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Academic Year 2000/2001

Latin American Cultural and Political Myths
SPAN 265 SP

As Roland Barthes noted, myths are plurivalent discursive forms, frequently endowed with deforming functions. Political myths are stories about the past that help galvanize signifying practices in the present. The Latin American political unconscious has produced some powerful myths that we will scrutinize through an interdisciplinary course designed to map their historical context while studying the literary texts that have produced and circulated them. The readings will focus on the construction of such figures as Domingo and Eva Peron, Che Guevara, la Malinche, Emiliano Zapata, Simon Bolivar and Jose Marti.

MAJOR READINGS

An assortment of articles on historical and literary matters, as well as such novels as Eloy Martinez, T. LA NOVELA DE PERON and SANTA EVITA;
Guevara, E. PASAJES DE LA GUERRA REVOLUCIONARIA,
Posse, A. LOS CUADERNOS DE PRAGA;
Garcia Marquez, G. EL GENERAL EN SU LABERINTO

EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS

Three papers, one take-home

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS and/or COMMENTS

Thorough preparation of class assignments, some oral presentations.

Unless preregistered students attend the first class meeting or communicate directly with the instructor prior to the first class, they will be dropped from the class list. NOTE: Students must still submit a completed Drop/Add form to the Registrar's Office.

COURSE FORMAT: Lecture/Discussion

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Level: UGRD    Credit: 1    Gen Ed Area Dept: HA RLAN    Grading Mode: Graded   

Prerequisites: SPAN226 Links to Web Resources For This Course.

Last Updated on MAR-26-2001

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