MODERN  AND  MEDIEVAL  LANGUAGES  TRIPOS    Part IB

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            Tuesday 28 May 2002     1.30 to 4.30

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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.

           

 

 

 

You may not start to read the questions printed on the subsequent pages of this question paper until instructed that you may do so by the Invigilator

 

 

 

1          Nation and Narration

 

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

 

 (a)    Discuss the importance of social AND/OR racial difference in works you have studied for this topic.

 

 (b)    ‘La construcción de una identidad nacional o continental es una larga tarea de descolonización mental y lingüística.’  Discuss.

 

 (c)    Discuss the principal metaphors and imaginary constructs used to approach the question of nationhood in Latin America in the works you have studied.

 

 (d)    Discuss the ways in which works and concepts by earlier writers or artists concerning nationhood are taken up, developed or contested in later works.

 

 

2          Nightmares of the Urban

 

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

 

 (a)    ‘El lenguaje y la estructura de los textos urbanos reflejan la naturaleza híbrida, vital, cruel, de las ciudades modernas.’  Discuss.

 

 (b)    ‘En la ciudad el individuo depende más que nunca de los demás, a la vez que se encuentra íntimamente solo.’  Discuss.

 

 (c)    Discuss the role of TWO OR THREE of the following in Latin-American urban texts:

 

            (i)   family;                (iii)   personal identity;          (v)    imagination.

                     (ii)  literature;            (iv)   love;

 

 (d)    Discuss the role of national AND/OR international politics in the development of the modern Latin-American city.

 

 

3          Charting Revolution

 

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

 

 (a)    Discuss the use of ambiguity AND/OR fragmentation in works on the Mexican Revolution.

 

 (b)    ‘The depiction of the powerful male, the charismatic leader, lends an almost mythical air to many narrations of the Mexican Revolution.’  Discuss.

 

 (c)    Discuss the depiction of gender roles and sexuality in works on the Mexican Revolution and its aftermath.

 

(d)     Give an account of the social and political causes involved in the Mexican Revolution and their impact on Mexican society.

 

4          The ‘Racial’ Other

 

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

 

(a)     ‘The very diversity of the representations of “race” in Latin America suggests the complex and problematical nature of the term.’ 

 

(b)     ‘La gran ausencia en el discurso de la novela indigenista es la de la voz del indígena.’  Discuss.

 

(c)     ‘El problema del indio es un problema de explotación económica y social, no de raza o de cultura.’  Discuss.

 

(d)     Describe in detail the social groups involved in works on ‘race’ and outline the relationships between them.

 

 

5          Penning the Dictator

 

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

 

            (a)     ‘Dictators and authors share a similar power to manipulate information.’  Discuss.

 

(b)     ‘The depiction of the abuse of power in works on dictatorship almost inevitably involves some form of feminism.’   Discuss.

 

(c)     ‘Aunque la presencia de elementos míticos en los textos sobre la dictadura puede seducir al lector, deforma u oculta los mecanismos económicos, políticos y sociales de la dictadura.’  Discuss.

 

(d)     Examine the possible causes of the phenomenon of dictatorship in Latin America.

 

 

6          Labyrinths of Fiction

 

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

 

            (a)     ‘El verdadero protagonista de estas obras es el lector o espectador.’  Discuss.

 

(b)     Discuss the use of circular or parallel structures and characters in AT LEAST TWO of the texts or films you have studied for this topic.

 

(c)     Discuss the use of internal authors, readers, or interpreters, and internal texts in metafictional works.

 

(d)     ‘La práctica de lo fantástico revela dimensiones de la realidad que el realismo prefiere desconocer.’  Discuss.

 

 

END OF PAPER