Department of World Languages & Cultures

JUNIATA COLLEGE Department of World Languages & Cultures SP 301: Latin American Testimonio http://jcsites.juniata.edu/faculty/thurston/hispanic_literature_and_culture_.htm

Spring 2017 Dr. Henry Thurston-Griswold MWF 2:00-2:50 p.m. Office: World Languages Center 208 WLC 202 Phone: Ext. 3499, 643-5774 (home) Office Hours: MWF 9-10:30, TTH 1:30-3:00, PRIMARY TEXTS and by appointment Miguel Barnet. Biography of a Runaway Slave. María de los Reyes Castillo Bueno. Reyita: The Life of a Black Cuban Woman in the 20th Century. Margaret Randall. Sandino’s Daughters: Testimonies of Nicaraguan Women in Struggle. Claribel Alegría & Darwin Flakoll. Death of Somoza. Rigoberta Menchú & Elisabeth Burgos. I Rigoberta Menchú: An Indian Woman in Guatemala. Mario Roberto Morales. Face of the Earth, Heart of the Sky. Critical articles on Testimonio available through Moodle

SECONDARY SOURCES ON RESERVE Arturo Arias. The Rigoberta Menchú Controversy. Alan Carey-Webb and Stephen Benz, eds. Teaching and Testimony. Sara Castro-Klaren. A Companion to Latin American Literature and Culture. Linda Craft. Novels of Testimony and Resistance from Central America. Georg M. Gugelberger, ed. The Real Thing: Testimonial Discourse and Latin America. Stephen M. Hart. A Companion to Spanish-American Literature. Stephen M. Hart and Richard Young, eds. Contemporary Latin American Cultural Studies. Naomi Lindstrom. The Social Conscience of Latin American Writing. Linda S. Maier and Isabel Dulfano, eds. Woman as Witness: Essays on Testimonial Literature by Latin American Women. Kimberly A. Nance. Can Literature Promote Justice? Trauma Narrative and Social Action in Latin American Testimonio. REMHI. Guatemala: Never Again! Daniel Rothenberg. Memory of Silence: The Guatemalan Truth Commission Report David Stoll. Rigoberta Menchú and the Story of All Poor Guatemalans.

COURSE DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES Latin American testimonio developed during the 1960s to offer a narrative voice for the voiceless--oftentimes illiterate women, workers, revolutionaries, and indigenous people--to bear witness to the world of the disenfranchised and oppressed. A representative sample of testimonial narratives from Cuba, Nicaragua, and Guatemala will be studied to examine processes of mediation and textual production, the testimonial pact established with readers, 2 the social and cultural realities represented, the varied narrative forms appropriated and created by this hybrid genre, and the critical reception of these texts. Students are expected to apply the concepts and the skills that they have acquired in the College Writing Seminar and other general education courses in order to deepen their knowledge and understanding of various aspects of contemporary Latin American cultures. Classroom and evaluative activities are designed to enable students to continue sharpening their analytical, critical thinking and cross-cultural skills as well as their ability to express persuasively and precisely their ideas both in oral and written form. **Note: This course is not for the fainthearted! Latin American testimonial narrative focuses largely on the life experiences of marginalized peoples who have been exploited and repressed, and it sometimes represents in graphic and gory detail horrific acts of violence and injustice.

COURSE POLICIES  Regular attendance at all class meetings is required. The final grade will be lowered one point for each unexcused absence after the third of the semester.  Assignments are to be completed prior to class for the day they are assigned. Any written assignment will be lowered one letter grade (1/5 points for personal reactions) if it is turned in late without prior authorization, and no assignment will be accepted after the following class date. When absent from class, you are responsible for finding out what you missed.  Students are expected to comply fully with the standards of academic integrity as stipulated in the Juniata College Catalog and the Pathfinder, particularly as they pertain to the topic of plagiarism and responsible use of others’ words and ideas.  In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, students with a documented disability are eligible to request reasonable accommodations. To make a request or for more information, please contact Beth Bleil, Director of Disability Services, in the Office of Academic Support by visiting her office in Founders Hall, emailing her at [email protected], or calling 641-5840. It is best to submit accommodation requests within the drop/add period; however, requests can be made at any time in the semester. Please keep in mind that accommodations are not retroactive.  Students may withdraw from the course until the last day of the semester and must submit the completed withdrawal form with instructor’s and advisors’ signatures to the Registrar’s Office by noon. Please note that students are permitted a maximum of four withdrawals from courses taken at Juniata College during the undergraduate career.  The final grade for the course will be calculated based on the following course components: Grading Scale: Participation 10% 93 - 100 = A 73 - 76.9 = C Moodle Reflection Threads 15% 90 - 92.9 = A- 70 - 72.9 = C- Oral Presentation/Discussion 15% 87 - 89.9 = B+ 67 - 69.9 = D+ Two Analytical Essays 30% 83 - 86.9 = B 63 - 66.9 = D Final Research Paper 30% 80 - 82.9 = B- 60 - 62.9 = D- (1st draft – 10%, final draft – 20%) 77 - 79.9 = C+ Below 60 = F 3

1. Active and informed participation is crucial if students are to derive maximum benefit from the course. The participation grade will be determined by my assessment of the quantity and quality of each student’s engagement in all classroom activities. 2. Students will be divided into three groups and for a typical class, members of the assigned group will be responsible for individually posting on Moodle a personal reflection (app. 100- 125 words) on the day’s reading assignment as well as a possible discussion topic (PR/DT). Posts are to be submitted by no later than 10:00 a.m. on the day the assignment will be analyzed in class, and all class members should read the personal reflections and topics before coming to class. In composing personal reflections, you should try to relate the assigned text with other texts studied and with your own life experience. Students will also submit one response per week (i.e. at the end of a complete cycle of PR/DTs) to another student’s personal reflection/discussion topic. 3. The oral presentation/discussion should last between 25-30 minutes and will be done in pairs or groups of three on an assigned critical article. Students are to prepare a brief outline (maximum of one page containing a summary and critique of the main ideas of the article and three to five discussion topics related to the article’s content and its relevance for the testimonios studied). The outline should be emailed to me as a Word attachment no later than noon on the day of the presentation and I will make copies for other class members. Presentations/discussions will be graded on the following criteria: 1) efficacy of the written outline; 2) organization of ideas; 3) clarity of the oral exposition; 4) quality of the summary and critical evaluation of the article; 5) quality of the guided discussion following the presentation; 6) equitable distribution of participation among group presenters. 4. Each analytical essay will examine particular formal and conceptual elements of the two assigned testimonial narratives. A specific topic will be assigned, but other topics may be analyzed with my prior approval. The essays should explore the narrative forms and modes of expression as well as the cultural values, norms, perspectives, and biases which are embedded in the texts, both explicitly and implicitly. Essays should be typed, double- spaced, and length should range from four to five pages using standard fonts and margins. 5. The final research paper will focus on the Guatemalan testimonial narratives studied. By the dates indicated in the course schedule, you will submit a topic and preliminary bibliography, on which you will receive feedback, a first draft which will also be critiqued, and the final draft, due by Monday, May 8 th , at 2:00pm. The research paper should carry out a comparative analysis of specific formal and/or conceptual elements of the two Guatemalan testimonios. It should be between 10-12 pages of text using standard fonts and margins (excluding bibliography) and incorporate a minimum of 6 secondary sources. Students are free to use the style manual of their choice (e.g., MLA, APA) in preparing notes and bibliography. COURSE SCHEDULE

DATE ASSIGNMENT (**PR/DT# = Personal Reflection/Discussion Topic Group #) Jan. 16 M Course Introduction and **Moodle Registration 4

18 W Contextualization and Definition of the Latin American Testimonio Read “Testimonio and its discontents” (Francesca Denegri, pp. 228-38) and “Latin American Testimonio and Testimonial Criticism as Project, Process, and Product” (Kimberly Nance, pp. 1-18, 179-81)

20 F Read Biography of a Runaway Slave, pp. 11-57 (“Slavery”); PR/DT #1

23 M Read Biography of a Runaway Slave, pp. 61-109 (“The Abolition of Slavery I”); PR/DT #2

25 W Read Biography of a Runaway Slave, pp. 109-56 (“The Abolition of Slavery II”); PR/DT #3 (In-class viewing of **Magical realism: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9okIp7-z3Vk)

27 F Read Biography of a Runaway Slave, pp. 159-208 (“The War of Independence”); PR/DT #1

30 M Read “Spanish American Testimonial Novel: Some Afterthoughts” (Elzbieta Sklodowska, pp. 84-100): Presentation/Discussion by ______; PR/DT #2 Feb. 01 W Read Reyita: The Life of a Black Cuban Woman in the Twentieth Century, pp. 1-58 (Introduction and Ch. 1); PR/DT #3

03 F Read Reyita, pp. 59-86 (Ch. 2) ; PR/DT #1

06 M Read Reyita, pp. 87-140 (Ch. 3); PR/DT #2

08 W Read Reyita, pp. 141-70 (Ch. 4); PR/DT #3

10 F Read “In the Web of Reality: Latin American Testimonio” (Elzbieta Sklodowska, pp. 197-208): Presentation/Discussion by ______; PR/DT #1

13 M **Turn in Analytical Essay #1

15 W Read “Afterword – Nicaragua: The Historical Framework to 1979,” pp. 223-33, and Sandino’s Daughters: Testimonies of Nicaraguan Women in Struggle, pp. i-xvii (1995 and 1981 prefaces, Introduction); PR/DT #2 5

17 F Read Sandino’s Daughters: Testimonies of Nicaraguan Women in Struggle, pp. 1-39 (Ch. 1); PR/DT #3

20 M Read Sandino’s Daughters, pp. 40-93 (Chs. 2-3); PR/DT #1

22 W Read Sandino’s Daughters, pp. 94-128 (Chs. 4-5); PR/DT #2

24 F Read Sandino’s Daughters, pp. 129-62 (Chs. 6-7); PR/DT #3

27 M Read Sandino’s Daughters, pp. 163-203 (Chs. 8-9); PR/DT #1 Mar. 01 W Read “Disarming Testimony: Speakers’ Resistance to Readers’ Defenses in Latin American Testimonio” (Kimberly Nance, pp. 570-88): Presentation/Discussion by ______; PR/DT #2

03 F Read Sandino’s Daughters, pp. 204-20); PR/DT #3

March 04-12: Happy Spring (i.e. Winter) Break!!

13 M Read Death of Somoza, pp. 1-44 (Intro-Ch. 5); PR/DT #1

15 W Read Death of Somoza, pp. 45-87 (Chs. 6-10); PR/DT #2

17 F Read Death of Somoza, pp. 88-121 (Chs. 11-15); PR/DT #3

20 M Read Death of Somoza, pp. 122-61 (Ch. 16-Epilogue); PR/DT #1

22 W Read “The Deaths of Somoza” (George Evans, pp. 36-43): Presentation/ Discussion by ______; PR/DT #2

24 F Read I, Rigoberta Menchú, pp. v-22 (Intro and Chs. I-III); PR/DT #3

27 M **Turn in Analytical Essay #2

29 W Read I, Rigoberta Menchú, pp. 23-68 (Chs. IV-X); PR/DT #1

31 F Read I, Rigoberta Menchú, pp. 69-120 (Chs. XI-XIV); PR/DT #2

Apr. 03 M Read I, Rigoberta Menchú, pp. 121-75 (Chs. XV-XIX); PR/DT #3 6

05 W Read I, Rigoberta Menchú, pp. 176-228 (Chs. XX-XXVI); PR/DT #1

07 F Read I, Rigoberta Menchú, pp. 229-89 (Chs. XXVII-XXXIV); PR/DT #2

10 M Read “Testimonio, Subalternity, and Narrative Authority” (John Beverley, pp. 571-83) and “I, Rigoberta Menchú and the Culture Wars (Mary Louise Pratt, pp. 29-48): Presentations/Discussions by ______and ______; PR/DT #3

12 W Read Face of the Earth, Heart of the Sky, pp. 139-42, v-24; PR/DT #1

14 F Good Friday. No classes scheduled.

17 M Read Face of the Earth, Heart of the Sky, pp. 25-59; PR/DT #2

19 W Read Face of the Earth, Heart of the Sky, pp. 60-115; PR/DT #3

21 F Read Face of the Earth, Heart of the Sky, pp. 118-137 **Turn in Research Paper topic proposal and preliminary bibliography with minimum of six secondary sources

24 M Research paper idea exchange and brainstorming session

26 W View Rigoberta Menchú: Broken Silence

28 F **Turn in first draft of Research Paper

May 01 M Course conclusions

08 M **Final draft (with 1st draft included) of Research Paper due by 2:00pm in WLC 208