Don Quijote on the Plains: Harnessing Enthusiasm for the "Quijote" at the Undergraduate Level

Abstract

Teaching Miguel de Cervantes's "El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha" in the undergraduate classroom can pose a myriad of linguistic and contextual challenges for students distanced from the text by the space of four hundred years. This paper details teaching strategies that incorporate linguistic activities, film, references to visual culture, and discussion to encourage deep learning on the part of undergraduate readers of Cervantes's classic novel.