Colonial Memories, Postcolonial Crossings, and Spanish Cultural Studies

3 units

In this course we will examine different approaches to postcolonial studies (Edward Said, Gayatri Spivak, Dipesh Chakrabarty, Ella Shohat, Walter Mignolo) in relation to texts focusing specifically on Spain's cultural and religious pluralism (Américo Castro, Daniela Flesler, Susan Martin-Márquez, Eduardo Subirats, Alfredo Campoy-Cubillo). We will also discuss the theoretical foundations of such concepts as Convivencia, Orientalism, Transatlantic Studies, and Mediterranean Studies. We will begin the semester by discussing the end of Spanish empire in the nineteenth century and then move across the violent twentieth century and into the twenty-first century in order to assess the ways in which colonial, postcolonial, and neo-colonial discourses shape contemporary culture in Spain and the nation's former colonies. Primary texts may include novels (Ana María Matute's Primera Memoria, Juan Goytisolo's Don Julian ), films (Chus Gutiérrez's films Poniente [2001] and Retorno a Hansala [2008], Iciar Bollaín's films Flores de Otro Mundo [1999] and Tambien la Lluvia [2012]), and more recent depictions of and approaches to migration, multiculturalism, and memory in Spain in times of crises. All texts are available in translation.