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Course Description

Summary

Whether he is the last modernist, or the first postmodern, the least Latin American of all Latin American authors or perhaps the most, the grand destroyer of all illusions or ultimately their victim, in the wake of his own statement that “Every writer creates his own precursors” Jorge Luis Borges has already provided the theoretical premise for so much subsequent work that this can only be a selective course. We will study Borges, therefore, along with Julio Cortázar, Leonardo Sciascia, Donald Barthelme, Danilo Kis, Martin Amis, Ian McEwan, Roberto Bolaño, and at least some consideration of his influence on the visual arts. Students will develop their oral and written skills, progressing from paragraph-level exposition to imitation to an initial defense of ideas. This course should also provide contextual support for future studies in Spanish, not to mention other fields. Low-intermediate level. Conducted in Spanish. Registration for this course will begin on Wednesday, May 17 from 2:00pm - 4:00pm (during office hours) in Deane Carriage Barn 201.