Visualizing Iberian Identities through Childhood

This seminar will be taught in Spanish. What can we learn about culture, history, and national identity from a child’s perspective? How do competing national and cultural ideologies shape narratives of childhood? In this seminar we will explore the ways in which narrative, film, and painting represent childhood as an experience intimately tied to social, political, and cultural histories in Spain, and to questions of self and national identity. We will read works by authors such as Pérez Galdós, Pío Baroja, Federico García Lorca, Fernando Fernán Gómez, Ana María Matute, Manuel Rivas, and Emily Teixidor. We will view films including El espíritu de la colmena, Cría Cuervos, El viaje de Carol, Barrio, and Pa Negre. We will view paintings by Murillo, Goya, Sorolla, and Picasso.

This is an appropriate seminar for native speakers of Spanish, students who are bilingual, and students who have scored 720 or above on the Spanish SAT II, or 5 on the Spanish AP. 3 hrs. sem.