American Studies, School of Modern Languages and Cultures HKU

This course will delve into one of Latin America’s most renowned literary and filmic movements: Magical Realism. There will be an introduction to its starting point, ‘the real marvelous’ through the reading of Cuban Alejo Carpentier’s 1949 seminal novel The Kingdom of this World. Carpentier’s work will be followed by an introduction to the life and works of Colombian Nobel Prize Laureate Gabriel García Márquez (Gabo) and the readings will be focused on his 1994 novel Of Love and Other Demons. The final unit of literary works will cover Chilean Isabel Allende’s most acclaimed novel The House of the Spirits (1982). In every case, there will be a contextualization of each literary work and detailed readings of passages in order to understand the magical realist elements of these, and how they reflect aspects of Latin American cultures and identities. The filmic part of the course will encompass two relevant films: Like Water for Chocolate (Alfonso Arau, Mexico, 1992) and The Dance of Reality (Alejandro Jodorowski, Chile, 2014). Together with critical essays on each text and film, the course will follow the most recent publication on the topic: Magical Realism and Literature, Ed. By Christopher Warnes (CUP, October 2020). Students are expected to develop their critical thinking by approaching both texts and films through a variety of theoretical constructs relevant to each material.

Elective Course
AMER2068	Magical realism in Latin American literature and film	6 credits

This course will delve into one of Latin America’s most renowned literary and filmic movements: Magical Realism. There will be an introduction to its starting point, ‘the real marvelous’ through the reading of Cuban Alejo Carpentier’s 1949 seminal novel The Kingdom of this World. Carpentier’s work will be followed by an introduction to the life and works of Colombian Nobel Prize Laureate Gabriel García Márquez (Gabo) and the readings will be focused on his 1994 novel Of Love and Other Demons. The final unit of literary works will cover Chilean Isabel Allende’s most acclaimed novel The House of the Spirits (1982). In every case, there will be a contextualization of each literary work and detailed readings of passages in order to understand the magical realist elements of these, and how they reflect aspects of Latin American cultures and identities. The filmic part of the course will encompass two relevant films: Like Water for Chocolate (Alfonso Arau, Mexico, 1992) and The Dance of Reality (Alejandro Jodorowski, Chile, 2014). Together with critical essays on each text and film, the course will follow the most recent publication on the topic: Magical Realism and Literature, Ed. By Christopher Warnes (CUP, October 2020). Students are expected to develop their critical thinking by approaching both texts and films through a variety of theoretical constructs relevant to each material.

Prerequisite: Nil
Assessment: 100% coursework
(Offered in 2021/2022, 1st semester)