Seminar : Topics in Spanish Literature [ LROM2514 ]

Advanced Spanish level.

- Theoretical and methodological bases
- Delimitation and analysis of a body of text
- Sharing and discussing results.

The student will receive in this seminar the grounding necessary to carry out a research task in the field of contemporary Spanish literature and to take part in a scholarly debate in this field.

Written work which will be the subject of a dual assessment: formative assessment (revision of the first version by the professor and the student's peers) and final assessment (of the final version).

The students will be introduced to the seminar topic by means of a discussion of critical articles and theories. They will produce their own analyses on the basis of the foregoing which will be the subject of an oral presentation and a discussion, as well as a written article.

The seminar will deal with the topic of inscribing poetry in public places in modern Latin America. The students' reflection will centre around three axes: what forms, places and meaningful practices are there? Whether it is in the form of monumental or ephemeral inscription, or just a single performance, the poetic form cannot be separated from the place and performers which make it possible, readable or audible. What forms does it take? Which traditions does it relate to? The question of places opens us up to a vast typology as the choice of space and context determines the meaning of poetic enunciations or inscriptions. We will examine the impact of poetry in particular spaces (theatres, auditoria ... ) or outdoor urban spaces (streets, public squares, parks), (non-) places typical of late modernity (airports, major stations, metros, shopping centres) and in the countryside (land art). Also, conversely, what is the effect of inscription in a space (in a material form or in the form of a performance) upon the poetry itself? Finally, the issue of meaningful practices will lead us to question the critical and political function of this poetry in public spaces in connection with the reappropriation of public spaces (is it commemorative, a means of resistance, educational, playful or aesthetic, for example?). How do these functions rely upon existing repertoires, do they reorganise them and do they give them new meaning? How do they interact with specific works (for example the connection between amateur poetry and the development of a national heritage, or between an isolated performance and collective memory linked to the identity of a threatened community)?
We concentrate in particular upon Chilean and Argentine poetry.

Casas, Arturo (coord.). Poesía y espacio público: condiciones, intervención, efectos. Tropelías n°18 (2012). N° spécial.

Casas, A. ' Bollig, B. eds. (2011): Resistance and Emancipation: Cultural and Poetic Practices. Oxford y Berna, Peter Lang, serie 'Hispanic Studies'.

Franke, Astrid: Persue the illusion: problems of public poetry in America. Heidelberg: Winter, 2010. 

Gräbner, C. ' Wood, D. M. J. eds. The Poetics of Resistance, número monográfico de Cosmos and History. The Journal of Natural and Social Philosophy, 6/2 (2010) http://www.cosmosandhistory.org/index.php/journal/issue/view/10.

Hanna(Christophe), Nos dispositifs poétiques, Paris, Questions théoriques, 2010.

An individualised framework is proposed to students during and after the preparation of their talks.