• Babcock, "The Reversible World"
• Fromm, "El arte de amar"
• Paz, "Los hijos de la Malinche"
• Zemon Davis, "Women on Top"
• Hutcheon, The Politics of Postmodernism
• Cixous, "Castration or Decapitation?"
• Foucault, Historia de la sexualidad
• García Márquez, Diatriba de amor contra un hombre sentado

LOVE, SEX, AND POWER
IN LATIN AMERICAN THEATRE
Span 4344/5344
Fall 2006

Jacqueline Bixler, Alumni Distinguished Professor of Spanish
301 Major Williams
1-8632
jbixler@vt.edu
http://www.fll.vt.edu/Bixler/bixler.html

Office hours:  1:15 – 2:15 MW and by appt.

This class involves a number of contemporary dramas from throughout Latin America, texts that will hopefully help us to understand the meaning(s) of “love” and the relationships that exist among love, sex(uality), and power. Theory ranging from Plato to Foucault will be applied to dramatic texts that suggest that love is a slippery concept, sex is what it is all about, and power is the final objective, whether it be based on gender or politics. These texts not only question the relationship between love and sex, but also extend the metaphor of the “battle of the sexes” to the level of national histories and politics. PRE: 3304, at least one of 3404, 3414, 3444 or 3454, and advanced level of oral and writing proficiency. The class will be conducted strictly in Spanish. Students will be required to read at least one play per week and to read critical theory both in English and in Spanish.

TEXTS:

Berman, Sabina. Puro teatro
Carballido, Emilio. Rosa de dos aromas
Casas, Myrna. Voces
Serrano, Antonio. Sexo, pudor y lágrimas
Textos fotocopiados
Textos electrónicos (see http://www.fll.vt.edu/Bixler/bixler.html and clic on “courses”)

GRADING:

20%             Participación
20%            Examen parcial
20%            1º trabajo escrito
25%              Trabajo final
15%            Reacciones escritas

PARTICIPATION:  Despite the size of this group, class attendance and participation are essential.Your participation grade will not exceed the percentage of days that you have attended class. Class begins promptly at 2:30, so please be on time.  Feel free to bring all the caffeine and snacks you might need for re-fueling. You are expected to have read the assigned text(s) and to be thoroughly prepared for the discussion. The participation grade is based not only on your physical presence in the classroom, but also on the extent of your contributions to class discussions.

Please note: If winter arrives early and there is ice and/or snow, I may not be able to get up to town; on those days check your email before leaving home!

MIDTERM EXAM:  This exam will be essay in nature and may be given as a take-home exam.

MIDTERM PAPER:  This paper consists of an analysis of a text that will be provided to the students. The paper is to be a textual analysis, in which students should apply theory that has been used to analyze previous texts.  Minimum length:  5 pp. for undergraduates and 7 pp. for graduate students; double-spaced, one-inch margins, 12-point font.

FINAL PAPER: This paper will involve 2-3 plays, to be chosen by the student with the guidance of the professor. Since there is not a final exam in this course, this is the paper that will prove that you have comprehended the course materials and that you are able to see the connections that exist between them.  You are expected to apply the theories that have been studied throughout the semester and to draw conclusions regarding the topic of the course.   Minimum length: 10 pp. for undergraduates; 15 pp. for graduate students.  You have until 5 p.m., December 4, to turn in your paper. After that point, the grade will be lowered by one full letter for each day late.

WEEKLY WRITTEN RESPONSES: Occasionally, you will be asked to provide a written response to the assigned readings. This response will be typed in Spanish and deposited on my desk when you enter the room. Late entries will not be accepted unless you have missed class and have provided a prior, official excuse. You should write at least 250 words (500 words for graduate students) that describe your understanding of and your response to the readings.  Every effort should be made to draw connections between the dramatic text and the critical theory. Connections may also be made between that day’s assignment and previous assignments. This is like a journal,  except that it will be submitted piece by piece. Keep all journal entries so that they can be resubmitted as a complete journal at the end of the course, at which point I will assign a final grade to it.

PROGRAMA

21 ago            Introducción a la clase:  ¿Qué es el amor?
23            Díaz, Cepillo de dientes, acto I (attachment); Fromm, “El arte de amar” (http://www.fll.vt.edu/Bixler/bixler.html; ver “courses”)

28            Cepillo de dientes, Acto II;  Fromm
30            Carballido, Rosa de dos aromas, escenas 1-5; Paz, “Los hijos de la Malinche” (web)

4  sep   Rosa de dos aromas, escenas 6-fin; Paz (web)
6            Berman, Suplicio del placer, “El bigote” (Puro teatro); Babcock, “Reversible World” (web)

11            Berman, Suplicio del placer, “Casa chica”;  Zemon Davis, “Women on Top” (web)
13            Berman, Entre Villa y una mujer desnuda (Puro teatro), cuadros 1-2; Grijelmo, 31-35, “Persuasión y seducción” (fotocopia)

18            Entre Villa y una mujer desnuda, cuadros 3-4; Grijelmo, “Las palabras del amor”  (web o fotocopia)
20            Torres Molina, Y.... a otra cosa mariposa (fotocopia); Hutcheon, “The Politics of Postmodernism” (web)

25            Rascón Banda, El deseo (web o attachment); Paz, La llama doble (web)
27            El deseo; Galende, fragmentos de Sexo y amor (web)

2 oct            Campesino, Octubre terminó hace mucho tiempo, acto I (web)
4              Octubre terminó hace mucho tiempo, acto II

9              Fall “break”
11               EXAMEN PARCIAL

16               Berman, Muerte súbita, escenas 1-12 (en Puro teatro); Foucault (web)
18             Muerte súbita, escenas 13-22

23             Voces; Foucault, pp. 79-92 (web)
25             Voces

30            Escalante, Andrómaca real (attachment); Hutcheon, Adaptation (web)
1 nov            de la Parra, Infieles (attachment)

6             Puig, El beso de la mujer araña (web); Foucault, pp. 95-111 (web)
8            El beso de la mujer araña

13            García Márquez, Diatriba de amora contra un hombre sentado (web); Cixous, “Castration or Decapitation?”  (web)
15            Merelli, La culpa la tuvo el tranvía  (attachment)

27            Serrano, Sexo, pudor y lágrimas, acto I
29            Sexo, pudor y lágrimas, acto II

4            Se entrega el trabajo final
6            Conclusiones y fiesta

Otras obras relacionadas que se podrían considerar para el trabajo final (hay que pedirle a la profesora los textos):

Narro, QUIMICOS PARA EL AMOR
Berman, 65 CONTRATOS PARA HACER EL AMOR
Robles, EL ORNITORRINCO
Escalante, FEDRA Y OTRAS GRIEGAS
de la Parra, MONOGAMIA
Rovner, COMPANIA y ALMAS GEMELAS
Torres Molina, ELLA
Torres Molina, UNA NOCHE CUALQUIERA
Berman, FELIZ NUEVO SIGLO, DOKTOR FREUD
Cossa, YEPETO