Calendar
Tuesday/Thursday 2:00-3:15 Class business; Introductory remarks
January 11 Introduction: A Game of Shifting Mirrors: Latin American Narrative and North American Fiction
 Borges: Ficciones
(1940-1944)
January 16 J.L. Borges “The Mirror Man” (video); the Double or the Impersonality of Identity “Death and the Compass” (1942)
January 18 E.A. Poe, “The Purloined Letter”: the Mystery to a Solution”
 “The Purloined Letter” (1844)
January 23 Conclusions: Borges; First Quiz
January 25 Carlos Fuentes: Man of Two Worlds (v)
 Fuentes, Aura (1962)
January 30 Henry James’ The Aspern Papers: Rereadings and Unreliable Narrators; the theme of America vs. Europe Henry James,  The Aspern Paper (1888): Read all introductory materials as well as the novella & notes.
February 1 Fuentes’Aura: The Lies of History vs. the truths of Fiction;  Second Quiz
February 6 Faulkner in Latin America: the Tragic South, Incest & Miscegenation William Faulkner, Absalom, Absalom!
(1936)
February 8 Hand-out questions for mid-term essay (2-3 printed pages, double-spaced) Complete reading of Absalom, Absalom!
February 13 Mid-term Essays Due;
Juan Rulfo, Pedro Paramo & the “Frozen Revolution” Juan Rulfo, Pedro Paramo (1955)
February 15 Oedipus in Mexico: Rulfo’s Pedro Paramo: Myth vs. History
February 20 Gabriel Garcia Marquez: A Witch Writing (video) G Garcia Marquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967)
February 22 100 Years of Solitude: Imaginary Biography, the Family Saga & Political Satire; Third Quiz
 Complete 100 Yrs
February 27 The Last Three Pages of  100 Years of Solitude and Borges’ Circular Ruins Borges, “The Circular Ruins”
March 1 Isabel Allende “The House of Spirits” (video)
Hand-out themes for final paper
 Isabel. Allende, The House of Spirits (1983)
March 6 Magical Realism & Beyond Complete Allende
March 8 Manuel Puig and the Spider Woman Manuel Puig, The Kiss of the Spider Woman  (1976)
March 13 Mass Culture, Sexual Politics & the Postmodern Novel Complete Puig
March 15 CONCLUSIONS; PAPERS DUE

Textbooks:
Jorge Luis Borges, Ficciones.
Henry James, Aspern Papers.
Carlos Fuentes, Aura.
William Faulkner, Absalom, Absalom!
Juan Rulfo, Pedro Paramo.
Gabriel Garcia Marquez, 100 Years of Solitude.
Isabel Allende, House of the Spirits.
Manuel Puig, Kiss of the Spider Woman.

Textbooks are available for purchase at the UCSB Bookstore; all are easily obtainable in local bookstores or on the Internet as well. All required texts must be obtained by students and brought to class. Other editions or translations of these texts may not correspond to those that will be cited on exams. Purchase required texts as soon as possible, as the Bookstore will begin to return textbooks by the beginning of the fourth week of the term.

Grading:
Quizzes=30%
2 papers=60%
discussion section=10%

Classroom rules:
Going to class is not the same as going to the movies. It is unacceptable for students to leave the lecture hall during class; it disrupts the lecture and distracts everyone, including the professor. Make your trip to the coffee bar, snack bar, restroom, etc. before class begins.

If you know that you are going to have to leave class early on a given day, you must do three things:
1) get a seat in the very back of the lecture hall (you may need to come earlier than usual in order to procure it);
2) come and talk to me about your need to leave before the end of class;
3) close the door quietly behind you on the way out.

If you come to class late, be sure to enter as quietly as possible and take a seat in the back of the lecture hall.

Please turn off cell phones, pagers and wristwatch alarms before class begins.

Please do not carry on conversations with friends and neighbors during the lecture. It is not only rude but distracting for others in the lecture hall.

Note on coursework:
All course requirements must be fulfilled on time. Under no circumstances will exams be administered in advance of the test date, and the only students eligible to take a make-up test, or to submit a late paper, are those who contact Prof. Levine prior to the test date or due date with a plausible medical excuse from a medical doctor written on the official university form. Job interviews, standardized tests, family events (weddings, etc.) and athletic activities are not acceptable excuses. If you anticipate being away on the day a test is scheduled, you should not take the course.

Policy on absences:
If you miss a class for whatever reason, be sure to get the notes from a classmate. My notes are not available for student use, although during office hours I am always glad to talk about the lectures. Please note that the lecture notes are not available for purchase at the UCen, and are not posted to e-reserves. It is your responsibility to come to class and to keep up with the coursework.

General Education Subject Areas:
This course is approved for Area G