Exposes students to Mexican literature from its indigenous and Hispanic origins to its more contemporary expressions. Examines and discusses representative authors from all literary periods, including such literary icons as Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, Manuel Gutiérrez Nájera, Mariano Azuela, Ignacio Altamairano, Rosario Castellanos, Ruan Rulfo, Octavio Paz Carlos Fuentes, José Agustin, and Laura Esquivel.
In this class we were able to identify certain pieces of work produced by particular artists such as those mentioned above. We studied and analyzed their writing methods, styles and technique. In addition, we discussed various interpretations of pieces of work such as novelas and notable essays written by popular Hispanic writer's. The most challenging aspect of this course, was to reflect on the author's purpose for writing his/her work. For example, we had to identify what the author was trying to convey and the purpose for writing it. In order to understand the reasoning behind the composition, we had to educate ourselves on the major political and historical events that occurred during the time periods in which these writer's lived. We collaborated with other students in groups to dissect and analyze various pieces of literature. My favorite part of this class was when we were given the opportunity to chose a particular piece of literature we liked and present to the rest of the class (MLO5) our research and interpretations of it. An example of this is a piece I did on Laura Esquivel's novel Like Water for Chocolate. I read the novel and watched the movie to get both perspectives on the story, then I was able to interpret and analyze the novel for myself. I could identify the use of magic realism and symbolism in the author's descriptive words. These words emphasized certain emotions and metaphors in the novel in order to tell the story of the Tita, the main character and the importance of her cooking. My interpretation was not only significant, but also being able to understand what the author was trying to convey to her readers. I was able to discover that novels such as this particular piece, usually consist of the telling of cultural histories of certain time periods. For example, In Like Water for Chocolate, the Mexican revolution is reflected in the novel giving us a sense of when the events took place during the character's lives. In my second piece, I learned how to evaluate the novel and find the central point that the author was trying to make with his use of magic realism and symbolism as well. I learned how to find the importance of figurative language in a novel.