The group research/editing project will be a contribution to the Antología abierta de literatura hispana.
There are 28 in this class, and so seven groups of four. Each group will prepare an entry for one of the following texts:
- Luis de Góngora, “Soneto CLXVI”
- Rubén Darío, “El cisne”
- César Vallejo, “Yuntas”
- Julio Cortázar, “La continuidad de los parques”
- Gabriel García Márquez, “La mujer que llegaba a las seis”
- Evita Perón, “Los obreros y yo”
- Osvaldo Dragún, Historia del hombre que se convirtió en perro
Please sign up to a text by adding your name in the relevant place on this Google document.
NB the texts by Cortázar, García Márquez, and Dragún are not in the public domain, and so do not qualify for the Antología abierta. Góngora and Darío most certainly do qualify, and I am pretty sure that Vallejo does, too. I am not 100% certain about Perón; it is possible that it will come into the public domain in 2022.
Critical Edition Assignment
Critical Tasks:
Literary Research and Explanation
Purpose:
To create a scholarly, annotated edition of a Hispanic literary text studied in class. This edition will allow future readers to understand allusions and references, literary structures, and socio-historical context.
Qualifying editions will be sent to the Antología abierta de literatura hispana. Editions that do not qualify, for instance because the texts are not in the public domain, may be used in future years in SPAN 221.
Audience:
Students and teachers of Hispanic literary texts (high school and postsecondary).
If a person is coming across your selected text for the first time, what do they need to know in order to have a good understanding of its meaning and significance?
Genre-specific Tips:
Have a look at this video for an introduction to the genre of edición crítica.
Check out examples of critical editions of other texts to see what kind of information they include and how they present it. Are glosses provided in the margins? Is historical context provided in footnotes? Pay particular attention to the format adopted by the current incarnation of the Antología Abierta.
Always keep in mind your audience: future students of SPAN 221 or similar classes. What information do they need to successfully comprehend, analyze, and interpret the text?
Ideas for Content
Your critical edition will include the following elements:
- An introduction
- Information on the work’s original publication
- Information on the author
- Historical context
- Comments on form and style
- Explanations of allusions or other references
- Definitions of unusual words
Suggestions for Research
Several people on campus can help you get started with research for your critical edition. You and your fellow group members can meet with me (your professor), and also take advantage of the resources at the UBC library. You may want to chat with a librarian or even contact the subject librarian, Susan Atkey
Be sure your information comes from credible sources, and always cite them using MLA style so that future readers can follow your tracks and read what you did if they need more information. Make sure you can assess Internet sources properly and that you avoid plagiarism.
Annotated bibliography
As a group, you will prepare an annotated bibliography for the text you have chosen. This will consist of c. 8-10 high-quality sources. (articles, book chapters, books, websites) that help further exploration of the text or of the issues it raises. In each case, you will provide at least a paragraph (perhaps a full page, double-spaced, for more complex sources) in which you summarize the source’s contribution, and explain how it helps further research and understanding. This bibliography is due after the Reading Week, on March 1.
Formatting
You and your group members will produce your critical text on a shared Google Drive document.
The document should include the original text. Be sure to preserve formatting where it is critical, such as line breaks in poetry, italics in short stories, or block quotes in essays.
Use Google Drive’s footnote function to add critical information. Any information you provide that requires a citation should include an in-text parenthetical citation (see MLA Handbook, Eighth Edition).
Include a Works Cited page at the end of your text that follows MLA Style guidelines. Please include hyperlinks to online sources.
A passing critical edition will fulfill the following criteria:
- Introduction. Includes an error-free 300- to 400-word introduction to the text in Spanish. This should include, at a minimum, the following information:
- Date of publication
- Biographical information about the author
- Historical context, including location and relevant sociopolitical information
- Relationship to other literary production of the time (e.g., national and international literary movements, other works by the author)
- Title. Includes the original title of the text. (Do not use quotation marks or italics, as you are creating a primary source.)
- Author. Includes the author’s name and, in parenthesis, their birth and death dates.
- Annotations. Provides at least ten annotations to the text. There should be at least one of each of the following categories:
- Definition of unusual words, slang, or words in local dialect or languages other than Spanish
- Explanation of a literary allusion or historical or geographical reference
- Comment on literary style or form, and what it exemplifies or means
- Image. Includes at least one properly cited image from the public domain that will help readers to better understand some aspect of your selected work. The image should be accompanied by a caption that describes the image as well as its pertinence to the text, and a bibliographic citation.
- Discussion Questions. Include 5-6 open-ended questions for analysis and interpretation of the text. Try to focus on higher-order tasks like analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.
- Citations. Includes in-text, parenthetical citations for all bibliographical references, as well as a separate Works Cited page in MLA Style.
- Presentation. In the final weeks of this course, the digital product is presented by the group in a ~7-minute presentation of their critical edition to the class. The presentation involves the participation of each group member, and highlights three of their annotations and the group’s process for arriving at them. There will also be peer review of the documents presented.
- Group Participation. Each group member will be evaluated by their peers on their overall contribution.
- Determine groups: February 12
- Annotated bibliography: March 1
- Project due: March 31
- In-class presentation of results and peer review: March 31 – April 14
- Submission of qualifying projects to the Antología abierta: April 16
Due Dates:
Note that you will be given a preliminary grade when you hand in the project at the end of March. I will then give you suggestions for revision, which, along with the results of peer review, will guide you must be completed by the end of the semester. Only completed assignments that receive a grade of A will be sent for inclusion to the Antología abierta.
