HUM 316 - The Literature of Spain & the Americas During the Age of Exploration

3 Credit(s)

In this introduction to the literature of Spain and New Spain from pre-contract through 1650, students read and discuss the discourse of exploration and conquest and analyze the themes of discovery, cultural encounter, and identity from both Spanish and indigenous perspectives. It begins with an overview of the chivalric spirit and the literature which molded the minds and spirits of the conquistadores, and continues with the chronicles of discovery and exploration and with an examination of Spanish colonialism. Finally, students consider an alternative perspective to the encounter of the two worlds through the reading selections and the iconography from the Amerindian accounts of the invasion of their lands. All readings, discussions, and assignments are in English.