Seminar in Colonial Spanish American Literature: Poetic Violence and License in Epic Works

This course explores the ethics and poetics behind representations of violence in Colonial Latin America, with a special focus on epic poetry, though primary readings also include examples from relaciones, historias, and lyric. Topics include horror and terror; massacre; indigeneity and maternity; curses; the supernatural; marronage and piracy. Relevant selections from Virgil, Lucan, Ovid, Petrarch, Camões, and Ariosto are included as suggested readings for students who may not be familiar with their texts. Theorists and critics on violence and its depictions include Greene, Fuchs, Martínez, Rabasa, Radcliffe, Restrepo, Scarry, and Quint.