The Center for Inter-American Studies of the University of Graz, Austria together with Wellesley College, USA have come together to develop this new branch of the Inter.Reading Book Club. Our goal is to be able to bring together students, professors and everyone interested that form part of these institutions and not only, to read and discuss together Latin American Literature in Spanish through regular online meetings every other week during the semester.
During summer semester 2021, there were fifteen participants in the Spanish branch of the book club, who together with Prof. Marjorie Agosin (Wellesley College, USA) joined the discussion of two Young Adult novels by Luis Sepulveda, namely "Un Viejo que Leia Novelas de Amor" and "Historia de la gaviota y el gato que le enseño a volar". Being held online, it facilated the participation of several international readers from countries such as Austria, Italy, USA, Latin America, Trinidad and Tobago, Spain, Germany to name a few. During the course of the semester, we held an online watchparty of the movie adaptation of the novel "Un Viejo que Leia Novelas de Amor". In the last session of the first term of the book club, we had a guest lecture by PD Dr. phil. Hans Fernandez (Institut für Romanistik, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena) who talked a bit more about the two novels of Luis Sepulveda. Then, together with Prof. Marjorie Agosin (Wellesley College), he joined the disccusion with the rest of the participants on the significance and representation of the various importants themes that are discussed in the books.
In the winter semester 2021, we continue with the Spanish branch of the Inter.Reading Book Club. This time around we have 17 participants in total, from various countries such as Austria, Germany, Spain, USA, Italy, etc. This term we are reading the 1982 classic "La Casa de los Espiritus" by Isabel Allende, which talks about the Trueba family throughout four generations from the beginning of the 20th century up the 70s, following the social and political changes of the postcolonial period in Chile, portrayed through the lens of magic realism. Just like the previous term, we continue with the constant support and participation of Prof. Marjorie Agosin (Wellesley College) in the regular online meetings we are having throughout this semester.
If there are any questions or simply would like to know more of this branch of the Inter.Reading Book Club, and/or would like to sign up, please send an email to erlis.lacej(at)uni-graz.at