SPAN 597 Luso-Hispanic Urban Imaginaries

This seminar explores the literary and artistic representations of Latin American and Iberian cities from their origins as imperial metropoles and colonial capitals through their transformations with nineteenth- and twentieth-century urban reforms and continued exponential growth. This class focuses primarily on cultural representations of Madrid and Lisbon as the centers of empire; Buenos Aires, Havana, and Rio de Janeiro as Belle Époque capitals; and São Paulo and Mexico City as global megapolises. We will consider how literary and artistic works can serve as alternative archives that document the rhythms of daily life, render the city as palimpsest, and, in the process, protest gentrification and other rapid changes. Readings from urban studies, architecture, anthropology, history, and other interdisciplinary fields will complement our literary and cultural analysis. Our discussions will draw on theoretical and critical readings from writers such as Henri Lefebvre, David Harvey, Le Corbusier, Adrián Gorelik, and Teresa Caldeira, in dialogue with primary texts, including essays, poems, short stories, photographs, and films by, among others, João do Rio, Mário de Andrade, Jorge Luis Borges, Tina Modotti, Carolina Maria de Jesus, Carlos Monsivais, Mariana Enríquez, and Mónica de Miranda. Readings will be in Spanish, Portuguese, and English. Class discussion will be held in Spanish or English, depending on the preference of the class members.