Los mitos coloniales, de la conquista al cine de hoy

Catalog description

The early writings of the New World straddle between history and fantasy, fact and legend. This period is particularly rich in chronicles that made no distinction between real and imaginary places and creatures, at a time when ambitious colonial enterprises were guided by myths (finding El Dorado, the Fountain of Youth, Paradise.) In this course, we will examine the fantasies of imperial imagination that have persisted to this day by looking at both early chronicles and recent films. From Columbus' writings (1492) to the Avatar saga, this course will explore the reverberations between those colonial texts and our own views of history, which may not be less mythical, or less colonial. Course taught in Spanish. Prerequisite: SPAN B120; or SPAN 200-level course or placement.