Spanish 341
Survey of
Spanish Literature I: Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque
Sample
Syllabus for General Education Goal 3
Office hrs: MWF 10:00-11 a.m., T & R 2:00-3:00 p.m.
and by appointment.
COURSE
DESCRIPTION: A study of representative works and literary movements in Spanish
(Peninsular) literature from the Middle Ages through the Baroque era. Students will learn to use the methods and
language of literary analysis.
Prerequisite: Spanish 202 or equivalent. Spanish 320 recommended.
3 credits.
TEXTS: (Texts currently used; list may be modified in the future.)
Mujica, B. Texto y vida:
Introducción a la literatura española.
Orlando:
Holt,
Rinehart, and Winston, 1990.
Anonymous. La vida de Lazarillo
de Tormes. Madrid: Castalia, 1982.
A
good Spanish-English Dictionary
Additional Readings found online.
Please
Note: Students
may want to purchase copies of the two final plays
Fuenteovejuna and El burlador de
Sevilla at Amazon.com or another
vendor rather then print
them out.
COURSE
OBJECTIVES: Upon successful completion of the course, students will:
1.
Demonstrate
the ability to read, understand and analyze literary texts from a variety of
critical perspectives—language, structure, etc.—as seen in class discussions,
oral presentations, and assigned papers. (Gen Ed. Criteria 1, 2, 4, 5, 6,
7. Outcomes 1-3)
2.
Demonstrate
the ability to use literary terms in textual criticism. (GE: 1,2. Out. 3)
3.
Interpret
meaning in literary texts; construct and appreciate alternative meanings. (GE:
3, 8, 9. Outcome 1)
4.
Demonstrate
the ability to identify selected major Spanish authors, literary forms, and
important literary movements of the twelfth through the seventeenth centuries.
(GE: 5, 9. Outcomes 1-2)
5.
Demonstrate
a general understanding of the historical context and value systems behind
studied texts and be able to compare these understandings to contemporary
values and culture. (3, 5, 8. Outcome
1-2)
Honor Code:
Students are expected to live by the Longwood University Honor Code. All work done in this class must be
pledged. All
work done for this class must be pledged:
“Yo, __________, juro que no he dado ni he recibido ayuda en este
trabajo, ni he notado ninguna infracción del Código de Honor.”
COURSE
REQUIREMENTS: GRADING:
25% Participation/Preparation 90-100 A
30% Essays (3) 80-89 B
10% Dramatic
Reading 70-79 C
15% Midterm 60-69 D
20% Final
Exam below
60 F
Participation and Preparation: Your successful completion
of this course depends largely on your consistent and concentrated preparation
for—and active participation during—class. Students should expect to spend at
least 6 to 9 hours a week reading/studying etc. outside of class. Students will
find that if they do not keep up with assigned readings, they will fall behind
quickly and their grades will suffer.
All assignments—both written and assigned reading—should be completed
before class time. Please feel free to consult me if you are having
problems. If I suspect that students
regularly come to class without completing the assigned readings, I may give
pop quizzes as part of the preparation grade.
Attendance: Faithful
attendance is of utmost importance in this course, as is your effort to
contribute to class discussions and activities. The attendance policy for this
course is the same as the University policy in the Longwood University
Catalogue. If a student misses 10% (3)
of classes because of unexcused absences, his/her final course grade may be
lowered one letter grade. If a student
misses 25% (7) of scheduled meeting times, for
excused or unexcused reasons, s/he will receive an F in this course. You are expected to arrive on time to
class. Only students who miss class
with a documented excused reason (See Longwood University Catalogue—Class
attendance) will be allowed to make up work.
Essays:
During the semester students will write three short essays of 3 (full)
to 4 pages each in length. All
essays are due at the beginning of class on their assigned dates. They must follow MLA style guidelines, be
written in Spanish, typed—with proper accentuation—and double-spaced. They must use a 12-point font and 1 inch
margins on all sides. Late essays will
only be accepted if the student discusses the conflict with me ahead of
time. Late essays will be penalized 10%
for each class period late.
Dramatic
Reading: Over one third of the course will be devoted to the study of
drama. Since theatre primarily is
intended to be performed and viewed, students will participate actively in the
dramatic process. In groups of two or
three, students will act out a scene from one of the three plays we will be
reading during the semester. Students
will need to research the historical context of the work and apply Golden-Age
staging techniques learned in class in order to guide their performance. The scene should last 7 to 10 minutes and
may include props and costumes. The
group may choose to record their performance with a video camera and present
the recording instead.
Bibliography: For further study, see recommended texts listed under Crítica
in Mújica’s Texto y Vida.
Essay Assignments
Ensayo
I: Una fábula creativa.
Begin
by thinking about the fables you read as a child and how they compare to the ejemplos
that you read in El libro del Conde Lucanor. What didactic messages did they contain? How did the authors convey those
messages? In this composition, you are
to use El Conde Lucanor as a model to write your own fable. You can create a modern story or retell a
classic fairy tale, but you must follow the structural model of the ejemplos
studied in class.
LAS REGLAS: a) 3-4 pages in length. b)
MLA style. c) you must use
Spell/Grammar check in Spanish, available in the language lab. d) se debe entregarlo al principio de la clase del 19 de septiembre.
Ensayo II:
Analysis of a Golden-Age Poem.
For
this essay, you are to analyze a poem by Garcilaso, San Juan de la Cruz, Lope,
Quevedo, or Góngora that we did not discuss in class. You should use the Meaning/Context Flowchart
as well as the Spanish Prosody handout to guide your paper.
We will look at a few essay examples in class as
well.
LAS REGLAS: a) 3-4 pages in length. b)
MLA style. c) you must use
Spell/Grammar check in Spanish, available in the language lab. d) se debe entregarlo al principio de la clase del 11 de
octubre.
Ensayo III:
A comparative study of criticism.
The main focus of this essay will not be upon a primary text that we have studied in class, but rather the scholarly research out there on a particular work that you have read during the semester. First, you will need to choose a particular aspect from one of the works we have read this semester, such as the theme of hunger in Lazarillo de Tormes, or conceptismo in the poetry of Quevedo. You will then need to search the MLA Bibliography for articles and/or books that treat that subject. If you are unsure of the particular focus of your essay, you may want to investigate the criticism on the work first. Next you will need to choose three particular critical sources that you find interesting and study them carefully.
Your paper will consist of two parts: 1) Compare and contrast how the three studies approach the topic. Do they agree or disagree? Do they look at the same aspects? Is one study aware (quotes) the other studies? 2) Which study do you find most convincing/least convincing? Are there aspects from the primary texts that you can use to support your position?