Debating Cultures: Gender and Feminism in Contemporary Latin American Fiction

This course will explore the innovative feminist theory and fiction written by Latin American women and feminine-identifying writers in the twenty-first century. We will read and debate a broad range of texts together to think critically about how gender is represented in fiction and to practice doing feminist or gender-focused readings of literary works. During the first part of the class, we will explore major contemporary trends in Latin American feminisms, examining their key themes and differences and using their insights to analyze and critique the ways gender categories are constructed and mobilized in society. We will then transition to reading fiction, using the critical tools we have developed through reading and discussion to analyze the content and form of novels and short narratives. These stories will help us open a dialogue about how gender and feminist concepts are represented in fiction and intersected by dynamics of race, class, sexuality, memory, violence, family, care, and identity. By the end of our course, you will have the skills and conceptual foundation necessary to craft, write, and present your own original analysis of a fictional text through the lens of gender and/or feminism, and to apply these approaches to any literary or artistic work you may encounter outside the classroom.Prior or concurrent enrollment in Spanish 303 is required. Students who have taken more than two Spanish culture or literature classes are not allowed in this course and must proceed to a Researching Cultures class.
Course Attributes: EN H; AS HUM; AS LCD; AS SC

Debating Cultures: Gender and Feminism in Contemporary Latin American Fiction

SPANISH 3226

Section 01