Roberto Pareja
Assistant Professor of Spanish
Email: rpareja@middlebury.edu
Phone: work802.443.3034
Office Hours: Tuesdays, 9:00 - 10:30; Thursdays, 9:00 - 10:30; or by appointment
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Roberto Pareja is an Assistant Professor of Spanish. He received his Ph. D. on Latin American Literature and Cultural Studies from Georgetown University. His doctoral dissertation “Dilemmas of Andean Modernity” studies the intersection of aesthetics and politics in the work of intellectuals from Bolivia and Perú at the beginning of the twentieth century.
He currently teaches language courses at intermediate levels and upper level literature and culture courses.
Courses
Courses offered in the past four years.
▲ indicates offered in the current term
▹ indicates offered in the upcoming term[s]
FYSE 1352 - Narrating Space & Place
Narrating Space and Place
In this seminar we will study how space and place are represented in literature, film, and art. We will get acquainted with theories about the differences between space and place, place and non-place, as well as the exchanges between urban, suburban, and rural environments. We will read texts by Jorge Luis Borges, Georges Perec, and César Aira; discuss the theories of Gaston Bachelard and Marc Augé; analyze artwork by Giovanni Battista Piranesi and Johann Moritz Rugendas; and comment on modern urban planning in Latin America. Writing assignments will focus on strategies for narrating and describing places, both the real places we live in, and the imaginary spaces we project in our mental world, from college campuses and rural towns, to metropolises and cemeteries. 3 hrs. sem.
Fall 2011
SPAN 0102 - Beginning Spanish II
Beginning Spanish II
This course is a continuation of SPAN 0101. (SPAN 0101)
Winter 2010
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 2009, Fall 2009, Spring 2010, Fall 2010, Spring 2011, Fall 2011, Spring 2012, Fall 2012
SPAN 0300 - Intro to Hispanic Literature
An Introduction to the Study of Hispanic Literature
This course in literature and advanced language is designed to introduce students to literary analysis and critical writing. The work will be based on the reading of a number of works in prose, drama, and poetry. Frequent short, critical essays will complement readings and provide students with practice in writing. This course is required for Spanish majors. (SPAN 0220 or placement) 3 hrs. lect./disc.
Spring 2011, Spring 2012, Spring 2013
SPAN 0305 - Ideas & Cultures of SP America
Ideas and Cultures of Spanish America
An analysis of major sociopolitical and cultural elements present in representative Spanish American texts, from the pre-Columbian period of the conquest to the present time. Works to be discussed will illustrate cultural elements that bear upon the formation of present day Spanish American civilizations. (SPAN 0220 or equivalent) fall: 4 hrs. lect./disc.; spring: 3 hrs. lect./disc.
Spring 2009
SPAN 0335 - Modernity in Lat Am Poetry
Modernity and its Discontents in Latin American Poetry
In this course we will read selected texts by modern Latin American poets from different times and regions. The aim of the course is to understand the tensions and paradoxes inherent to socioeconomic modernization as expressed in the aesthetics of José Martí, Rubén Darío, César Vallejo, Vicente Huidobro, among others. This course is organized around a series of close readings of poems, manifestoes, and essays. The student is expected to become familiar with linguistic and literary terminology and to apply these concepts in the readings of poems. There will be individual in-class oral presentations of poems, as well as outside-class assignments and cultural activities. This course counts as a prerequisite for SPAN 0350 courses and above. (SPAN 0220 or equivalent). 3 hrs. lect./disc.
Fall 2009, Fall 2010, Winter 2012
SPAN 0360 - Food Lat Amer Writing & Film
Food, Beverages, and Drugs in Latin American Writing and Film
In this course we will map the connection between food, beverages, and drugs on the one hand, and the histories, aesthetics, and cultural identities of Latin America on the other. We will travel from the narratives of discovery and conquest (Garcilaso, Guaman Poma) to the aesthetic representation of food and beverage in modern authors, both as an object of contemplation and as a medium to boost creativity (Lezama, Palés Matos). In more recent times drug production and consumption in Latin America has been the object of both artistic and political representation. (At least two Spanish courses at the 0300 level or above, or by waiver.) 3 hrs. lect./disc.
Spring 2010
SPAN 0366 - Lat Am Vision/Space/Modernity
On Alephs and Moebius Strips: Vision and Space in Latin American Modernity
Taking as our cue Jorge Luis Borges' short story "The Aleph" and its cinematic interpretation in the cult film Moebius, we will explore how the defining features of modern experience, simultaneity and speed, influence the way spaces are represented in Latin American cultural artifacts. We will analyze short stories by Abraham Valdelomar, Oscar Cerruto, Julio Cortázar, and Borges; a novel by César Aira; essays by Ezequiel Martínez Estrada; paintings by Rugendas and Xul Solar; and a selection of cartographic material. Our reading of the primary material will be informed by theories developed by Beatriz Sarlo and Marc Augé. (At least two courses at the 0300-level or above or by waiver) 3 hrs. lect./disc.
Spring 2013
SPAN 0450 - National Culture and Space
National Culture and Space: Art, Narrative, and Travel of Explorations in 19th Century Bolivia and Peru
In this seminar we will study canonical and non-canonical narrative texts from 19th-century Bolivia and Peru from a socio-spatial perspective. Alongside literary texts, we will consider texts by travelers and explorers, pamphlets, maps, pictorial artwork, and photographs that highlight the importance of constructing national spaces as a prerequisite for constructing national cultures in both of these countries during the 19th century. Among other materials, we will read and analyze Nataniel Aguirre's historical novel Juan de la Rosa, extracts from Manuel Atanasio Fuentes'Lima: apuntes históricos, descriptivos, estadísticos y de costumbres, the pictorial artwork of Johann Moritz Rugendas, and relevant theory on the relationship between space and nation. (Senior majors with at least two Spanish courses numbered 0350 or above, or by waiver.)
Fall 2012
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, Fall 2012, Winter 2013, Spring 2013
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, Fall 2012, Winter 2013, Spring 2013