Unit information: Contemporary Latin-American Poetry in 2019/20

Unit name	Contemporary Latin-American Poetry
Unit code	HISP20107
Credit points	20
Level of study	I/5
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12)
Unit director	Dr. Kosick
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None
School/department	Department of Hispanic, Portuguese and Latin American Studies
Faculty	Faculty of Arts

Description including Unit Aims

This unit will explore the rich terrain of contemporary poetry within the American hemisphere. It will draw on examples of poetry by writers in Latin America as well as by Latinx writers in the United States. Students will read poetry written originally in Spanish, Portuguese, and English (as well as poetry written in a mix of these and other languages). It will challenge students to consider the how people, texts, and ideas circulate, making use of studies of migration, translation, and media. It will ask students to investigate the socio-political context of the contemporary Americas and to examine how poetry responds to and situates itself within this context. This unit will be open to both Spanish and Portuguese students. Translations of key texts will be provided as necessary.

Aims:

• to introduce students to the landscape of contemporary poetry in the Americas;
• to develop and foster practice in a comparative approach to Latin American studies;
• to enhance skills in literary analysis and interpretation;
• to develop students’ abilities to think critically about the relationship between poetry and politics;
• to facilitate students’ practice with an evidence-driven approach to argumentation.

Intended Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, a student will be able to demonstrate:

1. knowledge and understanding of the level of key figures and trends in Latin(x) American poetry;
2. enhanced ability to analyse, describe, and interpret poetry;
3. enhanced skills in comparison, both literary and geo-cultural;
4. constructive structured, written analysis in response to set (primary, theoretical, historical) texts in a foreign language;
5. ability to construct and support sophisticated arguments in writing.
6. formulate their findings in language that is accurate and appropriate to the task, to a high standard of presentation

Teaching Information

One 2-hour seminar per week

Assessment Information

One formative group presentation

One 2000 word essay (students will suggest own essay titles in collaboration with the instructor) (40%) testing ILO's 1-3

One 2-hour exam (60%) testing ILO's 1, 4-6.

Reading and References

Key texts for this class will include selections by:

Cecilia Vicuña

Leonardo Gandolfi

Rosa Alcalá

Vickie Vértiz

Angélica Freitas

Urayoán Noel

Roy G. Guzmán