399. Seminar in Literature and Film.

Description: How does a person begin a process of transformation into something that deviates so much from the norm that he/she becomes “the Other?” And, how much can a person or relationship be transformed without turning into something that deviates too much from social norms? How are new forms of self recorded through film and literature in Latin American and Latino/a Cultures? And most importantly, what do literary and cinematic accounts of transformation reveal about socio-economic challenges and social norms? This course explores accounts of “Otherness,” “Deviance,” difference, and transformation, often written from the margins of society. With an emphasis on the Hispanic Caribbean, we will emphasize discussions of  5 main topics:  the representation of deviant bodies, the family as the main social unit, the impact of migration and citizenship, and the reconstruction history.  Literary and cinematic depictions  of gender, sexuality, economy, transnationalism, migration, race, and class, in US Latina/o and Caribbean literature and film from the 20th and 21st century, as these topics speak to the larger discussion of our seminar. Among the authors to be studied are Mayra Santos Febres (Puerto Rico), Ana Lydia Vega (Puerto Rico), Roberto Fernández Retamar (Cuba), Nancy Morejón (Cuba), Rey Andújar (Dominican Republic), and Nicole Cecilia Delgado (Puerto Rico). We will also analyze three films that address Latina/o experiences in the United States: Quinceañera (U.S.A.) directed by Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland, Bella (U.S.A.) by Alejandro Monteverde, and Gun Hill Road (U.S.A.) by Rashaad Ernesto Green.  Given the sometimes explicit and strong images depicted in some of these texts and films, additional alternatives will be available upon student’s request.