Matching Items (32)
Description
The temple of the Sagrada Familia, by Gaudí, is nowadays one of the most emblematic buildings of Barcelona, and the most visited monument in Spain. Despite the high popularity surrounding the name of the architect, his great work, still unfinished, has divided public opinion in the city for decades and has starred since its inception in a complex and paradoxical cultural phenomenon. My object of study consists of four major novels of modern Spanish narrative (Antagonía [1973-81], by Luis Goytisolo, La ciudad de los prodigios [1986], by Eduardo Mendoza, Campo cerrado [1943], by Max Aub and El amante bilingüe [1990], by Juan Marsé): all of them stand out because of the interartistic dialogue they establish with the famous building, which is referred to more or less extensively in their plots. The study will prove that the textual references to the Sagrada Familia in each particular case contain important interpretive keys that illuminate the discursive characterization of the texts while at the same time opening a new avenue for reading them.
To this end, I start by situating my object of interest within the studies on the literary city, a field where Barcelona has a unique tradition of reflecting on its novel. Then I trace the cultural reception of the Sagrada Familia as evidenced in literary testimonies of the early twentieth century, and continue by documenting the presence of the building in modern, post-Civil War narrative. After that, I explain the conceptual notions and terms on the phenomenon of the intersection between architecture and literature, which will guide the analysis of the texts.
Finally, I carry out the literary analysis of the four aforementioned novels.
The Sagrada Familia, as well as showing itself to be a versatile metafictional emblem at four different times in modern Spanish narrative, illustrates the possibilities of a literary analysis that takes into account the architectural component of the texts in order to illuminate their comprehension and their characterization.
To this end, I start by situating my object of interest within the studies on the literary city, a field where Barcelona has a unique tradition of reflecting on its novel. Then I trace the cultural reception of the Sagrada Familia as evidenced in literary testimonies of the early twentieth century, and continue by documenting the presence of the building in modern, post-Civil War narrative. After that, I explain the conceptual notions and terms on the phenomenon of the intersection between architecture and literature, which will guide the analysis of the texts.
Finally, I carry out the literary analysis of the four aforementioned novels.
The Sagrada Familia, as well as showing itself to be a versatile metafictional emblem at four different times in modern Spanish narrative, illustrates the possibilities of a literary analysis that takes into account the architectural component of the texts in order to illuminate their comprehension and their characterization.
ContributorsLeón Rivero, Francisco (Author) / GARCIA, CARLOS-JAVIER (Thesis advisor) / Volek, Emil (Committee member) / Hernández-G, Manuel (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
Every act of communication, and therefore, reading, are in themselves acts of translation and interpretation, as the reader creates a mental representation or reconstruction of the text, extrapolating meaning from it. Interlinguistic translation adds another dimension to these hermeneutic processes, and in the movement through space and time, constant re-interpretation, new translations, and, often, modern theories and perspectives, can interfere with or bring clarity to the meaning of the original text, as well as add to the myth-creation of the writers themselves.
This study centers on some of the great literary figures in poetic and essayistic production in the world of Spanish-speaking letters: Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, José Martí, and Octavio Paz. These figures represent not only important literary movements going from the baroque to modernismo, to the vanguardia and to the creation of the self-conscious “modern” poet, but also are among the most well known Spanish-language writers in the English-speaking world. They are all self-aware creators, who, in distinct ways, join poetry, critical essays and theory that are at once an extension of and revolve around their personal poetics, projected toward the currents of their respective epochs.
Finding problematic moments in translation theory and practice, and studying them in the context of the analysis of these great literary figures, at the same time contributes to a new understanding of translation theory itself. These ‘case studies’ expose certain key moments of existing translations, moments that later contribute to critical and interpretive dialogue in a type of hermeneutic spiral of influence. They also show the importance of translation as a contribution to cultural changes and literary movements. This ultimately aids in the understanding of the important points of contact between the many worlds occupied by these great writers and the ways in which they, and in turn, their translators, recreate the contexts in which they were produced.
This study centers on some of the great literary figures in poetic and essayistic production in the world of Spanish-speaking letters: Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, José Martí, and Octavio Paz. These figures represent not only important literary movements going from the baroque to modernismo, to the vanguardia and to the creation of the self-conscious “modern” poet, but also are among the most well known Spanish-language writers in the English-speaking world. They are all self-aware creators, who, in distinct ways, join poetry, critical essays and theory that are at once an extension of and revolve around their personal poetics, projected toward the currents of their respective epochs.
Finding problematic moments in translation theory and practice, and studying them in the context of the analysis of these great literary figures, at the same time contributes to a new understanding of translation theory itself. These ‘case studies’ expose certain key moments of existing translations, moments that later contribute to critical and interpretive dialogue in a type of hermeneutic spiral of influence. They also show the importance of translation as a contribution to cultural changes and literary movements. This ultimately aids in the understanding of the important points of contact between the many worlds occupied by these great writers and the ways in which they, and in turn, their translators, recreate the contexts in which they were produced.
ContributorsBrown, Katherine (Author) / Volek, Emil (Thesis advisor) / García Fernández, Carlos Javier (Committee member) / Rosales, Jeús (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
After the implementation of the racial laws sanctioned by Mussolini in 1938, many Italians Jews looked for safe haven in Argentina and Uruguay. This research study aims to investigate the transnational cultural space that emerges as result of the Italian Jewish diaspora to the La Plata River during fascism. This phenomenon has not been fully addressed by contemporary Jewish Latin American Studies conducted in the US and in Latin America. This study attempts to illustrate how this particular diaspora is closely linked to the specific nature of the host countries, in particular, to the fact that these are countries with a strong immigration tradition and with a significant representation of Italians. This research emphasizes the transnational dimension of the experience, the phenomenon is approached from a regional perspective, encompassing two countries that share common cultural and historical roots, Argentina and Uruguay. The study is also rooted in a global perspective, linking the region with Italy in the context of the Europe of the time. On this basis, the study is guided by the following main assumption: The specific Italian diaspora generated original spaces of transnational cultural production that had an impact in the River Plate region and in Italy. This is done by studying some of the cultural manifestations of this multifaceted experience. This work is theoretically guided by an integration of perspectives emerging from cosmopolitanism, diasporic criticism and Bakhtinian dialogism. More specifically, when studying autobiographical texts, the research focused on critical essays on life narratives in general and on studies linking this discursive typology to the narratives of the Shoah, including the human capacity for resilience and adaptation in the face of adversity and trauma. The diaspora has created a prolific and unique body of transnational cultural expressions and, moreover, this particular diaspora has proved to be closely linked to the specific nature of the host countries. The findings make contributions to the field of Jewish Latin American Studies and Transatlantic Studies.
ContributorsMarsiglia, Edith (Author) / Volek, Emil (Thesis advisor) / Rosales, Jesus (Committee member) / García-Fernández, Carlos (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
ABSTRACT
The analytical sensitivity of Nellie Campobello allows her to perceive and draw several contexts into her fiction. Her work offers the reader a glimpse of the subtle connections between the individual experience and the social milieu that make up history. In the two editions of Cartucho (1931 and 1940) the reader encounters the Mexican Revolution as a plausible setting. By transferring this context into fiction, the author deals with core social matters that fostered the disfunctionality of Mexican society, at the time the novel was written. Furthermore, her intuition allows her to depict in her literary work many aspects of dehumanization that are timeless and universal. This depth of social cognition is expressed freely, producing a literary style that communicates a modern worldview.
Therefore, a critical analysis of the book should supersede historical facts to discern the expression of an object of ethical appreciation. The active reading of Cartucho forces us to appreciate the precise aesthetic form that communicates, through a plurality of voices, history to reconfigure -through discourse- diverse social contexts that are accessible, identifiable and pertinent to readers from different epochs. This is perhaps the value of the book for the social sciences. However, our study seeks to understand the social and historic minutiae of the text to better equip the reader to achieve an ethical catharsis through the reading of fiction. We believe that it is only when the reader surpasses the historic level of discourse that he or she can fully identify himself or herself with the characters, thus restoring their humanity and at the same time becoming more fully human.
SÍNTESIS
El temperamento analítico y sensible de Nellie Campobello le permite abordar aspectos sociológicos de múltiples contextos; derivando además los puntos de contacto entre el desarrollo social y la experiencia individual. Cartucho nos presenta, en sus dos versiones (1931 y 1940), la Revolución Mexicana como un contexto verosímil que permite expresar los temas que preocupan a la autora. A partir de esta ambientación ficcional, ella expone las causas del estado en el que se encuentra la nación en el momento en el que escribe la obra. Además, su intuición la lleva a trazar procesos de deshumanización inherentemente humanos con los que se puede identificar un lector universal. Esta profundidad de pensamiento se formula libremente dando lugar a un estilo propio que comunica una cosmovisión moderna.
Una lectura crítica de la obra debe partir del contexto de la Revolución Mexicana. Pero debe también rebasarlo para observar que Cartucho no es un receptáculo de voces rescatadas del pasado, sino la expresión de un objeto de apreciación ética formulado mediante una estética precisa que complementa y enuncia el discurso de la autora con la pluralidad de voces que reconstituyen, discursivamente, contextos sociales con los que el lector de cualquier época se puede identificar. En esta observación recae el valor de la obra camposiana para las ciencias sociales. Sin embargo, nuestro trabajo busca alcanzar una mejor apreciación del discurso histórico y sociológico para que el mensaje de la obra surta un efecto ético. Consideramos que es mediante este tipo de análisis que el lector logra identificarse con los personajes de Cartucho humanizándolos y humanizándose mediante la lectura de un texto de ficción.
The analytical sensitivity of Nellie Campobello allows her to perceive and draw several contexts into her fiction. Her work offers the reader a glimpse of the subtle connections between the individual experience and the social milieu that make up history. In the two editions of Cartucho (1931 and 1940) the reader encounters the Mexican Revolution as a plausible setting. By transferring this context into fiction, the author deals with core social matters that fostered the disfunctionality of Mexican society, at the time the novel was written. Furthermore, her intuition allows her to depict in her literary work many aspects of dehumanization that are timeless and universal. This depth of social cognition is expressed freely, producing a literary style that communicates a modern worldview.
Therefore, a critical analysis of the book should supersede historical facts to discern the expression of an object of ethical appreciation. The active reading of Cartucho forces us to appreciate the precise aesthetic form that communicates, through a plurality of voices, history to reconfigure -through discourse- diverse social contexts that are accessible, identifiable and pertinent to readers from different epochs. This is perhaps the value of the book for the social sciences. However, our study seeks to understand the social and historic minutiae of the text to better equip the reader to achieve an ethical catharsis through the reading of fiction. We believe that it is only when the reader surpasses the historic level of discourse that he or she can fully identify himself or herself with the characters, thus restoring their humanity and at the same time becoming more fully human.
SÍNTESIS
El temperamento analítico y sensible de Nellie Campobello le permite abordar aspectos sociológicos de múltiples contextos; derivando además los puntos de contacto entre el desarrollo social y la experiencia individual. Cartucho nos presenta, en sus dos versiones (1931 y 1940), la Revolución Mexicana como un contexto verosímil que permite expresar los temas que preocupan a la autora. A partir de esta ambientación ficcional, ella expone las causas del estado en el que se encuentra la nación en el momento en el que escribe la obra. Además, su intuición la lleva a trazar procesos de deshumanización inherentemente humanos con los que se puede identificar un lector universal. Esta profundidad de pensamiento se formula libremente dando lugar a un estilo propio que comunica una cosmovisión moderna.
Una lectura crítica de la obra debe partir del contexto de la Revolución Mexicana. Pero debe también rebasarlo para observar que Cartucho no es un receptáculo de voces rescatadas del pasado, sino la expresión de un objeto de apreciación ética formulado mediante una estética precisa que complementa y enuncia el discurso de la autora con la pluralidad de voces que reconstituyen, discursivamente, contextos sociales con los que el lector de cualquier época se puede identificar. En esta observación recae el valor de la obra camposiana para las ciencias sociales. Sin embargo, nuestro trabajo busca alcanzar una mejor apreciación del discurso histórico y sociológico para que el mensaje de la obra surta un efecto ético. Consideramos que es mediante este tipo de análisis que el lector logra identificarse con los personajes de Cartucho humanizándolos y humanizándose mediante la lectura de un texto de ficción.
ContributorsEstevez, Dulce (Author) / Volek, Emil (Thesis advisor) / García-Fernández, Carlos (Committee member) / Keller, Garry (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
This research aims to develop a narration theory based on Argentinian writer Juan José Saer’s (1937-2005) four collections of essays: El río sin orillas (The River Without Banks) (1991) —which is thought by critics to be the Facundo of the 20th century—, El concepto de ficción (The Concept of Fiction) (1995), La narración-objeto (The Narrative Object) (1999) and Trabajos (Works) (2005). His essays examine the Latin American novel from 1960 to 2000, in other words, from the founding of the modern novel during the Latin American boom to its establishment as the most commercial genre upon the arrival of neoliberalism in Latin America in the 1990’s. Saer not only questions the novel in literary terms, but also contextually: from its relationship to politics and the Cuban Revolution and the years of literary compromise à la Sarte and the historical novel’s insurgency as the favored genre that settled the region’s past and present in the 1980’s to the conception of the genre as a commodity as large transnational entertainment consortia purchased all publishers. Within this context, Saer simultaneously critiques and formulates a theory on narration to oppose the novel. He presents narration as a continuation of a wasted and formulaic genre such as the historical novel. He juxtaposes the “real” to realism, ponders the impossibility of the historical novel, defends and rehabilitates the French noveau roman, which was much vilified by authors of the boom, demystifies Borges’ reading of the Argentinian tradition and at the same time confronts it with Witold Gombrowicz. He removes literature from the bonds of nationalism and Latin Americanism and contrasts Sartre’s ideas with German philosopher Theodore W. Adorno’s proposals about the novel during the cultural industry era.
ContributorsArellano Serratos, José Francisco (Author) / Foster, David W (Thesis advisor) / Tompkins, Cynthia (Committee member) / Volek, Emil (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
In this work we review certain biographical and historical data concerning Sor Juana and María Luisa, Condesa de Paredes. In addition, we have chosen Ovillejos 214, Romance 61, Redondillas 90 and 91 as poems that provides important insight into their relationship of patronage and friendship. In order to delineate theoretically both aspects of this relationship --the public and the personal-- we make use of the concept of ekphrasis proposed by Frederick de Armas. This concept is applied to the analysis of Romance 61, which is in the tradition of the lyrical Petrarchan portrait. Redondillas 90 and 91 are examined from the theoretical perspective of Cicero's amicitia, which serves to define an alternative model of feminine amicitia. In constructing this model, we review the written criticism surrounding María de Zayas' comedy, La traición en la amistad (1635). This criticism insists on a certain configuration of feminine friendship necessary for understanding the relationship between the two women. As is demonstrated in the analysis of the poems, the two women developed a mutual and permanent affection for one another until the death of Sor Juana in 1695. The Condesa de Paredes also provided practical support to Sor Juana for the publication of her first book, Inundación castálida (1689), which launched her to literary fame. To date there have been no critical studies that apply the concepts of ekphrasis and feminine friendship to the study of anecdotal clues found in the poems of Sor Juana for analyzing the nature of her relationship with the Condesa. This is the contribution of the present work.
ContributorsZaragoza-Huerta, Susana (Author) / Volek, Emil (Thesis advisor) / Gil-Osle, Juan Pablo (Committee member) / Urioste-Azcorra, Carmen (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
This thesis makes a comparison between the internal dialogue of the Empress Carlota of Mexico in Noticias del Imperio (1987), by Fernando del Paso, and the internal dialogue developed in the original written letters by Carlota during her insanity in 1869. These letters were published in the book Una emperatriz en la noche (2010) by Laurence van Ypersele. Del Paso uses the New Historical Novel genre to write about the French Invasion in Mexico and to bring back to life Carlota, Maximilian, and Benito Juarez amongst others. In the case of Carlota, del Paso uses fiction to recreate the thoughts of a clinically-declared insane woman. The author of Noticias del Imperio can only imagine how the mind of an insane person works based on historical texts describing the behavior of the Empress during her sick years. Overall, when comparing both Carlotas, del Paso captures with great magistry the way of thinking of a mentally ill person, and there are a lot of similarities between both worlds. However, as time goes on and the Empress continues writing her letters, her insanity worsens and one can appreciate a reality that del Paso could have never imagined to recreate in his novel. The written correspondence during Carlota’s insanity becomes more confusing and one can notice a complete transformation of her world, which is perfectly logical to her. In these letters it can be appreciated that the reality of insanity, surpasses the fiction written by del Paso.
ContributorsSalinas, David (Author) / Volek, Emil (Thesis advisor) / García-Fernández, Carlos Javier (Committee member) / Hernández-G., Manuel De Jesús (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
ABSTRACT
In the 19th and 20th centuries, many Latin American intellectuals began to question why their countries had failed to modernize and produce the type of economic prosperity and democratic societies that they desired. Influenced by the scientific theories of their time, many of the explanations offered by these intellectuals centered on a single issue—race. Yet scientific and historical definitions regarding “race” have varied greatly ranging from a conceptualization of race as a cultural to a biological construct. This same time period also saw the emergence of two new literary genres which addressed “racial” conflict in their own right—indigenismo and neo-indigenismo. In the last thirty years, postmodernist and postcolonialist readings of these texts have tended to articulate these interethnic conflicts in highly racialized terms which diminish the importance of any cultural differentiation that may exist (i.e. attitudes, aptitudes, norms, religions, expectations) while simultaneously augmenting perceived racial discord between groups—even where racial difference barely exists.
This dissertation is an analysis of Pueblo enfermo (1909) and Raza de bronce (1919) by Alcides Arguedas, as well as Sociología guatemalteca: el problema social del indio (1923) and Hombres de maíz (1949) by Miguel Ángel Asturias. By taking an interdisciplinary approach and drawing on texts from history, anthropology, economics and literature I challenge many of the commonly held notions regarding the issues of race in these texts. I argue that, despite tinges of what social scientists have termed “scientific racism” that these works should be interpreted as criticisms of what the authors understood as cultural problems and deficiencies within their societies. Additionally, I argue that this highly politicized cultural criticism of their countries by Arguedas and Asturias was meant to challenge the mestizo and Ladino hegemony of their times as a means of making their countries more democratic, and that the strident postmodernist and would-be postcolonial readings reveal actually hidden anachronistic and ahistorical bias of their authors.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, many Latin American intellectuals began to question why their countries had failed to modernize and produce the type of economic prosperity and democratic societies that they desired. Influenced by the scientific theories of their time, many of the explanations offered by these intellectuals centered on a single issue—race. Yet scientific and historical definitions regarding “race” have varied greatly ranging from a conceptualization of race as a cultural to a biological construct. This same time period also saw the emergence of two new literary genres which addressed “racial” conflict in their own right—indigenismo and neo-indigenismo. In the last thirty years, postmodernist and postcolonialist readings of these texts have tended to articulate these interethnic conflicts in highly racialized terms which diminish the importance of any cultural differentiation that may exist (i.e. attitudes, aptitudes, norms, religions, expectations) while simultaneously augmenting perceived racial discord between groups—even where racial difference barely exists.
This dissertation is an analysis of Pueblo enfermo (1909) and Raza de bronce (1919) by Alcides Arguedas, as well as Sociología guatemalteca: el problema social del indio (1923) and Hombres de maíz (1949) by Miguel Ángel Asturias. By taking an interdisciplinary approach and drawing on texts from history, anthropology, economics and literature I challenge many of the commonly held notions regarding the issues of race in these texts. I argue that, despite tinges of what social scientists have termed “scientific racism” that these works should be interpreted as criticisms of what the authors understood as cultural problems and deficiencies within their societies. Additionally, I argue that this highly politicized cultural criticism of their countries by Arguedas and Asturias was meant to challenge the mestizo and Ladino hegemony of their times as a means of making their countries more democratic, and that the strident postmodernist and would-be postcolonial readings reveal actually hidden anachronistic and ahistorical bias of their authors.
ContributorsEngelbrecht, Jexson Ashley (Author) / Volek, Emil (Thesis advisor) / García Fernández, Carlos J (Committee member) / Hernández Gutiérrez, Manuel J (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
Esta disertación explora la descripción del espacio turístico de costa a través de tres novelas contemporáneas. El análisis de Antagonía, El Tercer Reich y Crematorio revela tanto un cambio en la percepción sobre el turismo de masas en los últimos cuarenta años, en el que se rechaza el turismo de masas por su impacto negativo en el espacio natural, como el uso de unas convenciones literarias específicas que hunden sus raíces en el siglo XIX, lo que nos permite afirmar la presencia de un cronotopo; el cronotopo del turismo de costa.
La originalidad de nuestra investigación radica en el acercamiento a un tema de importancia que la crítica literaria todavía no ha estudiado en profundidad. Era necesario investigar las novelas turísticas contemporáneas de costa con una perspectiva amplia, permitiendo observar no sólo el pasado sino también las distintas direcciones de este campo específico. El presente análisis busca servir de modelo a futuras investigaciones.
La originalidad de nuestra investigación radica en el acercamiento a un tema de importancia que la crítica literaria todavía no ha estudiado en profundidad. Era necesario investigar las novelas turísticas contemporáneas de costa con una perspectiva amplia, permitiendo observar no sólo el pasado sino también las distintas direcciones de este campo específico. El presente análisis busca servir de modelo a futuras investigaciones.
ContributorsHerrería Fernández, Antonio (Author) / García Fernández, Carlos (Thesis advisor) / Urioste-Azcorra, Carmen (Committee member) / Volek, Emil (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
This transdisciplinary study (involving humanities, anthropology, linguistics, and philosophy) contrasts the reductionist ideological “top-down” focus on the construction of our cultural “world” with the meandering technical “bottom-up” approach, searching for forgotten or usually omitted aspects in current studies of culture. The discovery goes from the cultural “thing theory” to semiotics, to communication, and to the emergence of human language from the biosemiotic and zoosemiotic processes of communication, in order to examine the impact of these processes on human culture and cultural theories. Finally, based on “heretical ideas” of Jan Patočka and Martin Heidegger, some philosophical implications for the new humanism and for humanities are outlined.
ContributorsVolek, Emil (Author) / College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (Contributor)
Created2014-06