Over the course of the semester, this class offers students an introduction to modern Hispanic short stories. Drawing from fiction, the course focuses on the complex relations between literary production, aesthetics, and sociopolitical transformations. Among other topics, we will discuss the cultural elements integrated or represented in the lives of the characters in the stories, how to approach literary texts, and how to interpret them. Through readings, discussions, and interpretations of these short stories, students will continue to expand their conversational skills, enrich their vocabulary, and deepen their grammatical knowledge while reflecting about what literature says about history, politics, and society in Spanish America.