English 487:  Latin American Literature in Translation

Dr. Roberto Cantú

Spring 2016

Class Meetings: King Hall B3015, TR 1:30-3:10 p.m.

Office Hours:  KH B3023, TR, 10:15-11:35 a.m. 

Telephone:  (323) 343-2195 (with voice mail)

E-mail: rcantu24@hotmail.com ; rcantu@calstatela.edu

1. Required Readings 
1. Borges, Jorge Luis. Selected Non-Fictions (Penguin).
2. Carpentier, Alejo. Explosion in a Cathedral (University of Minnesota Press).
3. Fuentes, Carlos. The Death of Artemio Cruz (Farrar, Straus & Giroux).    

4. Vargas Llosa, Mario. The Feast of the Goat (Picador). 

II. Course Description and Objectives

      The course is based on critical readings of Latin American authors who rank among the most influential in modern world literature. The emphasis will be on the modern Latin American novel and the essay, with references to their decisive affiliations with the European avant-garde, an aesthetic that emerged in Latin America as Vanguardismo or Ultraísmo. Much of what is understood globally in terms of modern Latin American literature originated in the avant-garde movements in Europe and in Latin America during the first half of the twentieth century, an era known for military dictatorships, two world wars, and an inconceivable degree of violence at both human and technological levels. The Latin American literary avant-garde—anti-traditional, politically libertarian, fascinated with the new and obsessed with ancient (non-European) classicisms--was radically transnational and innovative as an aesthetic movement, with conflicting and varied responses to modernization and unequal forms of global development. These aesthetic and political directions were illustrated, for instance, by Futurism with its inherent Fascism, and by Surrealism with its libertarian politics. Rebellious to generic distinctions, rules, and conventions, the avant-garde in Latin America fused poetry with narrative fiction (not to mention its impact on other arts, such as painting and film), generally justified through manifestos, theoretical pronouncements, and political activism in countries such as Argentina (Vicente Huidobro, Julio Cortázar), Chile (Pablo Neruda, Isabel Allende), Cuba (Alejo Carpentier) and, among others, México (Octavio Paz, Carlos Fuentes, Juan Rulfo).

     The literature that emerged after the Second World War produced the “New Novel” in Latin America, with the avant-garde as a driving aesthetic but with Latin American conflicts and problems as the immediate literary horizon. The authors studied in this course represent the New Latin American Narrative in most of its formal features and political directions. Through lectures and class discussions we will produce close readings of assigned texts, thus transcending surface-level readings based on the storyline, on impressionistic readings, or on ideological fixations of any kind. The weekly meetings are intended to stress analysis and interpretation, fundamental acts in every reading that claims to be critical and comprehensive. The organization of the course on these objectives and criteria will create a learning environment in which multiple points of view are expected. The final grade will include plus/minus, and will be based on:

·       An essay midterm examination (30 %).

·      A final essay examination (30% of course grade).

·    A critical essay (minimum 8 typed pages, double-spaced, 12 point, Times New Roman, due on June 2, 30% of grade) based on one required reading in this course (your choice), and two scholarly references (articles or book chapters) related to your selected author. The grading emphasis will be on the quality of composition, particularly in areas concerning analysis and effective use of references.

·   Active and meaningful participation in class discussions (10%).

 

Note: Turn off your cell phones upon entering the classroom. No texting allowed during class lectures and discussions. If you are using a laptop, sit in the front of the classroom (no surfing the web while in class). Class attendance is mandatory. After two unexcused absences, your final grade will be affected by one letter grade. If you leave early, it will be considered an absence (unless previously authorized). No late work and no email electronic attachments will be accepted. Consult your copy of the Schedule of Classes to review the possible consequences of plagiarism. This course is in full compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).     

             

III. Course Readings:

March 29       Introduction to course objectives

March 31      César Chávez Day. University Closed. Read Carpentier, Explosion in a

         Cathedral,  chapters 1.  To read Carpentier's 1949 "manifesto," visit: 

http://pocolitandanticolonialactivism.qwriting.qc.cuny.edu/files/2014/08/carpentier-marvelous.pdf

        

April 5         Explosion in a Cathedral, chapter 2-4.  

April 7         Explosion in a Cathedral, chapters 5.

               

April 12        Explosion in a Cathedral, chapter 6-7

April 14       Fuentes, The Death of Artemio Cruz, 3-56;  

April 19       The Death of Artemio Cruz, pp. 57-169;          

April 21       The Death of Artemio Cruz, pp. 170-307;  

       

April  26     Midterm    

April 28    Vargas Llosa, The Feast of the Goat, pp. 3-25.    

May 3        The Feast of the Goat, pp. 26-128.  

May 5        The Feast of the Goat, pp. 129-191.

May 10    The Feast of the Goat, pp. 192-307.  

 May 12    The Feast of the Goat, pp. 308-331.  

May 17     The Feast of the Goat, pp. 333-404.

 May 19   Borges, Selected Non-Fictions, pp. xi-xvi, and Essays, 1929-1936.  

     

May 24    Selected Non-Fictions, Essays, 1937-1947.

May 26    Selected Non-Fictions, “New Dantesque Essays,” 1945-1951.  

May  31     Selected Non-Fictions, Essays, 1946-1955.

June 2       Selected Non-Fictions , “Dictations,” 1956-1986.  Deadline: Critical Essay.  

      

Final Examination: Thursday, June 9, 1:30-4:00 p.m.

Recommended Critical Readings

Brotherston, John.  The Emergence of the Latin American Novel.  London:  Cambridge University Press, 1977.

Brushwood, John.  The Spanish American Novel:  A Twentieth Century Survey.  Austin: University of Texas University Press, 1975.

Chevigny, Bell Gale and Gari Laguardia (eds.).  Reinventing the Americas: Comparative Studies of Literature of the United States and Spanish America.   London: Cambridge University Press, 1986.

Foster, David W.  Alternate Voices in the Contemporary Latin American Narrative. 

Columbia:  Missouri University Press, 1985.

Franco, Jean.  Society and the Artist:  The Modern Culture of Latin America.  London:   Pall Mall, 1967.

Fuentes, Carlos.  La nueva novela hispanoamericana.  México:  Joaquín Mortíz, 1969.

García Pinto, Magdalena.  Women Writers of Latin America, trans. T. Balch.  Austin:  

University of Texas Press, 1991.

González Echevarría, Roberto. The Voice of the Masters:  Writing and Authority in Modern Latin American Literature.  Austin:  University of Texas Press, 1985.

Guibert, Rita.  Seven Voices.  New York:  Vintage, 1973.

Harss, Luis and Dohmann, B.  Into the Mainstream:  Conversations with Latin American Writers.  New York:  Harper and Row, 1968.

Jameson, Fredric, et al.  Nationalism, Colonialism, and Literature.  Minnesota:  University of Minnesota Press, 1990.

King, John.  On Modern Latin American Fiction.  New York:  Hill and Wang, 1987.

Lawall, Sarah, ed.  Reading World Literature:  Theory, History, Practice.  Austin: 

University of Texas Press, 1994.

Lindstrom, Naomi.  Twentieth-Century Spanish American Fiction.  Austin:  University of Texas Press, 1994. 

Martin, Gerald.  Journeys through the Labyrinth:  Latin American Fiction in the Twentieth Century.  New York:  Verso, 1989.

Menton, Seymour.  Latin America's New Historical Novel.  Austin:  University of Texas Press, 1993.

Meyer, Doris.  Lives on the Line:  The Testimony of Contemporary Latin American Authors. Berkeley:  University of California Press, 1988.

Ortega, Julio.  Poetics of Change:  The New Spanish-American Narrative, trans. Galen D. Greaser.  Austin: University of Texas Press, 1984.

Payne, Johnny.  Conquest of the New Word:  Experimental Fiction and Translation in the Americas.  Austin: University of Texas Press, 1993.

Stabb, Martin S.  In Quest of Identity:  Patterns in the Spanish American Essay of Ideas,1890-1960.  Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1967.

Steele, Cynthia.  Politics, Gender, and the Mexican Novel, 1968-1988:  Beyond the  

Pyramid.  Austin:  University of Texas Press, 1992.

Swanson, Philip.  Landmarks in Modern Latin American Fiction.  New York:  Routledge,1990.