Comparative Studies
Betsaida Casanova holds an M.A. in Spanish
(Latin American Literature track) from Florida
Atlantic University. She is now a Ph.D.
candidate in Comparative Studies at FAU. Her
current area of study is Caribbean Literature,
focusing on Cuban literature written inside and outside Cuba
as well as other cultural productions, especially film, from
artists inside Cuba and in the diaspora. Ms. Casanova was
awarded the Graduate Presidential Fellowship at FAU for the
years 2014-2016. She is a member of the honor society Phi
Kappa Phi and president of the Rho-Omicron chapter of the
Sigma Delta Pi Spanish Honor Society.
Student Testimonials
- "Great presentation. The instructor was well prepared and made it very interesting."
- "I found her to be engaging, attentive and most importantly enthused by her subject matter and eager to share her love and pride of her culture and heritage."
The Literature of Cuban Writer Alejo Carpentier
Alejo Carpentier (1904 –1980) was one of the most relevant
Cuban and Latin-American writers of the 20th century. He is the
author of several novels and short stories and important studies
about Cuban music and Latin American art history. He is also
highly regarded for his contributions to the avant-garde and
Afro-Caribbean movements. Carpentier was a major influence
for authors like Gabriel García Márquez (1982 Nobel Prize in
Literature) and other writers of the Latin American Boom and
his influence extends to the new generation of Cuban writers
such as Leonardo Padura. A highly educated and well-travelled
intellectual, his work incorporates politics, history, mythology,
music, art and what he called “the marvelous real,” a term
that he coined in the prologue to his novel “The Kingdom of
this World.”
Reading material will be provided.
Four Lectures
- Alejo Carpentier: The Man and the Writer - Introduction to the life and works of Alejo Carpentier.
Examination of aspects of Carpentier’s biography: his selfidentification
as Cuban, his political affinity with the Cuban
Revolution, his relationship to the European Surrealism and
his ideas about the singularity of Latin America. We will read
and discuss the prologue to “The Kingdom of this World” and
Carpentier’s use of the term “the marvelous real.”
- “The Kingdom of this World” — Part I - This historical short novel was published in 1949 and narrates
the events of Haiti’s war of independence (1791–1804) and the
turbulent processes before and after. Carpentier describes Haiti
as a place where at every step he could find “the marvelous
real.” Haiti has been described as a “microcosm of the Atlantic
world, the perfect place to grapple with the problem of cultural
conflict and the possibility of transculturation” (J. Bradford
Anderson). We will explore how this novel represents Haiti,
the Caribbean and the conflicts originated in colonialism.
- “The Kingdom of this World” — Part II - Analysis of the second part of Carpentier’s novel, “The
Kingdom of this World.” Discussion about Carpentier’s
baroque style and how “the marvelous real” is presented in
this novel.
- “Journey Back to the Source” - In this classic Carpentier short story written in 1944 and
published in 1963 in Havana, time goes backwards and episodes
of the life of the aristocrat Don Marcial are narrated from his
death back to his birth. We will discuss the representation of
time and space in the story and the connections Carpentier
establishes of these concepts with ancient mythologies.
|
Course # F4T3 — First 4 Weeks
|
|
Place: | Room 151 (Annex), Lifelong Learning Complex, Jupiter Campus |
Dates: | Tuesdays, October 11, 18, 25; November 1 2016 |
Time: | 12 - 1:30 PM |
Fee: | $30 / member; $40 / non-member |
|
|
Register Now