In this class, we will read Miguel de Cervantes’s masterpiece Don Quixote de la Mancha.  We will try to figure out whether the protagonist is a hero, a fool, or a criminal.  We will see what the novel has to say about Spanish imperialism, the Renaissance, and the Reformation.  We will explore its concerns with pacifism, the role of women in society, and philosophical skepticism.  We will learn how the novel plays with us in many ways, including some that seem almost postmodern.  And we will discover what it has to say to us today about truth, authenticity, identity, love, friendship, and many other things that matter deeply.

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