LAS 351 Mythic Mexican Women in Literature and Pop Culture
What do a ghost, a translator, a nun, a goddess, a painter, and soldier all have in common? They are archetypal figures that have helped form national identity in Mexico. This reading-intensive seminar we will study female icons of the colonial years, the Mexican Revolution, and how these figures of become important figures of resistance and transformation in U.S. Latin@ literature and popular culture. We will examine how these women define, produce and contest gender roles as well as trace the legacies of gender they leave in Mexico and the U.S. As we examine the figures of La Malinche, La Llorona, La Virgen de Guadalupe, Sor Juana, Adelita and Frida Kahlo in important literary and visual works, we will ask ourselves why these figures have been re-written in literature, art, music, and film. Why are these icons still powerful and relevant today? In what ways have they transformed gender and in what ways have they reproduced traditional binary categories.