Politics and Literature in Dark Times

Literature frequently illuminates spaces where traditional historical sources cannot penetrate. In view of this, this course will address the emergence of discourses questioning democracy in the context of the great crises that have affected Spain and Latin America. Through reading works of fiction as well as narratives of the self, we will analyze the political and social impact of the Spanish flu of 1918; the emergence of dictatorships of the thirties. Then we will examine the incursion of U.S. influence in Latin America and in Spain. We will end this course addressing the triumph of populist politics in the last decades and their complex relationship with democratic values.



Required text: A selection of excerpts from the following texts and authors available in electronic form: José Saramago, Ensayo sobre la ceguera (1995); Gabriela Mistral, Victoria Ocampo, Esta América nuestra. Correspondencia 1926-1956 (2007); Jorge Semprún, La escritura o la vida (1994); Mario Vargas Llosa, La fiesta del chivo (2000); Roberto Bolaño, 2666 (2004) and Nora Strejilevich, Una sola muerte numerosa (2018)