Humor in Contemporary Spanish American Narrative

This course focuses on a seldom-explored aspect of contemporary Spanish American narrative: its use of humor. In the midst of revolutions, injustice, political repression, and all manner of human and natural disasters, today's Spanish American narrative has produced a body of works in which laughter, or some form of humor, fulfills a variety of important functions: from social satire and critical reflection, to the promotion of harmony amongst individuals and social groups. What shapes does humorism take in Spanish American narrative? Is this a recent phenomenon, or does it have a tradition and a history?
Taking as our point of departure theoretical and philosophical discussions of humor by authors such as Bergson, Critchley, Koestler, and Griffin, we will examine the uses of humor in short stories, essays, and novels by 20th- and 21st-century Spanish American authors such as Juan José Arreola, Roberto Bolaño, Julio Cortázar, Alfredo Bryce Echenique, Jorge Luis Borges, Augusto Monterroso, Gabriel García Márquez, Ana Lydia Vega, Antonio José Ponte, Andrés Neuman, and Alejandro Zambra. (1 unit)