SPAN 335 001/WMST 300 008

Topics for Proficiency in Spanish: The Americas

The Politics of Identity in Latin American and Latino Culture

Professor Lisa Rabin

TR 10:30-11:45 Science and Technology II 228

lrabin@gmu.edu

Office hours: Tuesdays 9:00-10:00 a.m., Wednesdays 10:00-11:00 p.m., and by appointment

Acquia 3rd Floor, Department of Modern and Classical Languages

Course description

This course focuses on contestations of identity in cultural representations from Latin America and the Spanish-speaking United States, as it serves to help students develop formal communicative skills in Spanish. Close readings of historical texts, literature, journalism, film, soap operas and comic books will accompany our examination of the ideologies and subjectivities they engage. A variety of task-based activities, including oral presentations, debates, role-play, and round-table discussions, form the basis of students’ language development. The course will be conducted in Spanish.

Prerequisites

The prerequisites for this course are SPAN 305 and SPAN 306 or SPAN 309 or SPAN 315. If you did not take Span 305 or 306 (309) at Mason, earned a grade of C or lower, or have not taken Spanish in more than six months, you should discuss this with your instructor.

Course requirements

Class time is limited, and will be dedicated primarily to oral activities and discussion and analysis of readings. Students are expected to complete readings, film viewings and investigative tasks on their own, outside of class. They are also required to participate actively in class discussions. As you prepare for class, take notes on the assignment in Spanish and write down new vocabulary in Spanish, including words you look up from the English. This will help you contribute more fully to class discussion. Also, please remember to bring appropriate course texts to class to aid in our work.

When group work on several of the class projects is required, students are expected to contribute actively and, to the extent necessary, outside of class towards its realization. There are three small projects throughout the semester and a final larger one.

Each small project consists of an oral and a written component. For the first project, you will participate in a round-table discussion on class topics. For the second project you will construct a debate with several of your classmates on one of the topics. For the third project you will prepare a role-play with classmates involving characters from history that we have covered in class. Ample time will be given in class to develop group work, but you are also expected to contribute to group work outside of class if necessary.

The fourth project is a brief oral presentation on a topic that has sparked your interest during the course. You will present on this topic on either our last day of class or the day of the final (I will provide a sign-up sheet for time slots on these days as the semester progresses).

Details for preparing these projects are posted on our Blackboard site homepage under “Course Assignments.” As you will see, for each of the first three projects you must prepare a one-page typed and double-spaced text summarizing your own perspective on the topic covered in the activity. Your grade on each of these three projects will combine grades you receive on your oral and your written performances for each project.

For the final project, you will prepare a “prospectus” on the topic that you will present orally to the class on the day of the final. The prospectus will be due in two stages: a preliminary draft due on November 9, on which I will make suggestions for improvement, and a final draft due the day of the final (and oral presentation). Your first draft will receive a preliminary grade; the final draft will receive a final grade based upon its improvement. You will receive a separate grade on your oral presentation. You must also turn in a clean written copy of your oral presentation on the day you give it in class.

Attendance and late work

Because class participation is an important part of the course, students are expected to attend all class meetings and absences will negatively affect your grade. Students who must miss class for reasons beyond their control should send their professor an email in advance to let him/her know. Even when they are absent, students are responsible for all material covered and all announcements made. On the first day of class, students should exchange email addresses and phone numbers with at least two classmates who they can contact if they are absent.

All assignments and papers are due at the beginning of class in class on the date for which they are assigned. Work will not be accepted by email nor will it be accepted late.

Grade calculation:

In-class participation: 15%

3 oral/written “small projects” (3 x 15%): 45%

Prospectus: 30% (two drafts are required)

Final oral presentation: 10%

Required texts

All texts are in bookstore or available online unless otherwise indicated.

1. Guaman Poma de Ayala [1615/1616] [1980][1987] (2004). El primer nueva corónica y buen gobierno. Ed. R. Adorno. Digitalized version, including annotations, documents, and other resources provided by Royal Library of Denmark Department of Manuscripts and Rare Books. Available: http://www.kb.dk/elib/mss/poma/

2. Levine, R. (1990). Images of History: 19th and Early 20th Century Latin American Photographs as Documents. Durham: Duke UP. ISBN-10: 0822309998.

3. Barnet, M. Cimarrón. Buenos Aires: Los Nuestros, 1987.

4. Sarmiento, D.F. [1845] [1874/1961] (n.d.) Facundo. Civilización y Barbarie en Las Pampas Argentinas. Digitalized version by Proyecto Digital Biblioteca Argentina. Available: http://www.clarin.com/pbda/ensayo/facundo/facundo_00indice.htm

5. Hernández, J. [1872] (n.d.). El Gaucho Martín Fierro. Digitalized version available: http://egmf.blogspot.com/2008/02/ii-ayer-y-hoy.html

6. Caras y caretas. Illustrated magazine from Argentina, . Image found under “Caras y caretas” on Blackboard on the homepage.

7. Posada, J. Various images (with bibliography) available on Blackboard under “Posada” on the homepage.

8. Paz, O. [1951] [1959] (2000). El pachuco y otros extremos. In El laberinto de la soledad, second edition. Mexico: Fondo de cultura económica. Available on E-Reserve: http://furbo.gmu.edu/cgi-bin/ers/OSCRgen.cgi

9. Monsiváis, C. (1997). Ahí está el detalle»: el habla y el cine de México. Talk given at the first Congreso Internacional de la Lengua Española, Instituto Cervantes and Secretaría de Educación Pública de México, Zacatecas, Mexico (7-11 April). Available: http://congresosdelalengua.es/zacatecas/plenarias/cine/monsivais.htm

12. Quino. Mafalda 1 (Spanish edition).

13. Hernández, J. The Girl from Hoppers: Love and Rockets, vol. II. Fantagraphics Books, 1997.

Recommended:

Oxford Spanish Dictionary. (2008). Oxford: Oxford UP.

Diccionario de sinónimos antónimos e ideas afines (n.d.) Mexico City: Larousse.

Statement on the Honor Code and Academic Integrity

The integrity of the University community is affected by the individual choices made by each of us. GMU has an Honor Code (see http://jiju.gmu.edu/catalog/apolicies/index/html) with clear guidelines regarding academic integrity. Three fundamental and rather simple principles to follow at all times are that: (1) all work submitted be your own; (2) when using the work or ideas of others, including fellow students, give full credit through accurate citations; and (3) if you are uncertain about the ground rules on a particular assignment, ask for clarification.

Some projects are designed to be undertaken individually. For these projects, you may discuss your ideas with others or ask for feedback; however, it is not appropriate to give your paper to someone else to revise.

Using someone else’s words or ideas without giving them credit is plagiarism, a very serious offense. It is very important to understand how to prevent committing plagiarism when using material from a source. If you wish to quote verbatim, you must use the exact words (including punctuation) just as it appears in the original and you must use quotation marks and page number(s) in your citation. If you want to paraphrase ideas from a source, that is, convey the author’s ideas in your own words—you must still cite the source, using MLA or APA format.

The re-use of papers, presentations, etc., from one course in another course is not appropriate. In every course, faculty expect that work that is submitted has been done only for that class. An exception is made for materials included within course and year-end portfolios.

Challenges to Learning

If you are challenged in a way that affects your learning outcomes please contact Disability Support Services in SUB I Room 222 or at 993-2474 as well as your instructors. All accomodations must be arranged through this office.

Additional Resources

Professor Rabin’s homepage: mason.gmu.edu/~lrabin

MCL’s homepage: mcl.gmu.edu

Writing Center: writingcenter.gmu.edu

On-line Writing Guide: classweb.gmu.edu/nccwg Counseling Center: http://www.gmu.edu/departments/csdc/

Tentative Schedule DAY AND TOPIC 31 AGOSTO a. Introduction to the course and concepts that will be the basis of our conversations. b. The “encounter” of 1492 and its meanings and reverberation in world history 02 SEPTEMBER Guaman Poma de Ayala: Catholic universality, Andean specificity, and the complexity of text and image in his work. 07 SEPTEMBER a. Guaman Poma: his life and exile. b. Literacy and power in Guaman Poma 09 SEPTEMBER NO HAY CLASE – celebro El nuevo año judío Rosh Hashanah 14 SEPTEMBER Independence of Latin America and the development of nation-states. Photography and its coherence with “progress” in 19th-century Latin America 16 SEPTEMBER a. Photographic images of “order and progress” b. Historical interpretation of photographs 21 SEPTEMBER a. Discussion of Levine. b. Mock round-table discussion on Guaman Poma and Levine: themes of power, social class, displacement, “civilization” vs. “barbarism” 23 SEPTEMBER a. FIRST ORAL/WRITTEN PROJECT. Roundtable discussion on Guaman Poma and Levine: reading social identity through texts and representations 28 SEPTEMBER Cimarrón: History, memory and testimonial literature 2nd oral presentations Newspapers, con. Gaucho and crime 1st draft of research project due. Nation and language: Mexico/US Cantinflas: Literacy and the Mexican Nation 3rd oral presentations Comics Comics Final draft of research project due. Wrap-up Final exam: 4th oral presentation, on final projects	READINGS (for next class) Guaman Poma, introduction by Professor Rolena Adorno: http://www2.kb.dk/elib/mss/poma/presentation/index-en.htm Guaman Poma, pp. 167 (ancestor); 362 (quipus); 410 (census); 393 (Atahualpa); 529 and 619 (punishment); 1001 (mapamundi); 1105 (trip with manuscript). Guaman Poma, pp. 689; 622, 634, 636, 668; 784, 975 Levine, “Order and Progress” pp. 73-146 Levine, pp.147-186 Prepare for first project. Barnet, introduction Barnet, Barnet, pp. 1-

30 SEPTEMBER

a. Discussion of Barnet

b. Reading social and historical evidence in Barnet

05 OCTOBER

a. Society and political economy in Barnet

b. The gaucho in 19th-century Argentinian culture: Sarmiento -> Hernández

07 OCTOBER

a.Discussion of Sarmiento

b. Introduction to Hernández

12 OCTOBER

NO CLASS – DIA DE LAS RAZAS

14 OCTOBER

Hernández, and Borges.

Introduction to mass culture, and turn of the century Latin America

19 OCTOBER

“El gaucho malo” in popular culture of turn-of-the-century Argentina: los “Moreira” as cultural symbol,”

21 OCTOBER

a. Tabloids, crime, and popular culture. Sentimentality, violence and social identity: los Moreira; Posada; and our present times

b. Preparation for debate

26 OCTOBER

a. Preparation for debate

28 OCTOBER

SECOND ORAL/WRITTEN PROJECT DUE. Debate

Introduction to film studies.

Sarmiento, “Vida de Juan Facundo de Quiroga” at http://www.clarin.com/pbda/ensayo/facundo/facundo_05.htm

Hernández, caps. 1-2 (see Course Readings)

Read: p. 486 in Caras y caretas: see Blackboard, file “Moreira,” two images: “Rastreadores” and “Escenas callejeras

Read on Posada’s tabloid images:

Blackboard

Work on second project

Work on second project

Consult Professor McClennen’s film vocabulary in Spanish (on Blackboard)

02 NOVEMBER

a. Discussion on film studies

b. El Siglo de Oro mexicano and Tin-Tan

04 NOVEMBER

a. Discussion of Paz.

b. Tin-Tan movie

09 NOVEMBER

FIRST DRAFT OF PROPOSAL DUE

a. Discussion of Monsiváis.

b. Cantinflas film

11 NOVEMBER

a. Cantinflas, con.

b. How to read a comic

16 NOVEMBER

a.Quino, his generation in Argentina, and his art. Satire and children “walking the city”

b. Work on role-plays

18 NOVEMBER

a. Gender in Mafalda

b. Work on role-plays

23 NOVEMBER

THIRD ORAL/WRITTEN PROJECT DUE: Role-plays

Presentation of role-plays

25 NOVEMBER

THANKSGIVING VACATION

30 NOVEMBER

The brothers Hernández and their comic book art.

Jaime Hernández and the art of “The Girl from Hoppers”

02 DECEMBER

Discuss Jaime Hernández.

Paz, “El pachuco y otros extremos” (En Reserva-e)

Monsiváis, «Ahí está el detalle»: el habla y el cine de México” (online: see Course Readings)

Mafalda (pp. TBA)

Work on third project

Mafalda (pp. TBA)

The Girl from Hoppers (pp. TBA)

The Girl from Hoppers (pp. TBA)

07 DECEMBER

Discuss Jaime Hernández’s art.

09 DECEMBER

Wrap-up.

Begin presentation of oral reports on proposals. TURN IN WRITTEN FORM OF ORAL REPORT IF YOU ARE PRESENTING TODAY.

14 DECEMBER

10:30-1:15

FINAL PROPOSAL DUE.

Finish presentations of oral reports on proposals. TURN IN WRITTEN FORM OF ORAL REPORT IF YOU ARE PRESENTING TODAY.