Literatures in Translation (270-0-01)
Topic
Cervantes
Instructors
Caroline Egan
Meeting Info
Kresge Centennial Hall 2-415: Mon, Wed 10:00AM - 10:50AM
Overview of class
Don Quixote, one could argue, is a novel about how not to write and how not to read. The author, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, pens the work in order to demonstrate the absurdity of chivalric romances, the bestsellers of his day. The protagonist, Don Quixote, is incapable of understanding the difference between the fictions he reads and the real world around him. While all this happened some four hundred years ago, reading and writing are still central to our everyday lives. In the spirit of Cervantes, we will study his famous text with a focus on the practices of reading and writing—how and why did people read and write in 17th-century Spain? How were different forms of writing connected to class, gender, race, and religion? What did literacy mean in the early modern world and what implications does this have for us today? We will employ different methods of reading (close, distant, collective, etc.) and different forms of writing (analytical, creative, etc.) to gain a better understanding of this key text. The class will be taught in English.
Class Attributes
Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area
Given in English
Associated Classes
DIS - Locy Hall 314: Fri 10:00AM - 10:50AM