Professor Darlene Sadlier
Email: sadlier@indiana.edu

P701	Portuguese Literature
	Topic:	Modernity and Nationhood: 19th-Century Portuguese
Prose

W 4:00pm – 6:30pm/section #4374/3 cr./Ballantine Hall 205

	In 1865, the poet Antero de Quental wrote a polemical essay
entitled "Bom Senso e Bom Gosto" which galvanized Portugal's
literary community. In it, he attacked Lisbon's eminence grise
António de Castilho, who, in a preface to a book of poems by his
friend Pinheiro Chagas, had criticized Quental and other Coimbra
intellectuals for their left-liberal politics and literary
radicalism. Among those who ultimately aligned themselves with
Quental's critique of the nation's malaise was the
novelist Eça de Queiroz, who became one of the major literary
figures in late 19th-century Europe.

	Following the 1865 polemic, Quental, Eça and others formed
the "Generation of 1870," which sought to reform and modernize the
nation--most visibly through a series of public lectures, the Casino
Conferences, that were ultimately deemed "subversive" and banned by
the government. Despite the forced closure of the conference, the
literary and political agenda of the Generation of 70 had
significant repercussions: it was instrumental in the creation of
the Republican Party and the demise of a centuries-old monarchy; and
it inspired a group of avant-garde writers--most prominently
Fernando Pessoa, who became the leading figure of Portuguese
modernism. According to critic Jacinto do Prado Coelho, the
Generation of 70 was also important to the formation of the Spanish
Generation of 98.

	In the seminar we will read authors whose works form part of
the exchange and debate begun in 1865 about modernity and the
Portuguese nation. Readings will include fiction as well as the
essay. Students will be required to write a seminar paper on a topic
to be decided in consultation with the instructor.