Abstract

In a period when Spanish thinkers such as Juan Luis Vives and Juan Huarte de San Juan led the way to new theories about human nature, it is important to incorporate in our classroom Spanish psychological treatises of the time when examining fictional representations of mind. To help students better understand the early modern cognitive concepts discussed, this view should be complemented with contemporary notions coming from current cognitive studies research. Such double-fold focus is paramount to providing students with a more cohesive perspective of how early modern culture viewed and portrayed consciousness. Following this rationale, this essay provides teachers with strategies to build an interdisciplinary course that bridges mind and fiction in the context of early modern culture and also offers a prototype based on the themes featured in this book. Literary authors include Cervantes, Lope, Azevedo, Gracián, and Las Casas.