SPAN 411 - Literature and Latin America

Units: 4 ; Breadth Area: GE-UD-3
Survey of Latin American Literature from pre-Colombian texts to the present. An introduction to literary discourse exploring literary questions in Latin America and other traditions. Socio-political, aesthetic, philosophical and literary ideas of the conquest and colonial literature, romanticism, realism, modernism and postmodernism discussed.

Breadth Area(s) Satisfied: GE-UD-3 - Upper Division Arts or Humanities
Prerequisites: Completion of GE Areas 1A, 1B, 1C and GE-2 with grade C- (CR) or better (GE Areas A1, A2, A3 and B4 for students on the 2024-25 or earlier catalogs).
Strongly Recommended Preparation: SPAN 343 and/or Upper Division status (greater than 60 earned semester units) and completion of lower division Area C requirements. Taught in Spanish/English; English modules provided for non-Spanish speakers.
Possible Instructional Methods: On-ground, or Hybrid, or Online-Asynchronous, or Online-Synchronous.
Grading: A-F grading only.
Course Typically Offered: Fall & Spring

Student Learning Outcomes - Upon successful completion of this course students will be able to:

Identify the nations that comprise the political designation “Latin America,” and be able to recognize and discuss the major literary works, genres, movements, and ideological components of this category
Recognize and discuss literary discourse and literary questions in Latin American literature and other traditions; and identify major tropes used by representative authors.
Describe major periods of Latin American-from the precolonial to the postmodern- and compare them to other literary traditions with an emphasis on critical aspects of literary discourse.
Apply appropriate and culturally relevant critical lenses to respond to, evaluate, analyze, and understand major works of Latin American literature and other traditions.

GE-UD-3. Upper-division Arts or Humanities Learning Outcomes

Demonstrate an understanding of and ability to apply principles, methodologies, values systems, and thought processes employed in the arts and humanities.
Analyze cultural production as an expression of, or reflection upon, what it means to be human.
Demonstrate how the perspectives of the arts or humanities are used by informed, engaged, and reflective citizens to benefit local and global communities.