Seminar On the Complete Works of Leonardo Padura

3 units

The highly acclaimed and award-winning Cuban author Padura is known for his seven detective novels and many journalistic articles that deal with social and political issues in Cuba. We will read his works Fiebre de caballo, Pasado perfecto, Vientos de cuaresma, Máscaras, Paisaje de otoño, La novela de mi vida, Adios Hemingway, La cola de la serpiente, La niebla del ayer, El hombre que amaba los perros, and Herejes. These works will be studied using scholarship on Padura as well as sources used by Padura in his writing; special attention will be paid to his style, structure and inter-textual preferences in examining Cuba's social and historical conditions as he raises questions about values and character creation in ways reminiscent of Tolstoy, Dostoievsky, Galdos and Dickens. Students will present a report on one of the novels, and produce a research paper of 20-25 pages on a topic chosen in consultation with the professor. Prereq: Graduate Standing. In Spanish.