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Cervantes
SPAN236 SP

Cervantes is known chiefly for DON QUIJOTE, often described as the first modern novel and fountainhead of one of the great myths. In fact, besides the chivalric novel he reimagined virtually every fashionable genre of his time: verse, theater, novella, the pastoral and the byzantine novels. Cervantes's art remains fresh and unsettling, distinguished as it is by its revaluation of humor, invention, make-believe, and play; seriousness in his textual world is not to be confused with solemnity, the typical ploy of political, religious, and intellectual orthodoxies then as now. Characteristic themes: social "reality" as artifact or fiction, the counterintuitive or paradoxical character of truths, the irreducible diversity of taste and perception, the need fo r consent in politics and love, identity (including gender) as heroic quest. We will read, discuss, and write about the entire range of his work, along with a sampling of narrative, critical, and philosophical responses it has inspired.

MAJOR READINGS

Selected verse. Plays: EL RETABLO DE LAS MARAVILLAS, EL JUEZ DE LOS DIVORCIOS, LA NUMANCIA Short fiction: NOVELA DEL CASAMIENTO ENGANOSO, COLOQUIO DE LOS PERROS Selections from the novels: LA GALATEA, DON QUIJOTE, and LOS TRABAJOS DE PERSILES Y SIGISMUNDA

EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS

Four short papers (2pp.), two longer papers (5pp.,6-8pp.), one short oral presentation as preparation for the final paper.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS and/or COMMENTS

SPAN236 is intended for students who have completed SPAN224. Students who have not done so should consult with the professor before preregistering. 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: Discussion

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

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

Prerequisites: NONE

Last Updated on MAR-24-2000

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