This module is not currently running in 2024 to 2025.
This course introduces students to the fiction (novels, novellas, and short stories) of some of the most influential twentieth- and twenty-first- century Latin American writers. The module ranges from Borges to the extraordinary literary phenomenon or explosion of the 'Boom generation', the post-Boom novel, and the recently acclaimed Chilean writer Roberto Bolaño (all studied in English translation). The course offers students the unique opportunity to study a fascinating corpus of literature celebrated for its creative innovation, fictional games, puzzles, labyrinths, fabulous and supernatural events, multiple storytellers, and magical realist writing. The course also addresses questions of gender, class, and social, cultural, and technological changes, as well as representations of identity, subjectivity, time, space, and landscape.
Total Contact Hours: 20
Private Study Hours: 130
Total Study Hours: 150
Main assessment methods
Essay 1 (1,500 words) – 50%
Essay 2 (1,500 words) – 50%
Reassessment methods
Reassessment Instrument: 100% Coursework
The University is committed to ensuring that core reading materials are in accessible electronic format in line with the Kent Inclusive Practices. The most up to date reading list for each module can be found on the university's reading list pages: https://kent.rl.talis.com/index.html
See the library reading list for this module (Canterbury)
The intended subject specific learning outcomes.
On successfully completing the module students will be able to:
1 Demonstrate a critical understanding through close reading and textual analysis of a representative corpus of twentieth- and twenty-first-century Latin American fiction;
2 Demonstrate a conceptual understanding of the most significant literary movements in Latin American literature;
3 Demonstrate a critical understanding of the way in which Latin American fiction has been shaped by the major cultural, political, and historical events that took place in the twentieth- and twenty-first centuries;
4 Critically evaluate the stylistic, conceptual, and formal aspects of Latin American fiction;
5 Demonstrate an analytical understanding of the intellectual context of Latin American fiction and its relationship with World literature.
The intended generic learning outcomes.
On successfully completing the module students will be able to:
1 Demonstrate the ability to conduct literary research using appropriate critical sources;
2 Demonstrate refined written communication skills, including the structuring of an original argument, through the writing of two short essays;
3 Demonstrate the ability to read texts closely and critically, and to apply a range of critical terms to literary texts;
4 Demonstrate the ability to undertake the critical analysis of literature.
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