MODERN  AND  MEDIEVAL  LANGUAGES  TRIPOS    Part IB

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            Monday 5 June 2006     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.

           

 

 

STATIONERY REQUIREMENTS

20 Page Answer Book x 1

Rough work pad

            Tags

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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)     ‘The early stages of the construction of a Latin-American identity and cultural tradition were marked by a passionate dialogue with European ideas, values, and language.’  Discuss.

 

            (b)     Discuss the way in which writers OR artists contest or develop the approaches and constructions developed by earlier thinkers.

 

            (c)     ‘Every construction of national or continental identity seems to involve demonizing, mythifying or excluding some “other”.’  Discuss.

 

            (d)     Discuss the weight of historical events in the elaboration of a discourse on Latin-American identity.

 

 

2          Nightmares of the Urban

 

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

 

            (a)     ‘The linguistic, physical, and human heterogeneity of the modern city can only be reflected by a similarly fragmented narration.’  Discuss.

 

            (b)     ‘The literary ideal, the unity of identity, purity and nature are present in these works, but in the form of irony, travesty, ghost-like memories.’  Discuss.

 

            (c)     ‘La violencia de todo tipo, de género, social, histórica, teje la abominable trama de estas creaciones.’  Discuss.

 

            (d)     ‘Latin-American cities have different histories but face a common set of challenges.’  Discuss with reference to TWO OR MORE Latin-American cities, illustrating your arguments with reference to any appropriate source.

 

 

3          Charting Revolution

 

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

 

            (a)     ‘Desde el principio, en las obras que representan la Revolución Mexicana, han convivido, también en lucha fratricida, el idealismo y la utopía con el fracaso, el cinismo, y el caos.’  Discuss.

 

            (b)     ‘These works, which are on so specific an historical reality, are yet strangely stylized and self-aware.’  Discuss.

 

            (c)     ‘El lenguaje que narra la Revolución tiene que ser revolucionario, a riesgo de volverse institucional.’  Discuss.

 

            (d)     Discuss the legacy of the Mexican Revolution to present-day Mexico.

 

 

4          The ‘Racial’ Other

 

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

           

            (a)     ‘Between or within the vehement denunciation and the widely varying intellectual and aesthetic constructs of these works, the Indian is largely silent.’  Discuss.

 

            (b)     ‘Racial and gender violence are exposed here as twin pillars of the edifice of power.’   Discuss.

 

            (c)     ‘A pesar de dicotomías aparentemente irreconciliables, y del innegable sufrimiento de grupos e individuos, va surgiendo de las ambigüedades, contradicciones y encuentros de estos textos una nueva realidad lingüística y cultural: híbrida, dialógica y disolvente.’  Discuss.

 

            (d)     With reference to TWO OR MORE countries, describe specific historical processes involving racial groups.  You may, if you wish, illustrate your answer with data from literary texts.

 

 

5          Penning the Dictator

 

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

 

            (a)     ‘Dictatorial regimes necessarily control or silence the language of the people.  The role of the writer is symbolically to undo that control.’  Discuss.

           

            (b)     Discuss the role of the body AND/OR sexual violence in works dealing with dictatorships.

 

            (c)     ‘Both the indulgence in sophisticated literary games and the voyeuristic lingering on the pain of others undermine the legitimacy of works dealing with dictatorship.’  Discuss.

 

            (d)     Discuss the causes of the long series of dictatorial regimes in Latin America.

 

 

 6         Labyrinths of Fiction

 

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

 

            (a)     ‘Una constante de los textos autorreferenciales es que el papel del escritor, intérprete o lector es inestable, movedizo y problemático.’  Discuss.

 

            (b)     ‘La entereza del individuo se disuelve en una red de ecos, espejos y juegos estructurales.’  Discuss.

 

            (c)     Discuss the use of intertextuality AND/OR internal texts in the works you have studied for this topic.

 

(d)   ‘Their works lead us to question the way in which we inhabit and read our own reality.’  Discuss.

 

 

END OF PAPER