19th Century Spanish Literature

SPAN 46300: 19^th Century Spanish Literature

Profesora María DiFrancesco, Assistant Professor

Ithaca College, Department of Modern Languages and Literatures

Office: 411 Muller Faculty Center

Office Hours: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 11:00-12:00 p.m, and by appointment

Phone: 274-3547

E-mail: mdifrancesco@ithaca.edu

Course Description and Goals: In this course, we will examine and discuss the themes of desire and deception in 19th-century Spanish literature, analyzing texts typical of the literary movements of Romanticism, Realism, and Naturalism. We will study narrative, poetry and drama by Larra, Zorrilla, the Duque de Rivas, Espronceda, Bécquer, Pérez Galdós, Pardo Bazán, and de Castro. By the end of the semester, students will be able to (1) define the terms “costumbrismo,” “romanticismo,” “realismo” and “natuaralismo;” (2) point to specific characteristics of these literary styles and movements in the literature studied, and (3) be able to discuss the social and historical contexts within which the literature was written.

Mode of Assessment: Portfolio: You will hand in a portfolio for evaluation twice during the semester, once around mid-semester and again at the end of the semester. Each time you hand in the portfolio, it must be as complete as possible (i.e., include as many completed assignments as possible). I suggest you use a 1.5” binder or a very sturdy folder to compile your work. Use labeled dividers to organize sections (i.e., “Ensayos cortos,” “Preguntas de lectura,” etc.). Make sure the outside of the binder or folder is clearly labeled with your name, a place/phone number where you can be reached, your e-mail address, class level and section. If you lose your binder or folder at any time during the semester, you must make up all lost work. No exceptions. On that note, make multiple copies of your work (i.e., have homework assignments, essays, etc. saved on your computer/zip drive/CD, etc.). Each time your portfolio is collected, it will be evaluated/graded. Your portfolio must include:

1. Ensayos cortos: You will write a one (250-300 words) to two-page (500-600 words) (250-300 words) short essay per week in Spanish about the literature you are reading in class. Short essays must be typed (use 12 point, Times New Roman font, with margins of 1”), stapled and printed for class each week. Due dates for these weekly assignments are clearly marked on the class schedule.

The purpose of these short essays is to help you think critically about literature, historical/social periods and the themes we are studying on a regular basis. In your writing, you are expected to reflect on and critically respond to the literature we are reading. I may, at times, specify a short essay topic in class and ask that students share their writings on the topic once they have had time to complete the task. However, there are a variety of other ways you will be able to approach the literature we are reading. For example, you might want to write about a quote in a short story or poem and try to explain its significance within the context of the period. Other ideas might be: thinking about an alternative ending to a play, telling a story from another point of view than that in which the original story is told (i.e., the point of view of a minor character or an outside observer) or you may ask a question about the literature and then explain why this question is important, interesting, or troublesome to you. You might also choose to write about some literary device or figure used within the literature (i.e., images, language, structure, setting, etc.), and think about how it functions within the work.

I will regularly collect short essays to be graded. Your grade will be based on your overall written performance (standard grammar, syntax, vocabulary, etc.) as well as your in-class participation, discussion, thoughtfulness and originality. I assign grades based on the following system:

√+ (check-plus, A): This is a truly exceptional analysis or discussion. It shows keen insight and understanding; it is written in excellent, standard Spanish; it is logical and coherent.

√ (check, B): This is an average short essay, of average length. It uses good, standard Spanish; it is logical and coherent, but it may lack in clearly demonstrating insight or understanding.

√- (check-minus, C): This is an average short essay; it may contain sub-standard Spanish and/or be illogical and/or be incoherent, and/or be too short/too long. Please note that if the essay is not in class for any reason on any given due date, it will also receive a √-, no matter how well it is written. If, however, there are unusual extenuating circumstances that have kept you from completing work, please let me know. Such circumstances merit exception.

√-- (check-minus-minus, D): This is a below average short essay; it contains all the characteristics of a “C” paper; it may also contain English words or phrases; it clearly demonstrates a lack of understanding or knowledge.

0: if your short essay is simply never handed in to me.

At the end of the semester, choose your best eight short essays and put them in the portfolio in the order they were originally completed. Note that these essays should be versions that I have corrected/written on. Preface this section of the portfolio with a reflective paragraph or two telling me why you selected these particular essays for inclusion in the portfolio. In this reflective writing, you might comment on how these essays particularly shaped your way of thinking about Spanish literature, helped you to grow as a student/individual, or changed your thinking about the world. (20%)

2. Preguntas de lectura: Each Thursday of each week, everyone must e-mail me (mdifrancesco@ithaca.edu) at least 4-5 typed questions regarding the literature we are currently reading. These questions must be e-mailed to me by 5 p.m., and they may range from the mundane (¿Quién es el narrador de la historia? ¿Dónde están los personajes?) to the sublime (¿Se refiere el narrador a la existencia de Dios? ¿Qué significa para el protagonista el sufrimiento en el mundo?). We will use these questions as the primary impetus for class discussion each Friday. Though you must complete questions for all the literature we read, choose your best 8 sets of questions to insert, typed (use 12 point, Times New Roman font, with margins of 1”), in the portfolio. For example, if you wish to include your questions on Don Juan Tenorio, you will insert five questions on this play in your portfolio. Be sure to place these in the portfolio in the order they were originally completed during the semester. Following class discussion, you must write a typed response to the questions you pose in your portfolio. What’s more, once the class has completed its discussion of a piece of literature, I ask that you go back and reflectively respond to your original, typed questions and answers, taking into consideration what your colleagues have said in class and what you may have learned from class discussion. These comments should reflect on the ways in which the material you are learning fits into your academic life/other classes. Remember that I will be grading your original, typed questions and responses as well as your reflective, written comments to these. (20%)

3. Mid-term and Final Exams: I will give mid-term and final exams that assess your learning of: pertinent rhetorical terms, knowledge of authors/literature and important social/historical contexts that inform the texts we have read. Once you have taken the exams, you will write two reflective paragraphs, one on the mid-term and one on the final. These will be inserted in your portfolio. As part of your reflective writings, you might reflect on the way in which these exams helped you to assimilate and synthesize knowledge learned over the semester or write about your experience of the exams. We will discuss your reflective writing more in class. (20% mid-term, 30% final)

4. Ensayo auto-reflexivo sobre su experiencia académica: At the end of the semester, you will write a one (250-300 words) to two-page (500-600 words) reflective essay in Spanish about your experience in class. This essay should take into account what you have learned about 19^th Century Spanish literature, as well as discuss your experience as a member of an academic community learning about the writing produced by the authors studied. In your writing, I encourage you to talk about how your portfolio writing, class participation, exams, attendance and engagement at all levels influenced your performance. (10%)

Requirements and Policies:

A. The fiction, poetry and mini-lectures for this course will be in Spanish. As such, the language to be used in class discussions and all other assignments, be they written or oral, must be Spanish.

B. All students are required to attend weekly sessions and actively and enthusiastically participate in class discussions. Students are permitted to miss a maximum of 3 class periods (i.e., one week of class). For each absence beyond three, your final cumulative grade will be reduced by 2% per missed class. After a total of 8 unexcused absences, the professor maintains the right to withdraw any student. Please note that I regard tardiness as equally offensive as excessive absence. Legitimate extenuating circumstances (grave illness, hospitalization, funeral of a family member, etc.) merit special consideration. Please see me if a special circumstance requires you to miss class.

Make an effort to arrive to class on time, and if some extenuating circumstance keeps you from arriving on time, please be kind to those already in class (do not interrupt the class more than necessary).

C. Students are required to have COMPLETED the reading assignment for each class period PRIOR to the class in which the reading will be discussed. By “completed,” I mean that students will have: 1) read the full text at least once and looked up difficult vocabulary, 2) taken notes in a notebook and/or in the margins of the textbook, 3) written out questions that emerged from the reading and 4) TYPED OUT assignments. If, for any reason, you have not completed the reading, please let me know privately prior to the beginning of class. This is not so that I can punish you, but so that I can refrain from calling on you, which would be embarrassing for both of us and slow down the pace of the class.

D. No make-up exams or quizzes will be given. Late assignments--essays, homework, etc--will NOT be accepted unless the student has obtained the professor’s permission in doing so.

E. No electronic submission of any assignment will be accepted. No handwritten submission of any assignment will be accepted.

F. Students should turn off cellular phones during class. Cellular phones distract your colleagues from the task at hand, and I find such distractions personally rude and annoying.

G. Academic dishonesty and/or plagiarism. All assignments handed in must reflect the individual work of the student handing in the assignment. I am personally offended and disturbed by acts of academic dishonesty, cheating and plagiarism. The Ithaca College Student Conduct Code describes these offenses and possible actions resulting from such behavior here: STUDENT CONDUCT CODE OF ITHACA COLLEGE, APPENDIX II. If you have ANY doubt as to how to cite or paraphrase a source, ask.