ethno-historical transformations within the different regions of the Hispanic world. Special consideration is given to identifying lexical variations and regional expressions exemplifying diverse sociocultural aspects of the Spanish language, and to recognizing phonological differences between dialects. We also examine the impact of indigenous cultures on dialectical aspects. The course includes literary and nonliterary texts, audio-visual materials, and visits by native speakers of a variety of Spanish-speaking regions.
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Autumn
Spring
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 20300 or placement
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 21100
SPAN 21101. Basque Culture and Society. 100 Units.
Straddling the border of southern France and northern Spain, the Basque Country is the home of a complex national community without a state -but with a language that is unrelated to any other in the world and is perhaps the most remarkable feature of their cultural identity. Through the analysis of a wide variety of texts and artifacts, this course will give students the the background to navigate through different dimensions of Basque culture (traditions, gastronomy, music, the language) as well as the history that has marked the development of Basque society (including the so-called Basque Conflict).
Terms Offered: Winter
Note(s): Taught in English. Prior knowledge of Basque language or culture not required.
Equivalent Course(s): GLST 21100, BASQ 21100
SPAN 21150. El español en los Estados Unidos. 100 Units.
This sociolinguistic course expands understanding of both the historical and the contemporary development of Spanish in parts of the United States, and awareness of the great sociocultural diversity within the Spanish-speaking communities in the United States and its impact on the Spanish language. This course emphasizes the interrelationship between language and culture as well as ethno-historical transformations within the different regions of the United States. Special consideration is given to identifying lexical variations and regional expressions exemplifying diverse sociocultural aspects of the Spanish language, and to recognizing phonological differences between dialects. We also examine the impact of English on dialectical aspects. The course includes sociolinguistic texts, audio-visual materials, and visits by native speakers of a variety of Spanish-speaking regions in the United States.
Instructor(s): Staff Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 20300
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 21150
SPAN 21310. Golden Age Poetry. Theory and Practice of Lyric Reading. 100 Units.
In this course we will read a few classic Spanish poems of the Golden Age from different methodological and theoretical paradigms. Each class session will revolve around one or a few poems in order to allow time for in-depth discussion and analysis, and we will often pair these lyric texts with influential critical readings of them. On the one hand, this will provide students with an introduction to the main poetic traditions, themes, and authors of the Spanish Golden Age in their historical context. On the other, we will critically examine a varied array of reading strategies and interpretive paradigms, including structuralism and post-structuralism, philology and textual criticism, Marxism, feminist criticism and gender studies, New Historicism, and emerging scholarship in "lyric theory." Moreover, we will engage in a discussion about the value, the meaning, and the social uses of poetry broadly considered.
Instructor(s): Miguel Martínez
Note(s): Taught in Spanish. Course not offered in 24-25
Equivalent Course(s): SPAN 31310
SPAN 21500. Introducción al análisis literario. 100 Units.
Through a variety of representative works of Hispanic literature, this course focuses on the discussion and practical application of different approaches to the critical reading of literary texts. We also study basic concepts and problems of literary theory, as well as strategies for research and academic writing in Spanish.
Instructor(s): Mario Santana
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 20300 or consent of instructor.
Note(s): Taught in Spanish. Course not offered in 24-25
SPAN 21610. Catalan Culture and Society: Art, Music, and Cinema. 100 Units.
This course provides an interdisciplinary survey of contemporary Catalonia. We study a wide range of its cultural manifestations (architecture, paintings, music, arts of the body, literature, cinema, gastronomy). Attention is also paid to some sociolinguistic issues, such as the coexistence of Catalan and Spanish, and the standardization of Catalan.
Instructor(s): Bel Olid Terms Offered: Spring
Note(s): The course will be conducted in English.
Equivalent Course(s): CATA 21600, GLST 21601
SPAN 21703. Introducción a las literaturas hispánicas: textos españoles clásicos. 100 Units.
This course involves careful reading and discussion of significant works from the Spanish Middle Ages, Renaissance, and the Golden Age, including Juan Manuel's Conde Lucanor, Jorge Manrique's Coplas, the anonymous Lazarillo de Tormes, and the theater of Calderón.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 20300 or consent of instructor.
Note(s): Taught in Spanish. Course not offered in 24-25
Equivalent Course(s): MDVL 21703
SPAN 21705. Iberian Literatures and Cultures: Medieval and Early Modern. 100 Units.
This course explores Spanish language, literature, and culture focusing on premodern Iberian texts and artifacts. We will start by anonymous "Cantar de Mio Cid," the first great vernacular epic in the Middle Ages, and we will end in Maria de Zayas's "Novelas ejemplares," one of the finest expressions of European early modern short story. Between these two literary works we will talk about music, painting, witchcraft, conversion, and the Inquisition as milestones of a five-century span. In this time Spanish consolidates as a written language, while numerous political and religious conflicts mark the struggle for hegemony in the Iberian Peninsula. In addition to enhancing your knowledge of Iberian cultural history and improving your close reading and critical thinking skills, this course is designed to continue building on your linguistic competence in Spanish.
Instructor(s): Noel Blanco Mourelle Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 20300 or consent of instructor.
Note(s): Taught in Spanish. This course is the equivalent of SPAN 21703.
Equivalent Course(s): MDVL 21705
SPAN 21803. Introducción a las literaturas hispánicas: textos españoles contemporáneos. 100 Units.
Este curso ofrecerá un amplio panorama de las literaturas españolas de los siglos XIX y XX. Buena parte de la historia cultural de España ha estado marcada por la ansiedad respecto al supuesto atraso cultural, político, social y económico del país. La modernidad se convierte así en objeto de deseo y de disputa cultural para los intelectuales españoles que luchan por definir en qué consiste y cómo alcanzarla. Este es el tema que nos guiará, de manera flexible, por las obras de autores como Mariano José de Larra, Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, Rosalía de Castro, Emilia Pardo Bazán, Leopoldo Alas Clarín, Antonio Machado, Federico García Lorca, Ana María Matute, Max Aub y Manuel Rivas, entre otros, complementadas por algunas películas. En relación con este tema principal, se explorarán también el lugar del campo y la ciudad en la imaginación moderna, la cuestión nacional, las luchas por la emancipación de la mujer, las tensión creativa entre tradición y vanguardia artística, o los debates sobre la historia y la memoria del pasado reciente de España.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 20300 or consent of instructor.
Note(s): Taught in Spanish. Course not offered in 24-25
SPAN 21805. Iberian Literatures and Cultures: Modern and Contemporary. 100 Units.
This is a survey of the literatures and cultures of Spain from the 19th to the 21st centuries. The course offers an introduction to key historical moments of Spanish modernity, including the age of liberalism and the end of the empire, the Civil War and the Spanish exile, and the fight for democracy and equality in the Transition period and in the present day. Through literature, film, and the visual arts we will discuss topics such as the rivalry of competing national projects, the creative tension between tradition and avant-garde, the relationship between languages, literature, and society, and the struggles of women, among others. We will study towering cultural figures such as Emilia Pardo Bazán, Federico García Lorca, Mercè Rodoreda, Pablo Picasso, or Luis Buñuel, among many others. In addition to enhancing your knowledge of Iberian cultural history and improving your close reading and critical thinking skills, this course is designed to continue building on your linguistic competence in Spanish.
Instructor(s): Miguel Martínez Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 20300 or consent of instructor.
Note(s): Taught in Spanish. This course is the equivalent of SPAN 21803.
SPAN 21903. Intro. a las lit. hispánicas: textos hispanoamericanos desde la colonia a la independencia. 100 Units.
This course examines an array of representative texts written in Spanish America from the colonial period to the late nineteenth century, underscoring not only their aesthetic qualities but also the historical conditions that made their production possible. Among authors studied are Christopher Columbus, Hernán Cortés, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, Simón Bolívar, and José Martí.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 20300 or consent of instructor.
Note(s): Taught in Spanish. Course not offered in 24-25
Equivalent Course(s): CRES 21903, LACS 21903
SPAN 21905. Latin American Literatures and Cultures: Colonial and 19th-Century. 100 Units.
This course introduces students to the writing produced in Hispanic and Portuguese America during the period marked by the early processes of European colonization in the sixteenth century through the revolutionary movements that, in the nineteenth century, led to the establishment of independent nation-states across the continent. The assigned texts relate to the first encounters between Indigenous, Black, and European populations in the region, to the emergence of distinct ("New World") notions of cultural identity (along with the invention of new racial categories), and to the disputes over the meaning of nationhood that characterized the anti-colonial struggles for independence. Issues covered in this survey include the idea of texts as spaces of cultural and political conflict; the relationships between Christianization, secularization, and practices of racialization; the transatlantic slave trade; the uses of the colonial past in early nationalist projects; and the aesthetic languages through which this production was partly articulated (such as the Barroco de Indias, or "New World baroque," Neoclassicism, Romanticism, and Modernismo, among others). In addition to enhancing your knowledge of Latin American cultural history and improving your close reading and critical thinking skills, this course is designed to continue building on your linguistic competence in Spanish.
Instructor(s): Larissa Brewer-Garcia, Carlos Halaburda Terms Offered: Autumn
Spring
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 20300 or consent of instructor.
Note(s): Taught in Spanish.
Equivalent Course(s): RDIN 21905, LACS 21900
SPAN 21950. Dark Stairways of Desire": Lusting beyond the Norm in Contemporary Catalan Literature. 100 Units.
Although we can find a significant number of authors exploring queer desire and identities throughout the history of Catalan Literature (from lesbian scenes in Joanot Martorell's "Tirant lo blanc" to expanding gender identities in Maria Aurèlia Capmany's "Quim/Quima"), more recent Catalan Literature is blooming with queerness and non-normative lust. This course will give an overview of contemporary Catalan works influenced by feminist and queer debates from the seventies on. Beginning with renowned poet Maria Mercè Marçal's only novel, "The Passion According to Rennée Vivien," winner of several of the most prestigious literary awards for Catalan Literature, we will go on to discover 21st-century works by Eva Baltasar and Anna Punsoda. We will also read poems, short stories and excerpts from authors such as Maria Sevilla, Mireia Calafell, Raquel Santanera, Sebastià Portell, Sil Bel and Ian Bermúdez, among others.
Instructor(s): Bel Olid Terms Offered: Winter
Note(s): Taught in English.
Equivalent Course(s): CATA 21950, GLST 21950, GNSE 23150
SPAN 22003. Introducción a las literaturas hispánicas: del modernismo al presente. 100 Units.
Students in this course study an array of texts written in Spanish America from the late nineteenth century to the present, including the literature of the Hispanic diasporas. Authors may include José Martí, Rubén Darío, Mariano Azuela, Pablo Neruda, César Vallejo, Teresa de la Parra, Jorge Luis Borges, Octavio Paz, Rosario Castellanos, Mario Vargas Llosa, and Pedro Pietri.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 20300 or consent of instructor.
Note(s): Taught in Spanish. Course not offered in 24-25
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 22003
SPAN 22005. Latin American Literatures and Cultures: 20th and 21st Centuries. 100 Units.
This course will survey some of the main literary and cultural tendencies in Latin America from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present. We will pay special attention to their aesthetic dimensions, as well as the socio-historical and political conditions that made them possible, and in which they simultaneously intervened. Questions to be studied might include the innovations of the Modernist and avant-garde movements, fantastic literature, the novel of the so-called "Boom," cultural production associated with revolutionary movements, military dictatorships, and the Cold War, as well as new currents in literary and theatrical practices. Likewise, the course will foreground some of the following concepts relevant to the study of this production: modernity and modernization; development and neoliberalism; neo-colonialism and empire; cultural autonomy and ideas of poetic and cultural renewal; the epic vs. the novel; realism and non-verisimilitude; and performativity, among others. In addition to enhancing your knowledge of Latin American cultural history and improving your close reading and critical thinking skills, this course is designed to continue building on your linguistic competence in Spanish.
Instructor(s): Agnes Lugo-Ortiz, Danielle Roper Terms Offered: Spring
Winter
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 20300 or consent of instructor.
Note(s): Taught in Spanish. This course is the equivalent of SPAN 22003.
Equivalent Course(s): RDIN 22205, LACS 22005
SPAN 22266. Witchcraft and the Cultural Imagination. 100 Units.
This seminar takes as its focal point the vast range of conceptual, material, and visual artifacts that are produced by, and indeed help to construct, this enduring fascination with the figure of the witch, from the medieval past to the present. We will examine case studies from premodern Europe to Colonial North America to Indonesia, scrutinizing texts, films, and works of art. Rather than offering a standard history of witchcraft, we will explore the intersections of gender, labor, and representation that the figure of the witch makes specially available for study. Witchcraft constitutes a multifaceted phenomenon that aims to alter reality and the self through the use of various techniques, transmitted both orally and in writing. These techniques have often appeared culturally marked in terms of gender and belief. Witchcraft has for centuries been the business of women in societies where very few avenues existed for women to develop any sort of business.
Instructor(s): T. Golan, N. Mourelle Terms Offered: Winter
Note(s): Students must attend first class to confirm enrollment.
Equivalent Course(s): GNSE 32288, ARTH 22266, SPAN 32266, ARTH 32266, GNSE 22288
SPAN 22324. Empire and Nation in Modern Spain. 100 Units.
This course examines the relationship between cultural products and imperialism in 19th- and 20th-century Spain. We will follow the historical development of Spanish imperialism during that period and how it interacted with the contours of modernity, Spanish identity, and nation-building projects. Through studying texts and cultural products, including visual art and film, we will examine how writers, artists, and scholars represented and debated the multiple Spanish imperial practices in places such as Morocco, the Dominican Republic, and Equatorial Guinea. We will also analyze some responses to the loss of the last Spanish colonies -Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines- and Franco's involvement in imperial practices. Other topics we will address are the intersection of race and gender in colonized spaces; the construction of otherness; the colonial body; the connections between culture, empire, and science; and Spain's internal diversity and political struggles. Some of the authors we will study include Aurora Bertrana, Benito Pérez Galdós, Emilia Pardo Bazán, Pedro Antonio de Alarcón, Carmen de Burgos, Mariano Fortuny, among others.
Instructor(s): Miriam Borerro Robledo
Note(s): Course readings, instruction, and discussion will be in Spanish. Course not offered in 24-25
SPAN 22350. Speaking Truth to Power in Medieval Iberia. 100 Units.
In the multilingual and multireligious environment of the Iberian middle ages, poetry can express many things. And while literary history has granted a prestigious space to some of these things, such as love or spirituality, it has consistently neglected others, such as socio-political satire or vulgarity. This class will be paying attention to that other less talked-about poetry that gets into the political struggles of the period, that talks in profanities about profane things. In other words, the poetry that does not speak to the eternity of existence, but that gets its hands dirty with earthly matters. The poetry that savagely mocks and cuts through social conventions in a way that makes seem contemporary Twitter trolls benevolent in comparison. For this class we will be reading authors who wrote in Galician-Portuguese such as Joao Soares de Paiva or King Alfonso X, authors who wrote in Catalan such as Guillem de Bergueda or Ramon Vidal de Besalu, and authors who wrote in Spanish such as Juan Ruiz or Juan de Mena. Translations to Spanish will be provided or worked though class discussion.
Instructor(s): N. Blanco Mourelle
Note(s): Course not offered in 24-25
Equivalent Course(s): CATA 32350, CATA 22350, PORT 32350, MDVL 22350, PORT 22350, SPAN 32350
SPAN 22423. Gender and Sexuality in Early Modern Spain. 100 Units.
How did men and women understand their roles in early modern Spanish society as dictated by their gender? Could individuals challenge, or even transgress, the societal-and, therefore, gendered-norms by which they were bound? How were the ideals of femininity and masculinity constructed in artistic and literary production? To what extent were gender and sexuality fixed or fluid in the early modern imaginary? These are but a few of the questions that will be addressed in this course, as we examine the complexities and nuances of gender and sexuality in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Spanish culture. We will engage primarily with literary sources, such as poetry, narrative, theatrical works, and autobiographical writings from key literary figures (Garcilaso de la Vega, Teresa de Ávila, María de Zayas, Lope de Vega, to name a few). Moreover, we will examine visual art as well as medical and moral treatises in order to gain as comprehensive as possible an understanding of the notion of gender and sexuality during this time period. In addition to expanding their knowledge of Spanish literature and culture, this course will allow students to continue enhancing their Spanish linguistic competence.
Instructor(s): Lizette Arellano
Note(s): Taught in Spanish. Course not offered in 24-25
Equivalent Course(s): GNSE 22423
SPAN 22424. Between History and Fiction: Race, Modernity, and Revolution in the Hispanic Caribbean. 100 Units.
This course will introduce students to twentieth-century historical fiction from Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico. Reflecting on the ambiguous contours between history and fiction, we will use literature and film to illuminate cultural debates of Hispanic Caribbean modernity. How do literary and filmic representations of a historical past reflect on the present moment? What is fiction's relationship to archives and history? What can these fictional emplotments teach us about the crafting of national narratives? Particular attention will be given to questions of race and revolution - understood for our purposes as the constitutive vectors of Caribbean modernity - in the texts studied. Authors and filmmakers to be discussed may include Alejo Carpentier, Tomás Gutierrez Alea, Humberto Solás, Rita Indiana, Rosario Ferré, José Luis González, and Luis López Nieves, among others.
Instructor(s): Cristina Esteves-Wolff Terms Offered: Winter
Note(s): Taught in Spanish.
Equivalent Course(s): RDIN 22424, LACS 22424
SPAN 22521. ¿Qué onda, Siri? Ciencia Ficción Latinoamericana. 100 Units.
Intercambio de cartas entre México y la luna, exploradores planetarios argentinos, hackers activistas en Bolivia y viajes en el tiempo para salvar el Caribe. Aunque a lo largo de su historia no haya gozado del mismo prestigio que otros géneros literarios, la ciencia ficción en América Latina tiene ejemplos que datan del siglo XVIII. Sin embargo, no es hasta los 1950s que el género empieza a ganar impulso editorial y, más tarde, académico. Ya en el siglo XXI, autores como Rita Indiana, Pola Oloixarac y Edmundo Paz Soldán han utilizado los variados elementos constitutivos del género y alcanzando incluso reconocimiento internacional. Frente a tal histórico, este curso busca contestar las siguientes preguntas: ¿De qué manera se asemeja y se difiere la ciencia ficción latinoamericana, de país a país, y en comparación al resto del mundo? ¿Cómo se mezclan los elementos tradicionales del género con las culturas nacionales y regionales del subcontinente? ¿Qué particularidades sociales, políticas, económicas, raciales y de género se manifiestan en estos textos que nos ayudan a pensar la realidad de esta región y que la ficción realista históricamente privilegiada no llega a escenificar? Para ello, nos ocuparemos de novelas, cuentos, poemas, películas, series de televisión y performances de América Latina, desde sus principios decimonónicos hasta el presente, enfocándonos en los elementos característicos del género y las representaciones culturales puestas en escena por estos artistas.
Instructor(s): Eduardo Leao
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 20300.
Note(s): Taught in Spanish. Course not offered in 24-25
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 22521
SPAN 22523. Transpacific Des-orientations: Cultural Relations between Asia & Latin America (16th-21st centuries) 100 Units.
This course offers an overview of the cultural relations between Asia and Latin America from the 16th century to the present day. We will engage with these plural transpacific circulations - individuals, resources, goods, ideas, and sensibilities - through diverse material ranging from maps, poetry, visual arts, films, and essays to music, architecture, textiles, and social media. We will question the local and global implications of these exchanges in a (post)colonial world. A navigation between eras and areas, this course takes transpacific cultural relations as an opportunity to decenter the gaze. What do these early and dynamic circulations tell us about a globalization always centered on the (North) West of the planet? What happens with the old presumed categories of "West" and "East" when the world is lived and conceived from other locations and perspectives? What remains of "Latin" when America is apprehended from the "Pacific Rim"? Drawing on close observations and analysis of representative cultural productions, this course seeks to map the importance and diversity of these transpacific cultural itineraries and to explore alternative ways of thinking about "Latin America" as a central agent of our connected modernities. Besides enhancing your knowledge of Latin American cultural history, this course is designed to help you improve your close reading and critical thinking skills, as well as continue building on your linguistic competence in Spanish.
Instructor(s): Ysé Bourdon
Note(s): Course not offered in 24-25
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 22523, GLST 22523
SPAN 22623. Writing Contagion. 100 Units.
This course offers a transhistorical overview of the connections between writing and plagues in the Hispanic World, from the seventeenth century to the present day. We will explore the ways in which literature, and the visual arts register and articulate moments of contagion and how they shape each other. Among other sources, we will engage with an artisan's diary of the early modern period, literary essays in periodicals of the 19th century, a novel about the AIDS epidemic, a TV series that represents a Black Plague outbreak, and journals of the Covid-19 pandemic. How are these moments of contagion construed? How are the chains of infection narrated? How are fear, loss and anxiety textualized? How do cultural products define the blurred lines of the public and the private during epidemics? Exploring a variety of plagues -from the Black Plague to the typhus and yellow fever outbreaks, the Spanish flu and AIDS epidemic, to our present Covid-19 pandemic- we will explore how epidemics affect writing, the narrators and styles that thrive under and after the experience of them, and the role they play altering, subverting, and adapting established genres. Besides adding to your knowledge of the Spanish-speaking world, and improving your close reading and critical thinking skills, this course is designed to continue building on your linguistic competence in Spanish.
Instructor(s): Paulina León
Note(s): Taught in Spanish. Course not offered in 24-25
Equivalent Course(s): HLTH 22623
SPAN 22701. Poesía, nación y ciudadanía en el siglo XIX hispanoamericano. 100 Units.
In this course we will explore the relationships between poetry and the constitution of the modern nation-state in nineteenth-century Spanish America. How did poetry partake in the early figuration of national historical imaginaries and in the foundation of their heroic pantheons? Through what languages and aesthetic procedures did it help foster patriotic sentiments and identifications? Was poetry a disciplinary tool for the formation of notions of citizenship and of civic values? Through a series of close textual readings, we will investigate the nature of the entanglement between the poetical and the demands of the political and inquire if there were moments when this relationship proved to be traversed by frictions, if not impossibilities. Authors we may read are José Joaquín Olmedo, Andrés Bello, Esteban Echeverría, José María Heredia, Plácido, Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda, José Hernández, José Gautier Benítez, Juana Borrero, Juan Zorrilla de San Martín, and Lola Rodríguez de Tió, among others.
Instructor(s): Agnes Lugo-Ortiz
Note(s): Course not offered in 24-25
Equivalent Course(s): SPAN 32701, LACS 22701, CRES 22701, LACS 32701
SPAN 22723. Censorship: A View From Literature. 100 Units.
En este curso analizaremos cómo la literatura ha interactuado con las prácticas de censura en las sociedades hispánicas. Nos preguntaremos cómo distintas obras literarias negociaron con las técnicas de control social de su tiempo, y cómo tales técnicas posibilitaron a su vez nuevas formas de expresión artística. Nos concentraremos, principalmente, en textos literarios de España y de América Latina de los siglos XVI y XVII (por ejemplo, Miguel de Cervantes, Pedro Calderón de la Barca y Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz), y los pondremos en diálogo con obras de ficción más recientes (Jorge Luis Borges, Carlos Fuentes, Mario Benedetti, Elsa Bonermann) y con discusiones teóricas en torno al control en la sociedad (Michel Foucault, Gilles Deleuze, Roland Barthes). Además de reflexionar sobre los vínculos entre literatura y sociedad en distintos períodos históricos, y de mejorar tus habilidades de lectura y pensamiento crítico, el curso está diseñado para continuar desarrollando tus habilidades lingüísticas y tu competencia en español.
Instructor(s): Matías Spector
Note(s): Taught in Spanish. Course not offered in 24-25
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 22723
SPAN 22770. Que otros sean lo Normal": Pertinencia y otredad en la literatura trans en español. 100 Units.
¿Qué nos dicen de una sociedad sus alteridades? Es decir, ¿cómo nos informa de la norma lo que queda fuera de ella? A partir de la lectura y análisis de obras escritas por autores trans, conoceremos más a fondo la actualidad de algunos países hispanohablantes, centrándonos en un elemento básico de cualquier identidad: el género. El curso está organizado a partir de la lectura y visualización de materiales reales y con actividades orales y escritas dirigidas a ampliar el conocimiento de la literatura contemporánea en español (y las sociedades en las que florece), y también a reforzar las habilidades de expresión oral y escrita de les participantes.
Instructor(s): Bel Olid
Note(s): Taught in Spanish. Course not offered in 24-25
Equivalent Course(s): GLST 22770, GNSE 23158
SPAN 22821. Women and Horror in Contemporary Latin America. 100 Units.
In this seminar, students will explore questions relevant to both horror studies in general and contemporary Latin American horror specifically from a feminist perspective. What does horror as a genre contribute to the representation and exploration of women's experiences of terrifying events in Latin American history and politics? How can we understand the gendered dynamics of Latin American culture and politics through horror? What do gendered themes in Latin American horror say about societal attitudes, oppression, and struggles for equality? How does the representation of Latin American women in horror texts contribute to or subvert forms of oppression? This interdisciplinary course will transverse the region as well as genres, covering such texts as the short stories of Amparo Dávila (Mexico) and Mariana Enríquez (Argentina); novellas by Carlos Fuentes (Mexico) and Felisberto Hernández (Uruguay); and films such as As boas maneiras (Brazil, 2017).
Instructor(s): Laura Colaneri Terms Offered: Winter
Note(s): Discussion will be in Spanish, with readings in both English and Spanish. Course not offered in 24-25
Equivalent Course(s): GNSE 22822, LACS 22821
SPAN 22822. Mexico City in Literature, Photography, and Film. 100 Units.
How does one represent the largest Spanish-speaking city in the world? With a sprawling, 600-page novel? With a short-story? A feature film? Street photography or aerial views? Does the urban experience itself give shape to certain narratives or styles? This course will examine portrayals of Mexico City in literature, film, and photography since the 1950s, in order to attempt some answers. Just like Paris or New York, Mexico City has inspired generations of authors who have tried their hand at representing this 500-year-old city of roughly 22 million people. We will trace the city's modern transformations through those cultural products that aim to build an image of the place. How do these artworks shape (or contest) the collective imagination of the city? By examining representations of this Latin American capital, we will articulate questions regarding inequality, overpopulation, modernization, and the foreign gaze. In addition to cultivating critical and historical perspectives on the urban experience, we will also engage creatively with the city that surrounds us, Chicago. Works to be discussed may include the likes of Roberto Bolaño, Carlos Monsiváis, Alfonso Cuarón, Valeria Luiselli, and Juan Villoro, among others. Besides adding to your knowledge of Mexican cultural history, and improving your close reading and critical thinking skills, this course is designed to continue building on your linguistic competence in Spanish.
Instructor(s): Luis Madrigal
Prerequisite(s): Taught in Spanish. Course not offered in 24-25
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 22822
SPAN 23025. Vidas Infames: Sujetos heterodoxos en el mundo hispánico (1500-1800) 100 Units.
En este curso leeremos y discutiremos las vidas de varias mujeres y hombres comunes perseguidos por la Inquisición hispánica entre 1500 y 1800, aproximadamente, tanto en Europa y el Mediterráneo como en las Américas. La mayoría de estas vidas fueron dichas por los mismos acusados frente a un tribunal eclesiástico. Estas autobiografías orales, producidas en condiciones de máxima dureza y precariedad, revelan la forma en que la vida cotidiana es moldeada e interrumpida por el poder. Leeremos las historias de hombres transgénero, mujeres criptojudías, campesinos moriscos, renegados, profetas y monjas acusadas de sodomía, entre otras; y discutiremos temas como la relación entre poder y subjetividad, heterodoxia y cultura popular, las formas narrativas del yo o la articulación biográfica de la clase, la raza y el género en la primera modernidad. Estas 'vidas ínfimas', a pesar de su concreta individualidad, permiten ofrecer un amplio panorama de la historia cultural y social de España y América en la era de la Inquisición.
Instructor(s): M. Martínez Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Note(s): Taught in Spanish.
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 23025, LACS 33025, SPAN 33025
SPAN 23200. Renaissance Epic: Camões, Ercilla, Tasso. 100 Units.
Due to the prestige and cultural ascendancy of its classical models, epic was considered the highest literary genre of the sixteenth-century repertoire, which forced Renaissance authors of epic poetry to explicitly compete against their illustrious predecessors and among themselves. This provides a perfect basis to study some mechanisms of textual production in Renaissance poetry, but it will also help us to raise issues around the European (and global) circulation of literary goods, cultural competition, the relation between epic, nation, and empire, or the contested place of epic among the constitutive discourses of colonialism. We will read three major Renaissance epic poems written and distributed in the same years: Alonso de Ercilla's The Araucaniad (1569-1590), Luís de Camões's The Lusiads (1572), and Torquato Tasso's Jerusalem Delivered (1581).
Instructor(s): M. Martínez Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Note(s): Texts will be provided in both the original languages and in English. In order to enrich the discussion, reading in the original will be encouraged for students with different language backgrounds and skills.
Equivalent Course(s): REMS 33200, SPAN 33200
SPAN 23225. Decolonizing the Classics: Adaptive Performance in the Americas. 100 Units.
In this course, we will examine postcolonial performances of "classical" literary texts across the Americas that engage with transnational histories of imperialism, neoliberalism, migration, exile, and political and gendered violence. From the revolutions and dictatorships of the 1960s-70s, through the transitions to democracy, to the queer and feminist movements of the early 21st century, we will study contemporary adaptations of canonical authors such as Cervantes, Lope de Vega, and Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz. The position of these authors, texts, and characters in the literary canons of the Americas has allowed them to achieve circulation in both "high" and "low" culture, through modes of performance including film and television, live theater and dance, opera, popular music, drag, burlesque, and digital media. From the US-Mexico borderlands to the Southern Cone, these adaptations raise questions of national and postcolonial identity, gender and sexuality, and collective trauma and memory. We will use the theoretical frameworks of performance, decoloniality, and canonicity to think of adaptive performances as an act of deconstruction and remaking, and to trace how artists in the Americas respond to these historical legacies through embodied practice. The course will be taught primarily in Spanish, but will also include components in English, Spanglish, and optional readings in Portuguese.
Instructor(s): Leora Baum Terms Offered: Winter
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 23225
SPAN 23325. Indigenous Feminisms of Latin America. 100 Units.
This course examines how early modern visual and textual sources partook in the formation of gender and race differences in the Americas. We will explore colonial documents drawing on the work of contemporary Indigenous Feminist thinkers, such as Gloria Anzaldúa, Lorena Cabnal, Silvia Rivera Cusicanqui, Yásnaya Aguilar, among others. Reading the colonial archive while thinking about contemporary Indigenous perspectives can help us bridge the past to the present and discuss issues concerning the underrepresentation of Indigenous women in the archive, language politics, communal identities, and Indigenous epistemologies while being particularly attentive to the rhetorical strategies deployed by colonial texts. Along the way, we will have in perspective how contemporary indigenous women resist, negotiate, and denounce the state, corporate, and patriarchal establishments. In this course, students will engage with primary sources of the colonial period in Latin America as they engage in debates surrounding gender and race in our present moment. Understanding these debates and the history surrounding them is crucial to participating in informed discussion, research, and activism regarding issues of colonialism, race, and gender discrimination of today. Students will participate in class discussions, write weekly responses, lead, and moderate academic-style presentations, and produce a final research paper.
Instructor(s): Andrea Reed-Leal Terms Offered: Winter
Note(s): Taught in Spanish.
Equivalent Course(s): RDIN 23325, LACS 23325, GNSE 12127
SPAN 23333. Reading Spanish for Research Purposes. 100 Units.
Reading Spanish for Research Purposes prepares students to read and do research using scholarly texts in Spanish. Students will build on their fundamental knowledge of Spanish grammar and the most common vocabulary terms used in scholarly writing, while developing reading comprehension skills and working intensively with academic texts in their areas of research specialty. Students who perform well in SPAN 23333/33333 will be able to comprehend difficult scholarly texts and begin using them in their own research. The course also includes practice of skills necessary to pass the Academic Reading Comprehension Assessment (ARCA) in Spanish, administered by the Office for Language Assessment (OLA). Undergraduate students have the option of taking the ARCA, or completing another final assignment to complete the course. Note: This course may fulfill the graduate language requirement in some departments.
Instructor(s): Staff
Prerequisite(s): PQ for 23333: SPAN 10200, 12001 or 14100, placement in SPAN 10300, or instructor consent.
PQ for 33333: While there is currently no strict prerequisite for SPAN 33333, one year of introductory Spanish or the equivalent is highly recommended.
Equivalent Course(s): SPAN 33333
SPAN 23380. Latinx/Northern Mexico Life Writing. 100 Units.
Life writing (a generic term to describe a vast range of texts: from biography and autobiography to memoirs, letters, journals, diaries, etc.) has been richly practiced by Latin American/Latinx authors in Northern Mexico and the US. This course examines select works by these authors. We analyze key terms to discuss this literature (life, writing, self, identity, fiction, storytelling, history) as well as the approaches taken by different authors. Readings by Javier Zamora, Justin Torres, Cristina Rivera Garza, Valeria Luiselli, Gloria Anzaldúa, and more.
Instructor(s): Sergio Delgado Moya Terms Offered: Autumn
Prerequisite(s): Reading proficiency in Spanish required.
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 23380
SPAN 23425. Crime Fiction (17th-20th century) 100 Units.
This course focuses on literary accounts of crime in the Hispanic world from the 16th century to the 21st century. We will ask ourselves how fictional and nonfictional pieces have shaped our perception of criminality throughout time. In particular, we will concentrate on how literary discourse complicates and enriches political and legal discourses around figures such as outlaws, murderers, and victims. Among other texts, our corpus will range from 17th-century true crime journalism to 20th-century horror short stories written by Jorge Luis Borges and Roberto Bolaño. In doing so, we will uncover the complicated relationship between literature, politics, and the law in different historical periods. Apart from improving your reading skills and critical thinking, this course is designed to keep developing your linguistic abilities in Spanish.
Instructor(s): Matías Spector Terms Offered: Winter
Note(s): Taught in Spanish.
SPAN 23501. Alone in the Mountains: Tales of Freedom and Violence in Contemporary Catalan Literature. 100 Units.
From witches to "goges" ("water women"), Catalan folklore shows a tradition of women living on their own in the mountains, liberated from societal conventions. These women are portrayed as fascinating yet threatening figures. This ancient imagery has permeated contemporary literature, manifested in novels that depict women who remove themselves from "civilization" to inhabit rural areas of Catalunya, seeking freedom and having to confront at the same time societal norms, abusive partners or even their own personal demons. The mountains, far from ideal and peaceful, are an untamed and often brutal space in which human lives hold no greater value than those of goats, mushrooms, rivers. In this course we shall engage with four novels authored by women: "Solitude (1904) by Victor Català, "Stone in a Landslide" (1984) by Maria Barbal, "When I Sing Mountains Dance" (2019) by Irene Solà, and "Alone" (2021) by Carlota Gurt. Through the analysis of these literary works, we aim to delve into Catalan culture and explore its literary archetypes, while establishing significant connections among these texts and their place in modern and contemporary literature.
Instructor(s): Bel Olid Terms Offered: Autumn
Note(s): Taught in English, but students seeking credit for the HLBS major/minor must do part of the readings and written work in Catalan or Spanish as necessary for their degree.
Equivalent Course(s): GNSE 23157, CATA 23500, GLST 23500
SPAN 23525. Film and Resistance in Latin America. 100 Units.
This course explores how Latin American cinema reacted to the changing political contexts of the region during the second half of the 20th century. Using the 1950s as a starting point, when the establishment of the constitution of Puerto Rico in 1952 and the success of the Cuban revolution in 1959 brought new models for state-sponsored experimental cinema, we will see movies that mix documentary and fiction in a manner that the aesthetics of film language are used as an expression of a collective political subjectivity. The relationship between Latin America and the United States will be crucial for this analysis because it points to the colonial/postcolonial context of the fight against imperialism that is manifest in these movies. In this regard, we will see cinema related to the processes of resistance during and after the dictatorships in Argentina, Brazil and Chile, and the ways the precarious economies of Colombia, Perú and Puerto Rico required the development of new ways of cinematographic self-representation at the turn of the 21st century. The emphasis will be on experimental film, focusing on their guerilla production strategies and the aesthetic innovations that are explored in these movies. Some of the filmmakers we will discuss are Raúl Ruiz (Chile), Luis Ospina (Colombia), Santiago Álvarez (Cuba), Amílcar Tirado (Puerto Rico), Gianfranco Annichini (Perú), Albertina Carri (Argentina) y Eduardo Coutinho (Brazil); among others.
Instructor(s): Jean Vallejo González Terms Offered: Spring
Note(s): Taught in Spanish.
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 23525
SPAN 23555. Learned Women: Spaces of Knowledge, Self-Actualization, and Power. 100 Units.
The hegemonic narrative of knowledge production in the Iberian Peninsula has historically centered on male writers, thus excluding contributions of women. This seminar will explore the intellectual interventions of medieval and early modern Iberian poets, professors, encyclopedists, and theologians who also happened to be women. Did these women present a perspective on knowledge-making different than their male counterparts? More importantly, what were the paths to knowledge that were available to them in a society that offered women limited social and intellectual roles? In this class we will be reading sources by Florencia Pinar, Teresa de Cartagena, Leonor López de Córdoba, Oliva Sabuco, among others; and critical pieces by Judith Butler, Andrea Dworkin, Silvia Federici, Luce Irigaray, and Sophie Lewis.
Instructor(s): N. Blanco Mourelle Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Note(s): Taught in Spanish.
Equivalent Course(s): GNSE 34555, GNSE 24555, SPAN 33555
SPAN 24110. Ecocritical Perspectives in Latin American Literature and Film. 100 Units.
This course provides a survey of of ecocritical studies in Latin America. Through novels, poems, and films, we will examine a range of trends and problems posed by Latin American artists concerning environmental issues, from mid-nineteenth century to contemporary literature and film. Readings also include works of ecocritical criticism and theory that have been shaping the field in the past decades.
Instructor(s): V. Saramago Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): SPAN 34110, PORT 24110, PORT 34110, LACS 34110, LACS 24110
SPAN 24170. El arte de sobrevivir: la tradición picaresca. 100 Units.
La picaresca es un género de ficción en prosa con una tradición multisecular en las literaturas en español y con gran influencia en la historia de la novela moderna. La pobreza y la marginalidad convierte a los pícaros y las pícaras que protagonizan estas historias en astutos maestros en el arte de sobrevivir, en héroes plebeyos que luchan contra las determinaciones de la fortuna en una sociedad dinámica, pero sólidamente jerarquizada. Leeremos, por una parte, el "Lazarillo de Tormes," algunas "Novelas ejemplares" de Cervantes, fragmentos de "La pícara Justina" y del "Guzmán." Por otra, exploraremos los usos del género en algunas novelas modernas escritas en España y Latinoamérica, terminando con ejemplos de ficción televisiva contemporánea. Las estéticas del realismo y la novela moderna, la literatura y la economía, el humor y el lenguaje, el género y la sexualidad, la voz autobiográfica, las subjetividades de la marginalidad, o la relación entre el género picaresco y la historia nacional son algunos de los temas que guiarán nuestras lecturas y discusiones.
Instructor(s): M. Martínez Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Note(s): Taught in Spanish.
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 34170, LACS 24170, SPAN 34170
SPAN 24420. Unsettling Encounters: Colonial Latin America in Film. 100 Units.
This course explores a selection of foundational texts of Latin American literature in conversation with films about colonial Latin America by American and European directors. We will engage questions of how, when, and why images remember historical moments, and will consider the possibilities and limitations of using film to represent history. Students will learn and practice techniques of textual analysis and film criticism while discussing themes such as visual literacy, cultural imperialism, and economic colonialism.
Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 24420
SPAN 24701. Introduction to Basque Culture. 100 Units.
Straddling the border of southern France and northern Spain, the land of the Basques has long been home to a people who had no country of their own but have always viewed themselves as a nation. No one has ever been able to find their roots, and their peculiar language is not related to any other in the world, but they have managed to keep their mysterious identity alive, even if many other civilizations tried to blot it out. The aim of this course is to create real situations that will enable the students to learn the meaning of Basque culture. It will be a guided tour throughout Basque history and society. Students will learn about the mysterious origins of the language; they will visit the most beautiful places of the Basque country; they will get to know and appreciate Basque traditions, gastronomy, music . . . and most importantly, they will be able to compare and contrast their own cultures and share their ideas during the lessons, creating an enriching atmosphere full of entertaining activities, such as listening to music, reading legends and tales, watching documentaries, and much more.
Note(s): This course will be conducted in English. Prior knowledge of Basque language or culture is not required. Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): BASQ 24700, GLST 24700
SPAN 24716. Spanish Cinema-Basque Cinema. 100 Units.
This course explores Basque cinema from its beginnings to our days while also reviewing Spanish cinema from a Basque point of view. Among other topics, the course will explore the nationalist imaginary and its influence in film, the centrality of gender (and motherly) representations in Basque cinema, Basque films' recent tendency to become Spanish blockbusters outselling Hollywood, and allusions to the Basque Country in Spanish cinema.
Note(s): Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): CMLT 23810, BASQ 24710
SPAN 24730. The Revitalization of the Basque Language. 100 Units.
In the last 30 years, the Basque language has seen an increase in the number of speakers, especially among younger groups. The implementation of several language and cultural policies, along with a transformation in the educational system, has been key to this development. In this course we will explore these revitalizing practices used in the Basque Country by analyzing the sociolinguistic situation of Basque language from the transition to democracy in the late 1970s to the present.
Terms Offered: Spring
Note(s): Taught in English.
Equivalent Course(s): BASQ 24730, LING 24730
SPAN 24770. Sex, Crime and Horror in Argentine Literature. 100 Units.
This course examines the historical evolution of Argentine literature, cinema, and the visual arts through the study of three thematic currents that significantly influenced Argentina's cultural and socio-political experience with nation-building, modernization, and democracy: sex, crime, and horror. The primary objective of the course is to foster a critical exploration of how foundational works of Romanticism and Realism in the Río de la Plata, the Noir genre, and the Gothic tradition accounted for decisive changes in the social fabric of the country. Students will assess the role of sexuality, crime, and horror stories in the representation of momentous events in Argentine history, spanning from the revolutionary era in the nineteenth century to the contemporary period. Topics include the Wars of Independence, gaucho literature, indigenous resistance, the great migratory flows, the rise of the middle classes, Peronismo, Youth culture, military dictatorships, human rights violations, LGBT movements, and economic precarity in neoliberal times. Works by Esteban Echeverría, Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, Juana Manuela Gorriti, José Hernández, Lucio V. and Eduarda Mansilla, Eugenio Cambaceres, Leopoldo Lugones, Roberto Arlt, Jorge Luis Borges, Juan José Saer, Antonio Di Benedetto, Olga Orozco, Alejandra Pizarnik, Juan Gelman, Andrés Rivera, Silvina Ocampo, Horacio Quiroga, Rodolfo Walsh, Manuel Puig, Ricardo Piglia, Mariana Enríquez, Gabriela Cabezón Cámara, María Luisa Bemberg,
Instructor(s): Carlos Halaburda Terms Offered: Autumn
Prerequisite(s): Reading proficiency in Spanish required.
Note(s): Class discussions and reading materials in Spanish.
Equivalent Course(s): SPAN 34770, GNSE 24770, LACS 24770, LACS 34770, RDIN 34770, GNSE 34771, RDIN 24770
SPAN 24801. Literatura y crimen. 100 Units.
The production of crime fiction in the Hispanic literary world has a long tradition that dates back to the mid-nineteenth century and has recently gained critical attention as postmodern literary theories focus on fictional forms that are both popular and self-conscious. This course studies the historical development of the genre in Hispanic letters, as well as its formal and ideological foundations. Authors likely to be discussed include Emilia Pardo Bazán, Jorge Luis Borges, Maria Antònia Oliver, Manuel Vázquez Montalbán, Luisa Valenzuela, Mario Vargas Llosa, Marina Mayoral, Gabriel García Márquez, and Ricardo Piglia.
Instructor(s): M. Santana Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 20300 or consent of instructor
Note(s): Taught in Spanish.
Equivalent Course(s): SPAN 34800, LACS 34801, LACS 24801
SPAN 25025. Mexican Cinema. 100 Units.
This course is intended as an overview of Mexican cinema, from its famed "Golden Age" in the 1940s and 1950s, up to contemporary productions. The aim is to reflect simultaneously on Mexican culture, history, and society, and on the language of film and its interpretation. Our goal is to expand what we know about Mexico through the way its cinema has tackled questions of difference (class, gender, regional, and race-based), modernization, political unrest, inequality, violence, and love. Crucial to our academic setting, we will ask what films offer as objects of knowledge in their own right, and not merely as illustrations. What does it mean to analyze a film? What are the tools we use to read and write about them as cultural products? We will consider classic fiction features along short, experimental, and documentary films. Works discussed include Él (Luis Buñuel, 1953), Macario (Roberto Gavaldón, 1960), Canoa (Felipe Cazals, 1975), Perfume de violetas (Marisa Sistach, 2001), Tempestad (Tatiana Huezo, 2016), among others.
Instructor(s): Luis Madrigal Terms Offered: Autumn
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 25025, CMST 25025
SPAN 25101. Marti. 100 Units.
TBD
Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): SPAN 35101
SPAN 25200. Poetica E Historia Del Relato Breve en Espana. 100 Units.
TBD
Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): SPAN 35200
SPAN 25555. The Amazon: Literature, Culture, Environment. 100 Units.
From colonial travelers to contemporary popular culture, the Amazonian forest has been a source of endless fascination, greed and, more recently, ecological concern. The numerous actors that have been shaping the region, including artists, writers, scientists, anthropologists, indigenous peoples, and the extractive industry, among others, bring a multifaceted view of this region that has been described as the paradise on earth as much as a green hell. This course offers an overview of Amazonian history, cultures, and environmental issues that spans from the sixteenth to the twenty-first century. What are the major topics, works, and polemics surrounding the ways the Amazon has been depicted and imagined? How can the region's history help us understand the state of environmental policies and indigenous rights today? What can we learn about the Amazon from literature and film? What is the future of the Amazon in the context of Brazil's current political climate? From an interdisciplinary perspective, we will cover topics such as indigenous cultures and epistemologies, deforestation, travel writing, modern and contemporary literature, music, photography, and film, among others. Authors may include Claudia Andujar, Eduardo Viveiros de Castro, Euclides da Cunha, Susanna Hecht, Davi Kopenawa, the project Video in the Villages, among others.
Instructor(s): Victoria Saramago Terms Offered: Winter
Note(s): Taught in English. Materials available in English, Portuguese and Spanish.
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 35005, CEGU 25000, PORT 25000, SIGN 26059, SPAN 35555, ENST 25000, PORT 35000, LACS 25005
SPAN 25605. Inquisiciones. 100 Units.
The Inquisition was, if not the most important juridical and religious institution of premodern Iberia, certainly the most emblematic. In truth, there was not one Inquisition, but many. Without them, terms such as heresy, conversion, or auto-da-fé would not have the currency they do today. These terms are best understood as tools for the disciplining of religious communities and the controlling of the circulation of ideas. This is a class designed to help students understand the Inquisition as a complex historical phenomenon that left a rich archive where anthropological research and theological debate were made to coexist.
Instructor(s): Noel Blanco Mourelle Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Note(s): Taught in Spanish.
Equivalent Course(s): SPAN 35605, CATA 25605, CATA 35605
SPAN 25660. US Imperialism and Cultural Practice in Latin America. 100 Units.
This course examines the ways histories of US intervention in Latin America have been engaged in cultural practice. We assess the history of US intervention by reading primary documents alongside cultural artifacts including film, performance and visual art, song, music, and poetry. The course begins with the Cuban revolution and ends with the ongoing crisis in Puerto Rico.
Instructor(s): D. Roper Terms Offered: Autumn
Note(s): Taught in English.
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 25660, LACS 35660, SPAN 35660
SPAN 25770. Radical Readings: Latin American/Latinx. 100 Units.
Since the 1970s, writers, artists, activists, and cultural critics based in Latin America and in the United States have produced radical writings to respond to concrete social and political circumstances. These writings ring especially relevant today, in our current, turbulent times. The course studies the rich, transformative tradition of radical, contemporary Latin American and Latinx thought. It studies earlier interventions by the likes of Paulo Freire and traces and resonance of these earlier writings in contemporary interventions by critics like Suely Rolnik. We read writings by Freire, Rolnik, Roberto Jacoby, Gloria Anzaldúa, Cherríe Moraga, Ailton Krenak, Verónica Gago, and others, with an emphasis on 1) the context of production of each writing, 2) the form and shape each author gives to their written thought and, 3) the impact and resonance of these writings in our present moment. The course is also an experiment that seeks to confront the powers of engagement and understanding unleashed in long, uninterrupted stretches of reading.
Instructor(s): Sergio Delgado Moya Terms Offered: Autumn
Prerequisite(s): Reading proficiency in Spanish required.
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 35570, LACS 25570, SPAN 35770
SPAN 26210. Witches, Sinners, and Saints. 100 Units.
This course examines representations of women's bodies and sexualities in early modern Iberian and colonial Latin American writings. We will study the body through a variety of lenses: the anatomical body as a site of construction of sexual difference, the witch's body as a site of sexual excess, the mystic's body as a double of the possessed body, the tortured body as a site of knowledge production, and the racialized bodies of women as sites to govern sexuality, spirituality, labor, and property in the reaches of the Spanish Empire.
Instructor(s): Larissa Brewer-García Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Prerequisite(s): For undergrads: SPAN 20300 or consent of instructor.
Note(s): Taught in Spanish.
Equivalent Course(s): CRES 26220, GNSE 36210, LACS 36212, SPAN 36210, CRES 36220, GNSE 26210, LACS 26212
SPAN 26525. Literatura política en el Barroco: Espacios, géneros y lenguas de la propaganda en el mundo ibérico. 100 Units.
A la pregunta, ¿qué se leía en la Edad Moderna?, la respuesta suele ser: Cervantes. Ciertamente su difusión es innegable, pero las lecturas también fueron muchas otras y no siempre responden a lo que hoy entendemos por literatura de creación: relaciones de sucesos, romances, coplas, sermones, pronósticos, etc., se leían y/o escuchaban en la intimidad del hogar o en la calle, en formato libro, pliego suelto, expuestas en una pared, etc. El curso se ocupa de la literatura política y propagandística en el Barroco, entendiendo la literatura como sinónimo de cultura escrita, por un lado, y la literatura política y propagandística, por otro, como aquella que sirve de vehículo para la opinión en un contexto de guerra. Aunque cualquier decisión en el ámbito público tiene un componente político, se debe considerar la propaganda como aquella destinada a diseminar una ideología de legitimación (o deslegitimación) bélica en un contexto de confrontación territorial (entre coronas y/o entre territorios), aunque se base en elementos que en principio pueden parecer diferentes (religión, lengua, tradiciones, etc.). En esta asignatura vamos a: definir el género, identificar cuáles son estos textos, estudiarlos en su contexto y dilucidar su importancia en la transmisión de mensajes orientados ideológicamente. Se partirá principalmente de las obras que generaron varios conflictos bélicos en la Península y se trabajará con textos en todas las lenguas vernáculas peninsulares y en latín.
Instructor(s): Eulàlia Miralles Jori Terms Offered: Spring
Note(s): Taught in Spanish.
Equivalent Course(s): SPAN 36525, CATA 36525, CATA 26525
SPAN 26555. Self-determination and Democracy in Spain: The Case of Catalonia. 100 Units.
In recent years, tensions between Spain and Catalonia have called attention to a number of long-standing issues that have remained unresolved in modern Spanish cultural and political history: the recognition of national or regional identities, the rights of minority cultures and languages, the nature of democracy and citizenship… This course will study the history of Spanish and Catalan nation-building, as well as the ideological and cultural discourses generated around those projects, and it will pay particular attention to current debates regarding Catalonia's claim to self-determination.
Instructor(s): M. Santana Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): CATA 26555, CATA 36555, SPAN 36555
SPAN 26780. Caribbean Music, Performance, and Popular Culture in the Age of Precarity: 1990 to the Present. 100 Units.
This course explores the concept of precarity and its influence on artistic and cultural expressions within contemporary Caribbean popular culture, primarily from the 1990s to the present day. Precarity is broadly defined as the feeling or experience of instability resulting from various social, economic, political, and environmental factors, including structural adjustments, climate change (such as hurricanes and earthquakes), and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, among others. Particular emphasis is placed on the role of art in shaping popular responses to precarity, including significant events like mass protests, the Black Lives Matter and George Floyd protests, uprisings against the deportation of Haitians in the Dominican Republic, as well as interrelated international movements like #LifeinLeggings and #Metoo. The course delves into how Caribbean performance and popular music have engaged with these issues, with a focus on music genres like dancehall, wylers, soca, reggaetón, and the individual artistic works of Caribbean artists such as LaVaughn Belle, Helen Ceballos, Joiri Minaya, and others. These artists use their work to explore themes of precarity and to envision potential alternatives to the contemporary challenges of insecurity, touching on issues related to gender, sexuality, and race.
Instructor(s): Jessica Baker and Danielle Roper Terms Offered: Winter
Equivalent Course(s): MUSI 26780, MUSI 36780, RDIN 36780, RDIN 26780, SPAN 36780
SPAN 27025. Discourses of Femicide in Contemporary Latin America. 100 Units.
Femicide, or the gender-motivated killing of women and girls, has garnered increasing attention in twenty-first century Latin America, which has some of the highest rates of gender-based violence in the world. Latin American activists, performers, writers, and filmmakers have attempted to reckon with the impacts of femicide in the cultural sphere, seeking to not only identify the social, historical, and political roots of gender violence, but also advocate for justice and mourn those they have lost. This course will discuss prevailing discourses of femicide in the region, addressing the roles of activism, journalism, literature, and film in both shaping and responding to these discourses. Texts will include memoirs like Cristina Rivera Garza's El invencible verano de Liliana (2021), documentaries like Lourdes Portillo's Señorita extraviada (2001), as well as fiction, such as Roberto Bolaño's "La parte de los crímenes" from the novel 2666 (2004).
Instructor(s): Laura Colaneri Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 20300 or consent of instructor.
Note(s): Taught in Spanish.
Equivalent Course(s): GNSE 23173, LACS 27025
SPAN 27401. Literaturas del Caribe Hispanico en el siglo XX. 100 Units.
En este curso se estudiarán algunos ejemplos salientes de las literaturas producidas en el Caribe hispánico insular (Cuba, Puerto Rico y Santo Domingo) durante el siglo XX y a principios del XXI. Entre los asuntos a discutir tendrán un lugar principal los modos en que esta producción se ha constituído como respuesta y elaboración estética de las historias de esclavitud, violencia racial y colonialismo, de militarización y desplazamientos territoriales migratorios, que han marcado a la región en su carácter de frontera imperial desde el siglo XVI. En el curso también se abordará la condición simbólica del Caribe como espacio de utopías y catástrofes, escenario previlegiado tanto de las aspiraciones revolucionarias propias de la modernidad (e.g. la Revolución Haitiana del 1791 y la Revolución Cubana del 1959) como de los terrores de la destrucción ecológica (con su experiencia cruel de huracanes y terremotos).
Instructor(s): A. Lugo-Ortiz Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Prerequisite(s): At least one of the following courses: SPAN 21500, 21703, 21803, 21903, or 22003.
Note(s): Taught in Spanish.
Equivalent Course(s): SPAN 37401, CRES 37401, LACS 27401, CRES 27401, LACS 37401
SPAN 27510. Literatura y música en el gran Caribe hispanohablante. 100 Units.
Uno de los aspectos más notables de las culturas del Caribe hispanohablante, tanto insular como continental, a todo lo largo del siglo XX, y hasta el presente, ha sido el diálogo sostenido entre la textualidad literaria y la música. En este curso nos interesa trazar las distintas maneras en que la literatura ha invocado la inefabilidad aural de lo musical y reflexionar sobre sus posibles sentidos. Desde la forma del son en la poesía afroantillana, pasando por la estructura de las variaciones y fugas barrocas en la obra de Alejo Carpentier, hasta la incesante invocación al bolero y a la salsa en la narrativa más reciente, la escritura literaria en el Caribe más que decir parecería querer sonar y cantar. ¿Qué da cuenta de ello? ¿Cómo entender su particularidad? ¿Qué efectos produce? En el curso haremos una introducción básica al repertorio de formas musicales activados por ese decir literario, en ambos sus dimensiones estéticas e históricas, y examinaremos los sentidos de su apropiación y transformación por el hecho textual. Entre las posibles obras a estudiar se encuentran "Elogio de la plena" de Tomás Blanco, "El acoso" y Concierto barroco de Alejo Carpentier, La guaracha del Macho Camacho de Luis Rafael Sánchez, ¡Qué viva la música! de Andrés Caicedo, Maldito amor de Rosa Ferré, El entierro de Cortijo de Edgardo Rodríguez Juliá, Sólo cenizas hallarás de Pedro Vergés y Sabor a mí de Pedro Juan Gutiérrez, entre otras.
Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 27511, LACS 37511, SPAN 37510
SPAN 27660. Chilean Art and Literature During the Dictatorship. 100 Units.
On September 11, 1973, a US-backed military coup in Chile brought down the government of Salvador Allender, the first democratically elected Marxist president in Latin America. The military dictatorship that governed over the course of the following two decades brought about radical transformation to the macro- and micropolitical dynamics of Chile. This course is a survey of the art and literature produced during the years of dictatorship. We study the work of some of the most consequential literary and artistic figures active during the years of the dictatorship. The unprecedented level of experimentation in the arts and literature of this period will be studied vis-a-vis the radically shifted social and affective coordinates faced by those living in Chile during the dictatorship. Works by Catalina Parra, Diamela Eltit, Lotty Rosenfeld, Nelly Richard, Adriana Valdés, José Donoso, Raúl Zurita, and others.
Instructor(s): Sergio Delgado Moya Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 37660, LACS 27660, SPAN 37660
SPAN 27700. Narrativas De La Transicion. 100 Units.
TBD
Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): SPAN 37700
SPAN 27800. Imag The Nat: 19th C Span Amer. 100 Units.
TBD
Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): SPAN 37800
SPAN 27925. Escritura creativa en español: cómo escribir ficción. 100 Units.
In this course we will delve into the basic features of writing fiction. We will develop notions of structure, time, character and tone. We will also reflect about the different genres we find in fiction. Classes will have the dynamic of a writing workshop: materials will be shared in advance and discussed by the instructor with the input of the rest of the class. If you have always wanted to start writing fiction in Spanish, this class is for you.
Instructor(s): Pablo Ottonello Terms Offered: Autumn
Note(s): Taught in Spanish.
SPAN 28300. Poéticas Afrocaribeñas. 100 Units.
En este curso haremos una revisión panorámica de la producción poética afrocaribeña desde sus primeras expresiones conocidas en el siglo XIX hasta el presente. ¿Qué condiciones culturales y políticas han dado cuenta de su surgimiento y desarrollo? ¿Qué sistemas tropológicos y repertorios temáticos la han caracterizado? ¿En qué medida esta poesía ha sido vehículo para pensar las identidades raciales de la zona e instrumento de resistencia en coyunturas de violencia extrema y cuáles han sido sus disidencias? Entre los materiales a estudiar se encuentra la obra de sujetos esclavizados y de afrodescendientes libres victimizados por el colonialismo esclavista (entre ellos Juan Francisco Manzano y Plácido); las experimentaciones vanguardistas de Nicolás Guillén y Luis Palés Matos y de sus seguidores Emilio Ballagas y Manuel del Cabral; y las reformulaciones feministas de esta tradición avanzadas por poetas contemporáneas tales como la cubana Nancy Morejón y la puertorriqueña Mayra Santos Febres.
Instructor(s): Agnes Lugo-Ortiz Terms Offered: Autumn
Note(s): Taught in Spanish.
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 28300, RDIN 28300
SPAN 28620. Fiction, Memory, History: Jaume Cabré's Jo confesso. 100 Units.
A detailed reading, analysis, and discussion of Jaume Cabré's Jo confesso (Confessions, 2011), a monumental work of contemporary Catalan literature. We will explore the literary strategies and techniques at play in the novel, as well as its take on the relation between fiction and history, and the representation of memory and loss.
Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Note(s): Course not offered in 24-25
Equivalent Course(s): SPAN 38620, CATA 38620, CATA 28620
SPAN 28700. Monsters and Misfits: Disability in Early Modern Spanish Literature. 100 Units.
In this course, we will explore a selection of Spanish early modern texts that foreground disability and bodily difference in their narratives. Through our analysis of these texts, we will examine how early modern Spanish authors constructed and challenged notions of difference in relation to the cultural, social, and political context of their time. Moreover, we will reflect on how these representations, produced before the notion of a "normal body" came into being, inform our understanding of human diversity and social inclusion. Critical readings from disability literary studies will provide us with the necessary theoretical and conceptual tools for understanding and analyzing the texts. We will read literary works of diverse genres written by canonical authors of the period, such as Miguel de Cervantes, Juan Ruiz de Alarcón, Tirso de Molina, and Mateo Alemán.
Instructor(s): Pablo García Piñar
Note(s): Taught in Spanish. Not offered in 2024-25.
Equivalent Course(s): HLTH 28700
SPAN 28922. Literary "Selfies": Autobiographical Discourses in Contemporary Latin America. 100 Units.
Have you ever written a diary? Have you ever asked "what for"? Why tell a life, and why not? Can every life story be told? How? All these questions bundle behind a more general one: why is the "self" such a hot topic in contemporary literature? How has literature reacted to this interest in subjectivity? In this course we will look into --and challenge-- a series of terms that tend to be confused: autobiography, autobiographical novel, memoir, diary, autofiction, correspondence. Are these distinctions helpful? What kind of "truth" do they look up to? Are all lives worth their telling? How has that changed with time? We will read contemporary authors that engage with these different genres. We will read about splendid and "minor" lives. We will study maniac authors that simply can't interrupt their production. (The instructor is one of these rare creatures!) We will delve into the main critical discussions of the field and use them to think of the different types of autobiographical works that will be covered in the program. Also, once a week (myself included) we will write a short reading diary entry as a hands-on "autobiographical" practice.
Instructor(s): Pablo Ottonello Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Note(s): Taught in Spanish.
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 28922
SPAN 29022. From Quisqueya to Washington Heights: Contemporary Dominican Literature. 100 Units.
This course will offer a broad overview of the literary production of the Dominican Republic and the Dominican diaspora in the United States from the twentieth century until the present. We will explore key moments in the development of Dominican literature, including the appearance of vanguard movements, the centering of blackness in poetic texts, the emergence of experimental literary tendencies in both verse and prose, and the transition to urban narratives, among others. Our trajectory will take us through various genres, including poetry, the nation's most cultivated genre, short stories, novels, performance & spoken word texts, and essays.
Instructor(s): Meriam Pacheco Salazar Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Note(s): Readings will be in English and Spanish. Class discussions will be conducted in both languages.
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 29022
SPAN 29117. Theater and Performance in Latin America. 100 Units.
What is performance? How has it been used in Latin America and the Caribbean? This course is an introduction to theatre and performance in Latin America and the Caribbean that will examine the intersection of performance and social life. While we will place particular emphasis on performance art, we will examine some theatrical works. We ask: how have embodied practice, theatre and visual art been used to negotiate ideologies of race, gender and sexuality? What is the role of performance in relation to systems of power? How has it negotiated dictatorship, military rule, and social memory? Ultimately, the aim of this course is to give students an overview of Latin American performance including blackface performance, indigenous performance, as well as performance and activism.
Instructor(s): Danielle Roper Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Prerequisite(s): Undergraduates must be in their third or fourth year.
Note(s): Taught in English.
Equivalent Course(s): SPAN 39117, TAPS 28479, TAPS 38479, LACS 39117, RDIN 39117, GNSE 39117, GNSE 29117, LACS 29117, RDIN 29117
SPAN 29300. El ciclo de cuentos en la ficción ibérica contemporánea. 100 Units.
Short stories are usually read as discrete pieces of writing, valued for their individuality and the completeness of their effect on readers. However, they are not always presented in complete isolation, but come inserted in collections where the company of other stories may create connections similar to those found in larger works of fiction (to the extent that certain groups of short stories can almost be read like novels). The collection of stories has a long literary tradition, but in the last century a particular form -the so called short story cycle- has emerged as a way of testing the boundaries of extended narratives. In this course, and through the study of a number of books representative of the short story cycle in Iberian literatures, we will explore the poetics of fiction (short and long) and the formal and interpretative challenges presented by the genre.
Instructor(s): Mario Santana Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 20300 or consent of instructor
Note(s): Taught in Spanish. Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): SPAN 39300, BASQ 29300, CATA 29300
SPAN 29400. Greater Mexico: Chicanx/Mexican/Mex-American Literatures and Cultures. 100 Units.
This course explores the origins and contemporary resonance of the notion of "Greater Mexico," a term that, in the words of Mexican American folklorist Américo Paredes, encapsulates "all the areas inhabited by people of Mexican culture-not only within the present limits of the Republic of Mexico but in the United States as well." We study essays, novels, poems, films, art works, museum exhibits, and social movements that have shaped the concept of a "greater Mexico" over the course of the last five decades. Course materials and readings by Paredes, Anzaldúa, Robert M. Young, Rubén Ortiz-Torres, the Electronic Disturbance Theater, Jay Lynn Gomez, Salvador Plascencia, and others.
Instructor(s): Sergio Delgado Moya Terms Offered: Course not offered in 24-25.
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 29399
SPAN 29700. Readings in Special Topics. 100 Units.
This course involves directed readings on special topics not covered by courses offered as part of the program in Spanish. Subjects treated and work to be completed for the course must be chosen in consultation with the instructor no later than the end of the preceding quarter.
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 10300 or 20300, depending on the requirements of the program for which credit is sought
Note(s): Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form.
SPAN 29900. BA Paper Preparation: Spanish. 100 Units.
In consultation with a faculty member, students must devote the equivalent of a one-quarter course to the preparation of a BA project.
Prerequisite(s): Consent of undergraduate adviser
Note(s): Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. Students seeking honors may count this course towards their course requirements. Must be taken for a quality grade.
Contacts
Administrative Contact
Undergraduate Affairs Administrator
Callie Manick
Wieboldt Hall 205
773.702.3299
Email