Cervantes
SPAN 236
Spring 2010 not offered
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| Crosslisting:
COL 327, MDST 254, IBST 319 |
Cervantes is known chiefly for DON QUIXOTE, often described as the first modern novel and fountainhead of one of the great modern myths of individualism. In fact, besides the chivalric novel, he reimagined virtually every fashionable genre of his time: verse, theater, novella, the pastoral, and the Greek adventure novels. Cervantes' art remains fresh and unsettling, distinguished as it is by its revaluation of humor, invention, make-believe, and play; seriousness in his textual world is not to be confused with solemnity, the typical ploy of political, religious, and intellectual orthodoxies then as now. Characteristic themes: social reality as artifact or fiction, the counterintuitive or paradoxical character of truths, the irreducible diversity of taste and perception, the call for consent in politics and love, and personal identity (including gender) as a heroic quest. We will read, discuss, and write about DON QUIXOTE, along with a sampling of critical, philosophical, literary, and artistic responses it has inspired. |
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Essential Capabilities:
Interpretation, Writing
The readings, the oral presentation, class discussion, and the papers are regarded as complementary, mutually reinforcing activities, designed to help you develop your ability to recall and interpret your readings. Class will be given over to detailed,
imaginative discussion of the main readings, as well as group or team work. Supplementary readings will be brought in regularly to introduce concepts and interpretive gambits (including the broad themes of the course announced in the description), to model ways of reframing and nuancing your responses to the readings, and to encourage a deeper--at once historically informed, textually grounded, and playful--engagement with this classic text.
Writing is improved by thoughtful reading, previous
discussion, and revision. The course is structured in such a way as to provide you with practice in the use of your reading, of class discussion, and of revision to improve your writing skills (understood in terms of argument, organization, and rhetorical pertinence and flair). The main focus will be the development of a formal, yet personal register of Spanish writing, but you will find that your writing in English also improves as a result of this kind of reflection on what goes into good writing. An oral presentation will be scheduled over the course of the second half of the term in order to encourage you to begin to think carefully about a topic for your final paper.
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA RLAN |
| Course Format: Discussion | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (COL)(HISP)(MDST-MN)(MDST)(MDST-Art/Arch)(MDST-History)(MDST-Lang/Lit)(MDST-Phil/Reli)(RMST) |
Major Readings:
Miguel de Cervantes, DON QUIJOTE
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Examinations and Assignments:
Three short papers (3pp.), one longer final paper (5-7pp.), and one short
oral presentation as preparation for the final paper. |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
SPAN236 is intended for students who have completed SPAN224. Students who have not done so should consult with the professor before preregistering. |
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