Lit 128 -introduction

Literature 128Required Texts:The Oxford Book of Latin American Short StoriesTwentieth-Century Latin American Poetry

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Is it any written work?Is it any published writing or book?Is it anything from creative writing regardless the subject?What is Literature?

Human dreams and strugglesReligious WorldPhilosophic WorldCultural WorldWhat is Literature?

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The function of LiteratureLiterature represents human experiences, entertains, and expands readers perspectives about themselves, others, diverse cultures, and different aspects of life.

This course will paid close attention to the historical and cultural context behind the works

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Literature includes fiction (novels and short stories); drama (plays, scripts, and some films); poetry (poems and lyrics); as well as nonfiction with artistic qualities (memoirs, personal essays, and the like).

Whatever critical paradigm we use to discuss and analyze literature, there is still an artistic quality to the works. Literature is important to us because it speaks to us, it is universal, and it affects us. Even when it is ugly, literature is beautiful.What is Literature?

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Reading

Wrinting about Literature

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How to read Literature?

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LiteralLevel

who's who, what's happening, where is it happening, how is the action resolved?

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Rethink the work

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Analytical levelRethink the work: Is the author trying to:make a pointproduce a reaction in meentertain all of the above. 2. Why do I like, dislike, or have a mixed feeling about the work?3. Is the work conventional or unusual in terms of what I have read?

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More Specific Reading Approach:What is the significance of the title?What does the author accomplish is his first and last sentence?Are names of characters, settings or objects chosen appropriately, ironically or accidentally?What instance of repetition can be detected?What is the nature of the conflict(s) and what is its resolution?What patterns of characters and incident are established to lead inevitably to a particular resolution?

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JournalWriting a Journal

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The Journal

In our discussions you will not only analyze the literary text but also will examine your own experiences and beliefs. You will read the literary work closely, and then will write about it. You will look for details or passages that relate to each other. In so doing, you can form a TOPIC or THESIS STATEMENT for writing about the text. As you read, mark up the text by selectively underlining or highlighting passages, by writing notes, comments, or questions in the margin, or by taking notes separately.

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CulturalAnalysislevel

Cultural analysis of literature

A cultural analysis relates the literary work to broader historical, social, cultural, and political situations. You will need to analyze and explain how events or prevailing attitudes influence the writing of a work.

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Latin American Literature

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Latin American LiteratureWhat is meant by Latin America?

ThoseareasofAmericawhoseofficiallanguagesareSpanishand Portuguese,derivedfromLatin:SouthAmerica,CentralAmerica, Mexico,andcertainislandsintheCaribbean. (Collins English dictionary)

What Roberto Gonzalez Echevarria author of The Oxford Book of Latin American Short Stories says about it? (Read Preface)

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The End

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The Oxford Book of Latin American Short Stories.

Preface and Introduction

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The volume consists of an interesting preface, a nineteen-page Introduction to the genre of the short story in Latin America and fifty-three short stories

The purpose of this collection of Latin American short stories is to provide the reader, especially the English-speaking one, with a solid foundation of the major works of short fiction written by very well known Latin American authors. The Preface

What is an anthology?A collection of selected writings by various authors, usually in the same literary form, of the same period, or on the same subject

In the Preface, Echevarria describes not only his excitement in compiling this anthology, but also his agonizing dilemma in deciding which short stories to include or exclude from the collection. In providing the reader with this personal account, Echevarria adds an important human touch to this anthology.

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The Oxford Book of Latin American Short Stories allows the reader to see the connections between writers from the many diverse nations that make up Latin America and from works composed from before the fifteenth century to the present.

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Introduction

The Introduction clears up some misconceptions readers might have of Latin American literature, specifically questions and issues surrounding the short story. The editor begins by attempting to define this difficult genre. He includes the evolution of this literary genre in Latin America. The short story is traced from its appearance in the oral literature of native peoples of Latin America long before Columbus' arrival in the New World until today.

Gonzalez Echevarria is especially attentive to the key connections between the text and the historical and literary context when the author is writing.

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These stories are divided into three main sections: The Colonial Period New NationsThe Contemporary Period.

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Sabout the introduction

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Introduction Assignment:

In his introduction to the book Echevarria mentions three misconceptions concerning Latin American literature. In your own words can you name them?

What are some of the facts that contradict these misconceptions?

What are some of the reasons of the quantity and quality of Latin American short stories?

Why Echevarria states: Of all the modern prose genres, the short story is both the most and the least literary?

Can you explain what makes a short story?

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Introduction Assignment:

The short story is traced by Echevarria from its appearance in the oral literature of native peoples of Latin America long before Columbus' arrival in the New World. Can you mention some of the themes on those stories?

Echeverria divide Latin American short stories in three main sections. Can you name them?

Can you please summarize in your own words some the aspects analyzed by Echeverria that are particular to each section? Due next class 2/17

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The End

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