Links:
[1] http://www.iesabroad.org/study-abroad/programs/buenos-aires-latin-american-societies-and-cultures
[2] http://www.planet-tango.com/lyrics/cambalac.htm
[3] http://www.planet-tango.com/lyrics/manomano.htm
[4] http://www.planet-tango.com/lyrics/ventanitadearrabal.htm
[5] http://www.planet-tango.com/lyrics/eldiaque.htm
[6] http://www.planet-tango.com/lyrics/yirayira.htm
[7] http://www.wordswithoutborders.org/article.php?lab=ThatWoman#]
[8] http://www.planet-tango.com/lyrics/vuelvosu.htm
Argentine Literature And Politics
This course will analyze the relationship between literature, art and politics in modern Argentina. Topics will include the emergence of literature at the time of nation-state building in the 19th century, the impact of immigration and the rise of nationalism at the beginning of the 20th century, the changing relationship between literature and the Peronist movement, the impact of the Latin American “literary boom” in Argentina, and the influence of political radicalization and violence on literature in the second half of the 20th century. Throughout this course, we will read and discuss some of the most important works of major literary figures such as Domingo F. Sarmiento and Jorge Luis Borges.
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The main goal of our course is that, by reading some of its major literary works, students engage in the analysis of the political history of Argentina; and that by learning about Argentine politics, they acquire tools to understand and appreciate the country’s literature.
Lectures, guest speakers’ presentations, discussions, readings, individual and group in-class activities, and oral presentations.
You must complete all assignments to successfully complete this course.
A. Homework and Participation: You are required to complete the assigned reading by the date posted in the course schedule. You will also send two questions on the readings of the week for me to review in advance. In-class assignments such as small group activities, response paragraphs, etc., will also be regularly scheduled and graded. There will be also at least one field trip during the semester. Bring textbooks to class; they will be used for in-class activities (20% of final grade).
B. Two Exams: There will be a midterm and a final exam, which will be based on all readings, videos, lectures, and class discussions. They are not cumulative. Each exam will consist in a sit-in exam and a to-do-at-home paper (30% of final grade each).
C. Final Paper: You will have to write a 7-8 pages essay on an aspect of the course of your interest. Its bibliography must include at least two academic articles.
Each student will present his/her final project to the rest of class by the end of the semester. Your originality, depth, way of engaging with the audience, and clarity, will be the basis of the grading
in this assignment (20% of final grade).
WEEK 1: Introduction. Constructing the “Other”: “Civilization” and “Barbarism”, 1810-1880
REQUIRED READING:
• Esteban Echeverria, “The Slaughterhouse” in Roberto González Echavarría (ed.), The Oxford
Book of Latin American Short Stories. (Oxford U. Press, 1997).
• Anonymous, “The Black Girl” in Nouzeilles, Gabriela and Graciela Montaldo, “Introduction” in The
Argentina Reader (Duke Univ. Press, 2002); hereafter “TAR”, pp. 93-94.
WEEK 2:
REQUIRED READING:
• Domingo F. Sarmiento, Facundo: Civilization and Barbarism [translated by Kathleen Ross] (University of California Press, 2004), An Introduction (pp. 6-17), Author's Note (pp. 29-30), Introduction (31-42), chapters I-III.
ASSIGNMENT 1:
• Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes
WEEK 3:
REQUIRED READING:
• Lucio V. Mansilla, An Expedition to the Ranquel Indians (Univ. of Texas Press, 1997) [selection]
FIELDSTUDY: “Art, Industry and Progress”
Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes - Guest Speaker: Marisa Baldasarre
WEEK 4: Modernization and Immigration, 1880-1930s
REQUIRED READING:
• Simon Collier, “The Birth of Tango” (TAR, 196-202).
• Leopoldo Lugones, “National Identity in a Cosmopolitan Society” (TAR, 209-213).
Tango Lyrics:
Enrique Santos Discépolo: “Cambalache” http://www.planet-tango.com/lyrics/cambalac.htm [2]
Julio Sosa: “Mano a mano” http://www.planet-tango.com/lyrics/manomano.htm [3]
Osvaldo Pugliese: “Ventanita de arrabal”
http://www.planet-tango.com/lyrics/ventanitadearrabal.htm [4]
Gardel – Lepera: “El día que me quieras” http://www.planet-tango.com/lyrics/eldiaque.htm [5]
“Yira-Yira” http://www.planet-tango.com/lyrics/yirayira.htm [6]
ASSIGNMENT 2:
• The Turn of the Century, 1890-1930
WEEK 5:
REQUIRED READING:
• Roberto Arlt, Mad Toy (Durham, NC: Duke U. Press, 2002)
FIELDSTUDY: La Boca & Museo Benito Quinquela Martín
WEEK 6: REVIEW SESSION AND MIDTERM EXAM
WEEK 7: Borges and Cortazar, 1920s-1950s
REQUIRED READING:
• Jorge L. Borges, Selected Nonfictions (Penguin Books), and Collected Fictions (Penguin
Books) [selection].
• J. L. Borges, Collected Fictions and Poetry [selection].
WEEK 8: MID-SEMESTER BREAK
WEEK 9:
REQUIRED READING:
• Julio Cortazar, Blow-Up and Other Stories (Pantheon Books, 1967) [selection]
ASSIGNMENT 3: Xul Solar
• Students PP presentations on Xul Solar’s assignment
WEEK 10: Revolutionary Hopes and State Violence, 1955-1983
REQUIRED READING:
• Rodolfo Walsh, Operation Massacre (TAR, 333-339). Walsh, “That Woman”
[available at http://www.wordswithoutborders.org/article.php?lab=ThatWoman#] [7]
MOVIE DISCUSSION: Alias Gardelito
WEEK 11:
REQUIRED READING:
• Manuel Puig, Kiss of the Spider Woman (Vintage International, 1991).
PAPER SUBJECT AND BIBLIOGRAPHY DUE – ABSTRACT FORMAT
WEEK 12
:
REQUIRED READING:
• Vila, Pablo, “Rock nacional and dictatorship in Argentina” in Popular Music, vol. 6, Nº2, Cambridge University Press, 1987.
• Tango in the 80s:
• Piazolla – Pino Solanas: “Vuelvo al sur”
• http://www.planet-tango.com/lyrics/vuelvosu.htm [8]
• National Rock and Roll (selection of songs)
MOVIE DISCUSSION:
Garage olimpo/La historia oficial/La noche de los lápices (one option to be chosen) – Students group presentation.
LAST ASSIGNMENT - FIELDSTUDY:
Visit to ESMA – Small groups will have to prepare a presentation for last class.
WEEK 13:
REQUIRED READING:
• Rodolfo Fogwill, Malvinas Requiem (Serpent’s Tail, 2007).
GUEST SPEAKER:
Silvia Dolinko “Artists and political intervention”
WEEK 14:
FINAL EXAM – PAPER DUE
*** Note: I reserve the right to change this schedule, guest speakers’ interventions and list of readings if circumstances require it.
• Rock, David, Argentina, 1516-1987: From Spanish Colonization to Alfonsín. Los Angeles, Berkeley, University of California Press, 2008.
Chapters IV to IX will help you understand the historical background of the topics discussed in
class.
• Romero, Luis Alberto, A History of Argentina in the Twentieth Century, The Pennsylvania State
University Press, 2002.
Introduction, Chapters one to eight will help you contextualize classes from week 5 up to the last week.