Professor Steven Wagschal
email: swagscha@indiana.edu

TR 9:30AM - 10:45AM/Section #9342/3 cr./Ballantine Hall 221

Themes in Hispanic Literature
Theme: Madness in Early Modern Spain

How and why do definitions of madness change over time? Is Foucault
right that madness is an epistemological problem? Are women and men
judged mad by the same criteria? This interdisciplinary course
explores the varied representations and discourses of madness in
Spanish literature, art and culture, from the 15th to the 17th
centuries, with emphasis on works by Cervantes.

The seminar begins with a contextualizing section on medieval
representations of madness as associated with earthly as opposed to
divine love. Then we will turn to 16th and 17th-century theories of
the soul and mind, as represented in the works of early
"psychologists" J. L. Vives, Réné Descartes and Robert Burton. Next we
examine the proliferation of representations of madness in prose works
by Erasmus, Cervantes, Zayas, and Quevedo, and later, in theatrical
pieces by Lope de Vega, Guillén de Castro and Calderón. Finally, from
an historiographic perspective, we will consider the madness of a
defamed royal personage, Juana I "La loca" of Castille, comparing
early chronicles of her life and alleged madness to contemporary
interpretations of the political and social dimensions of her
affliction.

As this is a seminar, graduate students will be expected to give
regular presentations of primary and secondary readings, as well as
prepare one 15-20 page final research paper, which will be the basis
for their final oral presentation of 20 minutes.

The course will be conducted in Spanish.