RALPH BAUER
Visiting Associate Professor
Department of Spanish and Portuguese
New York University,
New York, New York 10003-4556
19 University Place, 4th floor
New York, New York 10003-4556
Phone: 212.998.8780
E-Mail: rb137@nyu.edu
website: "http://homepages.nyu.edu/~rb137/"
HOMEPAGE | ABOUT THE COURSE | ON-LINE DISCUSSION FORUM | SCHEDULE | RESOURCES

A New World of Secrets:
Magic, Science, and local knowledge in the literature of the discovery and conquest of America, 1492-1700


Description

If European Renaissance culture had already been steeped in the mysticism and Hermeticism of Ficino and Pico della Mirandola, the European discovery and conquest of the Americas further invigorated the scientific hope of controlling the secrets of nature through magic. Thus, the literature of the sixteenth-century discoverers and conquerors of America brims with alchemical imagery and mystical fantasies such as the Philosopher's Stone, elixirs of life, the Fountain of Youth, the island of the Amazons, and, most of all, the magically redemptive power of “El Dorado” (the Golden One). In this course, we will investigate the role that the category of the "secret" plays in this literature and pay particular attention to how local forms of knowledge ("Native," "creole") are (not) absorbed by its "occult" scientific philosophy. We will trace alchemical imagery and Hermeticist motifs in seminal prose texts relating to the European conquest of the Atlantic world during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, by writers such as Christopher Columbus, Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, Gaspar de Carvajal, Sir Walter Ralegh, and Thomas Hariot, as well as in seventeenth-century "Baroque" poetry by Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz and Edward Taylor.


Texts on order at NYU bookstore: (additional texts will be made available electronically via your Schedule and Resource pages, from where they can be downloaded and printed. (If you have a slow connection or no access to a printer, please arrange with a copy service to have these printed for you)

  1. Christopher Columbus, /The Four Voyages / (Penguin) ISBN: 0140442170
  2. Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, /Poems, Protest, and a Dream / (Penguin) ISBN: 0140447032
  3. William Shakespeare / The Tempest/ (Signet Classic) ISBN: 7114900295
  4. Thomas Hariot, /A Briefe and True Reportory /(Dover) ISBN: 0486210928
  5. Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, /The Narrative of Cabeza de Vaca / (U Nebraska) ISBN: 080326416X
Recommended:
  1. Alexander Roob, /Alchemy and Mysticisism/ (Taschen America Llc) ISBN: 3822815144
  2. Lyndy Abraham, /A Dictionary of Alchemy/ (Cambrige UP) ISBN: 0521000009

REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING:

1. One Presentation (20%)

Once during the semester, you will give a presentation on the assigned reading selection for the day. This presentation should offer some observations on the reading and generate questions for discussioin

2. Seminar Paper (40%)

A 12-15- page seminar paper involving literary research and dealing with some topical, historical, or theoretical aspect of this course will be due at the end of the semester. I will be happy to discuss with you individually your ideas and read/critique additional drafts that you might want to produce.

3. Book Review Paper (20%)

Half-way through the semester, you will turn in a 5-page review paper on a secondary reading selection, such as a historical, critical, or theoretical work on the topic of this course. Ideally, this review paper should assist you in generating ideas, providing perspectives, etc. for your seminar paper. You can find suggestions for books on your "Resources" page, but I will be happy to make further suggestions of books after meeting with you to discuss your interests.

4. Participation (20%)

On days when you are not presenting or leading discussions, you will be expected to participate.

Academic Integrity

New York University has a nationally recognized Statement of Academic Integrity. This code sets standards for academic integrity for all undergraduate and graduate students. As a student you are responsible for being aware of, and for upholding, these standards in this course. It is therefore a prerequisite for this course that you familiarize yourself with NYU's Statement of Academic Integrity at "http://www.nyu.edu/oiss/unilife/essentials/integrity.html.