Recent literary theory and criticism in Spanish Anglistics : some observations on its institutional context and practices

This paper addresses the institutional context and academic practices related to the production and use of literary theory and criticism in the Spanish universities, with a special focus on the role of theory in Spanish Anglistics in recent years. The paper assesses interdisciplinary communication, the impact of new theoretical paradigms (feminism, postcolonial Studies, etc.) in a specifically Spanish setting, and the disciplinary transformations and new publishing opportunities associated to the new media ecology. Close attention is paid to issues of cultural colonization, disciplinary marginality and the contextual roots of academic praxis

Arresting deconstruction : on Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak's cultural criticism

Como figura destacada de la segunda ola de la crítica desconstructivista en América, Gayatri Spivak ha desarrollado un enfoque crítico en el que la hermenéutica post-estructuralista se dirige hacia la crítica política comprometida con la problemática del post-colonialismo y el feminismo de base marxista. En este artículo se señalan las características metodológicamente progresivas de la crítica de Spivak en su libro In Other Worlds, y también la resolución insatisfactoria de algunos de los principales problemas allí tratados. A pesar de su interés innegable, la teoría de Spivak es a menudo inconsistente en sus intentos de conciliar los intereses y metodologías de la critica retórica y la crítica político-cultural

Arresting deconstruction : on Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak's cultural criticism

Como figura destacada de la segunda ola de la crítica desconstructivista en América, Gayatri Spivak ha desarrollado un enfoque crítico en el que la hermenéutica post-estructuralista se dirige hacia la crítica política comprometida con la problemática del post-colonialismo y el feminismo de base marxista. En este artículo se señalan las características metodológicamente progresivas de la crítica de Spivak en su libro In Other Worlds, y también la resolución insatisfactoria de algunos de los principales problemas allí tratados. A pesar de su interés innegable, la teoría de Spivak es a menudo inconsistente en sus intentos de conciliar los intereses y metodologías de la critica retórica y la crítica político-cultural

The Evolution Of Narratology

The following material is the typescript version of a discussion on The 3rd ENN Conference in Paris, held by two of its participants. The discussion was carried in the format of a Skype session on September 21, 2013. It was initiated and structured by Ludmila Tataru within the framework of the state assignment of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science

Musical Narrativities: Symbolising intertextualities and the musical characterization of the Tragic Hero in "An Equal Music" by Vikram Seth

Abstract The main purpose of this paper is to provide an in-depth analysis of the literary and musical references concerning symbolism and intertextuality in Vikram Seth’s An Equal Music as well as a portrayal of the tragic hero’s identity by means of musical associations. Hence, the analysis presents a point of connection between two disciplines that share blurred boundaries. Therefore, the approach taken in this paper aims to examine how music is represented in literature and how they are interrelated by means of allusions to both musical and literary works, concretely in the novel to deal with. Resumen El principal propósito de trabajo es mostrar un análisis exhaustivo de las referencias literarias y musicales con respecto al simbolismo e intertextualidad en An Equal Music de Vikram Seth, así como una descripción de la identidad del héroe trágico a través de asociaciones musicales. Así, el análisis presenta un punto de conexión entre dos disciplinas que comparten fronteras indefinidas. Por lo tanto, el enfoque adoptado en este trabajo tiene por objetivo estudiar cómo se representa la música en la literatura y cómo se interrelacionan ambas ambos por medio de alusiones a obras tanto musicales como literarias, concretamente en la novela a tratar

Human Behavior and Psychology: Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is considered a Gothic novella. Robert Stevenson belonged to the Victorian era, which also took part in the development of this literary genre. The aim of this paper is to analyze the characters of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde from a psychological perspective, defending that both figures are a fair representation of the real human world. Firstly, I will introduce Stevenson’s novella in its cultural and thematic context, providing an explanation of the relationship that exists between both. Then, I will continue by analyzing the character of Dr Jekyll as the personalization of ‘social dramaturgy’. Next, an analysis of the character of Mr Hyde will follow, arguing that he is Dr Jekyll’s aftermath of his repressions and hidden feelings along with his original self rather than his mere ‘evil side’, as it is usually stated. After this, I will carrying on with a comparison between the characters Stanley Ipkiss (The Mask), Bruce Banner (the Hulk), and Henry Jekyll (Edward Hyde), as all of them are very similar figures and synthetize all of the theories that I will be discussing throughout this paper. Eventually, on the last part of this dissertation I will be drawing conclusions about the ultimate and real meaning of Dr Jekyll’s drug, as well as the true meaning of the transformation of himself, taking into account all previously said

Women, Social Class, and their Relation as Individuals in Hard Times

Abstract Hard Times exposes different female characters belonging to different social classes, as in the Victorian period the difference of classes was something prominent. Moreover, in that period, women were relegated to subordinate positions in each of the social classes they shared with men. This essay focuses on the personal development of some female characters portrayed in this novel, showing their individuality, their internal conflicts, their relations as individuals. The essay is divided in four different sections. It begins with an introduction to the novel Hard Times and an introduction to the period when it was written – a framework of the situation of England in the Victorian period, Dickens's own time, which is the period in which the novel is set too. This part focuses on the real image of an England affected by the social changes it was undergoing at that time as a consequence of the Industrialization. The second part of the essay could be considered as a second introduction as it is the one that focuses on women’s roles in the Victorian period. This part deals with the differences existing between men's and women’s spheres and the role women played. Following the introduction, the analysis is focused on three female characters showing their role in the novel, their evolution, their reactions. I have followed a historical, sociological and feminist approach in this essay in order to reflect the period I am dealing with, and to show how society was established regarding gender, but focusing mainly in the roles played by women at that moment

Environmental Attitudes in The Lord of the Rings

Este trabajo analiza los tipos de relaciones que se dan entre los personajes de El señor de los anillos, novela escrita por J. R. R. Tolkien (1954-55), y el medioambiente. Se consideran las experiencias de Tolkien como amante de la naturaleza en un país cada vez más industrializado; no obstante, teniendo en cuenta que su intención como escritor se basaba en la ‘aplicabilidad’, o la libertad del lector para interpretar las obras fantásticas en su propio contexto, se analiza la obra desde un punto de vista ecocrítico, interpretando la Tierra Media como una civilización abocada al fracaso debido a la industrialización descontrolada y la subsiguiente devastación de la tierra. Desde esta perspectiva, este trabajo dibuja paralelismos entre el mundo fantástico del autor y nuestro mundo real y presente, estableciendo similitudes entre los dos en términos de sostenibilidad, medioambiente y limitación de los recursos naturales. Así, comparando los comportamientos hacia el medioambiente de los hobbits, los elfos, los ents y Tom Bombadil, en contraste con aquellos de Saruman, Sauron, los orcos y Gollum, el lector puede observar los peligros derivados del abuso y maltrato del mundo natural, que constituye uno de los problemas más serios y alarmantes de nuestra sociedad