Multilingual Encounters: Polyglot Literatures of Spain and Latin America

Undergraduate

This course offers an in-depth exploration of multilingual literatures from Spain and Latin America, focusing on the era of Iberian colonial expansion (c. 1492-1700). Although we often think of Spanish and Portuguese as the main languages of these regions, they have long coexisted with many others, sometimes in harmony, often in relationships shaped by power and inequality. This course focuses on writings that address, in some way or another, Spanish's vexed relationship with its neighboring languages, including Nahuatl, Quechua, Guarani, Galician, and Catalan. All readings are provided in the Spanish original or in Spanish translation; no prior knowledge of other languages is required. Topics include the multilingual landscape of medieval Iberia; the creation of grammars and dictionaries during the colonization of the Americas; the role of Indigenous, Black, and mestizo subjects as interpreters and translators in Colonial Latin America; Cervantes’ experiments with Arabic; and the emergence of bilingual authors such as Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala, the Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, and Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz. We conclude with contemporary poetry that reflects on ongoing linguistic diversity and cultural displacement in the Spanish-speaking world.Throughout the course, students discover that literature written in Spanish has always existed within a rich multilingual ecology. Together we consider broader questions about multilingualism, translation, identity, and cultural hybridity—questions that continue to shape literature and culture today. L5 , HU TTh 2:35pm-3:50pm