HISP 233
Self, Society, and Writing In Contemporary Latin American ‘Autoficción’
Prof. Priscilla Meléndez
Spring 2014
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
The goal of this course is to examine contemporary Spanish American short
stories and novels, mainly from the second half of the twentieth century to the
present, where the figure of an/the author—real or fictional—is present within
the fiction. As Beatriz Trastoy observes, what is of interest about the concept of
‘autoficción’ is its persistent ambiguity as it asks to be and not to be believed, as
it presents itself as simultaneously false and serious, refusing to offer the
necessary signs to differentiate between reality and fiction. This will lead us to
examine the discourse of real and fictional autobiography as writers explore their
own identity inside and outside fiction. Authors to be discussed include: Jorge
Luis Borges, Gabriel García Márquez, Mario Vargas Llosa, Roberto Bolaño, Ena
Lucía Portela, and Patricio Pron.
TEXTS:
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Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter (Perú 1977) – Mario Vargas Llosa
Chronicle of a Death Foretold (Colombia 1981) – Gabriel García Márquez
Distant Star (Chile 1996) – Roberto Bolaño
One Hundred Bottles (Cuba 2002) – Ena Lucía Portela
My Father’s Ghost is Climbing in the Rain (Argentina 2011) – Patricio Pron
Digitilized short stories (see Moodle)
RULES AND REQUIREMENTS:
Class Participation: 10%
Attendance and timely arrival to class is required and students are expected to
participate in class discussion. Unjustified absences will affect negatively the class
participation grade. The student has to carefully read the material assigned and
reflect on it prior to class discussion. It is fundamental that the student is capable of
summarizing the reading for the day and that s(he) brings a tentative analysis of the
material read. Look on the web for bio-bibliographical information about the
authors and their respective historical periods.
Blogging: 30%
The student will blog three 2-page writing excercises, double space, reflecting on a
topic offered by the professor, and due the day we begin the discussion of the text.
The purpose of this exercise is to give the student the opportunity to discover by
her/him self the important dimensions of the work studied. The ideas presented in
these two short essays must be original and should be expressed with clarity and in
an organized manner. Late work will be penalized.
Exam: 18%
This exam will center on the historical and theoretical readings, and presentations
and on the analysis of the first short stories and novel of the course.
Essay: 17%
The student will write one 5-6 page essay. A week in advance, the professor will
offer at least two topics from which the student will select one. No late essay will be
accepted.
Final essay: 25%
For this final essay (9-10 pages + bibliography) the student will be presented with
several topics from which to choose one. The topics could include: 1) comparisons
of texts discussed in class; 2) a short story not discussed in class that would be
compared with a text from our course list. The student will have to demonstrate
critical competency of the works discussed in the essay, and should include at least 4
bibliographical sources. These sources should be either books or articles from peer
reviewed journals. Please consult the MLA Bibliography and also use the MLA
format.
GRADING:
10%
30%
18%
17%
25%
Class Participation
Three short blogs
One Exam
One 5-6 page essay
Final essay (9-10 pages)
Prof. Priscilla Meléndez
Spring 2014: T-Th 1:30-2:45 PM
Seabury 016; (860) 297-4176
Office Hours: T-Th 9-10 AM & by app.
priscilla.melendez@trincoll.edu
Classroom: MC 305
HISP 233
Self, Society, And Writing In Contemporary Latin American ‘Autoficción’
JANUARY:
21- Introduction. Latin American Literature: Overview
23- Introduction. Latin American Literature: Overview. Jean Franco, “ Modern Fiction”
in An Introduction to Spanish American Literature.
28- Theoretical frame. Max Saunders, “Autobiografiction: Experimental Life-Writing
from the turn of the Century to Modernism.”
30- Theoretical frame of “Autoficción”. Michael Foucault, “ What is an Author” in
Language, Counter-Memory, Practice. Theoretical frame of “Autoficción.”
FEBRERO:
4- Jorge Luis Borges (Argentina), “The Aleph” in El Aleph (1944)
6- Borges, “The Aleph” and “Borges and I” in The Maker [El hacedor, 1960]
11- Julio Cortázar (Argentina), “Apocalypse at Solentiname” in A Change of Light and
Other Stories [Alguien que anda por ahí, 1977]. Due date for Blog #1: 2 pages: Is it
pertinent to include Cortázar’s short story in a course devoted to “autoficción”? Justify
your answer. Before writing, reflect on the theoretical readings and discussions during
our first meetings, and deal directly with the idea of an author/narrator/character.
13- Cortázar, “Press Clippings” in We Love Glenda so Much [Queremos tanto a Glenda,
1980]. Aníbal González, “’Press Clippings’ and Cortázar’s Ethics of Writing.”
18- Exam #1
20- Mario Vargas Llosa (Peru), Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter (1977). Vargas Llosa,
“The Truth of Lies” in Making Waves.
25- Vargas Llosa, Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter. Randolph Pope, “How One Becomes
What One is (Not?): Vargas Llosa’s Autobiographical Myth.”
27- Vargas Llosa, Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter
MARZO:
4- Gabriel García Márquez (Colombia), Chronicle of a Death Foretold (1981). Due date
for Blog #2 (topic TBA)
6- García Márquez, Chronicle of a Death Foretold.
11- García Márque, Chronicle of a Death Foretold
13- García Márquez, “The Saint” in Strange Pilgrims [Doce cuentos pelegrinos, 1992].
15-23 Receso de primavera
25- Ana Lydia Vega (Puerto Rico), “Eye-Openers” [“Cuento en caminio”] in True and
False Romances [Falsas crónicas del sur (1991).
27- Roberto Bolaño, “Mauricio, ‘The Eye’ Silva” [“El Ojo Silva”] in Last Evening on
Earth.
ABRIL:
1- Roberto Bolaño (Chile), Distant Star (1996). Due date for Essay #1.
8- Bolaño, Distant Star.
10- Ena Lucía Portela (Cuba), One Hundred Bottles (2002). The topics for the final
essay will be distributed.
15- Portela, One Hundred Bottles
17- Portela, One Hundred Bottles
22- Patricio Pron (Argentina), My Father’s Ghost is Climbing in the Rain (2011). Due
date for Blog #3: Topic TBA.
24- Pron, My Father’s Ghost is Climbing in the Rain
29- Pron, My Father’s Ghost is Climbing in the Rain. Conclusion
Final essay is due on May 6 @ 9:30 AM.
Course Readings
Bolaño, Roberto. “Mauricio ‘The Eye’ Silva.” Last Evening on Earth. New York : New
Directions Books, 2007. 106-20.
Borges, Jorge Luis. Borges A Reader: A Selection from the writing of Jorge Luis Borges.
New York: E. P. Dutton, 1981.
Cortázar, Julio. We Love Glenda So Much and A change of Light. Trans. Gregory
Rabassa. New York: Vintage Books, 1984.
Foucault, Michael. “ What is an Author” in Language, Counter-Memory, Practice. Ed.
& Intro. Donald F. Bouchard Ithaca, NY: Cornell UP, 1977. 113-38.
González, Aníbal. “’Press Clippings’ and Cortázar’s Ethics of Writing.” Julio Cortázar:
New Readings. Ed. Carlos Alonso. New York: Cambridge UP, 1998. 237-57.
Lejeune, Philippe. “The Autobiographical Pact.” On Autobiography. Trans. Katherine
Leary. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P, 1989. 3-30.
Pope, Randolph. “How One Becomes What One is (Not?): Vargas Llosa’s
Autobiographical Myth.” Mario Vargas Llosa and the Persistence of Memory.
Ed. Miguel Angel Zapata. Lima: Biblioteca Nacional del Perú & Hofstra
University, 2006. 19-26.
Saunders, Max. “Autobiografiction (Ver Vera Toro p. 49)
Toro, Vera, Sabine Schlickers, Ana Luengo. “Introducción. Auto(r)ficción:
modelizaciones, problemas, estado de la investisgación.” La obsesión del yo: La
auto(r)ficción en la literatura española y latinoamericana. Eds. Vera Toro,
Sabine Schlickers, Ana Luengo. Madrid y Frankfurt: Iberoamericana y Vervuert,
2010. 7-30.
Vargas Llosa, Mario. “The Truth about Lies.” Making Waves. Ed. & trans. John King.
London: Faber & Faber, 1996. 320-30.
Vega, Ana Lydia. “Eye-Opener.” True and False Romances. Trans. Andrew Herley.
New York: Serpent’s Tail, 1994. 143-61.