SPAN798B

What can the Middle Ages teach us about the present? Why do we use the term "Early Modern" and to which cultures do we apply it today? Were 14th and 15thcentury Castilian literary works Early? Were they modern? Did they have an impact in the New World? What was Spanish North America and the Spanish Borderlands? Can we connect 13th-14th and 15th century Spain with 16th century Peru, Florida and the US East Coast? We have numerous literary texts, chronicles, private letters, maps and other documents that can help us discuss these questions. Among others, we will read selections or complete primary literary works related to history (Juan Manuel, Garcilaso de la Vega el Inca, Fray Jeronimo de Ore ); novels by Diego de San Pedro (Carcel de amor), Garci Rodriguez de Montalvo (Esplandian). We will also examine English and French narratives (in translation) related to the same events that were originally written in Spanish. A wide range of contemporary scholarly essays will be part of our reading list.