HSS3005   The Idea of the Modern in Latin American Fiction   (20 credits)

Description

The most significant cultural phenomenon in the Spanish language since the golden age is probably the Latin American boom of the 1960s and after. Why was the boom so important and so influential internationally? and what is it that the makes the boom so intoxicating and special? This module aims to try and answer some of these questions. Six key Latin American novels will be examined, covering the rise of the new novel, the boom of the 1960s and the late twentieth-century phenomenon of the post-boom. The texts will be examined in terms of their problematic reaction against notions of 'tradition' from various perspectives (socio-political, philosophical and literary). A key theme will be that of changing attitudes to concepts such as 'reality' and 'realism'. The evolution of the new novel will be situated in the specifically Latin American context as well as in the broader contexts of the history of ideas and trends in world literature.

Reading List