HISP 226 - Medieval and Early Modern Spain

Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)

Studies in Iberian literary and cultural production from the time of the Muslim conquest of the Peninsula to the end of the Hapsburg Empire.

Topic for 2013/14a: Framing Poverty and Social Mobility: the Picaresque Novel in Spain and Latin America. The emergence of the picaresque novel in Spain and its migration to the “New World” forms one of the most fascinating chapters in the history of the novel. The protagonist of these texts is a social underdog (Spanish pícaro) who experiences different adventures as he drifts from place to place and from one social milieu to another in his struggle to survive. His efforts to medrar or improve his social standing are presented against a social background that proves itself to be deceiving and highly volatile. The course examines a broad selection of texts -literary and filmic-, ranging from the picaresque genre’s foundational Spanish texts to later Latin American works that recreate this tradition in the specific historical and cultural conditions of the Americas. Mr. Vivalda.

Prerequisite(s): one course above HISP 206 .

Two 75-minute periods.