Travel and Teaching in Portugal and Spain A Photographic Journey
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"Travel and Teaching in Portugal and Spain - A Photographic Journey" is another in the series "Stories I Told My Students." It follows the pattern of books listed above on Brazil, Guatemala, Mexico and Colombia. The book tells the tale of travel in Portugal and travel and summer teaching in the Arizona State University Summer Program in Spain in 1987. The format of the book combines notes from the travel diary, vignettes on the history of the places visited and in particular notes on major literary figures like Luis de Camoes or Miguel de Cervantes. Major universities like the University of Coimbra in Portugal and the University of Salamanca in Spain are highlighted. Emphasis is also given to places and figures of the Catholic tradition like the Cistercian Monastery of Alcobaca in Portugal and the stories of Santa Teresa de Jesus, San Juan de la Cruz and Ignacio de Loyola in Spain. All are represented in the 256 photos in the book. Cities and places in Portugal are Lisbon, Belem, Sintra, Nazare, Batalha, Fatima, Leiria, Coimbra, O Porto, Viana do Castelo and Guimaraes. In Spain one sees Malaga, Cordoba, Mijas, Sevilla, Merida, Salamanca, Santiago de Compostela, Pontevedra, Leon, Avila, Madrid, Segovia, Burgos, El Escorial and Valle de los Caidos. A side trip to the "Sanctuaries of Spain and France" emphasizes Zaragoza, Barbastro of Opus Dei Fame, Lourdes in France and Loyola in the Basque Country. The book is written in a colloquial style, the author "conversing" with the reader, perhaps over a "Vinho Verde" from Portugal or a "Clarete" from La Rioja in Spain. One discovers adventures in travel time in Portugal, in Malaga and Madrid for classes and social life, and travel in other parts of Spain, all accompanied by a nice overview of history and culture. *** Mark Curran is Professor Emeritus from Arizona State University where he taught from 1968 to 2011. He taught Spanish Language as well as Survey of Spanish Literature, a seminar on "Don Quixote," Civilization of Spain, and Latin American Civilization. He also taught the Portuguese Language (Brazilian variant) as well as Survey of Luso-Brazilian Literature, Luso-Brazilian Civilization and seminars on Chico Buarque de Holanda and Brazil's folk-popular literature or the "literatura de cordel." He has written nineteen books, thirteen of them on Brazil's "literatura de cordel," published in Brazil, Spain and the United States. In retirement he has done "travel, research and teaching" books based on courses he taught at ASU on Brazil, Guatemala, Mexico and Colombia and now Portugal and Spain. His latest endeavor is as "cultural specialist" for Lindblad-National Geographic Expeditions from Brazil to Argentina.
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About the Book
Travel and Teaching in Portugal and Spain—A Photographic Journey is another in the series Stories I Told My Students. It follows the pattern of books listed above on Brazil, Guatemala, Mexico, and Colombia. The book tells the tale of travel in Portugal and travel and summer teaching in the Arizona State University summer program in Spain in 1987. The format of the book combines notes from the travel diary, vignettes on the history of the places visited, and in particular notes, on major literary figures like Luís de Camões or Miguel de Cervantes. Major universities like the University of Coimbra in Portugal and the University of Salamanca in Spain are highlighted. Emphasis is also given to places and figures of the Catholic tradition, like the Cistercian Monastery of Alcobaça in Portugal and the stories of Santa Teresa de Jesús, San Juan de la Cruz, and Ignacio de Loyola in Spain. All are represented in the 256 photos in the book. Cities and places in Portugal are Lisbon, Belém, Sintra, Nazaré, Batalha, Fátima, Leiria, Coimbra, O Porto, Viana do Castelo, and Guimarães. In Spain one sees Málaga, Córdoba, Mijas, Sevilla, Mérida, Salamanca, Santiago de Compostela, Pontevedra, León, Ávila, Madrid, Segovia, Burgos, El Escorial, and Valle de los Caídos. A side trip to the sanctuaries of Spain and France emphasizes Zaragoza, Barbastro of Opus Dei fame, Lourdes in France, and Loyola in the Basque Country. The book is written in a colloquial style, the author “conversing” with the reader, perhaps over a “Vinho Verde” from Portugal or a “Clarete” from La Rioja in Spain. One discovers adventures in travel time in Portugal, in Málaga, and Madrid for classes and social life, and travel in other parts of Spain, all accompanied by a nice overview of history and culture.
About the Author
Mark Curran is professor emeritus from Arizona State University, where he taught from 1968 to 2011. He taught Spanish language as well as survey of Spanish literature, a seminar on Don Quixote, civilization of Spain, and Latin American civilization. He also taught the Portuguese language (Brazilian variant) as well as survey of Luso-Brazilian literature, Luso-Brazilian civilization, and seminars on Chico Buarque de Holanda and Brazil’s folk-popular literature or the literatura de cordel. He has written nineteen books, thirteen of them on Brazil’s literatura de cordel, published in Brazil, Spain, and the United States. In retirement, he has done travel, research, and teaching books based on courses he taught at ASU on Brazil, Guatemala, Mexico, Colombia, and now Portugal and Spain. His latest endeavor is as cultural specialist for Lindblad-National Geographic Expeditions from Brazil to Argentina.