Department of Spanish and Portuguese

Prerequisite: HISP-S 328

What does it mean when a 21^st-Century political leader dresses up as the medieval epic hero El Cid? Or when a contemporary photographer creates an installation in which she depicts herself as the 16^th-Century Santa Teresa de Ávila? This course focuses on iconic historical figures and literary characters who continue to resonate in the 20^th- and 21^st-Century cultural imagination. Drawing on primary texts from the Middle Ages through the 17^th Century, we will investigate these cultural icons and what they mean in contemporary times. Examples include the El Cid, Don Quixote, La Celestina, Saint Theresa, the pícaro (or antiheroic rogue), and Don Juan.

Readings will consist of classic works of Spanish literature, such as El Cantar de Mio Cid, La Celestina, El burlador de Sevilla (the first play about Don Juan) and selections from Don Quixote.  Assignments will focus on recent Spanish cultural productions and popular media, with students exploring the representation and transfigurations of these iconic figures.

The goals of this course are twofold: to introduce students to essential Spanish texts from earlier periods and to increase students’ cultural literacy and understanding of contemporary Spain, a nation constructed and imagined in part on this medieval and early modern foundation. Class discussion and assignments will be in Spanish.

This course carries CASE AH and CASE GCC distribution credit.

HISP-S 407    #13564       3:00P-4:15P        MW     EP 256     Prof. Steve Wagschal

Note: Above class meets with HISP-498 #13576

• A&H
• GCC
• What are CASE requirements?