Writing Memory in Contemporary Spanish Literature

In this course we will explore the politics of memory in Spain during the Transition to democracy. There are numerous reasons why the Transition to democracy in Spain depended on the erasure of memory and the invention of a new political tradition. But, the question is: What are the Spanish people supposed to do with their memory? This is where the role of the Spanish artist becomes so important: we see that memory has been an object of reflection for an extremely large number of film directors and fiction writers, who have shown that the return of the repressed is inevitable. Works may include fiction by Almudena Grandes, Loriga, Gopegui, Dulce Chacón, Saura, Ericé, etc. We will also read theoretical texts by Pierre Nora, Natalie Zemon, Chandra Talpade, Raymond Williams, among others (At least two courses at the 0300-level or above or by waiver) 3 hrs. lect./disc.