Course description<br>This course is structured across two semesters, organized chronologically to distinguish authors and literary periods. It aims to encompass and expand the study of outstanding literary works and authors from both Spanish-speaking continents—Spain and Latin America—while exploring the mutual influences among literary movements and schools of thought. The goal is to broaden students’ reading horizons and deepen their learning perspectives.<br>Selected Readings in Spanish Literature I focuses primarily on works by Spanish authors, with attention to literary history. Texts are selected from the Middle Ages to the 20th century, spanning genres such as poetry, short stories, novels, and excerpts from plays. This semester’s readings include works from the Renaissance, Romanticism, the Generation of ’98, the Generation of ’27, and literature surrounding the Spanish Civil War. Featured authors include Jorge Manrique, Fray Luis de León, Francisco de Quevedo, José de Espronceda, Miguel de Unamuno, Antonio Machado, Juan Ramón Jiménez, Federico García Lorca, and Camilo José Cela.<br>Selected Readings in Spanish Literature II centers on modern and contemporary Latin American literature, with an emphasis on (very) short stories and, to a lesser extent, poetry. The course highlights major writers from various Latin American countries, such as José Martí (Cuba), Rubén Darío (Nicaragua), Juan José Arreola and Juan Rulfo (Mexico), Jorge Luis Borges, Julio Cortázar, Marco Denevi, and Enrique Anderson Imbert (Argentina), Gabriel García Márquez (Colombia), Pablo Neruda (Chile), Augusto Monterroso (Guatemala), Mario Vargas Llosa (Peru), and Óscar Acosta (Honduras), among others.<br>Course Guidelines<br>To be adequately prepared for studying Spanish literary texts, students must have completed Spanish I (Fall and Spring) and Spanish II (Fall and Spring). Spanish III (Fall and Spring) may be taken concurrently with this literature course. Therefore, instruction will be conducted primarily in Spanish, with supplementary explanations in Chinese. In addition to reading original literary texts to strengthen reading comprehension, the course also emphasizes the development of listening and speaking skills.<br>Beyond instructor-led lectures, depending on class size, students will engage in group or individual activities. Each session includes student presentations of newly assigned texts, which must be prepared in advance. The course prioritizes textual reading over theoretical discussion, with the main objective being to enhance students’ abilities in literary appreciation and analysis, expressed through oral commentary in Spanish.<br>Analytical skills are cultivated through both spoken and written expression. Each week, students will complete the reading of one text. In the third hour of the following week’s class, students will deliver oral critiques entirely in Spanish. Additionally, students will select one of the previously studied texts to write a literary commentary in Spanish, thereby improving their expressive fluency, aesthetic sensitivity, grammar, and vocabulary.