Heroes, Lovers, and Swindlers: Medieval and Renaissance Spanish Literature and History
SPAN 230
Spring 2021
| Section:
01
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| Crosslisting:
COL 229, MDST 228 |
This course is designed to develop students' ability to make informed and creative sense of four fascinating, complex, and influential medieval and Renaissance Spanish texts in their multiple (literary, historical) contexts: the "national" epic EL CID (12th--13th century); the bawdy and highly theatrical prose dialogue known as LA CELESTINA (1499); the anonymous LAZARILLO (1554), the first picaresque novel; and María de Zayas's proto-feminist novella THE WAGES OF VICE (1647). Through these and selected historical readings, the course is also intended to provide students with a basic knowledge of Spanish culture (in its plurality) from the 11th through the 17th centuries, the texture of everyday life, and the larger movements of long-term historical change. We will draw on literature and history to imagine the world of chivalry and crusade in the medieval Spain of "the three religions of the book" (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam); of mercantile values, courtly love, and prostitution in the Renaissance city; of social injustice and religious hypocrisy in imperial Spain; and of the exacerbated gender and caste tensions that followed from the political crises of the 1640s. We will reflect on the interplay of literature and history in our efforts to come to grips with a past both familiar and strange; address the crossing of linguistic, artistic, ethnic, religious, caste, and gender boundaries that has long been a conspicuous feature of Spanish society; and consider what texts and lives of the past might still have to say to us today. No prior historical or literary preparation is required, only a willingness to engage the readings closely (textually and historically). |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA RLAN |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Student Option |
| 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) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: 50% - 74% |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
The Poem of the Cid: Dual-Language Edition (Penguin Classics paperback, 1985 [NOT the 2009 Penguin Classics edition translated by Burton Raffel!], trans. and ed. Rita Hamilton and Janet Perry, ISBN: 9780140444469.
Fernando de Rojas, La Celestina, ed. Patricia Finch (Juan de la Cuesta annotated paperback edition, 2003), ISBN: 9781589770119.
Lazarillo de Tormes, eds. Annette Grant Cash and James Murray (Juan de la Cuesta annotated paperback edition, 2002), ISBN: 978158977027.
María de Zayas, Novelas Ejemplares y Amorosas and Desengaños Amorosos, ed. Sara Colburn-Alsop (Juan de la Cuesta annotated paperback ed., 2008), ISBN: 9781589770577.
Raymond Carr, ed., Spain: A History (Oxford UP paperback, 2001), ISBN: 9780192802361.
Jerrilynn D. Dodds, María Rosa Menocal, and Abigail Krasner Balbale, The Arts of Intimacy: Christians, Jews, and Muslims in the Making of Castilian Culture (Yale UP, 2008), ISBN: 9780300142143.
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Examinations and Assignments:
Two short (3-5 pp.) papers, one short oral presentation (3-5pp. or 5-10 minutes), and one longer final paper (7-10 pp.) constitute 70% of the grade. Preparation for class (including regular short response papers), attendance, and informed participation count for the other 30%. |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
SPAN 230 is intended for students who have completed SPAN 221 or the equivalent with a B- or better. Students who have not done so should consult with the professor before pre-registering. Reading and writing are the best ways for adult learners to improve their spoken Spanish. You will therefore improve all of your language skills in this course. Although the required parts of the course will be handled on-line, depending on the consent of enrolled students and epidemiological conditions we will organize in-person activities: I will facilitate and/or organize informal, small-group gatherings outside and study groups among students, if safe and desired by students, to cut down on isolation. I would make a point of finding ways for us to get to know one another informally in smaller groups, either on-line or in-person before the start of the term as well as during it. I would want to build in previous one-on-one chats (on-line) before the start of the term: so we can start to get to know each other, so I can learn what students' particular needs and interests are, and so I can explain what I find most valuable about the course.
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CONDITIONS FOR CR/U STUDENT OPTION
The Department of Romance Languages & Literatures normally does not recognize CR/U except for COL students. The reason is that learning effectively in another language calls for regular completion of multiple activities over the course of the term, including faithful attendance and informed participation. In our experience students have counted on grades to determine where to focus their efforts. Because of the pandemic we have made the CR/U option available, but it should be chosen only as a measure of last resort. Since a full university credit is involved no matter what the grading option, bear in mind that CR/U assumes students will complete all graded activities including attendance and participation satisfactorily. Remember, too, that the Hispanic Literatures & Cultures major and study abroad continue to require that courses be completed with a minimum grade. If you take your course CR/U, your professor will record the letter grade and the Spanish section will decide accordingly whether the grade is sufficient for you to continue to the next level, to study abroad, to meet the requirement for acceptance into the major, or for the course to count for the major. If you are having difficulties of any kind, we urge you to contact your professor immediately to see what can be done to address them. |
| Instructor(s): Armstrong Roche,Michael Times: ..T.R.. 02:50PM-04:10PM; Location: ONLINE; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 16 | | SR major: 9 | JR major: 2 | | |
| Seats Available: 1 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 1 | JR non-major: 1 | SO: 2 | FR: 1 |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 1 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 1 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 0 |
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