(Intimate) Otherness in Contemporary Hispanic Fiction

Recent Hispanic literature locates otherness in ambiguous spaces. The "other" can be excluded in order to demarcate selfhood, but also recognized as internal ("intimate") to a complex and perhaps richer self. In this course students will sharpen oral and written communication skills and build a sophisticated vocabulary to analyze the literary and cultural context of the Spanish speaking world. This goal will be accomplished through readings in late 20th/early 21st century short stories and novellas from the Iberian Peninsula and Spanish America. Race, gender, class, nationality, and health are some perspectives we will adopt in order to map the literary production/deconstruction of "others" as marginalized/embraced subjects. (SPAN 0220 or placement) 3 hrs. lect./disc.