Contemporary Spanish Women's Writings

Spanish Women Writers: Love, Sex and Violence in Contemporary Spanish Literature

Profesora 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: “Spanish Women Writers: Love, Sex and Violence in Contemporary Spanish Literature” foregrounds shorts stories and poetry by some of Spain’s most revered literary talents: Esther Tusquets, Carme Riera, Rosa Montero, Cristina Fernández Cubas, and Ana Rossetti, among others. Our objective will be to define, analyze and interpret the ways in which love, sexual desire and violence emerge as dominant themes within their works. By studying these themes, we will explore the ways in which female subjectivity and agency have been transformed and continue to respond to social and political change.

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 to compile your work. Use labeled dividers to organize sections (i.e., “Ensayos cortos,” “Guías de lectura,” etc.). Make sure the outside of the binder 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 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 and essays saved on computer and zip/CD, etc.). Each time your portfolio is collected, it will be evaluated/graded. Your portfolio must include:

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 by noon (class time) 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 and the themes we are studying on a regular basis. In your writing, you are expected to reflect and 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. Other ideas might be: thinking about an alternative ending to a story, telling the story from another point of view (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 (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, etc.) but also encompasses 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 insight and keen understanding; it is written in standard Spanish, is logical and coherent.

√ (check, B): This is an average short essay, of average length. It uses standard Spanish, is logical and coherent.

√- (check-minus, C): This is an average short essay, but it may contain sub-standard Spanish and/or be illogical and/or be incoherent, and/or be too short/too long. If the essay is not in class for any reason on any given Wednesday, even if you show up with it five minutes after class is over, it will also receive a √-, no matter how well it is written. Remember, one of the main points of these assignments is that they are shared in class.

0--points if your journal is simply never handed in

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 paragraph telling me why you selected these particular essays for inclusion in the portfolio. (40%)

Guías de lectura: For just about each reading, I will give you a series of reading comprehension questions. Though you must complete all of these to fully participate in daily class sessions, choose your best 10 to insert, typed (use 12 point, Times New Roman font, with margins of 1”), in the portfolio. Be sure to place these in the portfolio in the order they were originally completed during the semester, and make sure that your work reflects the range of your abilities as a student. Also, for each of the guías de lectura in the portfolio, comment on which questions were most difficult/easy to complete and why. Comments (oral and written) on the ways in which this material fits into your academic life/other classes are always appreciated. Remember that I will be grading your comments as much as your ability to analyze literature. Your answers to questions should be well organized, coherent and detailed, but they do not need to be very long (3-4 sentences per question should suffice). Make sure that your responses show insight into the literature. Do not be afraid to make reference to the literature read to prove a point you wish to make. (30%)

Escritura Creativa: You will write, as a final project, a series of five original poems (no more than 5 pages, typed), or one short story (three to five pages) in Spanish. Whichever you choose, the poetry or the short story, you must incorporate the themes studied in class into your work. These works will be handed in to me before classes end so that you will have a chance to revise them. We will share this writing with each other during the week of final exams. (20%)

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) reflection essay in Spanish about your experience in class. This essay should take into account what you have learned about Spanish women’s writings from 1975 to the present day, 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, 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.

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.

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