Literature and Ideas in Revolutionary Spanish America, 1750-1850
This seminar focuses on the print culture of Spanish America during the Age of Revolution. In order to better understand the cultural production of the period, strong emphasis will be placed on learning about the relevant historical context. In particular, we will pay particular attention to both the transatlantic outlook of the principle actors involved in the independence movements in Spanish America and the multiple constituencies participating in those movements. Due to the period’s relative dearth of texts that are considered “literary” (novels, stories, plays, etc.), the majority of the primary texts we will deal with do not fall into this traditional conception of “literature.” Rather, we will be reading newspaper articles, political treatises, speeches, etc.
