Subject, Structure, and Imagination in the Spanish Discourse on Modernity

Many scholars have treated Spain's philosophical loyalties as being anchored in the Middle Ages. Aiming to debunk this oversimplification, Soufas, Jr. examines Spanish attitudes to modernity through key literary and artistic figures such as Don Quijote, Don Juan, Velazquez, and Goya.

"There is perhaps no question more central to contemporary Hispanism than Spain's unique and problematic relation to modernity. In this wide-ranging and intellectually ambitious book, Soufas, Jr. offers an unexpected approach to this problem through highly original re-readings of canonical works of Spanish from the sixteenth through the early nineteenth century." - Jonathan Mayhew, Professor of Spanish & Portuguese, The University of Kansas, USA

"Marshaling an impressive array of historical, philosophical, and cultural resources, Soufas, Jr. ranges across several centuries to explore Spanish responses to the welter of conditions called modernity. Cervantes brushes up against Foucault and Goya against Aquinas in this engaging analysis of the ways in which science, politics, sensations, and more crossed in the landmark texts of Spain's cultural archive. With lucid prose and sharp readings, Soufas, Jr. demonstrates the pressing importance of reconsidering the pastness of the post-medieval world that Spain helped forge, but did not always inhabit." - Gayle Rogers, Associate Professor of English, University of Pittsburgh, USA

C. Christopher Soufas, Jr. is Professor of Spanish at Temple University, USA. He has authored four books, the most recent being The Subject in Question: Early Contemporary Spanish Literature and Modernism.