SPAN 4030 - Imperial Fictions

(LA-AS) Satisfies Option 1.

Spring. 4 credits.

Prerequisites: Proficiency in Spanish. This is the mandatory senior seminar for Spanish majors.

J. Chang.

This course examines the relationship between literature and empire in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Spain. Over the course of the semester, we will engage postcolonial thought to bring new critical discussions to canonical as well as lesser known writers of the period. At the same time, we will examine the critical limits of postcolonial theory, as it is primarily rooted in a European literary tradition that typically excludes Spain. Some of our guiding questions include: Why is nineteenth - century Spain hardly ever remembered as an imperial nation? How did these other geographical spaces shape the symbolic contours of Spanish modernity? What is the relationship between culture, empire, and nation?