Letras hispánicas en la gran pantalla: De la literatura al cine by Andrés Lema-Hincapié and Conxita Domènech (review)

Letras hispánicas en la gran pantalla: De la literatura al cine is a one-of-a-kind textbook, written in Spanish, and aimed at a wide-ranging audience of advanced US undergraduate students, US high school students who are taking an IB or AP Spanish course, and university students in Latin America and Spain who study Hispanic literature and film. The goal is to make literature more accessible by dovetailing literary and filmic analysis. Instructors of Hispanic Studies know that literary texts offer a gateway to cultural, historic, and linguistic knowledge, which, consequently, often leads to understanding one’s self and world better. However, in our digital era, literary texts may sometimes present barriers to the acquisition of language and intercultural competency. Authors Andrés Lema-Hincapié and Conxita Domènech recognize this concern when they write about the importance of contextualizing works of literature with their filmic counterparts: “Cada vez es menos sencillo animar a la lectura en las universidades. Y mucho más todavía cuando lo que el estudiante leerá está escrito en una lengua extranjera, que convoca contextos sin ninguna conexión vital y directa con ese estudiante” (xi). Their solution is to guide students to be able to create meaning in the exploration of the written (the text) and the visual and the auditory (the film).

Content is organized chronologically by literary text. Each section introduces the text and the film through creative and intentional ways that engage students in active tasks. For instance, Chapter 5, which includes the literary and filmic versions of Tristana (written by Benito Pérez Galdós [1892] and directed by Luis Buñuel [1970]), summarizes the historical context during which the novel was published (the Spanish Revolution of 1868), presents biographical information about the author, includes a brief explanation of Spanish Realism, and mentions the author’s relationship with Emilia Pardo Bazán. Also included are hands-on tasks, such as a prompt to investigate Krausism online, prereading questions, and textual comprehension questions. In the film section of Chapter 5, readers learn about surrealism in Spanish film and Buñuel’s life. They are also guided to consider the theme of fetishism and to answer comprehension questions about the film. The final part of each chapter encourages students to make connections between the literary text and the film and offers a useful bibliography for written research assignments. Taking Chapter 5 as just one example of other exemplary chapters in this book, it is easy to see that the authors include a variety of themes while communicating the most important details of the literary and filmic texts. The balancing act could be tricky. Metaphorically, the editors successfully spin several plates at one time. The risk is huge—the plates could fall and break at any time—but the outcome is a book that ties together a variety of themes, activities, and mini-assessments, all while being focused on keeping the student engaged in active-learning tasks. The editors should be lauded for presenting a web of information that, often difficult for students to work through, is delivered in a clear and exciting way. The content of the textbook is dense, yet accessible. Its wide-ranging themes create an unrestricted textual space where the possibilities for instruction and learning invite all types of learners and teachers to participate.

The approach of each section is also accessible, offering the opportunity to dive directly into the content. Each section includes preparatory readings, lists of key terms, and informal and formal assessments with discussion questions and essay prompts. All of the activities could be used in class or assigned as homework. Notably—and with the tendency in mind to include more online coursework at US universities—this textbook seems like it could be successfully used in an online or hybrid course as well as in the traditional in-person class format...