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Gabriel García Márquez: Power, History and Love

Identify the author’s contributions to world literature through the study of three of his obsessions: power, history and love.

7,859 enrolled on this course

  • Duration

    8 weeks
  • Weekly study

    4 hours

Identify key themes in the work of Gabriel García Márquez

In this course you will be able to identify Colombian writer Gabriel García Márquez’s narrative contributions to world literature through the study of three of the author’s obsessions: power, history and love.

You will have the opportunity to enjoy reading the following works: The Incredible and Sad Tale of Innocent Eréndira and Her Heartless Grandmother (1972), The Autumn of the Patriarch (1975), Chronicle of a Death Foretold (1981), Love in the Time of Cholera (1985), The General in his Labyrinth (1989) and Of Love and Other Demons (1994).

Reading these works chronologically will allow you to appreciate how the author’s literary production evolves.

You will explore the characteristics of “the dictator novel”, reaching a clear understanding of the particularities of the new historical novel. You will also reflect upon the relationship between history and fiction and understand the author’s literary influences.

Understand the appeal of Gabriel García Márquez

Finally, by entering García Marquez’s narrative universe, you will be seduced by the richness of its language and will come to know and understand the reasons why this writer is considered one of the literary geniuses of all time.

This course will allow you to:

  1. Reach higher appreciation of Gabriel García Marquez’ work
  2. Comprehend how his literary production evolved over time
  3. Acquire the ability to establish relationships between his literary works
  4. Learn to identify and recognize the principal traits that characterize his work

This course is also running in Spanish, starting 30 May 2016. To find out more and enrol, visit the course page.

Este curso también estará disponible en Español a partir del 30 de Mayo del 2016. Para mayor información y para inscribirte por favor visita la página del curso.

Skip to 0 minutes and 30 seconds “I feel a great predilection towards power and it is not a secret predilection”.

Skip to 0 minutes and 37 seconds “If I had known that my son will become the president of the republic, I would have sent him to school”. “For they had lived together long enough to know that love was always love, anytime and anyplace, but it was more solid the closer it came to death”. Did you know that Gabriel Garcia Marquez has been considered one of the most important writers of the 20th century? Or did you know that Gabriel Garcia Marquez is one of the most read writers in Spanish language and that he has been considered the most important writer after Cervantes? Did you know that some of his novels and short stories were translated into more than 35 languages?

Skip to 1 minute and 16 seconds If you want to know more about the fascination generated by this author and his impact on Latin American and World Literature in general, this course is for you.

Skip to 1 minute and 35 seconds In this course titled “Gabriel Garcia Marquez: power, history and love” you will dentify the author’s narrative contributions, but first and foremost, you will intensely enjoy

Skip to 1 minute and 46 seconds reading six of Garcia Marquez’ novels published after One Hundred years of Solitude: “The Incredible and Sad Tale of Innocent Erendira and her Heartless Grandmother”, The Autumn of the Patriarch, Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Love in the Time of Cholera, The General in his Labyrinth and Of Love and Other Demons, these novels will be addressed chronologically, so that you can learn how to relate them and simultaneously, you can appreciate how the literary work of the author evolves. In this course, we will emphasize many topics revolving around the author’s literary work,

Skip to 2 minutes and 18 seconds but we will focus on three of his biggest obsessions: power, history and love. Throughout these three subjects, which are absolutely fascinating within themselves, we will emphasize each and every one of the novels and short stories’ features that we will study and we will be able to identify links between them. You will gain access to the contributions done by a group of professors who are expert on the subject, which will help you have a better understanding of the novels. Additionally, you will complete a series of interesting activities that will help you engage contact with the other course mates.

Skip to 2 minutes and 52 seconds Remember, this course is directed to people who enjoy literature and does not require previous knowledge, it only requires your interest and passion for Gabriel Garcia Marquez’ world. Treat yourself by taking this course, it will sure be a meaningful experience. Register yourself now and discover why Gabriel Garcia Marquez is considered one of the greatest literary geniuses of all time.

What topics will you cover?

Week 1: The Incredible and Sad Tale of Innocent Eréndira and Her Heartless Grandmother

  • Course Introduction
  • Introduction to week 1
  • Language and structure
  • Space and its functions
  • The multiple dimensions of time
  • Conclusion

Weeks 2 & 3: The Autumn of the Patriarch

  • Introduction to week 2
  • Characters
  • Language and structure
  • Space and its functions
  • The multiple dimensions of time
  • Conclusion

Week 4: Chronicle of a Death Foretold

  • Introduction to week 4
  • Language and structure
  • Space and its functions
  • The multiple dimensions of time
  • Conclusion

Week 5: Love in the Time of Cholera

  • Introduction to week 5
  • Language and structure
  • Space and its functions
  • The multiple dimensions of time
  • Conclusion

Weeks 6 & 7: The General in his Labyrinth

  • Introduction to week 6
  • Language and structure
  • Characters
  • Space and its functions
  • The multiple dimensions of time
  • Conclusion

Week 8: Of Love and Other Demons

  • Introduction to week 8
  • Language and structure
  • Characters
  • Course conclusions

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Develop higher appreciation of Gabriel García Marquez’ work
  • Explore how his literary production has evolved over time
  • Compare and relate his literary works
  • Identify and recognize the principal traits that characterize his work
  • Discuss the connections between García Marquez' work and other literary texts
  • Debate the leading themes of the course: power, history and love
  • Reflect on the language use, characters and spatio-temporal dimension

Who is the course for?

This course is designed for people who enjoy reading literature. No previous knowledge of the subject matter is required.

Who will you learn with?

He studied Literature at the National University of Colombia, MA in American Literature at the Caro and Cuervo Institute and PhD in Hispanic Literature at El Colegio de México.

PhD in Hispanic Literature - Duke University.

Who developed the course?

University of Los Andes

Uniandes is an autonomous, independent, and innovative institution that aims for academic excellence while providing rigorous critical and ethical character development.

Learning on FutureLearn

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  • Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores

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  • Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
  • Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate

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