America is obese, and because all of the liquefied dinosaur bones we use to power our rascals and walk-in freezers cause the planet to overheat even more than our diabetes-wracked bodies, record-breaking temperatures are keeping me inside more than usual. And so I’ve been listening to a lot of stuff on itunes U. All of this combined with me being a member of a Don Quixote book club, and you’ve got me stumbling across one of the best classes I’ve ever had the pleasure to audit via the internet.
The name Roberto Gonzalez Echevarria is an intimidating one for someone from the Midwest to come across, but his introduction to my Penguin edition of Don Quixote was so splendid, that I had to find out more about him. A Cuban-born professor who teaches at Yale, he really brings a certain knowledge and understanding to Don Quixote that only a native speaker of Spanish could have. His introductory podcast, in which he talks about the realities of Imperial Spain and the “Black Legend”, is a great jumping off point for anyone interested in reading THE NOVEL. And, maybe not best of all, but certainly importantly, its absolutely free. Enjoy!
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