Study of various representations of women in modern Mediterranean literature through an analysis of texts by both male and female writers. Writers from Catalonia, Spain, Morocco and Algeria will be included. The goal is to examine the ways in which gender, kinship, and sexuality structure women’s lives in Mediterranean culture, through historical and comparative case studies. Readings will be drawn from novels, short stories, autobiographies and drama. While theoretical issues are presented in lecture, the course focuses on analyzing texts according to basic strategies for literary works. There will be also occasional screenings of films, field visits, and lectures by guest speakers.

This course on comparative literature provides an introduction to one of the most original genres of the Spanish canon. From its historical context in the Golden Age (16th and 17th centuries), students will not only recognize picaresque patterns in modern Spanish literature and culture, but they will be able to compare at the same time the pícaro to other well-known characters from modern American and European fiction.