Literature, Music and Art in Spanish America II

 

Literature, Music and Art in Spanish America.

Cultural expressions and artistic movements in the 20th century

3 credits, 6 ECTS

English

Instructor: Daniel Scarfo, Ph.D. (Yale University)

Course Description

This course analyzes literary, musical and artistic pieces in Spanish America during the 20^th century. We will present the theoretical and historical background, the relevant moments, the significant figures, the constants and the elements of originality that characterize contemporary Spanish-American literature, music and art.

Course Aims/Objectives

• Knowing and understanding XXth Century Spanish-American literature, music and art.

• Reading, listening, and being able to recognize important XXth Century Spanish-American artists

Requirements and Prerequisites

Introductory Course

Learning outcomes

This course aims to allow the student to:

• know and understand the Spanish American Culture, especially its arts, music and literature.

• be able to compare different artists and artistic genres, and speak critically about them

• analyze art pieces in relation to its historical and cultural context

Developmental Outcomes

Students should demonstrate: responsibility and accountability, independence, open and critical mind as well as appreciation of differences.

Contents

Class 1: Introduction to Spanish- American literature and cultures.

Fundamental texts.

Class 2: The Latin American essay.

Readings: Octavio Paz, The labyrinth of solitude (chapter II, “Mexican Masks”)

http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/s/a/sam50/readings521/OP_Mex-Mask.pdf

Class 3: The novel and the short story. The Plate Region and the Caribbean. Juan Rulfo

Readings: Rulfo, Juan. Pedro Páramo

http://public.callutheran.edu/~brint/Mexico/Rulfo.pdf

Class 4: The indianist novel. José María Arguedas.

Readings: José María Arguedas. Deep Rivers (chapters 1 and 2).

Class 5: The avant-garde in poetry. Major figures: Pablo Neruda, César Vallejo y Octavio Paz

Readings: Franco, Jean. An introduction to Spanish-American Literature. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1994 (Chapter 9)

Class 6: Modern fiction. Jorge Luis Borges

Readings assigned to different groups:

• Borges, Jorge Luis. “Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius” in http://www.coldbacon.com/writing/borges-tlon.html

• Borges, Jorge Luis. “Pierre Menard, autor of the Quixote” in http://www.coldbacon.com/writing/borges-quixote.html

• Borges, Jorge Luis. “The Library of Babel” in

http://jubal.westnet.com/hyperdiscordia/library_of_babel.html

• Borges, Jorge Luis. “The Garden of Forking Paths” in

http://www.coldbacon.com/writing/borges-garden.html

• Borges, Jorge Luis. “The Aleph” in

http://www.phinnweb.org/links/literature/borges/aleph.html

Class 7: Magic realism

Readings: García Márquez, Gabriel. One Hundred Years of Solitude

http://www.dillgroup.ucsf.edu/~grocklin/pdfbooks/One%20Hundred%20Years%20of%20Solitude.pdf

Class 8: 20’ presentations on eight selected Latin American writers to be selected among: Gallegos, Asturias, Onetti, Fuentes, García Márquez, Roa Bastos, Vargas Llosa, Cortázar, Lezama Lima, Monterroso, Carpentier.

Class 9: Roots of American Sounds. Rythms and dances. Themes in Spanish-American Musical Culture. Milonga, tango.

Multiple Choice 1

Readings: Béhague, G. Music in Latin America: An introduction. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1979.

Listening assignments:

Piazzolla, Astor in http://www.piazzolla.org/ and selected videos

Goyeneche, Roberto in http://www.robertogoyeneche.tango-tour.com.ar/ and selected videos

Gardel, Carlos, selected videos.

Colección Buenos Aires Tango

Class 10: Folklore and candombe

Listening assignments:

Yupanqui, Atahualpa in http://www.squidoo.com/theodorakis and selected videos

Rada, Rubén in http://negrorada.com/index.php and selected videos

Roos, Jaime, selected videos

Sosa, Mercedes, selected videos

Class 11: Bolero, Cha cha chá, merengue, bachata, salsa. Caribbean Troubadors.

Listening assignments:

Cruz, Célia in www.celiacruz.com and other selected videos

Lara, Agustín, selected videos

Blades, Rubén in www.rubenblades.com and other selected videos

Guerra, Juan Luis, in juanluisguerra.com and other selected videos

Class 12: Episodes in Spanish-American art 1910-1992.

Multiple choice 2

Reading Assignment: Guía Colección Malba (English Edition, 2011), first part

Looking assignments:

Diego Rivera, Portrait of Don Ramón Gómez de la Serna, 1915

Alejandro Xul Solar, Hypnotism, 1923

Alejandro Xul Solar, Couple, 1923

Emilio Pettoruti, The People’s Song, 1927

David Alfaro Siqueiros, Accident in the Mine, 1931

Antonio Berni, The Open Door, 1932

Antonio Berni, Public Demonstration, 1934

Antonio Berni, The Great Temptation, 1962

Antonio Berni, Chelsea Hotel, 1977

Class 13: Episodes in Spanish-american art 1910-1992.

Reading Assignment: Guía Colección Malba (English edition, 2011), second part

Looking assignments:

Cándido Portinari, Saint John’s Festivity, 1936

Frida Kahlo, Self-Portrait with Monkey and Parrot, 1942

Fernando Botero, The Widowers, 1968

Guillermo Kuitca, Seven Last Songs, 1986

Final paper due today

Class format

All members of the class are encouraged to participate actively in discussions and debates. Such participation is an important part of your performance. Please come to class with written notes, your questions and thoughts about the possible meanings of the texts, songs and artistic works you have read, looked or listened to. What strikes you? What paragraphs, elements, or points seem to you to be the most significant or enigmatic? Why?

Assessment

Multiple choice I 15%

Multiple choice II 15%

Oral Presentations 15%

Class Participation 10%

Final paper (8 pages) 45%

Reference Books (They will complement the professor’s classes in case you miss one).

Bethell, Leslie (ed.). A cultural history of Latin America. Literature, music and the Visual

Arts in the XIXand XXth centuries. Cambridge: University of Cambridge, 1998.

Béhague, G. Music in Latin America: An introduction. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1979.

Franco, Jean. An introduction to Spanish-American Literature. Cambridge University

Press, Cambridge, 1994.

Guía Colección Malba. Buenos Aires, 2011 (English edition)

Class Format

The instructor of the class will introduce students to the day’s subject. The students will also present and discuss, under the instructor coordination, the readings assigned for that day.

Guidelines for the final essay (due November 13^th)

a) It should contain between 8 and 10 pages, besides the bibliography.

b) I recommend to start writing many more pages and then proceed to clean up the document discarding what is unnecessary to the point you are trying to make.

c) I expect an essay on one of the topics we discuss in class or that are available in the syllabus, or a topic in a dialogue with them, and you should keep that dialogue.

d) It must also show a dialogue or discussion with at least one text from the bibliography

e) Then you can also add all the bibliography you want to add (available or not in the syllabus)