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2021/2022

Spanish American Literary Texts

Code: 100613 ECTS Credits: 6
Degree Type Year Semester
2500248 Spanish Language and Literature OT 3 0
2500248 Spanish Language and Literature OT 4 0
2504012 Spanish and Chinese Studies: Language, Literature and Culture OT 4 0
The proposed teaching and assessment methodology that appear in the guide may be subject to changes as a result of the restrictions to face-to-face class attendance imposed by the health authorities.

Contact

Name:
Beatriz Ferrus Anton
Email:
Beatriz.Ferrus@uab.cat

Use of Languages

Principal working language:
spanish (spa)
Some groups entirely in English:
No
Some groups entirely in Catalan:
Yes
Some groups entirely in Spanish:
Yes

Prerequisites

By obtaining the minimum of credits in basic training subjects, students have demonstrated to have acquired the basic competences and they will be able to express themselves orally and in writing. For this reason, any spelling and expression errors that may be committed will lead to a score decrease in the final grade.

 It is also expected that students know the general rules of submission of an academic work. However, students could apply the specific rules that the teacher of the subject may indicate to them, if they deem it necessary. It is recommended, for a better understanding (although not determinant), having attended any of the subjects of "Hispano-American Literature".

Activities, practical sessions and papers submitted in the course must be original and under no circumstances will the total or partial plagiarism of third-party materials published on any medium be admitted. Any submission of non-original material without properly indicating its origin will automatically result in a failure rating (0).

Objectives and Contextualisation

"Texts of Hispanic-American literature" is a subject that works chronologically as a continuation of "Hispanic-American Literature II". The corpus of studies focuses on cultural productions (narrative, essay and audiovisual works) from the second half of the 20th century and the 21st century (specifically from the late eighties to the present days), from different countries in Latin America, accompanied by theoretical-critical readings.

 The focus of the subject is on the link among literature, society and identity, so the course seeks to give students contemporary Hispanic American readings that allow them to problematize about representation and identity from different perspectives: on the one hand, at the thematic level, globalization, postcolonial and new subjectivities / sexualities; and on the other, and at the discursive level, metaliterature, self-affection, parody / pastiche, irony. For this, different genres will be considered (fictional, testimonial / documentary, chronicle).

 OBJECTIVES

 - Expand and deepen the knowledge of recent Hispanic-American cultural productions through the reading of essays, narrative texts (fiction, autofictions, testimony, chronicles), audiovisual works.

- Develop analytical and interpretation capacities based on the reading of the works, which allow students to reflect on the links among literature, society and identity.

- Develop writing and speaking skills, through the elaboration of reports / essays, literary reviews...

Competences

    Spanish Language and Literature
  • Demonstrate knowledge of the history of Spanish and Latin American literature, with special attention to the evolution of genres, movements, trends, trends and styles, and relate them to their historical, artistic and ideological context.
  • Master the techniques and methods of literary text analysis and critical analysis of works as a whole and its related disciplines: rhetoric and poetics.
  • Students must be capable of applying their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way and they should have building arguments and problem resolution skills within their area of study.
  • Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  • Students must develop the necessary learning skills to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
  • The techniques and methods of the annotated text editing.
  • Use the techniques and methods of textual criticism, and its related disciplines.
    Spanish and Chinese Studies: Language, Literature and Culture
  • Apply knowledge of Spanish and Latin American literature to the identification of genes, movements, tendencies and styles.
  • Comment on literary texts in Spanish and in Chinese, situate them historically and relate them to the literary trends to which they belong.
  • Make changes to methods and processes in the area of knowledge in order to provide innovative responses to society's needs and demands.
  • Students must be capable of collecting and interpreting relevant data (usually within their area of study) in order to make statements that reflect social, scientific or ethical relevant issues.
  • Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  • Students must develop the necessary learning skills to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
  • Use techniques for compilation, organisation and use of information and documentation with precision.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Analyse a situation and identify its points for improvement.
  2. Analyse complete works of colonial and Latin American literary production from Modernism to the contemporary era.
  3. Arguing about several issues and literary problems for the purpose of different works and the assessment of the results.
  4. Comment on Latin American literary texts from Modernism to the contemporary era from a rhetorical perspective.
  5. Comment on pre-Hispanic and colonial literary texts from a rhetorical perspective.
  6. Contextualise the production of Latin American literature from Modernism to the contemporary period.
  7. Contextualise the production of colonial and Latin American literature from an ideological and social viewpoint.
  8. Critically analyze and Hispanic colonial text and be able to write a text comment.
  9. Define the main resources in Indiano historiography and the epic genre, written by professionals, friars or soldiers.
  10. Describe and critically analyze the evolution of literary ideas applied to American literature.
  11. Describe and explain generic concepts applied to the main works of colonial and Latin American literature.
  12. Ecdotics terminology to apply contemporary texts.
  13. Hispanic edit and annotate text.
  14. Identify and analyse the main characteristics of Latin American literature from Modernism to the current day.
  15. Interpret literary works critically taking into account the relations between the different areas of literature and its relation to human, artistic and social areas.
  16. Interpret pre-Hispanic culture: notions of mythology, religion, anthropology, ethnology and the arts.
  17. Linking the works of American literature and the socio-historical and aesthetic context in which gestate.
  18. Present work in formats adapted to demands and personal styles, both individual and in small groups.
  19. Relate literary aspects of different works of Spanish literature from Modernism to the contemporary period.
  20. Relate literary aspects of different works of Spanish literature from colonialism to the nineteenth century.
  21. Select and gather together the basic critical biography for the field of study with the main works and authors for the subject.
  22. Solving problems autonomously.
  23. Submitting works in accordance with both individual and small group demands and personal styles.
  24. Summarising acquired knowledge about the origin and transformations experienced in its several fields of study.
  25. Use digital tools for collecting, classifying, interpreting and analysing relevant data.
  26. Use the adequate terminology in the construction of an academic text.

Content

Topic I: What do we do with the boom? Symptoms of postmodernity

 

  • McOndo(prólogo), Alberto Fuguet y Sergio Gómez.
  • Estrella distante y la alargada sombra de Roberto Bolaño

*Manifiesto del Crack, Miguel Ángel Palou, Eloy Urroz, Ignacio Padilla, Ricardo Chávez Castañeda y Jorge Volpi.

Topic II: History, memory, posmemory and Latin American testimony

 

  • “Cambio de armas” y “Escribir con el cuerpo”,  Luisa Valenzuela.
  • Formas de volver a casa de Alejandro Zambra

*Beatriz Sarlo: “Posmemoria, reconstrucciones”

 Topic III. Violence and organized crime: murder-for-hire, narcotraffic and feminicide

  • La Virgen de los sicarios, Fernando Vallejo.
  • Balas de plata Élmer Mendoza

*Sayak Valencia: “Capitalismo gore”

Tema IV: Why keep talking about women's literature?

  • Nadie me verá llorar, "El hombre que siempre soñó" y "Auto-etnografía con el otro" de Cristina Rivera Garza
  • Fruta podrida de Lina Meruane

Tema V: Oblique's forms

  • Distancia de rescate de Samanta Schewblin
  • Las cosas que perdimos en el fuego y Los peligros de fumar en la cama de Mariana Enríquez

Methodology

The learning of this subject by the students is distributed as follows:

  • Directed activities. These activities are divided into master classes and seminars and classroom practices led by the faculty, in which theoretical explanation is combined with discussion of all types of texts.
  • Supervised activities. These tutorials are programmed by the teacher, dedicated to correcting and commenting on problems at different levels of literary analysis.
  • Autonomous activities. These activities include both time devoted to individual study and production of papers and analytical comments written.
  • Evaluation activities. The evaluation of the subject will be carried out through written tests.

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Activities

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Classes 50 2 8, 12, 3, 10, 13, 17, 23, 22, 24
Evaluation activities 5 0.2 8, 12, 3, 10, 13, 17, 23, 22, 24
Type: Autonomous      
Preparation of classes and papers, study 75 3 8, 12, 3, 10, 13, 17, 23, 22, 24

Assessment

The evaluation will consist of the preparation of two exams given in class on the indicated date and the writing of a critical essay to be delivered in the form and within the time limit. The reading of the proposed texts, classes attendance, critical skills, reading of bibliography as well as the proper use of the basic academic codes (oral and written) will be evaluated.

The exams will consist of the critical commentary of a literary or theoretical text based on the two blocks of the subject. Students can bring to the exam any material they want (books, bibliography, notes etc)

Exam I: linked to topics I-III. 33%

Exam II: linked to units III to V. 33%

The work will consist of the writing of a brief essay, on topics covered in class, which supplements their content. Each topic will be previously agreed with the teacher. The exam has a weight of 33%.

In order to pass the subject it is necessary to have taken the two exams, have produced the presentation and submitted the paper. An average of 5 must be obtained among all the activities and the minimum grade of each activity must be 3.5. The score required for the average must be equal to or greater than 3.5 points. Students will be considered "not evaluable" if they have not carried out at least one of the works. To opt for the average of the subject, all the parts with a grade lower than 5 must be recovered

The total or partial plagiarism will automatically result in a failure rating for the entire subject.  O,25 points will be deducted for each spelling error. A test counting more than 10 errors will result in a failure rating. Students will be eligible for re-evaluation as long as they have taken the exams,  produced the presentation and submitted the paper.

In the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded to an assessment activity, the student will be given a zero for this activity, regardless of any disciplinary process that may take place. In the event of several irregularities in assessment activities of the same subject, the student will be given a zero as the final grade for this subject.

 

In the event that tests or exams cannot be taken onsite, they will be adapted to an online format made available through the UAB’s virtual tools (original weighting will be maintained). Homework, activities and class participation will be carried out through forums, wikis and/or discussion on Teams, etc. Lecturers will ensure that students are able to access these virtual tools, or will offer them feasible alternatives.

 

Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Critic Work 33% 16 0.64 8, 2, 1, 12, 3, 4, 5, 7, 6, 9, 10, 11, 14, 21, 13, 17, 26, 25, 15, 16, 23, 18, 20, 19, 22, 24
Exam I 33% 2 0.08 8, 2, 1, 12, 3, 4, 5, 7, 6, 9, 10, 11, 14, 21, 13, 17, 26, 25, 15, 16, 23, 18, 20, 19, 22, 24
Exam II 33% 2 0.08 8, 12, 3, 10, 13, 17, 23, 22, 24

Bibliography

 

Mandatory readings

Bolaño, Roberto, Estrella distante, Barcelona: Anagrama.

Enríquez, Mariana: Los peligros de fumar en la cama, Barcelona. Anagrama.

_Las cosas que perdimos en el fuego: Bareclona, Anagrama.

Méndoza, Élmer: Balas de plata, Barcelona: Tusquets.

Meruane, Lina:Fruta podrida, México: FCE.

Rivera Garza, Cristina: Nadie me verá llorar, Barcelona: Tusquets

Schewblin, Samanta:Distancia de rescate.

Vallejo, Fernando, La virgen de los sicarios, Debolsillo.

Zambra, Alejandro: Formas de volver a casa, Barcelona: Anagrama.

 

 

Basic bibliography

Ana María Amar y Sánchez, Luis F. Avilés (eds.) (2015), Representaciones de la violencia en América Latina: genealogías culturales, formas literarias y dinámicas del presente, Madrid: Iberoamericana/Vervuert..

Fuguet, Alberto y Gómez, Sergio (1996), "Prólogo. Presentación del País McOndo", McOndo. Una antología de la nueva literatura hispanoamericana. Barcelona, Gijalbo-Mondadori. Disponible en <http://www.marcosymarcos.com/macondo.htm>.

Sarlo, Beatriz (2005), "Posmemoria, reconstrucciones", en Tiempo pasado. Cultura de la memoria y giro subjetivo. Una discusión. Buenos Aires, S. XXI, pp. 125-157.

Valencia triana, Sayak (2010), Capitalismo gore: narcomáquina y performance de género. Disponible en <http://hemisphericinstitute.org/hemi/es/e-misferica-82/triana

VVAA (2009), Diccionario de Estudios culturales latinoamericanos. México, Siglo XXI. Disponible en <http://elpaginaslibres.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/diccionario-de-estudios-culturales-latinoamericanos.pdf> 

Software

Microsoft Teams