MODERN  AND  MEDIEVAL  LANGUAGES  TRIPOS    Part IB

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            Friday 1 June 2001     9 to 12

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                Paper Sp. 5

 

            TOPICS IN SPANISH-AMERICAN CULTURE AND HISTORY

 

            Answer THREE questions.

 

            DO NOT draw substantially on the same material for more than ONE

            answer.

           

1          Nation and Narration

Answer ONE of the following with reference to the work of TWO OR MORE writers, essayists, or artists:

 

(a) ‘The fantasy of empty space was part of America’s demographic and discursive nature. She seemed to invite representation.’ Discuss.

 

(b) ‘¿Qué es nuestra cultura, sino la historia, sino la cultura de Calibán?’ (Fernández Retamar). How useful do you find this concept in understanding ANY TWO OR MORE works that you have studied for this topic?

 

(c) ‘The European concept of brute nature being tamed or civilized by art, literature, and culture is rendered problematic when applied to Latin America.’ Discuss.

 

            (d) ‘Gobernar es poblar’ (Alberdi). How relevant is this maxim to your understanding of nation formation in ONE OR TWO Latin American countries? Answer with reference to historical or cultural sources.

 

2            Nightmares of the Urban

Answer ONE of the following with reference to TWO OR MORE texts or films:

 

(a) ‘En la megalópolis moderna se da una especie de compresión temporal: todo, pasado y futuro, se reduce a un presente eterno y repetitivo, sin salida.’ How characteristic is this description of the urban texts or films which you have studied?

 

(b) ‘In Latin American urban texts, the city is often imagined in sexual terms.’ Discuss.

 

(c) ‘Los textos urbanos nos muestran el lado oscuro de nuestra “civilización”, obligándonos a reconocer esos elementos de la vida que inconscientemente tratamos de no ver.’ Discuss.

 

            (d) ‘The astounding growth of Latin American cities this century can be accounted for almost entirely in terms of internal migration.’ Discuss with reference to the history of ONE OR TWO urban centres.

3            Charting Revolution

Answer ONE of the following with reference to TWO OR MORE texts (which may include visual arts):

 

(a) ‘Estos autores tienden a expresar la revolución y la violencia en términos personales, proyectando lo social sobre la alegoría de la familia.’ Discuss.

 

(b) Examine the stylistic innovations in texts or works of art by TWO OR MORE authors or artists dealing with revolution or social violence.

 

(c) ‘Las obras que intentan representar la revolución o sus consecuencias sociales casi nunca la celebran, sino que intentan desmentir la retórica y la versión oficial de la historia.’ Discuss.

 

            (d) Give an account of the role of social class in the Mexican Revolution. In your answer you may refer equally to cultural texts or historical sources.

 

4          The ‘Racial’ Other

Answer ONE of the following with reference to TWO OR MORE texts:

 

(a) ‘La diferencia es relación, no esencia.’ How useful is this concept in understanding the representation of ‘racial’ difference in texts which you have read for this topic?

 

(b) Discuss the role of TWO OR THREE of the following in TWO OR MORE texts dealing with issues of ‘race’:

            i. hybridity; ii. language; iii. power; iv. sexuality; v. illegitimacy.

 

(c) ‘¿Cómo captar la realidad del otro, cuando lo único que tenemos para expresar su vida son los mismos utensilios que lo esclavizaron y lo desposeyeron?’ To what extent is this dilemma borne out in texts which you have studied for this topic?

 

            (d) Examine the importance of ethnic conflict in the nineteenth- AND/OR twentieth-century history of ONE OR TWO nations or regions of Latin America (which may include the Caribbean). Your answer may draw equally on historical or cultural sources.

 

5            Penning the Dictator

Answer ONE of the following with reference to TWO OR MORE texts:

 

(a) ‘Las dictaduras quieren parar la historia, congelar su dinámica bajo las formas eternas y estáticas del mito.’ Discuss with reference to the representation of dictatorship in TWO OR MORE texts.

 

(b) ‘Ésta parece ser la historia de lo que no se dice’ (Luisa Valenzuela).  To what extent could this description be applied to the texts which you have read for this topic?

 

            (c) ‘The dictator wants to be a writer: his text is history and his audience the people he wishes to control.’ Discuss relevance of this idea to the work of AT LEAST TWO writers.

 

            (d) ‘El origen de las dictaduras en América Latina se encuentra en la incapacidad de las élites en muchos países de incorporar las demandas populares a su proyecto y concepto de la nación.’ Discuss with reference to the history of ONE OR TWO Latin American countries.

 

6            Labyrinths of Fiction

Answer ONE of the following with reference to TWO OR MORE texts or films:

 

            (a) ‘Una red creciente y vertiginosa de tiempos divergentes, convergentes y paralelos’ (Jorge Luis Borges). To what extent could this description be applied to the texts or films which you have studied for this topic?

 

(b) Discuss the relevance of the concept of mise en abyme to AT LEAST TWO metafictional works.

 

(c) Examine the importance of and the links between THREE OR MORE of the following in metafictional texts or films:

 

            i. mirrors; ii. doubles; iii. books or manuscripts; iv. dreams; v. fate

 

            (d) ‘Son obras en las que la forma y los laberintos lingüísticos cuentan mucho más que cualquier contenido social.’ Discuss.

 

 

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