Course: Contemporary Mexican Literature

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Course title Contemporary Mexican Literature
Course code KRS/SMLV
Organizational form of instruction Lecture + Seminar
Level of course Master
Year of study not specified
Semester Winter and summer
Number of ECTS credits 6
Language of instruction Spanish
Status of course Compulsory-optional
Form of instruction Face-to-face
Work placements This is not an internship
Recommended optional programme components None
Course availability The course is available to visiting students
Lecturer(s)
  • Riebová Markéta, Mgr. Ph.D.
Course content
The course content in blocks: Introduction: Basic orientation in 20th-century Mexican history and the themes reflected in literature. Introduction to the various genres and narrative techniques that will be discussed in the course. Juan Rulfo: Pedro Páramo and No oyes ladrar los perros Elena Garro: La culpa es de los Tlaxcaltecas and Carlos Fuentes: Chac Mool Octavio Paz: Crítica de la pirámide Carlos Monsiváis: Días de guardar Sergio Pitol: Nocturno de Bujara

Learning activities and teaching methods
Monologic Lecture(Interpretation, Training), Dialogic Lecture (Discussion, Dialog, Brainstorming), Group work
  • Preparation for the Exam - 60 hours per semester
  • Homework for Teaching - 40 hours per semester
  • Semestral Work - 24 hours per semester
  • Attendace - 26 hours per semester
Learning outcomes
The subject of the course is the relationship between fiction and history in contemporary Mexican prose (short story, novel, essay, chronicle, testimony). In the non-literary dimension, students are introduced to the most important circumstances that influenced Mexican literary production in the second half of the 20th century, including key moments in Mexican history, socioeconomic changes, and cultural developmentparticularly the Mexican Revolution and the Cristero Wars, the post-revolutionary cultural nationalism of the 1930s and 1940s, and the period of strong economic growth in the 1950s and 1960s. The role of Mexican intellectuals in this context is also addressed. From the literary perspective, the course presents both the Latin American literary scene of the 1950s and 1960s (i.e., the overall renewal of Latin American prose) and the Mexican context of the search for national identity, which is reflected in many of the analyzed works. The course also examines the characteristics of individual genres, narrative techniques, and the choice of literary language through which writers portray the social conditions that inspire their work.
The aim of the course is to gain knowledge of the studied literary works within the historical, social, and cultural context of their time.
Prerequisites
Knowledge of Spanish; the course is taught in Spanish.

Assessment methods and criteria
Oral exam

Regular attendance and active participation in lectures and seminars. Preparation for each class, including knowledge of the analyzed text. Oral exam.
Recommended literature
  • C. Cymermann, C. Fell. (2001). Historia de la literatura hispanoamericana, desde 1940 hasta la actualidad. Buenos Aires.
  • Donald L. Shaw. (1999). Nueva narrativa hispanoamericana. Boom. Posboom. Posmodernism.. Madrid.
  • Enrico Mario Santí, ed. (2009). Luz espejeante. Octavio Paz ante la crítica.. México.
  • Federico Campbell, ed. (2003). La ficción de la memoria. Juan Rulfo ante la crítica.. México.
  • Christopher Domínguez Michael. (1996). Antología de la narrativa mexicana del sg. XX. Díl I, II.. México.
  • José Eduardo Serrato, ed. (1994). Tiempo cerrado, tiempo abierto. Sergio Pitol ante la crítica.. México.
  • José Joaquín Blanco. (1996). Crónica literaria. Un siglo de escritores mexicanos.. México.
  • José Miguel Oviedo. (2002). Historia de la literatura hispanoamericana. Tomo 4. De Borges al presente.. Madrid.
  • Joseph Sommers. (1969). Yá?ez, Rulfo, Fuentes: la novela mexicana moderna. Caracas.
  • Lubomír Doležel. (2008). Fikce a historie v období postmoderny. Praha.
  • Mabel Mora?a a Ignacio Sánchez Prado, eds. (2007). El arte de la ironía. Carlos Monsiváis ante la crítica. México.
  • Manuel Fernández Perera, ed. (2008). La literatura mexicana del siglo XX. México.
  • Paul Ricoeur. (1993). Život, pravda, symbol. Praha.
  • Roger Bartra. (1996). La jaula de la melancolía. Identidad y metamorfosis del mexicano. México.
  • Xavier Rodríguez Ledesma. (2000). Escritores y poder. La dualidad republicana en México 1968-1994. México.


Study plans that include the course
Faculty Study plan (Version) Category of Branch/Specialization Recommended year of study Recommended semester
Faculty: Faculty of Arts Study plan (Version): Spanish Philology (2021) Category: Philological sciences 1 Recommended year of study:1, Recommended semester: Winter
Faculty: Faculty of Arts Study plan (Version): Spanish Philology (2021) Category: Philological sciences 1 Recommended year of study:1, Recommended semester: Winter
Faculty: Faculty of Arts Study plan (Version): Spanish Language with focus on Latin America (2026) Category: Philological sciences 1 Recommended year of study:1, Recommended semester: Winter
Faculty: Faculty of Arts Study plan (Version): Spanish Philology (2021) Category: Philological sciences 1 Recommended year of study:1, Recommended semester: Winter
Faculty: Faculty of Arts Study plan (Version): Spanish philology with specialization in translation and interpreting (2025) Category: Philological sciences 1 Recommended year of study:1, Recommended semester: Winter
Faculty: Faculty of Arts Study plan (Version): Spanish philology with specialization in translation and interpreting (2021) Category: Philological sciences 1 Recommended year of study:1, Recommended semester: Winter
Faculty: Faculty of Arts Study plan (Version): Spanish Philology (2021) Category: Philological sciences 1 Recommended year of study:1, Recommended semester: Winter
Faculty: Faculty of Arts Study plan (Version): Spanish Language with focus on Latin America (2021) Category: Philological sciences 1 Recommended year of study:1, Recommended semester: Winter