Spanish American Literature: from the Indian Chronicles to “Modernismo”
Code: 106351 ECTS Credits: 6| Degree | Type | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Spanish Language and Literature | OB | 2 |
Contact
- Name:
- Beatriz Ferrus Anton
- Email:
- beatriz.ferrus@uab.cat
Teachers
- Christian Snoey Abadias
Teaching groups languages
You can view this information at the end of this document.
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 d to reflect critically on Latin American literary history and its analytical categories, which he has already studied in Introducción a la literatura hispanoamericana.
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.
Objectives and Contextualisation
"Spanish American Literature: from pre-Hispanic literature to the 19th century" is integrated into the subject of Colonial and Spanish-American Literature, which is part of the 108 credits of compulsory education of the Spanish Language and Literature Degree, which the student attends along with other subjects of Spanish language and literature.
This subject inaugurates the course of Spanish-American Literature in the Spanish Language and Literature Degree, within which it is responsible for introducing the student in the chronological period that goes from the indigenous literatures to the 19th century. Since it is the first time that students enter the critical reality of literature in Latin America, it is very important to teach them to think about the differences and similarities that exist between the object "Hispanic American literature" and the object "Spanish literature". As well as it is very important delving them into the specific problems of the Latin American critical field. Therefore, history of literature, historiography and criticism will be part of this subject. The fundamental objectives of the subject are, therefore, to make known the specificity of this object of study, while teaching how to to analyze it with the proper tools of the subject.
Competences
- Act in one's own field of knowledge evaluating inequalities based on sex/gender.
- Act with ethical responsibility and respect for fundamental rights and duties, diversity and democratic values.
- Carry out effective written work or oral presentations adapted to the appropriate register in different languages.
- Identify the most significant periods, traditions, trends, authors and works in Spanish-language literature in their historical and social context.
- Recognise the main theories, themes and genres of literature in the different Spanish-speaking countries.
- Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
- Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
- Use digital tools and specific documentary sources to gather and organise information.
- Use the methodology and concepts of literary analysis taking into account sources and contexts.
Learning Outcomes
- Analyse inequalities due to sex or gender and gender bias in the field of social-historical knowledge.
- Analyse literary texts on the basis of the keys of the genre to which they belong.
- Apply the basic principles of literary text analysis.
- Assess, through the analysis of literary productions, the prejudices and discriminations that may be included in actions or projects, in the short or long term, in relation to certain people or groups.
- Carry out basic bibliographic research.
- Comment on literary texts using specific methodologies.
- Identify primary and secondary sources.
- Identify the main gender inequalities present in society through their representation in literary texts.
- Identify the main sources of a literary text.
- Link a text with its context of literary production.
- Organise content clearly and appropriately for oral presentation.
- Point out similarities and differences between texts on the basis of relevant theoretical concepts.
- Recognise the main periods of Western literary history and their general features.
- Situate an author's production in a specific literary period.
- Use digital tools to obtain, classify, interpret and analyse relevant data related to the study of Spanish language and literature.
- Use the appropriate resources and methodology for an academic work.
- Use traditional sources to obtain, classify, interpret and analyse relevant data related to the study of Spanish language and literature.
Content
Block I
From the Chronicles to the viceroyalties
"Fundación mítica": an introduction
The conquest: fiction and figuration. Creation of an imaginary. La Carta a Luis de Santángel and Diarios by Cristóbal Colón.
México as a story: form Cartas de relación by Hernán Cortés to Historia verdadera de la conquista de la Nueva España by Bernal Díaz del Castillo.
Controversy about the legitimacy of the conquest and the "discurso del fracaso": Bartolomé de las Casas and the indigenous issue. Los Naufragios by Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca.
The voice of the others. La Araucana by Alonso de Ercilla, the Inca Garcilaso de la Vega.
Baroque society, concepts for reflection. Poetry of the baroque. Prose as an anticipation of the novel.
Women in the colonial period. Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz and conventual literature
The eighteenth and nineteenth centuries
The American 18th century and the preparation for emancipation. (El Lazarillo de ciegos caminantes y Periquillo Sarniento). Simón Bolívar's Carta de Jamaica.
Discourses for national construction: La cautiva and El matadero by Esteban Echeverría, Facundo by Sarmiento and Martín Fierro by Hernández.
Women in the national imaginary. The emergency of professionl women writters. Sab by Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda.
The Latin American short story of the 19th century. "Costumbrismo" and Ricardo Palma's Tradiciones peruanas.
Naturalism: Eugenio Cambaceres (En la sangre).
Modernism
Modernism: José Martí and Rubén Darío
Women writers in modernism and postmodernis women writers
Activities and Methodology
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Classes | 50 | 2 | |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Tutorial | 13 | 0.52 | 1, 2, 3, 12, 6, 5, 16, 15, 17, 7, 9, 8, 11, 13, 14, 4, 10 |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Personal wok, exam | 60 | 2.4 |
The methodology is typical of the literary historiography, especially of the new Latin American studies; as well as of the cultural studies, feminism, postcolonialism and decolonialism. It is combined, in turn, with the proper tools of the commentary of texts.
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, as well as oral presentations.
- 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.
Assessment
Continous Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exam 1 | 40% | 2 | 0.08 | 1, 2, 3, 12, 6, 5, 16, 15, 17, 7, 9, 8, 11, 13, 14, 4, 10 |
| Exam 2 | 40% | 2 | 0.08 | 1, 2, 3, 12, 6, 5, 16, 15, 17, 7, 9, 8, 11, 13, 14, 4, 10 |
| Work | 20% | 23 | 0.92 | 1, 2, 3, 12, 6, 5, 16, 15, 17, 7, 9, 8, 11, 13, 14, 4, 10 |
The evaluation continuous includes three aspects:
Two exams, where starting from a question related to each block, the student must write a report of the subject. The accuracy of contents, the way in which they are exposed and elaborated, the justification of ideas, the critical capacity will be taken into account; but, above all, the mastery of the work methodology from which the subject has been presented.
Exam 1. block 1
Exam 2. block 2 and 3.
A supervised essay, where the student will go into depth on aspects studied in the class, elaborating a more extensive essay, on a script provided for such purpose. The work will be supervised by the teacher, who will set a timetable agreed with the student. Effort capacity, critical reflection, correct writing, justification of ideas, use of bibliography, search of material and compliance with the required deadlines will be taken into account.
The student who does not perform 1/3 or less of the three evaluation blocks will be considered "Not evaluated".
Punctuation
Exam 1: 4 points: 40%
Exam 2: 4 points: 40%
Essay: 2 points: 20%
To pass this subject, it is essential to obtain an average grade of 5.
Teachers will inform students (on Moodle) of the procedures to be followed for reviewing all grades awarded, and the date on which such a review will take place.
The evaluation dates will be agreed during the first week of the course
Recovery exam
It should be taken into account that in order to be eligible for re-evaluation, students are obliged to attend all 2/3 the evaluable tests. The recovery follows the same exam/work model as the evaluation.
The evaluation unic includes three aspects:
Two exams, where starting from a question related to each block, the student must write a report of the subject. The accuracyof contents, the way in which they are exposed and elaborated, the justification of ideas, the critical capacity will be taken into account; but, above all, the mastery of the work methodology from which the subject has been presented.
Exam 1. block 1
Exam 2. block 2 and 3.
A supervised essay, where the student will go into depth on aspects studied in the class, elaborating a more extensive essay, on a script provided for such purpose. The work will be supervised by the teacher, who will set a timetable agreed with the student. Effort capacity, critical reflection, correct writing, justification of ideas, use of bibliography, search of material and compliance with the required deadlines will be taken into account.
The student who does not perform 1/3 or less of the three evaluation blocks will be considered "Not evaluated".
Punctuation
Exam 1: 3 points: 40%
Exam 2: 3 points: 40%
Essay: 4 points: 20%
To pass this subject, it is essential to obtain an averagegrade of 5.
The date of the single assessment will be communicated during the first week of the course.
Teachers will inform students (on Moodle) of the procedures to be followed for reviewing all grades awarded, and the date on which such a review will take place
Recovery exam
The student must have completed the entire assessment in order to be able to take the make-up test.
Spelling and plagiarism
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 correctly verbally and in writing. For this reason, any spelling and expression errors (0,25 fault) that may be committed will lead to a score decrease in the final grade which could even result in a failure rating.
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).
Restricted use of AI: For this subject a restricted use of AI technologies is allowed, as a support for bibliographic search, translation and text editing. The student will have to clearly identify which parts have been generated with this technology, specify the tools used and include a critical reflection on how these have influenced the process and the final result of the activities. Non-transparency in the use of AI in the evaluable activities will be considered a lack of academic honesty and may result in failure of the course.
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 studentwill be given a zero as the final grade for this subject.
Bibliography
Handbooks
-González Echevarría, Roberto y Pupo Walker, Enrique (2006): Historia de la literatura hispanoamericana. Del descubrimiento al modernismo, Madrid: Gredos.
-Madrigal, Íñigo, coord. (2008): Historia de la literatura hispanoamericana. Época colonial, Madrid: Cátedra.
-***Oviedo, José Miguel (1995): Historia de la literatura hispanoamericana. 1. De los orígenes a la Emancipación, Madrid: Alianza.
Block I
-Abellán, José Luis (1972): La idea de América Latina: origen y evolución, Madrid: Istmo.
-Campra, Rosalba (1987): América Latina: la identidad y la máscara, México: Siglo XXI.
-Cándido, Antonio (1987): “Literatura nacional, regional y latinoamericana” en Pizarro, Ana (coord.): Hacia una historia de la literatura hispanoamericana, México: El Colegio de México.
-Henríquez Ureña, Pedro (1947): Historia de la cultura de la América hispánica, México: FCE.
---(1949): Las corrientes literarias en América la América hispánica, México: FCE.
-Pizarro, Ana, ed. (1985): La literatura latinoamericana como proceso, Buenos Aires: Centro Editor de América Latina.
---(1987): Hacia una historia de la literatura latinoamericana, México: El Colegio de México.
-Rama, Ángel (1975): “Sistema literario y sistema social en Hispanoamérica” en VVAA: Literatura y praxis social en América Latina, Caracas: Monte Ávila.
---(1982): Transculturación narrativa en América Latina, México: Siglo XXI.
---(1984): Laciudad letrada, Hanover: Ediciones del Norte.
Block II
-Ainsa, Fernando (1977): Los buscadores de utopía, Caracas: Monte Ávila.
---(1984): “Tensión utópica e imaginario subversivo en Hispanoamérica”, ALHA, nº13.
-Ferrús, Beatriz (2008): La Monja de Ágreda, historia y leyenda de la dama azul en Norteamérica, Valencia: PUV.
-Fuentes, Carlos (1990): Valiente Mundo Nuevo. Épica, utopía y mito en la novela hispanoamericana, Madrid: Mondadori.
-Gruzinski, Serge (1990): La guerra de las imágenes. De Cristóbal Colón a Blade Runner (1492-1992), México: FCE
---(2007): El pensamiento mestizo. Cultura amerindia y civilización del Renacimiento, Barcelona: Paidós
****-Pastor, Beatriz (1993): Discurso narrativo de la conquista de América, Cuba: Casa de las Américas.
---(1996): El jardín y el peregrino: Ensayos sobre el pensamiento utópico latinoamericano (1492-1695), Amsterdam: Rodopi.
-Restall, Matthew (2003), Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest, New York: Oxford University Press.
-Rosenblant, Ángel (1965): La primera visión de América y otros estudios, Caracas: Ministerio de Educación.
-***Todorov, Tzvetan (1987): La conquista de América. El problema del otro, México: Siglo XXI.
Block III
-Anderson, Benedict: Comunidades imaginadas. Reflexiones sobre el origen y la difusión del nacionalismo, México: FCE, 2006.
-Jordán, Pilar y Dalla-Corte, Gabriela (2006): “Mujeres y sociabilidad en la construcción de los Estados Nacionales” en Morant, Isabel (dir.): Historia de las mujeres en España y América Latina. Del siglo XIX a los umbrales del XX, Madrid: Cátedra.
-Masiello, Francine (1997): Entre civilización y barbarie. Mujeres, Nación y Cultura literaria en la Argentina moderna, Argentina: Beatriz Viterbo.
-Pratt, Mary Louise (1997):Ojos imperiales, Buenos Aires: Universidad Nacional de Quilme.
-Salvatore, Ricardo (2002): Culturas imperiales, Buenos Aires: Beatriz Viterbo.
-Schmidt-Welle, Friedhelm (ed.): “Introducción: ficciones y silencios fundacionales” en Ficciones y silencios fundacionales. Literaturas y culturas poscoloniales en América Latina (siglo XIX), Madrid: Iberoamericana-Vervuet, 2003.
-Vieira Powers, Karen. Women in the Crucible of Conquest. The Gendered Genesis of Spanish American Society, 1500-1600. New Mexico: University of New Mexico Press, 2005.
Required readings
Selection by the teacher of various chronicle texts.
Bartolomé de las Casas, Brevísima relación de la destrucción de las Indias, Madrid, Cátedra. Also available at Cervantes Virtual: https://www.cervantesvirtual.com/obra-visor/brevsima-relacin-de-la-destruccin-de-las-indias-0/html/847e3bed-827e-4ca7-bb80-fdcde7ac955e_18.html
Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, Los naufragios, Madrid, Cátedra. Also available at Cervantes virtual: https://www.cervantesvirtual.com/obra-visor/naufragios--0/html/
Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, Poemas. Selecció a càrrec del professor. Visitar el lloc web en Cervantes Virtual: http://www.cervantesvirtual.com/portales/sor_juana_ines_de_la_cruz/
Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda, Sab, Madrid, Cátedra. També es troba en Cervantes Virtual: http://www.cervantesvirtual.com/obra-visor/sab--0/html/ff1fa97c-82b1-11df-acc7-002185ce6064_4.html#I_0_
José Hernández, Martín Fierro, Madrid, Cátedra. També es troba en Cervantes Virtual: http://www.cervantesvirtual.com/obra-visor/el-gaucho-martin-fierro--1/html/ff29ee5a-82b1-11df-acc7-002185ce6064_2.html#I_0_
Esteban Echeverría, El matadero, Madrid, Cátedra. També es troba en Cervantes Virtual: http://www.cervantesvirtual.com/obra-visor/el-matadero-1871/html/ff17c72a-82b1-11df-acc7-002185ce6064_3.html#I_0_
Eugenio Cambaceres, En la sangre. Cervantes Virtual: http://www.cervantesvirtual.com/obra-visor/en-la-sangre--0/html/fef4abe6-82b1-11df-acc7-002185ce6064_2.html
Mercedes Cabello de la Carbonera, Blanca Sol. https://www.cervantesvirtual.com/obra-visor/blanca-sol--0/html/ff1c3698-82b1-11df-acc7-002185ce6064_2.html
Software
Teams
Groups and Languages
Please note that this information is provisional until 30 November 2025. You can check it through this link. To consult the language you will need to enter the CODE of the subject.
| Name | Group | Language | Semester | Turn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 1 | Spanish | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (TE) Theory | 1 | Spanish | first semester | morning-mixed |