LITR336 - The Imaginary Real: Magical Realism in Latin American Literature

Course Code: LITR336 Course ID: 5443 Credit Hours: 3 Level: Undergraduate

In this course featuring literature from the Spanish-speaking countries of Latin America, students will be introduced to key writers of this genre. Starting with the first magical realism works in the 1920s and spanning a century of literary narrative, this course emphasizes the Latin American Boom writers of the 1960s and ‘70s, who transformed this literary style into a distinctly Latin American phenomenon. Students will be asked to consider magic and realism concepts in key literary works by Jorge Luis Borges, Julio Cortázar, Alejo Carpentier, Juan Rulfo, Gabriel García Marquez, Isabel Allende, Laura Esquivel, and other literary giants. Students will also be challenged to think critically about prominent themes to better understand the evolving character and identity of Latin America.