For the course FLSP 438/538 taught by Stephen Luis Vilaseca, both undergraduate and graduate students collaborate to produce an ongoing digital humanities project entitled “Mapping the Marginalized in Contemporary Spanish Literature.” Students read El francotirador paciente (Arturo Pérez-Reverte, 302 pages), El rey del mambo (Johari Gautier Carmona, 145 pages), De Madrid al cielo (Ismael Grasa, 136 pages), and La conquista del aire (Belén Gopegui, 341 pages) in order to examine the social, cultural, political, and economic importance of squatters, graffiti artists, and indebted individuals in contemporary Spain. With the guidance of the professor and NIU’s library specialists, students developed three digital maps, two of Madrid and one of Barcelona. These maps contain texts and videos created by the students about the urban sites visited and experienced by the characters of De Madrid al cielo, El francotirador paciente, and El rey del mambo. The texts and videos include historical and cultural information as well as insightful, thesis-driven commentaries. 

The Madrid titles are:

De Madrid al Cielo (Click on the title to go to the map)

El francotirador paciente (Click on the title to go to the map)

Grupo de noche (Click on the title to go to the map)

The Barcelona novel is El Rey del Mambo. (Click on the title to go to the map)