Amherst College

Postwar Spain & the Novel Syllabus

Submitted by Sara J. Brenneis on Friday, 1/22/2010, at 2:40 PM
Spanish 89: Postwar Spain and the Novel

AMHERST COLLEGE
Spring 2010

M, W, F 11-11:50, Chapin 210

Profa. Sara J. Brenneis

sbrenneis@amherst.edu

office: Barrett 106

office hours: Mondays and Wednesdays 1-2 and by appointment

I. Course Description

The Spanish Civil War ended in 1939 with the beginning of what would become Francisco Franco’s 36-year dictatorship
over Spain. The majority of authors in postwar Spain were subject to censorship and overt oppression while they
attempted to understand their own history and translate it onto the page. The postwar Spanish novel, while often
examining a common period in Spanish history, is a varied genre. In this course, we will study the historical and cultural
background of the period, reading novels that reflect the diversity of postwar Spanish literature and its authors as well
as historical accounts and theoretical materials in order to gain a more complete understanding of the era and its
reflection in literature. The course will consist of short lectures, class discussions, student presentations (individually
and in groups), group activities, short writing assignments, five written literary analyses of 2-3 pages, and a more
extensive final paper. Students should come prepared to discuss the day’s reading in class. This will be a collaborative
course that will necessitate the participation of the entire class, allowing a wide variety of subjects relating to the main
topic of the course to be discussed.

II. Objectives and Grading

Students will read and interpret narrative texts written and set during Spain’s last century, considering them in
conjunction with historical events, cultural currents and theoretical trends. During classroom activities and discussions,
students will analyze texts in terms of subject matter, narrative style, historical interpretation, social background of the
authors and secondary critical sources. The participation grade is based on the students’ involvement and engagement
in classroom discussion, a cornerstone of this course, and includes announced and unannounced short written
assignments. The oral grade refers to student-led class discussions and informative oral presentations. Students will
write a critical essay after reading each novel, analyzing thematic elements in the novel, and applying historical and
critical knowledge to fictional representations. Students may rewrite any of the first three essays, but the rewrite must
be submitted within one week of receiving my comments and the grade. Rewrites should correct the grammar and revise
structure and content. The final paper grade will be calculated based on the average of the original paper grade and the
rewrite grade. For the final paper, students will write an essay evaluating one or two narrative texts by utilizing a
secondary critical source they have identified as pertinent. This final paper will demonstrate the critical reading and
evaluation skills that the student has developed during the semester and will necessitate limited outside research.
Novel essays (5) – 50%

Final paper – 20%

Classroom participation – 20%
Oral presentations/discussion facilitation – 10%
III. Student Responsibilities
Students are expected to adhere to Amherst College’s Honor Code at all times. Students with disabilities or specific
limitations that will affect their participation in the course should speak with the professor privately as soon as possible
to make arrangements. Regular attendance is required and absences will adversely affect the participation grade. If
students must miss a class, regardless of the reason, they should communicate with a classmate about what they missed
and responsibly inform themselves of the homework for the next class.
In order to respect the professor and the students, cell phones and other technological distractions are not permitted
during class. This course is conducted entirely in Spanish: respectful dialogue en español is expected at all times!

IV. Course Readings

1) Required Texts (Available at Amherst Books)*

La familia de Pascual Duarte, Camilo José Cela (1942), Ediciones Destino

Requiem por un campesino español, Ramón J. Sender (1950), Ediciones Destino

Primera memoria, Ana María Matute (1960), Ediciones Destino

El cuarto de atrás, Carmen Martín Gaite (1978), Ediciones Destino
Usos amorosos de la postguerra española Carmen Martín Gaite (1987) Anagrama
Soldados de Salamina, Javier Cercas (2001), Editors Tusquets

Highly recommended: a Spanish-English Dictionary (Oxford, Chicago, Larousse)

* Please consider resisting the urge to look for these books via online sources: not only does Amherst Books carry the
precise edition that the class will be using, but by buying your books locally you are supporting a friendly campus
bookstore and not a faceless conglomerate.

2) Historiography and Theory (E-Reserves and in Course Packet available in Barrett 201)
Narrating the Past: Fiction and Historiography in Postwar Spain, David K. Herzberger: “Introduction – Narrative Intimacies:
Fiction and History” and “Ch. 3: History and the Novel of Memory”
España, de la dictadura a la democracía, Raymond Carr and Juan Pablo Fusi: Chronology, Glossary of Terms,
“Introducción,” “I: Franco y el legado de la guerra civil,” and “VI: Cultura 1939-1977”
The New Spaniards, John Hooper: “Chapter 11: Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown”
Historia de la literatura española, Santos Sanz Villanueva: “El marco histórico-literario: 1. 1939, Fecha de la ruptura”

Poetics of Postmodernism: Historiographic Metafiction: History, Theory, Fiction, Linda Hutcheon: “Historiographic Metafiction:
‘The Pastime of Past Time’”
La pluralidad narrativa: escritores españoles contemporáneos (1984-2004): “Una historia fantasmal,” Robert Spires

3) Film (Amherst Streaming Video and DVD on Reserve)

“Soldados de Salamina,” dir. David Truebas (2003)

4) Additional Texts on Reserve
Secondary sources from Course Packet
English translations of Cela, Sender, Matute, Martín Gaite and Cercas (to be used sparingly, if at all)

V. Campus Resources

The Writing Center: An invaluable resource for help on your papers, before, during and after you write them, even when
they’re in Spanish. Located at 101 Charles Pratt Hall.
Spanish Writing Center: Staffed by student writing fellows, the Spanish Writing Center can help with your writing in
Spanish. You will be notified via email of its Spring semester hours.
Grammar and Reference: The Spanish Department Library, in Barrett 202, has a collection of Spanish dictionaries and
grammar manuals. I recommend John Butt’s A New Reference Grammar of Modern Spanish to help you solve lingering
grammatical and language issues. In addition, the Diccionario de la Real Academia Española and the Oxford Spanish
Dictionaries are both online and free through the Amherst network. Bookmark them and use them often.

VI. Course Outline

Historia y historiografía en la España del S. XX

ENERO
Semana 1
lunes 25: Introducción al curso
miércoles 27: “Introducción” de España, de la dictadura a la democracía, Raymond Carr y Juan Pablo Fusi. Course
Packet

Trasfondo a la Guerra Civil Española (1936-1939)

viernes 29: “I: Franco y el legado de la guerra civil,” de España, de la dictadura a la democracía. Course Packet
“El marco histórico-literario: 1. 1939, Fecha de la ruptura,” Historia de la literatura española, Santos Sanz Villanueva.
Course Packet
Trasfondo al periodo de la postguerra (1939-1975)

FEBRERO

La novela de posguerra temprana 1940-1975

Semana 2
l 1: Requiem por un campesino español, Ramón J. Sender (páginas 7 - 33)

m 3: Requiem, Sender (páginas 34 - 69)

v 5: Requiem, Sender (páginas 70 - final)

Semana 3
l 8: Redacción 1

“Introduction – Narrative Intimacies: Fiction and History,” de Narrating the Past: Fiction and Historiography in Postwar
Spain, David K. Herzberger. Course Packet

m 10: “VI: Cultura 1939-1977,” de España, de la dictadura a la democracía, Raymond Carr y Juan Pablo Fusi. Course
Packet

v 12: La familia de Pascual Duarte, Camilo José Cela (prólogos [dedicatorio, nota del transcriptor, carta
anunciando..., cláusula del testamento...], capítulos 1 - 3)

Semana 4
l 15: Pascual Duarte, Cela (capítulos 4 - 10)

m 17: Pascual Duarte, Cela (capítulos 11 - 16)

v 19: Pascual Duarte, Cela (capítulos 17 - 19, epílogos [otra nota..., carta final])

Semana 5

l 22: Redacción 2
Introducción a Usos amorosos de la postguerra española, Carmen Martín Gaite.

m 24: “III. El legado de José Antonio,” Usos amorosos, Martín Gaite.

v 26: “VII. Nubes de color de rosa” Usos amorosos, Martín Gaite.

MARZO

Semana 6
l 1: Primera memoria, Ana María Matute (“El declive,” capítulos 1, 2 y 3)

m 3: Primera memoria, Matute (“El declive,” capítulos 4, 5 y 6)

v 5: Primera memoria, Matute (“La escuela del sol,” capítulos 1 y 2)

Semana 7
l 8: Primera memoria, Matute (“La escuela del sol,” capítulos 3, 4 y 5)

m 10: Primera memoria, Matute (“Las hogueras”)

v 12: Primera memoria, Matute (“El gallo blanco”)

VACACIONES DE PRIMAVERA

La novela después de Franco: la Transición (1975-1982)

Semana 9
l 22: Redacción 3

“Chapter 11: Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown,” de The New Spaniards, John Hooper. Course Packet

m 24: El cuarto de atrás, Carmen Martín Gaite (capítulo 1)

v 26: El cuarto de atrás, Martín Gaite (capítulo 2)

Semana 10

l 29: El cuarto de atrás, Martín Gaite (capítulo 3)

m 31: El cuarto de atrás, Martín Gaite (capítulo 4)

ABRIL

v 2: El cuarto de atrás, Martín Gaite (capítulo 5)

Semana 11
l 5: El cuarto de atrás, Martín Gaite (capítulos 6 y 7)

m 7: Selección de “Ch. 3: History and the Novel of Memory,” de Narrating the Past: Fiction and Historiography in
Postwar Spain, David K. Herzberger. Course Packet
v 9: “Historiographic Metafiction: ‘The Pastime of Past Time,’” Linda Hutcheon. Course Packet

La novela actual (S. XXI)

Semana 12
l 12: Redacción 4

Introducción a la España de S. XXI, técnicas narrativas postmodernas

m 14: Soldados de Salamina, Javier Cercas (1ª parte: 17 - 40)

v 16: Soldados de Salamina, Cercas (1ª parte: 41 - 74)

Semana 13

l 19: Soldados de Salamina, Cercas (2ª parte: 77 - 105)

m 21: Soldados de Salamina, Cercas (2ª parte: 105 - 140)

v 23: Soldados de Salamina, Cercas (3ª parte: 143-172)

Semana 14

l 26: Soldados de Salamina, Cercas (3ª parte: 172 – final)

m 28: “Una historia fantasmal,” Robert Spires. Course Packet
Propuestas del Ensayo final (texto primario y secundario)
v 30: Ver en Amherst Streaming Video: “Soldados de Salamina”

discusión de la película en clase

MAYO

Semana 15

l 3: Redacción 5
Presentaciones/Talleres de los ensayos finales

m 5: Presentaciones/Talleres de los ensayos finales

v 7: Presentaciones/Talleres de los ensayos finales

miércoles, el 12 de mayo: Ensayos finales

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