Woman, Nation, and Narrative
This seminar will focus on the ways in which the concept of the nation has been constructed and deconstructed in the Spanish Peninsular literature and film of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The main goal of the course is to understand the nature of the woman-nation relationship. To do so, we will need to comprehend the traditional configuration of nations as masculine and its ensuing problematic for women. However, we will also recognize that women are not "newcomers" to the national arena, but have been central to the construction and reproduction of the nation. We will explore the role of fiction in nation building, with its power to create images and symbols of representation, in order to determine to what extent it may uphold or contest a dominant image of the nation. Among the authors included: Carolina Coronado, Concepción Arenas, Galdos, Rosa Chacel, García Lorca, Adelaida García Morales, Berlanga, Rosa Montero, Almodovar, and others. Work will include written responses to course readings, student-led discussions, presentations, and a final research paper. (Senior majors with at least two Spanish courses numbered 0350 or above, or by waiver.) 3 hrs. sem.