Latina/o Literature and
Literature of the Americas at the
University of Northern Colorado

ENG 262.008
World Literature: tales and myths of the Americas
Spring, 1997
2:30 - 3:50 Tth
L84 Michener
Professor Marcus Embry
L-30 Michener, 351-2111
membry@unco.edu
http://asweb.unico.edu/latina/

All books are available at The Book Stop, 931 16th St.

In this course we will examine tales and myths of the Americas. Our focus will be on the Americas as a hemisphere rather than America as another name for the United States. Our notion of myths and tales will be broad and perhaps undefined, so the dog may wag yet.

History: How does history function in the following works? Does a mythic structure somehow conflict with the historical information in the texts?


Week 1: Introduction
1/14-16 One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez




Week 2: One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
1/21-23


Week 3: Ramona, Helen Hunt Jackson
1/28-30


Week 4: Ramona, Helen Hunt Jackson
2/4-6 In the American Grain, William Carlos Williams


Week 5: In the American Grain, William Carlos Williams
2/11-13
Take-home essay exam

Lands and Politics: How do the following works rely on a specific land or sense of the land in their texts? Are these works mythical? Do these works appeal to a sense of myth and/or history similar to the previous texts?


Week 6: Selected Poems of Pablo Neruda
2/18-20


Week 7: Selected Poems of Pablo Neruda
2/25-27


Week 8: Bless Me, Ultima, Rudolfo Anaya
3/4-6


Week 9: The Lost Steps, Alejo Carpentier
3/11-13
Research Paper proposals due
Week 10: The Lost Steps, Alejo Carpentier
3/25-27 Democracy, Joan Dideon
Take-home essay exam

Borders and Performances: How do borders work in the following texts? Are these familiar borders? How can we compare borders based on geopolitics, race, culture, and language? How do we interact with borders?


Week 11: Democracy, Joan Dideon
4/1-3

Week 12: Ceremony, Leslie Marmon Silko
4/8-10


Week 13: Ceremony, Leslie Marmon Silko
4/15-17
Research Papers due


Week 14: Articles by Coco Fusco and Guillermo Gomez Pena
4/22-24


Week 15: Articles by Coco Fusco and Guillermo Gomez Pena
4/29-5/1


Final Exam

Requirements:
Three take-home essay exams (60%)
Research paper 10-12 pp. (30%)
Attendance and participation (10%)