Original Title
Understanding literature through different artistic expressions
Subject Area
Spanish American Studies
Abstract
Based on the words of Doris Sommer, who says that “books are not sacred objects, they are invitations to play,” I will demonstrate how learning literature can become a pleasant experience. To illustrate my thesis, I will rely on an undergraduate course I have taught at Mercer University, Spanish 301: Introduction to Latin American literature. In this course, I have integrated music, movies, comics, and paintings for students to appreciate, understand, and analyze literature from different artistic expressions. The famous poem Martin Fierro, for example, has been represented by a number of renowned Argentinean artists. El Matadero by Esteban Echeverria as well as stories written by Horacio Quiroga, Julio Cortázar, and Jorge Luis Borges have been adapted into beautiful comics. During class, students had to analyze the visual representations in comparison to the original texts. As a final project, they had to choose a work not previously studied in class. Inspired by this work, the students produced something new and different. The results were fascinating and incredibly creative. My goal is to inspire teachers to address literature not as static texts, but as vibrant tools that will encourage students to think critically, to engage in dialogues and debates, and to create more art.
Brief Bio Note
Clara Mengolini received her Ph.D. in Spanish Literature at Vanderbilt University. She got her MA in Latin American and Peninsular literature from the University of South Carolina in 2010 and her BA in Latin-American literature, from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 2002. She worked for three years as a high school Spanish teacher at Whitmire Community School, in South Carolina. Her interests are Latin American Theater, Argentinean fantasy literature and children’s literature. On 2015 she received the highly competitive College of Arts and Science “Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award” at Vanderbilt University. She is currently teaching Spanish and Latin-American Literature at Mercer University.
Keywords
literature, Spanish, Latinamerican literature, visual arts, creativity
Location
Room 217
Presentation Year
2017
Start Date
3-23-2017 5:35 PM
Embargo
10-18-2016
Recommended Citation
Mengolini, Clara, "Understanding literature through different artistic expressions" (2017). South East Coastal Conference on Languages & Literatures (SECCLL). 42.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/seccll/2017/2017/42
Understanding literature through different artistic expressions
Room 217
Based on the words of Doris Sommer, who says that “books are not sacred objects, they are invitations to play,” I will demonstrate how learning literature can become a pleasant experience. To illustrate my thesis, I will rely on an undergraduate course I have taught at Mercer University, Spanish 301: Introduction to Latin American literature. In this course, I have integrated music, movies, comics, and paintings for students to appreciate, understand, and analyze literature from different artistic expressions. The famous poem Martin Fierro, for example, has been represented by a number of renowned Argentinean artists. El Matadero by Esteban Echeverria as well as stories written by Horacio Quiroga, Julio Cortázar, and Jorge Luis Borges have been adapted into beautiful comics. During class, students had to analyze the visual representations in comparison to the original texts. As a final project, they had to choose a work not previously studied in class. Inspired by this work, the students produced something new and different. The results were fascinating and incredibly creative. My goal is to inspire teachers to address literature not as static texts, but as vibrant tools that will encourage students to think critically, to engage in dialogues and debates, and to create more art.
