Approaches to Teaching the Works of Jorge Luis Borges

Essays on teaching a major Latin American writer

Often considered a writer who transcends national borders, Jorge Luis Borges also aimed to reinvent the history and traditions of his own country, Argentina. His unconventional works appeal to students, who nonetheless can find his richly intertextual prose challenging. Addressing courses in Spanish and in English, this volume offers innovative approaches that help students navigate the texts, engage with them emotionally and creatively, and understand the time and place of their production while connecting them to the present.

Part 1, "Materials," provides detailed biographical information about Borges as well as print and digital resources. The essays in part 2, "Approaches," offer strategies for discussing his writing process, his manuscripts, and the material history and translation of his texts. Contributors also examine Borges's influences, which include film, mythology, history, and ideas of Islam and Judaism; the author's interest in humor and games; and resonances with other literary works.

This volume also contains discussion of the following authors and works: Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote; Sandra Cisneros, The House on Mango Street, A House of My Own, Loose Woman; Aelius Lampridus, Scriptores Historiae Augustae; Christopher Nolan, Interstellar; Pliny, Naturalis Historia; William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night, Macbeth, Hamlet, The Tempest; Josef von Sternberg, Underworld; S-Town; Orson Welles, Citizen Kane; Colson Whitehead, The Underground Railroad; The Wizard of Oz.