Enrique García
Assistant Professor of Spanish
Email: egarcia@middlebury.edu
Phone: work802.443.5272
Office Hours: on leave academic year
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Enrique García is Assistant Professor of Hispanic Visual Culture. He holds a B.A. from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, and a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the University of Massachusetts Amherst (2007). His research focuses on international Hispanic cinema and comic books. He has published a number of articles on Mexican and Caribbean comic books.
In addition to a wide variety of language and culture classes, Enrique has been teaching a seminar on Latin American Comic Books at Middlebury, possibly the only course of its kind in the U.S. He is planning to offer an intermediate-level course in Peninsular comics in the near future.
Enrique is currently on academic leave and working on several projects. He is preparing his book on Cuban Cinema for publication. He is also writing a monograph on the works of U.S. Latino comic book writers/artists Jaime and Gilbert Hernández. His future projects include a book on the representation of race in the works of Mexican comic book author Yolanda Vargas Dulché, as well as a monograph on Hispanic musicals.
Courses
Courses offered in the past four years.
▲ indicates offered in the current term
▹ indicates offered in the upcoming term[s]
FYSE 1289 - Robot Cult-Artific Ethnicity
Introduction to Robot Culture: An Artificial Ethnicity
In this seminar, we will focus on major literary and cinematic texts that have formed international perceptions of what could be defined as mechanical beings. We will study pre-20th-century narratives; the identification of robots with industrial workers before World War II (Capek's R.U.R.); and their first portrayals as beings with an individual sense of identity (Asimov's I Robot). We will also discuss non-American portrayals (Tezuka's Astro Boy) and end with two important contemporary texts: Battlestar Galactica and Wall-E. Through an examination of fictional robots, this seminar aims to help students understand the artificiality of the construction of such societal concepts as ethnicity, gender, and class. 3 hrs. sem.
Fall 2009
SPAN 0101 - Beginning Spanish I
Beginning Spanish I
This course is an introduction to the fundamentals of grammar and focuses on the development of four skills in Spanish: comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing. Emphasis will be placed on active communication aimed at the development of oral and comprehension skills. This course is for students who have not previously studied Spanish. Students are expected to continue with SPAN 0102 and SPAN 0103 after successful completion of SPAN 0101. 5 hrs. lect./disc.
Fall 2011
SPAN 0102 - Beginning Spanish II
Beginning Spanish II
This course is a continuation of SPAN 0101. (SPAN 0101)
Winter 2012
SPAN 0210 / SPAN 0220 - Intermediate Spanish I ▲
Intermediate Spanish I
A course designed to consolidate the skills attained in SPAN 0101, SPAN 0102, and 0103 or the equivalent (0105). A grammar review will accompany an intensive component of readings, discussions, and compositions. (SPAN 0103, SPAN 0105, or placement) 3 hrs. lect./disc.
Spring 2010, Fall 2010, Spring 2011, Spring 2012, Fall 2013
SPAN 0315 - Hispanic Film
This course will provide an introduction to the cinema of Spain and Spanish America. We will study, among other topics: the idiosyncrasies of film language in Hispanic cultures, the relationships between text and image, representation of history, culture and society. Films from Mexico, Cuba, Argentina, Spain, and other countries will be included in the course. Selected readings on film theory and social and political history, as well as various literary works. In Spanish (SPAN 0220 or placement) 3 hrs. lect./disc.
AAL LIT LNGSpring 2009, Fall 2009, Spring 2011
SPAN 0330 - AfroCaribbean Culture
Hispanic Afro-Caribbean Culture
In this course, we will examine the development of Afro-Caribbean culture in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic with the goal of understanding its impact on the construction of Hispanic Caribbean identity. We will begin with 19th century colonial narratives by Cuban authors (Gómez de Avellaneda, Cirilo Villaverde) who construct African-ness in the region under slavery, continue with 20th century novels and films that reflect new racial and political ideologies (abolitionism, nationalism, revolution, etc.), and conclude by tracing the influence of Afro-Caribbean musicians (Benny Moré, Don Omar) on the mainstream culture of a region still culturally dominated by white elites. (SPAN 0220 or equivalent) 3 hrs. lect./disc.
Spring 2010
SPAN 0361 - Hispanic Musical Films ▲
Hispanic Musical Films
In this course we will study Hispanic musical films (including fiction and documentaries) from Spain, Latin America, and the United States. Our main goal will be to understand how Hispanic countries use this cinematic genre to establish nationalist constructions and ideologies, and how this has consequently affected the development of Hispanic musical narratives in the United States. Analyses will focus on how different ethnic aspects are defined as 'Other' in musical genres such as Flamenco, Tango, Rancheras, Tex-Mex, Salsa, Reggaeton, Merengue, and Spanish Rock. We will explore why Hispanic musicals are perceived as exotic in relation to their Anglophone counterparts while studying films such as Buena Vista Social Club, Allá en el rancho grande, Selena, and El día que me quieras. (At least two Spanish courses at the 0300 level or above, or by waiver) lect./screening
Spring 2012, Fall 2013
SPAN 0420 - Latin American Comic Books
Latin American Comic Books and Visual Culture
In this course we will explore the development of Latin American serialized comic books and graphic novels, and their rise from pulp entertainment to iconic national narratives. We will examine the cultural aspects that mark these Hispanic comic books as different from those produced within the framework of the U.S. visual industry. However, we will also establish a parallel with the texts' multiple esthetic and cultural influences from the United States, Europe, and Japan. Discussion topics will include controversial race issues such as the import of blackface esthetics into Mexican narratives (e.g. Memín Pinguín), political and relationship humor in serials (e.g. Elpidio Valdés and Condorito), and the variations among the narratives according to their respective countries of origin and ideology. We will pay special attention to the new global culture in which international influences merge into new narratives that defy traditional ideas of Hispanic identity (e.g. Gilbert Hernández' Poison River and Tom Beland's True Story Swear to God). (Senior majors with at least two Spanish courses numbered 0350 or above, or by waiver.) 3hrs. sem.
Spring 2009, Fall 2010
SPAN 0500 - Independent Study ▲ ▹
Independent Study
The department will consider requests by qualified juniors and senior majors to engage in independent work. (Approval only)
Spring 2009, Fall 2009, Winter 2010, Spring 2010, Fall 2010, Winter 2011, Spring 2011, Fall 2011, Winter 2012, Spring 2012, Winter 2013, Fall 2013, Spring 2014
SPAN 0705 - Senior Honors Thesis ▲ ▹
Senior Honors Thesis
The department will award honors, high honors, or highest honors on the basis of a student's work in the department and performance in SPAN 0705. (Approval only)
Spring 2009, Fall 2009, Winter 2010, Spring 2010, Fall 2010, Winter 2011, Spring 2011, Fall 2011, Winter 2012, Spring 2012, Winter 2013, Fall 2013, Spring 2014
SPAN 1010 / AMST 1010 - U.S. Latino Visual Culture
U.S. Latino Visual Culture
In this course we will study the development of U.S. Latino visual culture in the 20th century and how this ethnicity is constructed and visualized in relation to the mainstream Anglophone culture of the United States. Topics will include the early and problematic blackface representations in Hollywood (Touch of Evil and West Side Story), the emergence of narratives that problematize border concepts (El Norte), Ghetto narratives (Stand and Deliver), Hispanic graffiti art and graphic novels, superstars in the media, and the emergence of important U.S. Latino characters in contemporary television (Lost, Six Feet Under). The class will use texts and films written in English.
Winter 2010