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in Spain and Latin America
“Exile,”
the late Edward Said wrote, “is one of the saddest fates.” It has also been an
all too common one among Spanish-speaking writers and intellectuals. The
history of twentieth-century Spain and Latin America is studded with
dictatorships and civil wars; and for many writers, leaving their country was
the only way to gain some measure of intellectual freedom. In fact, it is safe
to say that many of the best and most interesting Spanish and Latin American
works of literature were written in exile. But were they also products of exile? How does exile affect literary production?
This course will analyze the effects of political
exile on novels, poetry, plays, and essays written in Spanish on both sides of
the Atlantic, with a particular focus on issues of national identity, loyalty,
and representation. The course will address questions like the following:
· How does one write about one’s homeland from abroad?
· What does exile do to one’s sense of national identity? Does an exiled writer have to remain loyal to the country and the people that she left behind? And if so, what does that loyalty imply?
· Some writers describe exile as a rebirth, others as a form of death. What are exile’s freedoms and constraints? How does one represent one’s own life if it has been split by forced displacement?
· What exactly does the exile experience teach an author about the relation between language and reality? Or about the relation between language and truth, or language and power, language and identity? Is it true, as one scholar has written, that “the life of exile is a life of fiction”?
Authors
to be studied include Juan Goytisolo, Cristina Peri Rossi, Luis Cernuda, Max
Aub, Ariel Dorfman, Julio Cortázar, and Luisa
Valenzuela, Rafael Alberti, and José Donoso.
Literatura y exilio en España y Latinoamérica
v
MWF, 2:30-3:30pm, 302 Peters
Sebastiaan Faber
404 Peters, x58189
Messages: mailbox in 301 Peters
Office hours: M & Th, 11am-12pm, or by
appointment
Email: sebastiaan.faber@oberlin.edu
Class meeting times
Class meets MWF 2:30-3:20pm in 302 Peters
Texts:
·
Dorfman, Ariel. Rumbo al sur,
deseando el norte. Seven Stories Press, 2001. ISBN 1583220798. Required
·
Dorfman, Ariel. La muerte y la
doncella. Seven Stories Press, 2001. ISBN 158322078X. Required
·
Cernuda, Luis. La realidad y el
deseo, 1924-1962. Mexico: FCE, 1996. ISBN 9681646843 . Required
·
Donoso, José. El jardín de al lado. Madrid: Alfaguara, 1998. 9562390160. Required.
·
Texts on ERES.
Purpose of the course
This course will analyze the effects of political exile on novels,
poetry, plays, and essays written in Spanish on both sides of the Atlantic,
with a particular focus on issues of national identity, loyalty, and
representation.
Course requirements:
·
This course is set up like a seminar, with a minimum amount of lectures
and a maximum amount of class discussion. Class attendance and participation
are crucial. (Only documented illness or
family emergencies constitute excused absenses. Any unexcused absence over 3 will lower the participation grade with 5
% (i.e., half a letter grade).
·
Students are expected to have read the assigned
texts by the day indicated on the syllabus, and be prepared to discuss the
assignments. To
stimulate and focus the discussions, students will write short response papers for
almost all readings assigned, sometimes based on specific questions formulated
beforehand. These typewritten response papers are handed in and graded.
·
For each class, two students will be assigned to be in charge of
initiating and leading the discussion.
·
In addition to the response papers, students are expected to write
three more formally structured research papers over the course of the
semester,. These papers will be around 3, 5, and 8-10 pages each.
·
Email and Blackboard will be the preferred medium
for announcements, questions, and assignments; students are expected to check
their mail every day.
·
Students are expected to attend several
out-of-class film and documentary showings (place and time to be arranged). For those unable to
attend the scheduled showings, all videos and DVDs will be placed on reserve in
the language lab or the library.
Evaluation
The final class grade will be broken down as
follows:
·
Participation and attendance 20
%
·
Response papers 20
%
·
Midterm papers (10 & 20 %) 30
%
·
Final paper 30
%
Regulations
·
This course is covered by the Oberlin College
honor code. For all forms of (suspected) plagiarism this code will be strictly
enforced.
·
No late homework will be accepted.
·
Students are expected to be on time and to remain
for the entire class. Unexcused tardiness or early departure will be regarded
as an absence. The student who misses any part of the class is responsible for
acquiring the information missed.