30647 - Spanish Literature 2 (2nd cycle)

Course contents

Crisis, memory and dissent in the contemporary Iberian novel.

Through classes and seminars, the course will analyze some of the most interesting authors of the Iberian narrative of the last thirty years, especially focusing on the forms of their socio-political and cultural criticism of the contemporary age.

Themes will include the legacy of dictatorial repression (Vázquez Montalbán's "resistance trilogy", "¡Otra maldita novela sobre la guerra civil!", "El vano ayer", "Los viejos amigos", Longares, Chirbes' earlier novels), the traumatic memory of terrorism ("Porvenir", "Twist", Aramburu's short stories and novel), the Spanish Transition reconsidered from a gender perspective ("Daniela Astor y la caja negra", "La lección de anatomía") down to contemporary forms of socioeconomic violence and exploitation in Gopegui's, Chirbes' and Rosa's recent novels and short stories.

Readings/Bibliography

Bibliography

 

Novels and short stories:

Fernando Aramburu, "Los peces de la amargura" (2006), "Patria" (2017)

Harkaitz Cano, "Twist" (tr. 2013)

Rafael Chirbes, “La buena letra” (1992), “Los disparos del cazador” (1994) [reprinted in one volume as “Pecados originales”, 2013], "La larga marcha" (1996), "La caída de Madrid" (2000), "Los viejos amigos" (2003), "Crematorio" (2007), "En la orilla" (2013)

Belén Gopegui, “La conquista del aire” (1998)

Isaac Rosa, "¡Otra maldita novela sobre la guerra civil!" (1999/2007), "El vano ayer" (2004), "El país del miedo" (2008), "La mano invisible" (2011), "La habitación oscura" (2013), "Compro oro" (2014), "El puto jefe" (2015), "Welcome" (2016)

Marta Sanz, "Daniela Astor y la caja negra" (2013), "La lección de anatomía" (2008 and 2014)

Manuel Vázquez Montalbán, "El pianista" (1985; ed. J. Colmeiro, Cátedra, 2017), "Galíndez" (1991), "Autobiografía del General Franco" (1992)

Iban Zaldua, "Porvenir" (2007)

 

Filmography:

“Las razones de mis amigos” (2000), dir. Gerardo Herrero

"El misterio Galíndez" (2003), dir. Gerardo Herrero

"Crematorio" (2011), tv series, dir. Jorge Sánchez-Cabezudo

"Lasa eta Zabala" (2014), dir. Pablo Malo

 

Essential bibliography (provisional):

 

- AAVV, Turia magazine (n. 112, 2014), monographic issue onRafael Chirbes

- Arias Careaga, Raquel-David Becerra Mayor-Julio Rodríguez Puértolas-Marta Sanz, Qué hacemos con la literatura, Madrid, Akal, 2013

- Becerra Mayor, David, La Guerra Civil como moda literaria, Madrid, Clave Intelectual, 2015

-Colmeiro, José F. [ed.], Manuel Vázquez Montalbán: el compromiso con la memoria, Woodbridge, Tamesis, 2007.

- Dardot, Pierre-Christian Laval, La nuova ragione del mondo: critica della razionalità neoliberista, Roma, DeriveApprodi, 2013.

-Gómez López-Quiñones, Antonio, La guerra persistente. Memoria, violencia y utopía: representaciones contemporáneas de la Guerra Civil española, Madrid, Iberoamericana, 2006.

-Lauge Hansen, Hans; Cruz Suárez, Juan Carlos, La memoria novelada. Hibridación de géneros y metaficción en la novela española sobre la guerra civil y el franquismo (2000-2010), Frankfurt, Peter Lang, 2012.

-Martínez, Guillem [coord.], CT o Cultura de la Transición. Crítica a 35 años de cultura española, Barcelona, Mondadori, 2012.

- Martínez Rubio, José, Las formas de la verdad. Investigación, docuficción y memoria en la novela hispánica, Barcelona, Anthropos, 2015.

-Ros Ferrer, Violeta (coord.): «Monográfico. Contar la transición: discursos e imaginarios del cambio político en España», Kamchatka. Revista de análisis cultural, n.4, 2014

- Ros Ferrer, Violeta: "Entrevista a Marta Sanz. Contar la transición, o cómo hablar de la china en el zapato", Kamchatka: revista de análisis cultural, n. 4, 2014  (Monográfico: Contar la transición. Narrativas e imaginarios del cambio político en España), pp. 257-263

 

- Sanz, Marta, Éramos mujeres jóvenes: una educación sentimental de la transición española, Sevilla, Fundación José Manuel Lara, 2016.

 

- Subirats, Eduardo (coord.), Intransiciones, Madrid, Biblioteca Nueva, 2002.

Teaching methods

Traditional teaching (in Spanish) with the use of digital texts partly available on line. Student participation is encouraged.

Assessment methods

Students will read four novels (or short stories collections) (by different authors) and write a 10-page paper in Spanish, on a subject to be discussed with the professor in advance. The paper (to be handed in at least 10 days before the oral exam) can be substituted with an oral presentation during the course. The final oral exam, in Spanish, will be focused on the paper and the chosen readings.

Teaching tools

Traditional teaching (in Spanish) with the use of digital texts partly available on line.

Office hours

See the website of Eugenio Maggi