(in Polish) Między szaleństwem a psychopatologią. Literackie "studia przypadków" z hiszpańskiego obszaru językowego 3305-MSAP-01
The course combines knowledge from literary studies and psychology. Selected theoretical texts will contribute to a discussion on the literary representation of madness or mental illness/disorder. The importance of madness in literature will be discussed as a contribution to stigmatization, but also as a tool aimed at dominant discourses (e.g. patriarchal, capitalist). Particular texts of contemporary Spanish-language prose will be analyzed in terms of the relationship between the specific psychology of the heroine/hero and the work's structure, its linguistic layer, and its possible readings. Selected psychological categories (drawn from psychoanalysis, among others) will also be used to analyze literary techniques questioning the boundaries between the extraordinary and the everyday, the pathology and the norm.
Scope of topics (may be subject to minor changes - depending on students' interests):
1. Canon and "inventive madness": Miguel de Cervantes's "Don Quixote";
2. Anti-psychiatry and parody: Eduardo Mendoza's "El misterio de la cripta embrujada";
3. Anxiety, paranoia: "El desorden de tu nombre" by Juan José Millás and "La poseída" by Antonio Muñoz Molina;
4. Falling "madly" in love: "La niña lunática" by Esther Tusquets and "En ausencia de Blanca" by Antonio Muñoz Molina;
5. The uncanny in the stories of Cristina Fernández Cubas;
6. Witches, hysterics...: "Las cosas que perdimos en el fuego" by Mariana Enríquez;
7. Individual, collective, intergenerational trauma: "Amor, curiosidad, prozac y dudas" by Lucía Etxebarría;
8. Between madness and indifference: selected stories by Mariana Enríquez, Samantha Schweblin, and Sara Mesa;
9. "Tangled" prose: "La distancia de rescate" by Samantha Schweblin and "El patio del hospital" by Dina Diaz;
10. The patriarchal family: normative pathology? "La familia" by Sara Mesa.
NOTE: Some texts analyzed in class deal with sensitive content (violence, discrimination, psychological suffering).
Type of course
Mode
Course coordinators
Learning outcomes
The student knows and understands:
- basic terminology, subject matter, and research directions encompassing the analysis and interpretation of literary representations of madness in the 20th and 21st centuries (K_W03);
The student is able to:
- present their own views and opinions regarding the interpretation of reading passages, discuss them, and present prepared issues concerning literary representations of madness and mental disorders in Spanish (K_U02);
- independently acquire knowledge and develop the ability to critically analyze short prose texts in Spanish, using, for example, theoretical texts suggested in the bibliography (K_U04);
- use selected theoretical approaches, research paradigms, and concepts relevant to literary studies in Spanish, expanded to include basic categories from psychology (psychopathology) (K_U07).
The student is ready to:
- critically evaluate their own knowledge and skills and understand the need for continuous improvement and development (K_K01);
- plan and organize work, collaborate in a team, and adhere to the principles of professional ethics to the extent required to prepare a project for course credit (K_K02);
- trace contemporary processes and phenomena occurring in the language, culture, and literature of Spain and Latin America in relation to dominant and subversive representations of madness and mental disorders (K_K04).
Assessment criteria
Passing the course requires meeting the following criteria:
1. Attendance and familiarity with the texts are mandatory. The maximum number of unexcused absences per semester is two.The maximum number of unexcused absences per semester is two. If the absence rate exceeds 50% (regardless of the reason), the student will not receive credit.
2. Preparation of an approximately 20-minute presentation related to the reading selected by the student, with an accompanying outline and, if applicable, bibliography. Depending on the number of participants, presentations will be presented in class or submitted as a project by the designated deadline.
Bibliography
Literature (fragments):
de Cervantes, Miguel, "El Quijote" (various editions);
Díaz, Dina (2014) "La ballena de Jonás", Montevideo: Letradura;
Enríquez, Mariana (2009) "Los peligros de fumar en la cama", Barcelona: Anagrama;
Enríquez, Mariana (2016) "Las cosas que perdimos en el fuego", Barcelona: Anagrama;
Enríquez, Mariana (2024) "El lugar soleado para la gente sombría", Barcelona: Anagrama;
Etxebarría, Lucía (1997) "Amor, curiosidad, prozac y dudas", Barcelona: Plaza & Janes;
Fernández Cubas, Cristina (2015) "La habitación de Nona", Barcelona: Tusquets Editores;
Mendoza, Eduardo (1978/2006) "El misterio de la cripta embrujada", Barcelona: Booket;
Mesa, Sara (2016) "Mala letra", Barcelona: Anagrama;
Mesa, Sara (2022) "La familia", Barcelona: Anagrama;
Millás, Juan José (1987/2016) "El desorden de tu nombre", Barcelona: Booket;
Muñoz Molina, Antonio (1999/2024) "En ausencia de Blanca", Barcelona: Seix Barral;
Muñoz Molina, Antonio (2006) "La poseída" Hk Books
Schweblin, Samantha (2014) "Distancia de rescate", Penguin Random House.
Schweblin, Samantha (2015) "Siete casas vacías", Madrid: Editorial Páginas de Espuma;
Tusquets, Esther (2009) "Carta a la madre y cuentos completos", Palencia: Menoscuarto Ediciones.
Critical and complementary literature:
Foucault, Michel (1961) "Historia de la locura en la época clásica", Proyecto Espartaco, online;
Freud, Sigmund, "Lo siniestro", (various editions)
Fridman, Irene (2019) "Violencia de género y el psicoanálisis. Agonías impensables", Buenos Aires: Lugar Editorial.
Kristeva, Julia (1997) "Sol negro. Depresión y melancolía", Buenos Aires: Monte Ávila Editores Latinoamericana
Segato, Rita (2018) "Contra-pedagogías de la crueldad", Buenos Aires: Prometeo Libros;
Torrente Ballester, Gonzalo (1975) "El Quijote como juego", Guadarrama;
Vygotsky, Lev (1960/2006) "Psicología del arte", Barcelona/Buenos Aires/ México: Paidós.
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: