LTAM 132
THE DARK SIDE OF ENLIGHTENMENT: BASTARDS OF
1898
MWF 9-10 AM
Instructor: John D. Blanco
jdblanco@ucsd.edu
Office Hours: W 2-4 or by appt.
Warren Lecture Hall 2115
3434 Literature Bldg.
phone: 4-3639
This course is intended as an introduction to the anti-colonial thought of the Philippines
and Spanish Caribbean as both a frame for understanding and reflecting on U.S. imperial
designs in these two regions at the turn of the century. We will begin with a famous
sixteenth-century emblem of the legacy of Eurocentrism and colonial exploitation in the
New World, Shakespeare’s Caliban. Tracing the descent of this figure into the anticolonial thought of Latin America at the turn of the century, we will use the theme of the
bastard (and the question of paternity that bastards commonly raise) as a point of
departure for analyzing and evaluating various challenges to colonial rule in the works of
Puerto Rican, Cuban, Filipino and Afro-American writers. The last part of the class will
examine the legacy of anti-colonial thought to the post-colonial novel and essay.
READINGS (available at UCSD bookstore at Price Center):
Shakespeare, The Tempest
José Rizal, Noli me tangere
Manuel Zeno Gandía, La Charca
José Martí, Ismaelillo
Pauline Hopkins, (Of) One Blood
Course reader (Richard Sennett, Simone de Beauvoir, Rubén Darío, José Martí, José
Rizal, Roberto Fernández Retamar, Coco Fusco)
READING SCHEDULE (“*” designates works in the course reader)
Monday, 4/1
Introduction: The World of 1898
Wednesday, 4/3
Colonial Fathers
“Savage Acts” (film)
*Richard Sennett, “Paternalism”; Simone de Beauvoir, Second
Sex (ex.)
Friday, 4/5W 4/10
Shakespeare, The Tempest
Degenerates
F 4/12W 4/24
Manuel Zeno Gandía, La charca [The Sludge Pit]
John D. Blanco | LTAM 132 course syllabus
Spring 2002 | page 1
1st short assignment due (Friday, April 12)
Fathers Lost and Found
F 4/26M 4/29
*José Martí, Ismaelillo, “Coney Island”
*Rubén Darío, “Triunfo de Calibán”
* José Rizal, “Filipinas dentro de cien años”
[“The Philippines a Century Hence”]
W 5/1
1st paper due (Monday, April 29)
F 5/3M 5/13
Pauline Hopkins, (Of) One Blood
2nd short assignment due (Monday, May 15)
Forget the Father
W 5/15F 5/31
Ninotchka Rosca, State of War
M 6/1W 6/5
*Roberto Fernández Retamar, “Calibán”
*Coco Fusco, “Miranda’s Diary”
2nd paper due (Monday, June 1)
F 6/7
Conclusion
REQUIREMENTS:
2 papers (approx. 5 and 7 pages respectively): 20% and 30%
Attendance: 15%
Participation: 5%
Quizzes and short assignments: 10%
Final exam: 20%
Students are allowed a maximum of 3 unexcused absences. Regarding all written
assignments, students are expected to comply with the student conduct code in all
respects. Student responsibilities are specified in the front matter of the Schedule of
Classes booklet.
John D. Blanco | course syllabus
page 2