Modernity and its Discontents in Latin American Poetry

In this course we will read selected texts by modern Latin American poets from different times and regions. The aim of the course is to understand the tensions and paradoxes inherent to socioeconomic modernization as expressed in the aesthetics of José Martí, Rubén Darío, César Vallejo, Vicente Huidobro, among others. This course is organized around a series of close readings of poems, manifestoes, and essays. The student is expected to become familiar with linguistic and literary terminology and to apply these concepts in the readings of poems. There will be individual in-class oral presentations of poems, as well as outside-class assignments and cultural activities. This course counts as a prerequisite for SPAN 0350 courses and above. (SPAN 0220 or equivalent). 3 hrs. lect./disc.