HISPANIC AMERICAN LITERATURE 1/2

The course is part of the Americas path of the "Comparative International Relations (RIC)" degree course and mutual with the course of study in "European, American and Postcolonial Languages and Literatures (LLEAP)" and with the course of studied in "Language Sciences".
The course aims to deepen the knowledge of cultural themes and dynamics related to the figure of the witch in Hispanic-American literature of the 20th and 21st centuries.
Objectives of the course are: to deepen the specifics of cultural themes and dynamics of the Hispano-American subcontinent; provide methodological tools aimed at analyzing the Chilean and Argentine literary productions of the last decade, develop the ability to reflect on the proposed literary texts and carry out comparative analyzes.

The course intends to deepen, from a comparative perspective, the study of Hispanic-American productions of the 20th and 21st centuries, built around the figure of the witch and the re-semanticization of the imagery and symbolism linked to it. The methodology used will be interdisciplinary, as gender studies, historical, anthropological and theoretical-literary studies will be used.

The objectives of the teaching are:
1. deepen specific knowledge of literary themes and cultural dynamics of the Hispanic-American subcontinent;
2. provide methodological tools aimed at analyzing the most significant Hispanic-American literary productions of the twenty-first century intended, on the one hand, as cultural documents and, on the other, as aesthetic creations;
3. develop the ability to reflect on the proposed texts, recognizing in them the use of different ways of writing and registers, such as the fantastic, mimetic, unusual, local and colloquial writing styles.
4. provide the theoretical tools for analyzing the variations that the figure of the witch assumes in different literary productions, as well as the category of monstrosity linked to it.
5. Finally, the course aims to develop the ability to learn the themes and tools offered during the course, as well as communication skills.

Students must have an adequate level of written and oral Spanish (level B2), as well as adequate language skills in Italian language.

The Witch's Tale

The course aims to provide a comparative overview of contemporary (20th century) and ultra-contemporary (21st century) Hispanic-American literary productions which are created around the figure of the witch and its re-semanticization. Different declinations of the image of the witch will be investigated, as well as the monstrous and counter-hegemonic nuances that the character represents.

The course will be divided into two main parts:
1. In the first part, students will be provided with a theoretical framework of the different symbolic meanings that the imagery related to the witch and magic has assumed throughout history and literature; in this sense, reference will also be made to the main declinations of the literary theme of the witch in other literary productions. Furthermore, the symbolisms related to fire and the concept of scapegoat will be explored.

2. In the second part, the texts indicated in the minimum bibliography will be analyzed, which allows a transversal view of the productions of classic Hispanic-American authors of the 20th century and the literary productions of the 21st century.
At this stage, students will also be invited to choose one or more of the proposed themes and develop a presentation in class.

MAIN BIBLIOGRAPHY:
-Lydia Cabrera, “El sapo guardiero”, Cuentos negros de Cuba (1940)
-Julio Cortázar, “Bruja”, La otra orilla ([1937-1945]1994)
____________ “Circe”, Bestiario (1951)
-Carlos Fuentes, Aura (1962) nouvelle
-Silvina Ocampo, “La muñeca”, Los días de la noche (1970)
______________ “La casa de azúcar”, La Furia y otros cuentos (1982)
-Elaine Vilar Madruga, Díme bruja que destellas (2013) cuentos
-Mariana Enríquez, “Las cosas que perdimos en el fuego”, Volumen homónimo (2016)
_______________ “El aljibe”, Los peligros de fumar en la cama (2017)
-Fernanda Melchor, Temporada de huracanes (2017) novela
-Dolores Reyes, Cometierra (2019) novela
-Brenda Lozano, Brujas (2020) novela
-Mónica Ojeda, “Las voladoras”, Las voladoras (2020)
_____________ “Tinta de sangre”, Las voladoras (2020)
_____________ “Cabeza voladora”, Las voladoras (2020)
-Solange Rodríguez Pappe, “Historia incómoda que nos contó Olivia el día de su cumpleaños”, La primera vez que vi un fantasma (2020)
_____________________ “El atanudos”, La primera vez que vi un fantasma (2020)

The short stories listed in the minimum bibliography, as well as the articles in the critical bibliography, will be provided among the moodle materials. As for the novels, however, students will have to provide them independently.
To view the complete bibliography (Minimum, Critical and Support) please refer to the Moodle page of the course.

The assessment of the learning will take place through the presentation in class of a topic chosen by the student and an oral final exam. The presentation aims to verify oral skills and the ability to carry out a critical reasoning about the reflections proposed in class; while the oral exam aims to verify the knowledge concerning the cultural contexts and the different literary issues of Hispanic America in the period considered, as well as the ability to understand literary and cultural problems.

oral

Regarding the grading scale, scores will be assigned according to the following criteria:
A. Scores in the 18-22 range will be awarded for a sufficient knowledge of the authors and of the contents of Hispanic American literature introduced in class and a sufficient ability to perform critical and philological analysis of the selected texts.
B. Scores in the 23-26 range will be awarded for a fair knowledge of the authors and of the contents of Hispanic American literature introduced in class and a fair ability to perform critical and philological analysis of the selected texts.
C. Scores in the 27-30 range will be awarded for a good or excellent knowledge of the authors and of the contents of Hispanic American literature introduced in class and a good or excellent ability to perform critical and philological analysis of the selected texts.
D. Honors will be awarded for an outstanding knowledge of the authors and contens of Hispanic American literature introduced in class and an outstanding ability to perform critical and philological analysis of the selected texts.

The lessons will be carried out according to the conventional method (frontal lessons) and will be held in Spanish. If the opportunity arises, conferences and/or seminars on the proposed topic will be organized, in order to broaden the horizons of study.
Students will also be invited to choose one of the proposed themes and develop a presentation in the classroom using the theoretical tools presented and the proposed bibliography. The presentation will correspond to 30% of the final grade.
The exam will consist of an oral interview in Spanish on the authors, the texts and the issues considered in the classroom.

More critical information will be offer during the classes.
Moreover, every student is recommended to follow additional lessons and round-table conferences that may be held between September and December 2025.

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Poverty and inequalities" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development