Luis H. Castañeda
Assistant Professor of Spanish
Email: lcastaneda@middlebury.edu
Phone: work802.443.5981
Office Hours: Mon. 10:30--12:30, Wed. 10:30--11:30 and by appt.
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Luis H. Castañeda teaches courses on Spanish language at all levels and 20th/21st century Hispanic literatures and cultures from Spain and Spanish America. A native of Lima, Perú, he earned a B.A. in Hispanic Literatures from the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (2006). Upon graduation, he came to the United States to pursue graduate studies at the University of Colorado, Boulder. He holds an M.A. (2008) and a Ph.D (2012) in Spanish from CU-Boulder.
Professor Castañeda's areas of research are Contemporary Literature (prose and poetry) from Latin America and Spain, and Avant-garde Hispanic literature. In particular, he studies fictional representations of writing and authorship, focusing on the cultural, institutional and political role of (neo)avant-garde communities of artists and writers. He is currently working on an academic book project titled Ephemeral Communities in the Spanish American Novel. He has published a number of scholarly articles and presented conference papers related to these topics. As a creative writer he is the author of six books.
Recent publications (selected):
- "La boca de la sierpe, la quijada del león: (in)moralidad, verdad intraverbal y diseminación en los Sueños de Quevedo." (peer-reviewed article forthcoming in Romance Quarterly).
- “Belano, Wieder y Reiter: tres autores malditos en las novelas de Roberto Bolaño”. Libros & Artes, Revista de la Biblioteca Nacional del Perú. Año XI, N. 60-61 (Abril de 2013): 32-35.
- "Los lazos de la autoría: las novelas de Edgardo Rivera Martínez." (magazine article). Libros & Artes, Revista de la Biblioteca Nacional del Perú. Año XI, N. 54-55 (Julio de 2012): 27-29.
- "Una dispersa dinastía de solitarios: la sociedad secreta en los cuentos de Borges." (peer-reviewed article). Variaciones Borges. 32. (2011): 179-200.
- "Personas fidedignas y palabras formales: estrategias de legitimación del narrador historiográfico en la cuarta parte de la Crónica del Perú de Pedro Cieza de León." (peer-reviewed article). Hispanic Review. 79.3. (Summer 2011): 399-423.
- "La teleología defraudada del mito nacional: Camino de perfección de Pío Baroja como una lectura crítica del ensayo noventaiochista." (peer-reviewed article). Anales de la literatura española contemporánea. 36.1. (2011): 5-32.
Courses
Courses offered in the past four years.
▲ indicates offered in the current term
▹ indicates offered in the upcoming term[s]
FYSE 1403 - Open Class Learning Hisp World ▲
Open Classrooms: Learning in the Hispanic World
What do children and teenagers need to learn—both inside and outside of the classroom—in order to become adults in Hispanic societies? How does the experience of learning in modern Spain and Latin America compare to our experience here, at Middlebury College? With these questions in mind, we will examine conflicting portrayals of young learners in Spanish-speaking contexts through literature and film. Two extreme definitions of learning will be explored and, if necessary, challenged: learning can be understood as fostering the growth of independent individuals, but also as a disciplinary process that stifles freedom and reproduces inequality. Our reflection will focus on issues of personal identity, affectivity, family relationships, class, gender, politics, and nationhood. This seminar is appropriate for native speakers of Spanish, bilingual students, and students who have scored 720 or above on the Spanish SAT II, or 5 on the Spanish AP. 3 hrs. sem.
Fall 2013
LITS 0500 - Independent Research Project
LITS 0701 - Independent Reading Course ▲
Independent Reading Course
Intended for majors in literary studies preparing for the senior comprehensive examinations. At the conclusion of this course, students will take a one-hour oral examination (part of the senior comprehensive examination) in a specialization of their choice. (Approval Required) (Staff)
Fall 2012, Fall 2013
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 2012
SPAN 0210 - 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 2013
SPAN 0310 - Otherness in Hispanic Lit. ▲
(Intimate) Otherness in Contemporary Hispanic Fiction*
Recent Hispanic literature locates otherness in ambiguous spaces. The "other" can be excluded in order to demarcate selfhood, but also recognized as internal ("intimate") to a complex and perhaps richer self. In this course students will sharpen oral and written communication skills and build a sophisticated vocabulary to analyze the literary and cultural context of the Spanish speaking world. This goal will be accomplished through readings in late 20th/early 21st century short stories and novellas from the Iberian Peninsula and Spanish America. Race, gender, class, nationality, and health are some perspectives we will adopt in order to map the literary production/deconstruction of "others" as marginalized/embraced subjects. (SPAN 0220 or placement) 3 hrs. lect./disc.
Fall 2013
SPAN 0396 - Voices Across the Atlantic
Voices Across the Atlantic: Literature of the Spanish (American) Avant-garde
The avant-garde was a cosmopolitan phenomenon that challenged fixed boundaries. The Spanish and Latin American vanguards have common roots, beginning with the European journey of Vicente Huidobro in 1918. This Transatlantic dialogue continued through Jorge Luis Borges, who became an ultraísta in Spain and established the Argentine branch of the movement. In this course we will read prose, poetry, and essays produced on both sides of the Atlantic in the Interwar years (1919-1938). We will emphasize how these works channel—and criticize—a desire for the modern, how they pursue radical experimentation, and how they contest reason to embrace irrationality and fragmentation. (At least two courses at the 0300-level or above or by waiver).
Spring 2013
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 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)
Fall 2013, Spring 2014
