Since the 17th century women writers have been a steadily rebellious, even revolutionizing force in Latin American letters. A number of the writers we’ll read together are also visual and/or performance artists, and intensely political, dealing in formally challenging ways with the residues of 20th-century state terror; as well as the legacies of colonialism; themes of indigeneity and mestizaje; and multiple forms of queerness. Our readings will begin with the Mexican nun, poet, philosopher, and mathematician Sor Juana (1648-1695) and extend (by sometimes large leaps) to our present day. Along the way we will read new translations of Gabriela Mistral (the first Latin American to win the Nobel Prize in Literature); and of Argentine poet Alejandra Pizarnik. We’ll likely study plays by Griselda Gambaro (forced into exile by the last Argentine dictatorship); writings and art projects by Chileans Diamela Eltit and Cecilia Vicuña; poetry and translations by queer Cuban poet and activist Achy Objejas and finish with The Adventures of China Iron (2020),by Gabriela Cabezón Cámara, a radical re-creation of Argentina’s foundational gaucho epic, Martín Fierro.
This course will be conducted in English.
Learning Outcomes:
* You will do close readings of complicated, formally challenging literary and theoretical texts;
* You will gain a sense of the vast range of writing in Latin America;
* You will gain an appreciation of literary translation;
* You will write well-considered responses to and analyses of the readings.
Delivery Method: Fully in-person
Course Level: 2000-level
Credits: 4
T/F 2:10PM - 4:00PM (Full-term)
Maximum Enrollment: 20
Course Frequency: Every 2-3 years
Categories: All courses , Cultural Studies and Languages , Fully In-Person , Literature , Spanish
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