Department of Spanish and Portuguese

BTAA – BIG TEN SHARE COURSE

Topic: Literature and National Politics in Catalonia

     The emergence of Catalonia as a “nation in search of a state” constitutes a singular and intriguing event in the Spanish and European context. Catalonia as a political entity and cultural community has not followed any of the two paths that are common in European regions: neither has it become a sovereign state nor has it gradually dissolved into another, larger national union. Instead, Catalonia occupies an in-between position that is a particularly productive space to explore the puzzling relations between culture and politics.

     The course will analyze some representative works of medieval, modern, and contemporary Catalan literature vis-à-vis the political debates that traverse them. We will begin by examining the proto-national character of medieval texts and, in a second part of the course, we will look at the modern literary movements (Renaixença, modernisme, noucentisme, avantgarde, exile, postmodernity) and their relation with Catalan nationalism. We will also study other heterogeneous forms of nationalism, such as the nationalist mission of Futbol Club Barcelona, and the collective imaginaries of the Catalan diaspora. 

     The course proposes to understand literature and politics as closely interconnected. The course takes Catalan culture as a study case to ask global questions about allegorical representation, nation-building processes, secessionism, war, and the different functions of culture in dictatorial and democratic regimes. The course, in sum, seeks to understand the intricacies of the Catalan case and also the function of culture in the making of state and nonstate political units.

     The course will be taught in Catalan. Students who have not taken Catalan should seek the consent of the instructor. This course can fulfill the elective 300/400 level requirement for the undergraduate Spanish majors.

Note: This class meets with HISP-C 492 & C 619.
Note: This class meets with HISP-X 491 #28377.

HISP-X 491    #31624      (3)  PERM     9:35A-10:50A     TR    GA 0011     Prof. Edgar Illas