To familiarize upper-division undergraduate students with the
major texts and literary movements in Spain from the Middle
Ages through 1700.  Emphasis will be placed on reading on
variety of texts and situating those texts within their
cultural, historical and linguistic context.  Reading
assignments will be complemented by written and oral
assignments, as well as exams.  Students will be
expected to develop their reading skills as well as the
analytical and research techniques necessary to understand,
discuss and develop coherent arguments about literary texts.

Poetry, drama and prose of the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and 
the Baroque; epic and chronicle; medieval humor; the culture of 
the Court; aspects of "otherness" in medieval and renaissance 
Spain; theories of kinship; theories of estates and classes; the 
evolution of the picaresque narrative; aspects of the comedia; 
the female voice; the notion of "Conquest" and "Reconquest" in 
medieval and renaissance Spain.