Topics in Latin American, Latina and Latino, and Iberian Literatures and Cultures (397-0-1)
Instructors
Leonardo Gil Gomez
Meeting Info
TBA: Tues, Thurs 3:30PM - 4:50PM
Overview of class
Autofiction, diaries, and other fictions of the self
The award of the 2022 literature Nobel prize to French writer Annie Ernaux highlights the significance of autofiction to uncover the links between the personal and the sociopolitical domains. It also has reanimated an ongoing discussion on autofiction as a literary genre widely explored in Latin America, especially (but not exclusively) after the boom. In this course, we will study different works by which Latin American authors blur the frontier between fiction and personal reality: diaries, memoir, autofiction, and other fictions of the self. Our analysis will be both an individual experiment, and a collective analysis. On the first hand, we will approach to our own, personal, relation to the themes and experiences expressed by the authors in their works; on the other hand, we will explore how these writings reflect on pressing social issues in Latin America in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Learning Objectives
By the end of the course, students will have working definitions of literary forms that help them to better address issues related to the blurring of the differences between fiction and autobiography.
Students will also have an overview of some of the most salient authors in contemporary Latin American literature, especially those focused on autofiction.
Class Materials (Required)
All required materials will be available in Canvas.
Class Attributes
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area