*Any writing should be typed and double-spaced with reasonable margins and font sizes (please use 12 pt. I'm getting old and the eyesight is going quickly).
 

Ciclo de cine español:  For information, see http://www.indiana.edu/~madweb/filmseries.html

CE:
"Los amantes del círculo polar". Due Friday Jan 29 by 5pm.  To turn in on my door  (869 BH), in the envelope marked "Spanish Culture 411".
A 1-2 page (at least 1 full page; 2 *max*) response paper for "Los amantes del circulo polar".  Double-spaced, in Spanish.  You might just choose one or two aspects of the movie you'd like to talk about, your interpretation of the movie, or the aspects you found most disturbing or interesting, for example.  This is a fairly open assignment.  However, try to stick to the film, using the movie, its characters and scenes to make your point.  Stay away from any kind of plot summary or "it was good" generalizations.

CE:
"Bienvenido Mister Marshall".  Shown Tuesday, February 1, 7:30 pm, Wylie 005.
Same assignment as "Los amantes del círculo polar".  Due February 4 by 5pm.  To turn in on my door (869 BH).  Additional note:  as we go, youâll become better writers and analysts, but try to keep your analysis/interpretation centered on the movie, on the characters, etc. and away from yourself per se (i.e. "That once happened to me ·.".  If you are confused about this, please email me or stop in during office hours.

CE:
"!Ay Carmela!".  Shown Tuesday, February 29. 7:30pm, Wylie 005.
If you can make the showing, all you need to do is show up and watch the movie to get credit.

If you can't make the showing, you may view the movie in Media Reserves in the library.  After watching, please  answer the following questions in a one page response (double spaced, 12pt, typed):
1.  What is the crux of the movie, in your opinion?  What seems to be the main problem they are grappling with? Explain briefly (no plot summary here).
2.  What is your opinion about the way it was resolved in the movie?  Do you agree with the way the characters reacted?
3.  What did you learn about the Civil War through Saura's depiction?

Due Date:  Please turn this in by Friday, March 24, 5pm on my door 869 BH in the envelope marked "Drop off folder for 411".  The video will be available Tuesday night (Feb 29) after the showing under my name in "Personal Reserves".
 

CE:
"Cartas de Alou".  Shown Tuesday, March 28. 7:30pm, Wylie 005.  The movie is also on Personal Reserves at the Media/Reserves desk, Main Library.  It's listed under my name, our course, etc.

Choose any *one* of the "Temas para contemplar al mirar la
pelicula" from the guide and write 1 to 1 1/2 pages (double spaced) on that topic. The questions below in the guide will also help you think about these themes. 

Due date: Monday, April 3, by class time, when we discuss the film.
 

Colloquium/ Talks: Back to Top
CE:
Catalan Colloquium:  Marginality and Otherness Revisited.  March 2-4, 2000

Simply your presence in mind and body at any part of the
upcoming Catalan Colloquium will earn you extra credit. 

There are many papers on the schedule that promise to enhance what we're
doing in class, both in the cultural history and the contemporary issues
sections of our course.  The speakers are very prominent in their fields
and are from all over (IU, Barcelona, U of Chicago, Harvard, Cornell,
Northwestern, OSU).  Most papers are in English, one in catalan.  The paper
in catalan will be supplemented with something written in English in case
you want to "hear"  catalan.

Check the following web site if you're interested in attending:
http://www.indiana.edu/~spanport/spactivities.html
 

CE:
Talk:  Thursday, March 2, at 4pm.  The Lilly Library Lounge       Back to Top

JEWS, CHRISTIANS, AND CONVERSOS: HYBRIDITY AND THE
MAKING OF COMMUNAL MEMORY IN FIFTEENTH-CENTURY SPAIN

This promises to be an interesting talk by a major scholar on cultural
hybridity in 14th and 15th c. Spain and may be something that even helps
you focus before the midterm.

All that is required to earn extra credit is *your presence* in mind and body.

The forced conversion of Jews in late fourteenth-century Spain posed
problems of classification:  were the converts (sometimes referred to as
"marranos," i.e. pigs) Christian, Jewish, or somewhere in between?
Professor Nirenberg will show how anxiety about the converts' hybridity
generated a new emphasis upon genealogical memory within all three groups,
and led to an emphasis upon purity of blood and lineage that some have seen as an early form of racism.  He will propose a link between this logic of lineage and the beginning of "cultural history" amongst Christians and Jews in the same period.

DAVID NIRENBERG has been responsible for the formation of a major center for cultural studies at Rice University.  His book COMMUNITIES OF
VIOLENCE: PERSECUTION OF MINORITIES IN THE MIDDLE AGES (1996), which focused on the cultural relations among Christians, Muslims, and Jews, won prizes from the American Historical Association, the Society for Spanish and Portuguese Historical Studies, and the Medieval Academy. He has been a visitor at Princeton's Institute for Advanced Study, will be a visiting professor at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales this spring, and then will proceed to Stanford, where he will be a fellow in their Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences.

The talk will be followed by a reception, also in the Lilly Lounge.

Moras y cristianas is a novel on women during the Middle Ages that has recently come out in Spain and has been extremely popular.  Each chapter is divided in half:  one section tells the story of a mora, the other of a cristiana, but both are from of the same class or lifestyle, generating interesting comparisons between the two cultures.  In fact, the book was written by two women, one working on the moras, the other, on the cristianas.  The novel, then, provides an engaging look into the daily lives of women that cover the spectrum at that time, alternating between the daily lives of women of the Reconquest, and those of Al-Andalus.  Itâs a good read and gives you an interesting perspective on what weâve been doing in class.  In many ways, it brings it to life.

The chapters I have left on reserve include "Las prostitutas", 
"Las campesinas", "Las taberneras", "Las intelectuales", and 
"Las sultanas/reinas".

The assignment is to choose one or two chapters and comment on them in a 2 (max 3) page paper.  What surprised you in the reading?  What do you think the writers are trying to show?  What kinds of characters do they build and why do you think that (use the text to make your point)?  Through their depiction of these women, do the authors seem to say that one culture is "more advanced"?  In what ways or according to what criteria, in your opinion?  If you choose to write on two chapters, choose two that represent different social classes (i.e. las campesinas and las reinas/sultanas).  Any questions or if you'd like to share ideas about the readings, drop in on my office hours or email me.
 

CE:    Back to Top
"La guitarra" de Federico García Lorca.  1-2 (max) page analysis.  Double-spaced.  Due date:  Wed, April 12, 2000.

Read this poem carefully and based on our readings and discussions today (April 5), analyze the representation of "la cultura gitana" in this poem.  Consider the images, metaphors, symbols, etc. that help you read the poem in this way.  Include specific details from the poem that support your interpretation.  Consider at some point in your analysis in what way this representation responds to a socio-historic reality.  NOTE:  stay far away from plot summary here.  Use the poem to show me how you are reading it.