COURSE SYLLABUS

Fictions of the Present: Literature and Cinema in After 2000 Argentine Universities Program

Suggested US semester credit hours: 3 Contact hours: 45 Delivery method: Face to Face Semester length: Semester IFSA course code: SP301-13 Language of instruction: Spanish

COURSE DESCRIPTION The aim of the course is to study Argentine literary fiction and cinema of the last two decades with a view to identifying the new formal, stylistic and thematic characteristics and their association with the changes in the ways of imagining and experiencing the contemporary world. This analysis will focus especially on the transformations that Argentine culture has undergone recently in connection with issues such as globalization, postmodernism, the emergence of new communication technologies, and the impact of these processes on literary traditions, the national language and collective imaginaries. The course will center on the relationship between literature and other cultural productions, particularly film.

STUDENT LEARNING OBJECTIVES . Offer students an introduction to recent and cinema through the texts and films of some of its most noteworthy and representative authors and directors. . Provide students with the key literary and cinematographic analysis tools required to address the texts and films from a critical perspective. . Promote discussion and the production of hypothesis in connection with a corpus of texts of fiction establishing links between the readings and other cultural productions (film, theater, visual arts) and the sociopolitical context. . Become familiar with resources available for further research on Argentine literature and cinema. . Make cognitive connections between learning in this course and other learning experiences in the IFSA Argentine Universities Program.

WORK METHODOLOGY Class format will comprise two segments. The first part will consist of a presentation by the professor who will offer an introductory approach to the texts in relation with the author’s production and the sociocultural context. Reading assumptions will be proposed and discussed with the students.

In the second part, the students will be required to make presentations both individually and in small groups on some of the texts and films included in the syllabus.

At the end of the class, a group discussion will be held on the results achieved. Fragments of some recent Argentine films will be exhibited and discussed in class. The group will also be taken by the professor to visual art exhibitions and theater performances associated with the course contents. In order to facilitate access to mandatory reading material, the texts will be compiled in a booklet that will also include reading guides prepared by the professor.

CRITERIA AND FORMS OF EVALUATION Attendance, punctuality and active participation in class are key aspects that will be taken into account when assessing student performance.

Throughout the semester, the students will be required to submit a series of brief written papers on the analysis of literary texts and other cultural productions discussed in class.

At the end of the semester, the students will be required to submit a longer final written paper providing a comparative analysis of some of the literary and cultural productions studied throughout the course.

COURSE RULES Attendance: Student’s minimum attendance required is 80%.

Timely Submissions: Assignments submitted after the deadline will be accepted at the discretion of the course instructor and generally only in the event of a documented illness or emergency.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Any academic endeavor must be based upon a foundation of honesty and integrity. Students are expected to abide by principles of academic integrity and must be willing to bear individual responsibility for their work while studying abroad. Any academic work (written or otherwise) submitted to fulfill an academic requirement must represent a student‘s original work. Any act of academic misconduct, such as cheating, fabrication, forgery, plagiarism, or facilitating academic dishonesty, will subject a student to disciplinary action.

IFSA-Butler takes academic integrity very seriously. Students must not accept outside assistance without permission from the instructor. Additionally, students must document all sources according to the instructions of the professor. Should your instructor suspect you of plagiarism, cheating, or other forms of academic dishonesty, you may receive a failing grade for the course and disciplinary action may result. The incident will be reported to the IFSA- Butler resident director as well as your home institution.

Grades: Attendance and Participation 30% Mid-Term Essays 30 % Final Exam 40 % 84%-75%= 8 Grading Scale: 74%-65%= 7 95%-100% = 10 64%-55%= 6 94% - 85%= 9 54%-45%= 5

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44%-35%=4 9 = A 34%-25%= 3 8 = A- 24%-15%=2 7 = B+ 14%-0%=1 6 = B 5= B- Equivalence with U.S. Grading Scale: 4 = C 10 = A 3, 2, 1 = F

CONTENTS: UNIT 1 (Weeks 1-3). Argentina at the end of the century. Images of the nineties. Sociocultural transformations, globalization of customs and languages. The first world and its margins.

Readings: Martín Rejtman. Selection of stories from his books Rapado (1992) and Velcro y yo (1996).

Critical Readings: Beatriz Sarlo. “Plano, repetición: Sobreviviendo en la ciudad nueva”, in Birgin, Alejandra and Trímboli, Javier (comps.), Imágenes de los noventa (2003).

Films: Pizza, birra, faso [Pizza, beer and cigarettes] (1997). Direction and script: Bruno Stagnaro and Adrián Caetano. Silvia Prieto (1998). Direction and script: Martín Rejtman

UNIT 2 (Weeks 4-6). The crisis of 2001 and afterwards. The comeback of neighborhood literature: Bajo Flores by César Aira and by Fabián Casas.

Readings: César Aira. La villa (2001). Fabián Casas. Selection of stories from Los Lemmings y otros (2005).

Critical Readings: Alan Pauls. “Revancha. Sobre Los Lemmings y otros”, de Fabián Casas”. Otra Parte Magazine, No. 10, Summer 2006-2007.

Film: Luna de Avellaneda [Avellaneda’s moon] (2004). Direction and script: Juan José Campanella

UNIT 3 (Weeks 7-10). Specters from the recent past. New narratives on the seventies and the military dictatorship. Post-memory: the perspective of the children. The return of politics.

Readings: Martín Kohan. Dos veces junio (2002). Laura Alcoba. La casa de los conejos (2008). Félix Bruzzone. Selection of stories from 76 (2007).

Critical Readings: Juan Terranova. “Sobre 76 de Félix Bruzzone”, available online at: http://blog.eternacadencia.com.ar/?p=7820 3

Films: Los rubios [The blonds] (2003). Direction and script: Albertina Carri. m (2007). Direction and script: Nicolás Prividera.

UNIT 4 (Weeks 11-12). New characters, new figurations of gender and desire.

Readings: Samanta Schweblin. Selección de cuentos de El núcleo del disturbio (2002) and Pájaros en la boca (2009). Sergio Bizzio. “Cinismo”, in Chicos (2004).

Film: XXY (2007). Direction: Lucía Puenzo. Script: Lucía Puenzo, based on the story “Cinismo” by Sergio Bizzio.

UNIT 5 (Weeks 13-14). Living abroad: individuals in transit in a global world. Wandering fictions.

Readings: Eduardo Muslip. Selection of stories from Phoenix (2009).

Critical Readings: Diego Peller, “En medio del camino de la vida. Acerca de Phoenix de Eduardo Muslip”. Otra Parte Magazine, No. 19, Summer 2009-2010.

GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY: 1. Literary Texts Aira, César. La villa. , Emecé, 2001. Alcoba, Laura. La casa de los conejos. Buenos Aires, Edhasa, 2008. Bizzio, Sergio. Chicos. Buenos Aires, Interzona, 2004. Bruzzone, Félix. 76. Buenos Aires, Tamarisco, 2007. Casas, Fabián. Los Lemmings y otros. Buenos Aires, Santiago Arcos, 2005. Kohan, Martín. Dos veces junio. Buenos Aires, Sudamericana, 2002. Muslip, Eduardo. Phoenix. Buenos Aires, Malón Editorial, 2009. Rejtman, Martín. Rapado. Buenos Aires, Planeta, 1992. Rejtman, Martín. Velcro y yo. Buenos Aires, Planeta, 1996. Schweblin, Samantha. El núcleo del disturbio. Buenos Aires, Destino, 2002. Schweblin, Samantha. Pájaros en la boca. Buenos Aires, Emecé, 2009.

2. Critical Bibliography Aguilar, Gonzalo. Otros mundos. Un ensayo sobre el nuevo cine argentino. Buenos Aires, Santiago Arcos, 2006. Birgin, Alejandra and Trímboli, Javier (comps.), Imágenes de los noventa. Buenos Aires, Libros del Zorzal, 2003. Contreras, Sandra. Las vueltas de César Aira. Buenos Aires, Beatriz Viterbo, 2002. Drucaroff, Elsa (dir.). La narración gana la partida. Buenos Aires, Emecé, 2000.

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Drucaroff, Elsa. Los prisioneros de la torre. Política, relatos y jóvenes en la postdictadura. Buenos Aires, Emecé, 2011. Giordano, Alberto. El giro autobiográfico de la literatura argentina actual. Buenos Aires, Mansalva, 2008. Grosso, Marcela and Marsimian, Silvina. Panorama de la Literatura Argentina Contemporánea. Buenos Aires, Santiago Arcos, 2009. Laddaga, Reinaldo. Espectáculos de realidad. Ensayo sobre la narrativa latinoamericana de las últimas dos décadas. Rosario, Beatriz Viterbo, 2007. Ludmer, Josefina. Aquí América latina. Buenos Aires, Eterna Cadencia, 2010. Palmeiro, Cecilia. Desbunde y Felicidad. De la Cartonera a Perlongher. Buenos Aires, Título, 2010. Prieto, Martín. Breve historia de la literatura argentina. Buenos Aires, Taurus, 2006. Sarlo, Beatriz. Escritos sobre literatura argentina. Buenos Aires, Siglo XXI, 2007. Sarlo, Beatriz. Ficciones . Buenos Aires, Mardulce, 2012. Sarlo, Beatriz. Tiempo pasado. Cultura de la memoria y giro subjetivo. Buenos Aires, Siglo XXI, 2012. Speranza, Graciela. Fuera de campo. Literatura y arte argentino después de Duchamp. Barcelona, Anagrama, 2006. Speranza, Graciela. Atlas portátil de América Latina. Arte y ficciones errantes. Barcelona, Anagrama, 2012. Viñas, David (dir.). Literatura Argentina Siglo XX. Vol. VII, De Alfonsín al menemato (1983- 2001). Buenos Aires, Paradiso, 2010. Contreras, Sandra. “En torno de las lecturas del presente”. In Giordano, Alberto (ed.). Cuadernos del Seminario 1: Los límites de la literatura. Rosario, Centro de Estudios de Literatura Argentina, 2010, pp. 135-153.

3. Theoretical Bibliography Appadurai, Arjun (ed.). Globalization. Durham-London, Duke UP, 2001. Badiou, Alain. El siglo. Buenos Aires, Manantial, 2005. Bauman, Zygmunt. Modernidad líquida, Buenos Aires, FCE, 2003. Bourriaud, Nicolas. Estética relacional. Buenos Aires, Adriana Hidalgo, 2006. Hardt, Michael and Negri, Antonio. Empire. Cambridge-London, Harvard University Press, 2000. Huyssen, Andreas. Después de la gran división. Modernismo, cultura de masas, posmodernismo. Buenos Aires, Adriana Hidalgo, 2002. Jameson, Fredric. El posmodernismo o la lógica cultural del capitalismo avanzado. Barcelona, Paidós, 1991. Kermode, Frank. El sentido de un final. Estudios sobre la teoría de la ficción. Gedisa, Barcelona, 1983. Laddaga, Reinaldo. Estética de la emergencia. Buenos Aires, Adriana Hidalgo, 2006. Laddaga, Reinaldo. Estética de laboratorio. Buenos Aires, Adriana Hidalgo, 2010. Marramao, Giacomo. La pasión del presente. Breve léxico de la modernidad-mundo. Gedisa, Barcelona, 2011. Virno, Paolo. El recuerdo del presente. Ensayo sobre el tiempo histórico. Buenos Aires, Paidós, 2003. Virno, Paolo. Gramática de la multitud. Para un análisis de las formas de vida contemporáneas. Buenos Aires, Colihue, 2003.

4. Filmography Pizza, birra, faso [Pizza, beer and cigarettes] (1997). Direction and script: Bruno Stagnaro and Adrián Caetano. 5

Silvia Prieto (1998). Direction and script: Martín Rejtman Los rubios [The blonds] (2003). Direction and script: Albertina Carri. Luna de Avellaneda [Avellaneda’s Moon] (2004). Direction and script: Juan José Campanella m (2007). Direction and script: Nicolás Prividera. XXY (2007). Direction and script: Lucía Puenzo.

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