SPAN 377 Magical Realism in Latin America

Although magical realism remains a difficult term to define there is some consensus that Miguel Angel Asturias (from Guatemala) Alejo Carpentier (Cuba) Gabriel García Márquez (Colombia) and Isabel Allende (from Chile) are the most renowned practitioners of this literary genre. Pre-Columbian mythology peasant folklore popular Catholicism European surrealism the genealogical novel and an ethical pressure on Latin American writers to represent their national cultures all play a part in the development of magical realism in Latin America. The course explores why Men of Maize (Asturias) The Kingdom of This World (Carpentier) One Hundred Years of Solitude (García Márquez) and The House of the Spirits (Allende) are considered paradigmatic works of magical realism. Throughout the course students will be asked to reflect upon the contested meanings and history of the term "magical realism" as the term is applied to different works of Latin American fiction.