2014-2015 Catalog

CATA 10100-10200-10300. Beginning Elementary Catalan I-II-III.

This three-quarter sequence is intended for beginning and beginning/intermediate students in Catalan. It provides students with a solid foundation in the basic patterns of spoken and written Catalan (e.g., grammar, vocabulary, phonetics, sociocultural norms) to develop their speaking, listening, writing, and reading skills to the level required to demonstrate competency on the Catalan examination. Although the three courses constitute a sequence leading to the Catalan competency examination, there is enough review and recycling at every level for students to enter the sequence whenever it is appropriate for them.

CATA 12200-12300. Catalan for Speakers of Romance Languages; Catalan for Speakers of Romance Languages II.

Catalan for Speakers of Romance Languages

CATA 21500. Introduction to Contemporary Catalonia. 100 Units.

This course provides an interdisciplinary survey of contemporary Catalonia. We study a wide range of its cultural manifestations (architecture, paintings, music, arts of the body, literature, the folkloric calendar, cinema, gastronomy) as well as its current political situation and the role that emigration and immigration play in the constitution of the Catalan identity. Attention is also paid to some sociolinguistic issues, such as the coexistence of Catalan and Spanish, and the standarization of Catalan. A couple of sessions will be devoted to acquiring a "survival Catalan."

Instructor(s): Staff     Terms Offered: Spring

CATA 21900. Contemporary Catalan Literature. 100 Units.

This course provides a survey of major authors, works, and trends in Catalan literature from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present. We study works representing various literary genres (novel, poetry, short story) and analyze the most important cultural debates of the period.

Instructor(s): Staff     Terms Offered: Winter
Equivalent Course(s): CATA 31900

CATA 22015. Gained in Translation: Translations, Literature, Languages. 100 Units.

Today, translation studies encompass a great variety of interests from literary and sociological research to machine translation, from teaching and learning processes to symbolic analysis of complex cultural systems. In most cases translation has left aside the old discussions of equivalence or faithfulness, to pay attention to the whole spectrum of historical, social, or individual elements which are at work in any given transfer instance between cultures. This course aims to highlight this new position of translation studies through a variety of independent instances in view to make students rethink the role of translation and its fundamental links with the social and cultural system.

Instructor(s): F. Parcerisas      Terms Offered: Spring
Equivalent Course(s): CATA 32015

CATA 27513. Barcelona Imagined. 100 Units.

This course will explore literary representations of the urban space of Barcelona in twentieth and twenty-first century narrative. In addition to the presence and movement of fictional characters within and beyond the city, we will examine the role of the city in autobiographical essays and personal writings of the authors studied. Theoretical perspectives (de Certeau, Lefebvre, Bruno, Grosz) will also be employed in light of the intersections of identity politics and urban space in the studied literary texts. Topics to be examined and debated include space and memory, marginality, urban planning and architecture, public and domestic space, linguistic identity, gaze, gender and sexuality, flânerie, homelessness, and dystopia. Authors studied may include Mercè Rodoreda, Montserrat Roig, Eduardo Mendoza, Carmen Laforet, Esther Tusquets, and Juan Marsé.

Instructor(s): M. McCarron     Terms Offered: Spring
Note(s): Taught in Spanish; texts will be available in Spanish and Catalan. Some critical works may be in English
Equivalent Course(s): CATA 37513,SPAN 27513,SPAN 37513

CATA 29700. Readings in Special Topics. 100 Units.

This course involves directed readings in special topics not covered by courses offered as part of the program in Catalan. Subjects treated and work to be completed for this course must be chosen in consultation with the instructor no later than the end of the preceding quarter.

Terms Offered: Autumn, Winter, Spring
Prerequisite(s): CATA 10300 or 20200, depending upon the requirements of the program for which credit is sought
Note(s): Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form.

FREN 10100-10200-10300. Beginning Elementary French I-II-III.

This three-quarter sequence is intended for beginning and beginning/intermediate students in French. It provides students with a solid foundation in the basic patterns of spoken and written French (e.g., grammar, vocabulary, phonetics, sociocultural norms) to develop their speaking, listening, writing, and reading skills. Although the three classes constitute a sequence, there is enough review and recycling at every level for students to enter the sequence whenever it is appropriate for them based on placement exam results.

FREN 20100-20200-20300. Language, History, and Culture I-II-III.

Courses in this sequence must be taken for a quality grade. In this intermediate-level sequence, students review and extend their knowledge of all basic patterns (e.g., grammar, vocabulary, phonetics, sociocultural norms) of the language. They develop their oral and written skills by describing, narrating, and presenting arguments. They are exposed to texts and audio-visual materials that provide them with a deeper understanding of French literature, culture, and contemporary society.

FREN 20500. Ecrire en français. 100 Units.

The main goal of this course is to help students acquire advanced grammatical knowledge of the French language and develop their writing skills. This course is strongly recommended for all students who intend to take courses in which writing essays in French are required: French literature classes on campus, the Autumn Paris Civilization program, or the academic yearlong program in Paris. It is also strongly recommended for students who wish to take the advanced proficiency exam in French.

Terms Offered: Autumn, Winter, Spring
Prerequisite(s): FREN 20300 or placement
Note(s): Must be taken for a quality grade

FREN 20601. Expression orale et phonétique. 100 Units.

This course focuses on developing the tools necessary for advanced oral proficiency in an academic context. Through active class participation involving a number of class presentations, students practice a variety of discourse styles (e.g., debates, lectures, seminars, interviews). Special emphasis is placed on correct pronunciation.

Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): FREN 20300 or placement
Note(s): This course does not count toward major or minor requirements. Must be taken for a quality grade.

FREN 21503. Approches à l’analyse littéraire. 100 Units.

Dans ce cours nous aborderons des techniques d’analyse littéraire des textes en vers et en prose. En outre, nous nous pencherons sur des écrits métatextuels—ceux qui traitent des aspects formels des ouvrages littéraires, de leur utilité morale et/ou politique, du rapport entre la littérature et la vie dite réelle. La production littéraire est non seulement une activiteé culturelle, intellectuelle, politique, éthique, et aesthétique, mais aussi l’objet d’une reflexion soutenue au cours des siècles.

Instructor(s): D. Delogu     Terms Offered: Autumn
Prerequisite(s): FREN 20500 and one previous literature course taught in French.
Note(s): Taught in French.
Equivalent Course(s): FREN 31503

FREN 21600. Mme de Stael, la femme superieure, la gloire et la souffrance. 100 Units.

Germaine de Staël reinvented the role of women in post-revolutionary France. She understood the Revolution like no other. Steeped in the aristocratic tradition of the salons, she was at the same time a founder of French romanticism. Her confrontation with Napoléon assumed epic proportions. From her exile in Switzerland she was, with her lover Benjamin Constant, profoundly engaged in liberal thought. Her novels are about women and for women. Her writings introduce German culture into France. In this course we will read her novels and some of her important non-fiction writings. Readings will include fiction (Corinne, Delphine) and selections from De l’influence des passions, De la literature, De l’Allemagne.

Instructor(s): R. Morrissey     Terms Offered: Winter
Note(s): Readings and discussion in French, but English tolerated
Equivalent Course(s): FREN 31600

FREN 21803. Introduction à la littérature française II: Littérature à l'Age des Lumières. 100 Units.

In this introductory-level course we will read great classics from the eighteenth century including works by Montesquieu, Prévost, Voltaire, Diderot, and Beaumarchais.

Instructor(s): R. Morrissey     Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): FREN 20500
Note(s): Taught in French.

FREN 21903. Introduction à la littérature française III: Littérature du 19e. 100 Units.

An introduction to some major nineteenth-century French literary works, this course emphasizes the main cultural debates of the period through some close readings and discussions. We study various literary genres from early Romanticism to the rise of Symbolism. Authors may include Chateaubriand, Mme de Staël, Benjamin Constant, Balzac, George Sand, Hugo, Musset, Zola, Lamartine, Baudelaire, Rimbaud, Verlaine, and Mallarmé.

Instructor(s): D. Desormeaux     Terms Offered: Autumn
Prerequisite(s): FREN 20500
Note(s): Classes conducted in French.

FREN 22614. Le roman et le récit au XXe siècle: cours d’introduction. 100 Units.

Ce cours suit les développements du roman français de Gide à Blanchot. Nous aurons l’occasion de discuter des grands mouvements de la littérature française au XXème siècle (le style “classique moderne,” le surréalisme, l’existentialisme, le nouveau roman) ainsi que d’étudier les rapports possibles entre l’identité et la mémoire, la parole et l’écriture, l’esthétique et l’éthique.

Instructor(s): Z. Paul     Terms Offered: Autumn
Prerequisite(s): FREN 20500
Note(s): Taught in French

FREN 23510. Fin-De-Siècle Haïtien: Frederic Marcelin (1848-1917) 100 Units.

« Toutes les fins de siècle se ressemblent » déclarait un esprit très fin-de-siècle, Karl Joris Huysmans, dans Là-bas (1891). Il faudra se demander s’il en est de même pour toutes les fins de siècle dans toutes les littératures ? Quelle fin de siècle pour la littérature haïtienne qui a produit plusieurs essais historico-anthropologiques, dont De l’égalité des races humaines (1885) d’Anténor Firmin, Les Détracteurs de la race noire et de la république d'Haïti  (1882) et L'Égalité des races (1884) de Louis-Joseph Janvier ? Que dire de la dérobade paradoxale des premiers romanciers haïtiens qui puisaient leur sujet ailleurs que dans la réalité locale ? Le séminaire partira précisément de la publication chez Ollendorff de Thémistocle Épaminondas Labasterre,  en 1901, que l’on considère pour toutes sortes de raisons comme le « premier roman haïtien » écrit par un haïtien, Frédéric Marcelin (1848-1917). Diplomate ayant vécu pendant longtemps à Paris, Marcelin invente, pour ainsi dire, une version haïtienne du réalisme. Il engage théoriquement son discours romanesque dans la représentation du quotidien, il opère un véritable changement de paradigme par rapport à une vieille perception distraite de la fiction. Marcelin publie coup sur coup deux autres romans, La Vengeance de Mama (1902) et Marilisse (1903), qui consomment la rupture de l’écrivain avec le modèle esthétique postcolonial, en prônant une sorte d’indigénisme qui s’impose peu à peu comme la seule aspiration romanesque légitime. On tentera au cours du trimestre d'analyser la naissance du réalisme haïtien en France à la fin du XIXe siècle, en se penchant sur les trois romans de Marcelin qui semblent répondre à trois grands champs : l’histoire de la langue romanesque (invention d’un métissage), l’histoire littéraire (influence et analogie avec le réalisme français) et l’histoire politique (révolutions et mentalités).

Instructor(s): D. Desormeaux     Terms Offered: Autumn
Note(s): Taught in French.
Equivalent Course(s): FREN 33510,LACS 23510,LACS 33510

FREN 23600. L'écriture de l'histoire à la Renaissance. 100 Units.

Les intellectuels de la Renaissance durent conceptualiser les événements qui les entouraient et penser l’histoire en des termes nouveaux. La tradition et les textes de l’Antiquité ne suffisaient plus pour comprendre l’homme et le monde. Certains virent dans leur époque un renouveau, d’autres un progrès, d’autres encore un déclin, ou, comme Montaigne, un progrès dans le déclin. Bref, la Renaissance s'interroge sur sa propre histoire et offre une multitude de modèles théoriques pour sa compréhension et son écriture. A partir des textes de Machiavel, Jean Bodin, La Pope linière, Loys Le Roy, Montaigne et d’autres auteurs, nous verrons comment s’écrit l’histoire aux débuts de la modernité.

Instructor(s): P. Desan     Terms Offered: Winter
Equivalent Course(s): FREN 33600

FREN 24300. Le Journal de voyage de Montaigne. 100 Units.

Rédigé en 1580 et 1581, le journal de voyage en Allemagne, en Suisse et en Italie de Montaigne constitue un riche commentaire sur les pratiques politiques, religieuses et culturelles de l'Europe à la fin de la Renaissance. Ainsi, la première partie du journal de voyage met en évidence cette préoccupation politique. On a souligné que les étapes en Alsace, en Allemagne du Sud, en Suisse alémanique et en Autriche se présentaient comme une série d’« impressions de voyage en Eucharistie  ». Sans aller jusqu’à comparer ce voyage avec une excursion en terre cannibale ou dans le Nouveau Monde, il est pourtant vrai que Montaigne découvrit des modèles politiques fondamentalement dissemblables de ceux que la Réforme lui avait fait connaître en France. Le grand apport de ce voyage en Allemagne, Autriche et Suisse fut sans nul doute une perception de la religion plus anthropologique et politique que théologique; elle favorisa le développement d’une expérience de terrain avant de rejoindre Rome. Nous verrons comment le Journal de voyage de Montaigne constitue un document politique et culturel pour Montaigne.

Instructor(s): P. Desan     Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): At least two years of French.
Equivalent Course(s): FNDL 26904,FREN 34300

FREN 24310. The Year '93: Terror and Literature. 100 Units.

This course will explore the expression of Terror (la terreur) as it was thematized in French texts of the nineteenth century. In reaction to the fast-won freedom of 1789, an extremist group headed by Robespierre came to power and through its terroristic practices threatened the democratic values of the Revolution itself. We will examine some key moments during the period of the French Revolution and their impact on the collective memory of French novelists. Particular attention will be paid to the narrative construction of the historical moment known as the Terror, the development of the historical novel, the relationship between history and fiction.

Instructor(s): D. Desormeaux     Terms Offered: Winter
Note(s): Taught in French

FREN 25600. Realism and Its Returns in 20th-Century France. 100 Units.

This course will examine the influence and continuation in twentieth-century French literature of the great realist enterprise of the previous century. Beginning with the crisis of naturalism in the late nineteenth century, we will consider the inflections given to literary representation by historical cataclysm, the avant-garde critique of the novel, and the postwar "age of suspicion." We will investigate the reformulations of literature's relationship to reality offered by theories of literary commitment and by the experiments of the Nouveau Roman. Finally, we will evaluate the phenomenon of the "return to the real" in contemporary French literature. Readings will include works by Aragon, Céline, Sartre, Robbe-Grillet, Sarraute, Perec, and Pierre Michon.

Instructor(s): A. James     Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): Advanced undergraduates admitted with consent of instructor.
Note(s): Course taught in French.
Equivalent Course(s): FREN 35600

FREN 26303. Grace, Love, and Pleasure. Painting in Eighteenth Century France. 100 Units.

The easing of political life and the relaxation of private morals which came to characterize the long reign of Louis XV (1715–1774) was mirrored by the development of a new conception of art, an art more intimate, decorative, generally amorous, and often erotic. It is these last two related dimensions which are the basis of a new visual aesthetic which constitutes the subject matter of this course. Through the exploration of contemporary novels and theater, as well as contemporary critical and philosophical writings, we will demonstrate how both the sensual and the erotic become essential components of the century’s cultural ethos. Artistic subjects, the mechanisms to represent them, their metaphorical stakes, and their phenomenological effects on the beholder will therefore be considered as the expression of a particular historical and ideological context. It is in this context that love became the symbol of a king who privileged peace against war, and where emotional pleasure triumphed over moralizing values and asserted itself as a new aesthetic category.

Instructor(s): S. Caviglia-Brunel     Terms Offered: Winter
Note(s): Students who take this course for French credit must do the readings and assignments in French.
Equivalent Course(s): ARTH 23603,ARTH 33603,FREN 36303

FREN 26510. Oulipo in Context. 100 Units.

This course will examine the history and achievements of the Paris-based literary collective Oulipo (Workshop for Potential Literature), from its founding as a secret society in 1960 to its expansion into an internationally visible group. We will consider the group's relationship to (and reaction against) earlier and contemporary avant-garde movements, the French new novel, and structuralism, and we will also examine the reception of Oulipian writing outside France. Readings will include collective publications by the group as well as works by Queneau, Perec, Roubaud, Calvino, Mathews, Grangaud, and others.

Instructor(s): A. James     Terms Offered: Spring
Note(s): A weekly session in French will be held for French majors and graduate students. Students seeking French credit must do the readings (where applicable) and writing in French.
Equivalent Course(s): FREN 36510

FREN 26700. Jeanne d'Arc: historie et legende. Cours introductorie. 100 Units.

Dans ce cours nous interrogerons la plasticité et l’utilité de la figure de Jeanne d’Arc. Nous commencerons avec une étude de Jeanne d’Arc dans son contexte historique en nous penchant sur des documents rédigés pendant sa vie et au cours de son procès. Ensuite nous considérerons les ré-inventions multiples et variées de Jeanne au cours des siècles suivants, prenant en compte les textes de Voltaire, de Michelet, d’Anouilh, et d’autres, ainsi que des films qui présentent la vie de Jeanne d’Arc. Pour terminer, nous verrons comment les gens de la droite ont manipulé l’image de Jeanne d’Arc pour la faire servir leurs objectifs idéologiques. Ce cours illuminera donc la manière dont nous transformons le passé à la lumière des besoins et des soucis du présent.

Instructor(s): D. Delogu     Terms Offered: Winter

FREN 29700. Readings in Special Topics. 100 Units.

This course is a study of directed readings in special topics not covered by courses offered as part of the program in French. Subjects treated and work completed for the course must be chosen in consultation with the instructor no later than the end of the preceding quarter.

Terms Offered: Autumn, Winter, Spring
Prerequisite(s): FREN 10300 or 20300, depending upon the requirements of the program for which credit is sought
Note(s): Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form.

FREN 29900. BA Paper Preparation: French. 100 Units.

In consultation with a faculty member, students devote the equivalent of a one-quarter course to the preparation of a BA project.

Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): Consent of undergraduate adviser
Note(s): Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. Must be taken for a quality grade.

RLLT 26106. The Medieval Persian Romance: Gorgani's Vis and Ramin. 100 Units.

This class is an inquiry into the medieval romance genre through the close and comparative reading of one of its oldest extant representatives, Gorgâni’s Vis & Râmin (c. 1050). With roots that go back to Late Antiquity, this romance is a valuable interlocutor between the Greek novel and the Ovidian erotic tradition, Arabic love theory and poetics, and well-known European romances like Tristan, Lancelot, and Cligès: a sustained exploration of psychological turmoil and moral indecision, and a vivid dramatization of the many contradictions inherent in erotic theory, most starkly by the lovers' faithful adultery. By reading Vis & Râmin alongside some of its generic neighbors (Kallirrhoe, Leukippe, Tristan, Cligès), as well as the love-theories of writers like Plato, Ovid, Avicenna, Jâhiz, Ibn Hazm, and Andreas Cappellanus, we will map out the various kinds of literary work the romance is called upon to do, and investigate the myriad and shifting conceptions of romantic love as performance, subjectivity, and moral practice. An optional section introducing selections from the original text in Persian will be available if there is sufficient student interest.

Instructor(s): C. Cross     Terms Offered: Spring
Equivalent Course(s): NEHC 26106,FNDL 26106

SOSC 27501-27601-27701. Civilisation Européenne I-II-III.

Enrollment in Paris study abroad program. This sequence meets the general education requirement in civilization studies. Cette série de cours est un hybride: à la fois une introduction à l’histoire de la civilisation européenne depuis le Moyen Age et une vue d’ensemble de l’histoire de France durant cette période. Notre objectif sera double: d’une part, intégrer étude de textes et découverte de Paris et de sa région; de l’autre, pratiquer le métier d’historiens de la culture. Pour ce faire, nous analyserons de nombreux documents historiques et oeuvres littéraires, philosophiques, artistiques, et musicales. Nous en discuterons lors de nos trois réunions hebdomadaires. De plus, nous étudierons la civilisation française à travers les villages, monastères, et châteaux de la région parisienne et ailleurs. Classes conducted in French. This class meets in Paris.

ITAL 10100-10200-10300. Beginning Elementary Italian I-II-III.

This three-quarter sequence is intended for beginning and beginning/intermediate students in Italian. It provides students with a solid foundation in the basic patterns of spoken and written Italian (e.g., grammar, vocabulary, sociocultural norms) to develop their speaking, listening, writing, and reading skills. Although the three classes constitute a sequence, there is enough review and recycling at every level for students to enter the sequence at whatever level is appropriate for them. Cultural awareness is enhanced through the use of authentic audio-visual materials and literary texts.

ITAL 12200. Italian for Speakers of Romance Languages. 100 Units.

This course is intended for speakers of other Romance languages to quickly develop competence in spoken and written Italian. Students learn ways to apply their skills in another Romance language to Italian by concentrating on the similarities and differences between languages.�

Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): 20100 in another Romance language or consent of instructor

ITAL 20100-20200-20300. Language, History, and Culture I-II-III.

In this intermediate-level sequence, students review and extend their knowledge of all basic patterns (e.g., grammar, vocabulary, sociocultural norms) of the language. They develop their oral and written skills in describing, narrating, and presenting arguments. They are exposed to literary and nonliterary texts and audio-visual materials that provide them with a deeper understanding of the Italian-speaking world.

ITAL 20400. Corso di perfezionamento. 100 Units.

This course helps students achieve a very high level of composition and style through the acquisition of numerous writing techniques. Using a variety of literary and nonliterary texts as models, students examine the linguistic structure and organization of several types of written Italian discourse. This course is also intended to help students attain high levels in reading, speaking, and listening through readings and debates on various issues of relevance in contemporary Italian society.

Terms Offered: Autumn, Winter
Prerequisite(s): ITAL 20300, placement, or consent of instructor
Note(s): Must be taken for a quality grade.

ITAL 20500. Luci e ombre nell’Italia contemporanea. 100 Units.

This course aims at enhancing students’ awareness of the complexity of contemporary Italy through readings and discussions on such relevant issues as school, art, immigration, sports, health care, religion, and politics, debated daily in modern Italian society. Students are exposed to a wide variety of texts, from newspaper articles to literary texts, as well as video and audio clips, that help them attain more advanced levels in reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Guest native speakers lecture on some of the debated topics.

Terms Offered: Winter, Spring
Prerequisite(s): ITAL 20300 or consent of instructor
Note(s): Must be taken for a quality grade.

ITAL 21100. Le regioni italiane: lingua, dialetti, tradizioni. 100 Units.

This course expands students' awareness of the diversity of the Italian language and culture. It emphasizes the interrelationship between language and culture, as well as social and historical transformations. We also study the Italian phonological system. Students are exposed to a wide variety of texts, both literary and nonliterary, as well as audio-visual materials that enhance their awareness of regional expressions and Italian dialects. Guest lecturers include native speakers from different Italian regions.

Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): ITAL 20300 or consent of instructor
Note(s): Must be taken for a quality grade.

ITAL 21800. Italo Calvino. 100 Units.

Italo Calvino is one of the most important authors of the twentieth century. We will read some of his most famous books in Italian. Among others, we will study Le Cita, Invisibili, Gli Amori Difficili, Il Barone Rampante, Se Una Notte D'Inverno Un Viaggiatore. Reading Calvino is an essential experience for all students of Italian culture. We will place his books and his poetics in the context of modern Italian culture and Western European post-modernism.

Instructor(s): A. Maggi     Terms Offered: Autumn
Note(s): Taught in Italian.
Equivalent Course(s): FNDL 21810

ITAL 23203. Rome in Film and Literature. 100 Units.

We shall analyze films and fictional works that reflect both realities and myths about the “Eternal City,” Rome. Classical Rome will not be studied; instead the focus will be on a trajectory of works, both written and cinematic, that are set in and explore late nineteenth to late twentieth-century Rome. The goal is to analyze some of the numerous diverse representations of modern Rome that portray historical, political, subjective, and/or fantastical/mythopoetic elements that have interacted over time to produce the palimpsest that is the city of Rome. Books by D’Annunzio, Moravia, Pasolini and Malerba; films by Fellini, Visconti, Rossellini, Bertolucci, Pasolini, and Moretti.

Instructor(s): R. West     Terms Offered: Winter
Note(s): Taught in English; Italian majors will read the texts in the original Italian.
Equivalent Course(s): CMST 23202,CMST 32302,ITAL 33203

ITAL 23502. Boccaccio's "Decameron" 100 Units.

One of the most important and influential works of the middle ages—and a lot funnier than the Divine Comedy. Written in the midst of the social disruption caused by the Black Death (1348), the Decameron may have held readers attention for centuries because of its bawdiness, but it is also a profound exploration into the basis of faith and the meaning of death, the status of language, the construction of social hierarchy and social order, and the nature of crisis and historical change. Framed by a storytelling contest between seven young ladies and three young men who have left the city to avoid the plague, the one hundred stories of Boccaccio’s Decameron form a structural masterpiece that anticipates the Renaissance epics, Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, and the modern short story. Students will be encouraged to further explore in individual projects the many topics raised by the text, including (and in addition to the themes mentioned above) magic, the visual arts, mercantile culture, travel and discovery, and new religious practices.

Instructor(s): J. Steinberg     Terms Offered: Winter
Equivalent Course(s): FNDL 21714,ITAL 33502,REMS 33502

ITAL 23900. Marsilio Ficino's "On Love" 100 Units.

This course is first of all a close reading of Marsilio Ficino’s seminal book On Love (first Latin edition De amore 1484; Ficino’s own Italian translation 1544). Ficino’s philosophical masterpiece is the foundation of the Renaissance view of love from a Neo-Platonic perspective. It is impossible to overemphasize its influence on European culture. On Love is not just a radically new interpretation of Plato’s Symposium. It is the book through which sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Europe read the love experience. Our course will analyze its multiple classical sources and its spiritual connotations. During our close reading of Ficino’s text, we will show how European writers and philosophers appropriated specific parts of this Renaissance masterpiece. In particular, we will read extensive excerpts from some important love treatises, such as Castiglione’s The Courtier (Il cortigiano), Leone Ebreo’s Dialogues on Love, Tullia d’Aragona’s On the Infinity of Love, but also selections from a variety of European poets, such as Michelangelo’s canzoniere, Maurice Scève’s Délie, and Fray Luis de León’s Poesía.

Instructor(s): A. Maggi     Terms Offered: Autumn
Note(s): Course taught in English.
Equivalent Course(s): ITAL 33900,CMLT 26701,CMLT 36701,FNDL 21103

ITAL 25115. Topics in the Philosophy of Religion: The Challenge of Suffering from Job to Primo Levi. 100 Units.

This course will focus on authors from the Jewish tradition, although some attention will be given to Catholic and Protestant perspectives, as found, for example, in liberation theology and in certain forms of religious existentialism. We will look at the various ways in which contemporary philosophers of Judaism have dealt with suffering, evil and God, especially after the experience of the Shoah. We will examine the often repeated claim that Judaism has approached the philosophical and religious challenges of suffering more through an ethics of suffering than on the basis of a metaphysics of suffering. After an introductory discussion of Maimonides on the Book of Job, readings for the course may come from authors such as E. Lévinas, J.B. Soloveitchik, Y. Leibowitz, H. Jonas, A. Lichtenstein, D.W. Halivni, D. Shatz, and E. Berkovits. The course will culminate in a philosophical analysis of some of the most important writings of Primo Levi.

Instructor(s): A. Davidson     Terms Offered: Winter
Note(s): All students interested in enrolling in this course should send an application to aschulz@uchicago.edu by 12/01/2014. Applications should be no longer than one page and should include name, email address, year and major for undergraduates, department or committee for graduate students. Applicants should briefly describe their background and explain their interest in, and their reasons for applying to, this course.
Equivalent Course(s): PHIL 25115,DVPR 35115,HIJD 35115,ITAL 35115,JWSC 26115,PHIL 35115,RLST 25115

ITAL 26200. Renaissance and Baroque Fairytales and Their Modern Rewritings. 100 Units.

We study the distinctions between myth and fairy tale, and then focus on collections of modern Western European fairy tales, including those by Straparola, Basile, and Perrault, in light of their contemporary rewritings of classics (Angela Carter, Calvino, Anne Sexton). We analyze this genre from diverse critical standpoints (e.g., historical, structuralist, psychoanalytic, feminist) through the works of Croce, Propp, Bettelheim, and Marie-Louise Von Franz.

Instructor(s): A. Maggi     Terms Offered: Winter
Note(s): Class conducted in English.
Equivalent Course(s): ITAL 36200,CMLT 26700,CMLT 36700

ITAL 29000. La poesia del Novecento: Testi e contesti. 100 Units.

This course is a survey of the major poets, schools, and trends from the “fathers” of modern lyric (Pascoli, D’Annunzio) through the “isms” of the historical avant-gardes (futurism, crepuscularism) to the hermetic poets, the dominant voices (Montale, Ungaretti), and poets of today’s Italy. Women poets and dialect poets will also be included. The relation between texts and historical, ideological contexts will be studied, as well as how poetry, historically and currently, interacts with narrative, philosophy, and social issues. Today's critical and theoretical approaches to the study of modern poetry will be taken into account, but the emphasis throughout will be on close readings and analyses of selected poems.

Instructor(s): R. West     Terms Offered: Winter
Note(s): Taught in Italian
Equivalent Course(s): ITAL 39000

ITAL 29700. Readings in Special Topics. 100 Units.

This course provides directed readings in special topics not covered as part of the program in Italian. Subjects treated and work to be completed for the course must be chosen in consultation with the instructor no later than the end of the preceding quarter.

Terms Offered: Autumn, Winter, Spring
Prerequisite(s): ITAL 10300 or 20300, depending upon the requirements of the program for which credit is sought
Note(s): Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form.

ITAL 29900. BA Paper Preparation: Italian. 100 Units.

In consultation with a faculty member, students must devote the equivalent of a one-quarter course to the preparation of a BA project.

Prerequisite(s): Consent of undergraduate adviser
Note(s): Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. Must be taken for a quality grade.

PORT 10100-10200-10300. Beginning Elementary Portuguese I-II-III.

This sequence is intended for beginning and beginning/intermediate students in Portuguese. It provides students with a solid foundation in the basic patterns of spoken and written Portuguese (e.g., grammar, vocabulary, phonetics, sociocultural norms) to develop their speaking, listening, writing, and reading skills. Although the three courses constitute a sequence, there is enough review and recycling at every level for students to enter the sequence whenever it is appropriate for them.

PORT 12200. Portuguese for Spanish Speakers. 100 Units.

This class is intended for speakers of Spanish to develop competence quickly in spoken and written Portuguese. In this intermediate-level course, students learn ways to apply their Spanish language skills to mastering Portuguese by concentrating on the similarities and differences between the two languages.

Instructor(s): A.-M. Lima     Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 20100 or consent of instructor
Note(s): Must be taken for a quality grade.
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 12200

PORT 20100-20200. Intermediate Portuguese; Advanced Portuguese.

In this intermediate/advanced-level sequence, students review and extend their knowledge of all basic patterns (e.g., grammar, vocabulary, phonetics, sociocultural norms) of the language. They develop their oral and written skills in describing, narrating, and presenting arguments. They are exposed to texts and audio-visual materials that provide them with a deeper understanding of Portuguese literature, culture, and contemporary society.

PORT 21500. Curso de Aperfeiçoamento. 100 Units.

This course helps students develop their skills in understanding, summarizing, and producing written and spoken arguments in Portuguese through readings and debates on various issues of relevance in contemporary Luso-Brazilian societies. Special consideration is given to the major differences between continental and Brazilian Portuguese. In addition to reading, analyzing, and commenting on advanced texts (both literary and nonliterary), students practice and extend their writing skills in a series of compositions.

Instructor(s): A.-M. Lima     Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): PORT 20200 or consent of instructor
Note(s): Must be taken for a quality grade.

PORT 29700. Readings in Special Topics. 100 Units.

This course is directed readings in special topics not covered as part of the program in Portuguese. Subjects treated and work to be completed for the course must be chosen in consultation with the instructor no later than the end of the preceding quarter.

Terms Offered: Autumn, Winter, Spring
Prerequisite(s): PORT 10300 or 20200, depending upon the requirements of the program for which credit is sought
Note(s): Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form.

SPAN 10100-10200-10300. Beginning Elementary Spanish I-II-III.

This three-quarter sequence is intended for beginning and beginning/intermediate students in Spanish. It provides students with a solid foundation in the basic patterns of spoken and written Spanish (e.g., grammar, vocabulary, sociocultural norms) to develop their speaking, listening, writing, and reading skills to the level required to demonstrate competency on the Spanish examination. Although the three classes constitute a sequence leading to the Spanish competency examination, there is enough review and recycling at every level for students to enter the sequence whenever it is appropriate for them.

SPAN 20100-20200-20300. Language, History, and Culture I-II-III.

In this intermediate-level sequence, students review but most of all extend their knowledge of all basic patterns (e.g., grammar, vocabulary, sociocultural norms) of the language. They develop their oral and written skills in describing, narrating, and presenting arguments. They are exposed to texts and audio-visual materials that provide them with a deeper understanding of the Spanish-speaking world.

SPAN 20400-20500. Composición y conversación avanzada I-II.

Third-year language sequence

SPAN 20402. Curso de redacción académica para hablantes nativos. 100 Units.

This advanced language course helps students achieve mastery of composition and style through the acquisition of numerous writing techniques. A wide variety of literary, historiographic, and sociological texts are read. Through writing a number of essays and participating in class debates, students are guided in the examination of linguistic structures and organization of several types of written Spanish discourse. This course also enhances awareness of the cultural diversity within the contemporary Spanish-speaking world and its historical roots.

Terms Offered: Autumn
Prerequisite(s): Open only to native and heritage speakers with consent of instructor
Note(s): Must be taken for a quality grade.

SPAN 20602. Discurso académico para hablantes nativos. 100 Units.

This seminar/practicum focuses on developing vocabulary and discourse styles for academic verbal communication. This goal is achieved through exposure to taped formal and informal interviews and public debate in the media. Most important, however, is active class participation. Through a number of class presentations, students put into practice a variety of discourse styles (e.g., debates, lectures, seminars, interviews). We also read numerous Spanish newspapers.

Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): Open only to native speakers
Note(s): Must be taken for a quality grade

SPAN 21100. Las regiones del español. 100 Units.

This sociolinguistic course expands understanding of the historical development of Spanish and awareness of the great sociocultural diversity within the Spanish-speaking world and its impact on the Spanish language. We emphasize the interrelationship between language and culture as well as ethno-historical transformations within the different regions of the Hispanic world. Special consideration is given to identifying lexical variations and regional expressions exemplifying diverse sociocultural aspects of the Spanish language, and to recognizing phonological differences between dialects. We also examine the impact of indigenous cultures on dialectical aspects. The course includes literary and nonliterary texts, audio-visual materials, and visits by native speakers of a variety of Spanish-speaking regions.

Terms Offered: Winter, Spring
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 20300 or consent of instructor
Note(s): Must be taken for a quality grade.
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 21100

SPAN 21500. Introducción al análisis literario. 100 Units.

Through a variety of representative works of Hispanic literature, this course focuses on the discussion and practical application of different approaches to the critical reading of literary texts. We also study basic concepts and problems of literary theory, as well as strategies for research and academic writing in Spanish.

Instructor(s): M. Santana     Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 20300 or consent of instructor
Note(s): Classes conducted in Spanish.

SPAN 21703. Introducción a las literaturas hispánicas: textos españoles clásicos. 100 Units.

This course involves careful reading and discussion of significant works from the Spanish Middle Ages, Renaissance, and the Golden Age, including Juan Manuel's Conde Lucanor, Jorge Manrique's Coplas, the anonymous Lazarillo de Tormes, and the theater of Calderón.

Instructor(s): F. de Armas     Terms Offered: Autumn
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 20300 or consent of instructor

SPAN 21803. Introducción a las literaturas hispánicas: textos españoles contemporáneos. 100 Units.

This course is a close reading and discussion of selected texts from the nineteenth century to the present. Authors may include Larra, Espronceda, Zorrillal, Becquer, Pardo Bazan, Galdos, Unamuno, Valle-Inclan, Machado, Lorca, Cela, Laforet, and Matute.

Instructor(s): M. Martínez     Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 20300 or consent of instructor

SPAN 21903. Introducción a las literaturas hispánicas: textos hispanoamericanos desde la colonia a la independencia. 100 Units.

This course examines an array of representative texts written in Spanish America from the colonial period to the late nineteenth century, underscoring not only their aesthetic qualities but also the historical conditions that made their production possible. Among authors studied are Christopher Columbus, Hernán Cortés, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, Simón Bolívar, and José Martí.

Instructor(s): A. Lugo-Ortiz     Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 20300 or consent of instructor
Equivalent Course(s): CRES 21903,LACS 21903

SPAN 22003. Introducción a las literaturas hispánicas: del Modernismo al presente. 100 Units.

Students in this course study an array of texts written in Spanish America from the late nineteenth century to the present, including the literature of the Hispanic diasporas. Authors may include José Martí, Rubén Darío, Mariano Azuela, Pablo Neruda, César Vallejo, Teresa de la Parra, Jorge Luis Borges, Octavio Paz, Rosario Castellanos, Mario Vargas Llosa, and Pedro Pietri.

Instructor(s): L. Gandolfi     Terms Offered: Autumn
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 20300 or consent of instructor
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 22003

SPAN 22310. Literature and Ideas in the Spanish-Speaking Caribbean: The Nineteenth Century. 100 Units.

In this course we will study some of the main intellectual currents in the Spanish-speaking Caribbean during the nineteenth century and their relationships to the literary production of the period. In particular, we will address the reformulation of ideas of the Enlightenment, liberalism, and philosophical Positivism, both for political reflections upon slavery, colonialism, and projects of national independence and social reform as well as for literary aesthetics. How did predicaments of the Enlightenment come to structure pro-slavery thought? What was the relationship between liberalism and abolitionism? How did philosophical principles related to the development of the natural sciences support or undermine projects of national independence and/or of social emancipation (such as women's and labor rights)? And what did literature have to do with these issues? Among the authors we may study are Francisco de Arango y Parreño, Félix Varela, José Antonio Saco, Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda, Condesa de Merlín, Eugenio María de Hostos, Enrique José Varona, José de Jesús Galván, José Martí, and Luisa Capetillo.

Instructor(s): A. Lugo-Ortiz     Terms Offered: Winter
Note(s): Taught in Spanish, with an additional weekly discussion session for graduate students.
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 22310,LACS 32310,SPAN 32310

SPAN 22314. Poesía Novohispana con práctica ecdótica. 100 Units.

The study of poetry written in New Spain, working with manuscripts as well as with "editiones principes."

Instructor(s): M. L. Tenorio     Terms Offered: Autumn
Note(s): Taught in Spanish.
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 22314,LACS 32314,SPAN 32314

SPAN 24220. A Hero and A Fool: Don Quixote and Its Impact on Art and Literature. 100 Units.

The course will study the most popular novel of Early Modern times, its heroic origins, its comedy, and its humanist message.  The adventures of Don Quixote on the dusty roads of La Mancha challenge the actual world in the name of a dream and mix the highest ideals with the humblest reality.  We will see how Cervantes’s novel dialogues with the narratives of its period and later play a major role in English, French, Russian, and Spanish fiction.  We will also examine and appreciate the silent omnipresence of Italian Renaissance art in this novel.

Instructor(s): F. de Armas and T. Pavel     Terms Offered: Spring
Equivalent Course(s): CMLT 24220,CMLT 34220,FNDL 22405,REMS 34220,RLLT 34220,SPAN 34220

SPAN 24801. Literatura y crimen. 100 Units.

The production of crime fiction in the Hispanic literary world has a long tradition that dates back to the mid-nineteenth century and has recently gained critical attention as postmodern literary theories focus on fictional forms that are both popular and self-conscious. This course studies the historical development of the genre in Hispanic letters, as well as its formal and ideological foundations. Authors likely to be discussed include Emilia Pardo Bazán, Jorge Luis Borges, Maria Antònia Oliver, Manuel Vázquez Montalbán, Luisa Valenzuela, Mario Vargas Llosa, Marina Mayoral, Gabriel García Márquez, and Ricardo Piglia.

Instructor(s): M. Santana     Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 20300 or consent of instructor
Note(s): Taught in Spanish.
Equivalent Course(s): LACS 24801,LACS 34801,SPAN 34800

SPAN 27513. Barcelona Imagined. 100 Units.

This course will explore literary representations of the urban space of Barcelona in twentieth and twenty-first century narrative. In addition to the presence and movement of fictional characters within and beyond the city, we will examine the role of the city in autobiographical essays and personal writings of the authors studied. Theoretical perspectives (de Certeau, Lefebvre, Bruno, Grosz) will also be employed in light of the intersections of identity politics and urban space in the studied literary texts. Topics to be examined and debated include space and memory, marginality, urban planning and architecture, public and domestic space, linguistic identity, gaze, gender and sexuality, flânerie, homelessness, and dystopia. Authors studied may include Mercè Rodoreda, Montserrat Roig, Eduardo Mendoza, Carmen Laforet, Esther Tusquets, and Juan Marsé.

Instructor(s): M. McCarron     Terms Offered: Spring
Note(s): Taught in Spanish; texts will be available in Spanish and Catalan. Some critical works may be in English
Equivalent Course(s): CATA 27513,CATA 37513,SPAN 37513

SPAN 29700. Readings in Special Topics. 100 Units.

This course involves directed readings on special topics not covered by courses offered as part of the program in Spanish. Subjects treated and work to be completed for the course must be chosen in consultation with the instructor no later than the end of the preceding quarter.

Terms Offered: Autumn, Winter, Spring
Prerequisite(s): SPAN 10300 or 20300, depending on the requirements of the program for which credit is sought
Note(s): Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form.

SPAN 29900. BA Paper Preparation: Spanish. 100 Units.

In consultation with a faculty member, students must devote the equivalent of a one-quarter course to the preparation of a BA project. Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form.

Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): Consent of undergraduate adviser
Note(s): Must be taken for a quality grade.