Topic: Matza and Tortillas
| Time | Days | Location | Instructor | GER | Credit | OPUS Class Number | Syllabus (Tentative) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
11:30am- | TuTh | Callaway Center S109 | Hazel Gold. | 4 | 13596 | TBA. |
Course description: This course will introduce students to the cultural contributions of Spanish and Latin American Jewry, focusing on both early and modern Spain and contemporary Latin America, with particular attention to Jewish participation in the national life of Argentina, Mexico, and Cuba. Beginning with medieval Spain and moving to the present, we will contrast the self-representations of Hispano-Jewish writers with their depiction by non-Jewish authors as a means of understanding how diasporic Jewish subjects in the Hispanic world have historically framed their identity while negotiating the pressures of exile and immigration, antisemitism, and political violence. By looking at examples as diverse as Spain's marranos and the Jewish gauchos of Argentina, the course will focus on the conflicts of Jews who frequently have defined themselves as "living on the hyphen," that is to say, torn between the process of assimilation and the preservation of differences. Readings-both historical and creative-will highlight the role of memory in the construction of symbolic representations by Hispano/Latino-Jewish authors that offer possibilities for cultural resistance and survival.
Texts: Readings will be interdisciplinary and will be drawn from a wide variety of discourses: narrative fiction, poetry, essays, drama, autobiographical memoirs, film, cookbooks, historical documents (for instance, trials of the Inquisition), legal codes, newspaper accounts, and musical recordings. Representative authors/texts may include:
- Riera, En el último azul
- Gerchunoff, Los gauchos judíos
- Shúa, El libro de las memorias
- Rozenbacher, Réquiem para una noche del sábado
- Glantz, Las genealogías
- Behar, The Vulnerable Observer
- Obejas, Days of Awe
Additional primary and critical readings available on e-reserves. Film screenings will include Novia que te vea; Un beso a esta tierra; O Judeo; Havana Nagila, among others.
(Same as SPAN 412-000)
Evaluation: The final grade will be based on active class participation; short written assignments; research paper; 2 partial exams.The schedule of courses on O.P.U.S. is the official listing of courses, including days and times they meet and the General Education Requirements they satisfy. Students should use course descriptions as general guidelines. Course requirements, grading details, book lists, and syllabi are subject to change.