Spanish 372 - SEM: BLACKNESS IN SPAIN

Topics course.  Normally offered both fall and spring semesters.: In this seminar we investigate individuals of African origin who lived or travelled in Spain: 17th century painter Juan de Pareja (Velazquez’s slave), whose portrait by Velazquez hangs at the New York Met; Arturo Schomburg, 1920s Afro-American Studies scholar; the 1930s Lincoln Brigade volunteers in the Spanish Civil War: poet Langston Hughes, singer-actor Paul Robeson and nurse Salarla Kea; 20th century migrant workers; and Smith student Lori L. Tharp, author of “Kinky Gazpacho” (2008). We look at class, marginality, love and social transformation to explore racial relations in Spain and the meaning and causes of racism. Enrollment limited to 14.

Not open to first-years, sophomores