FYSM-149 – Textual geographies: Spanish travel narratives
A Trinity College first-year journey through Hispanic landscapes
Taught by Eduardo Lage-Otero, Ph. D.
Travel narratives have fascinated Spanish readers throughout the ages, from classics such as Cervantes’ Don Quixote to more recent novels like Ferlosio’s Adventures of the Ingenious Alfanhuí. Each text creates a fictional world within its pages but more often than not, the stories take place in an actual place and time. Mapping software such as Google Earth allows readers to walk in the heroes’ steps or follow them on their journey through lands near and far. These tools have opened up new possibilities to analyze and understand the text through the spaces and places that define these narratives. Taking a multimedia approach, students will read a series of excerpts from various travel novels and short stories from the Spanish-speaking world to study the relationship between characters and the geographical and social worlds they inhabit. 
At the same time, students will develop web-based mash-ups that link these stories to a variety of cultural artifacts (e.g., maps, images, videos, and reference data) to further understand these narratives. The goal of this course is to give students a deeper understanding of the role of travel narratives in the development of the novel and how new mapping technologies can serve as a platform to analyze the various cultural elements contained in these stories. By visualizing the multiple layers embedded within these rich texts, students will be better positioned to analyze them and in so doing, develop a deeper understanding and appreciation of the Spanish-speaking world. Note: All readings will be in English.