Latin American Voices through Short Stories

Most Latin American countries gained their independence from Spain between 1810 and 1824, though they soon all fell in the hands of despotic governments, even in 20th century. Few times allied with these governments but mostly against them, writers have attempted to give their people a space to breath and dream, to raise their ‘voices’. This course aims to study the works of these writers as a common cultural heritage through which they poetize, humorize, protest, depict reality, or dream magically of a sociopolitical utopia that would transform the world that we see into the world that we want. From Argentine Esteban Echeverría (The Slaughterhouse, 1838), to Cuban Reinaldo Arenas (With Eyes Closed, 1972), and Mexican Elena Poniatowska (Tlapaleria, 2003), we will follow voices across Latin American geography and history, seeking to apprehend the elusive ‘voice of the voiceless’.

Required text: Materials for this course will be accessible online.