summer 2008 classes: course descriptions
Spanish 135.1: Spanish Nationalism: From Medieval to Contemporary Spain (3 units)
Prof. Francisco García-Serrano
The course analyzes the formation of Spanish identity in historical and literary texts, tracing its origins from medieval Spain and questioning the assumption of an incipient nationalist feeling. The issues of Spanish identity and nationhood have been profoundly debated over the centuries and are burning questions in today’s Spain. The course is designed to further the student’s understanding of how national identity developed in civil and literary texts in the medieval period with an eye toward the application of this knowledge to contemporary political and historical discussions. Readings will include medieval texts from the period of the Reconquest (Fernando I, Alfonso VI and Alfonso VII), selections from the Poema de Fernán González, the Poema de Mio Cid, laws codified by Alfonso X (the Siete Partidas) as well as parts of his Historia de España. Jewish, Christian, and Muslim texts will be read to explore their idiosyncrasies. Finally, we will study theories of national identity and forms of nationalism in order to ascertain whether the much debated “alliance of civilizations” (Christian, Muslim, Jewish) is possible today. Most of the readings will be in Spanish with a few articles in English.
Spanish 135.2: Las Vanguardias Latinoamericanas y el Ocultismo (3 units)
Prof. Fabian Banga
Note: En este curso, estudiaremos ejemplos de escritores latinoamericanos de vanguardia, sus proyectos estéticos y como estos intentaban por un lado romper con el modernismo, pero al mismo tiempo, muchos de ellos mantenían tópicos muy arraigados en el siglo XIX, como el caso del ocultismo.
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