Department of Spanish and Portuguese

Prerequisite: HISP-S 280 or HISP-S 310; or appropriate placement exam score.

This course explores Hispanic literature and film through works by some of the most important writers/filmmakers in 20^th – 21^st century Hispanic culture. We discuss texts that deal with issues such as gender and sexuality, the transformative power of language and literature, race and identity, traumatic experience and transitional justice, and the complexity of family relationships. Our writers/directors hail from Mexico, Chile, Cuba, the U.S., and Spain.

We focus on critical reading and analysis as a way of gaining a more complex understanding of literature and other cultural forms (e.g., music, film, television, media, etc.). As an introduction, students learn to read critically and creatively, analyzing the strategies that different authors use to express their ideas, create their literary and filmic worlds, and engage and persuade the reader.

The class will familiarize you with the basic tools for analyzing film and three literary genres: narrative, poetry, and drama. We question the limits of textual interpretation (what is the difference between opinion and interpretation? is any interpretation of a text valid?) and work towards producing readings that are creative, insightful, and grounded. The course especially emphasizes building your own interpretations through active class discussion and argumentative writing in Spanish.

This class

• gives you ample opportunity to better debate and discuss your ideas in Spanish
• helps you hone your reading and writing skills in Spanish
• gets you ready for study abroad
• exposes you to new perspectives and Hispanic culture
• prepares you for other classes in literature and cultural studies, and
• empowers you to be a more critical and creative thinker and communicator across the board, no matter what your major

Most students in this class

• usually have a wide variety of interests, majors and minors
• have varied past experiences with literature and film
• do not necessarily think of themselves as “lit people”, though some do
• want to improve some aspect of their language skills in some way
• often look forward to having a class that is not lecture-based, and where they can get to know professor and peers
• strongly agree upon finishing it that it was an outstanding course, that they learned a lot, that they improved their skills in Spanish and in critical thinking, and that they felt motivated to produce their best work

HISP-S 328   #33624    2:20P-3:35P      TR       BH 123      Prof. Melissa Dinverno
HISP-S 328   #7876       3:55P-5:10P       TR       BH 146      Prof. Melissa Dinverno

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