Encounters with Bergson(ism) in Spain: Reconciling Philosophy, Literature, Film and Urban Space (North Carolina Studies in the Romance Languages and Literatures)

Encounters with Bergson(ism) in Spain: Reconciling Philosophy, Literature, Film and Urban Space (North Carolina Studies in the Romance Languages and Literatures) Review

Driven by a dual analysis, Encounters with Bergson(ism) in Spain looks at French philosopher Henri Bergson (1859-1941) in Spain--his more or less direct influence on Spanish letters--and also at Bergsonism in Spain--the more indirect resonance with his methodological posture--articulated through Spanish texts as well as theoretical approaches to film and urban space. Through this twin investigation, one part historical and the other part methodological, Benjamin Fraser seeks to broaden the scope of interest in Bergson's philosophy, to emphasize the interdisciplinary nature of Bergson's thought, and to insist upon the relevance of Bergson's methodological premise to two of the most important cultural studies disciplines today--film studies and urban geography.
Following an eclectic and interdisciplinary methodology that the French philosopher himself advocated, Fraser reconciles works by some of the most notable twentieth-century authors and critics with compelling aspects of Bergsonism. From novelists Pío Baroja, Miguel de Unamuno, Juan Benet and Belén Gopegui to filmmakers Víctor Érice (El sol del membrillo), Alejandro Amenábar (Abre los ojos) and Carlos Saura (Taxi), as well as urban theorists Henri Lefebvre and Manuel Delgado Ruiz, this work takes up philosopher Gilles Deleuze's call for a "return to Bergson," pushing past the established boundaries of interdisciplinary to what lies beyond.
Fans of Bergson from all disciplines will also be eager to read English translations of Bergson's lectures at the Ateneo in Madrid the 2nd and 6th of May 1916, included here as an appendix.

Bucolic Metaphors: History, Subjectivity, and Gender in the Early Modern Spanish Pastoral (North Carolina Studies in the Romance Languages and Literatures)

Bucolic Metaphors: History, Subjectivity, and Gender in the Early Modern Spanish Pastoral (North Carolina Studies in the Romance Languages and Literatures) Review

An in-depth examination of the cultural functions of the pastoral in Spain, this study of Montemayor's La Diana and Cervantes's pastoral texts moves away from studies that consider this literature as purely escapist and imitative. Rosilie Hern¡ndez-Pecoraro considerably expands the discussion on the importance of the pastoral genre to early modern Spanish studies and supplements the ways in which these texts have conventionally been considered by Hispanists. She argues that the representations of society that occur in the pastoral tacitly mediate the widespread problems and anxieties felt throughout Spain, from rural poverty and national bankruptcy to the growing and disquieting influence of women in national and local affairs. Taking account of the immense popularity of the genre, the study demonstrates the relevance of this idealist literature to an understanding of how historical events, economic trends, and cultural shifts were processed and internalized by early modern Spanish society.