Spanish 260: Cervantes

This class is designed to help graduate students develop their own reading and interpretation of Don Quijote. Emphasis will be on close reading of the novel; among the topics to be considered are the relationship between Don Quijote and the origins and development of the modern novel, as well as views on love, beauty, freedom, religion, empire, justice, duty, verisimilitude, poetic theory, and many other topics. In addition to the text of the novel, each week there will be selections from sources, criticism, and theories of the novel. The course is open to students who have not previously read the Quijote; they will be expected to write several interpretative essays. Those who are already familiar with the novel can do more extended reading in the criticism, leading to a research paper.