CLA 101D – Topics Classical Receptions: Latinx and Latin American Adaptation of Greek Drama
Prof. Kathleen N. Cruz
In this course, we’ll study Latinx and Latin American receptions of ancient Greek drama. Over the quarter, we’ll consider how Latinx and Latin American playwrights have transformed ancient Greek tragedy to address their own concerns and questions. The 19th century Cuban writer José Martí once wrote that “Our Greece is preferable to the Greece which is not ours”, using ancient Greece as a stand-in for stories of ancient pasts more broadly and arguing that Latin America must tell its own story. We will ask how the playwrights we study have thought about making ancient Greece “theirs” (or have rejected this idea entirely). We’ll not only look closely at how the ancient plays have been adapted in regards to their stories and characters, but we’ll also consider how and why Latinx and Latin American writers have found value in working with ancient drama to tell their own tales.
All required texts will be made available in English, although there will be opportunities to work in Spanish originals for interested students.