This course studies the works of Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986), who is frequently considered to be the most important Spanish language writer of the twentieth century. Borges not only influenced novelists, such as Gabriel García Márquez, Umberto Eco, or William Gibson, but his writings also played a significant role in the birth of the groundbreaking theory and criticism of Paul de Man and Michel Foucault, as well as in the development of the hypertext and other new media. In addition to studying Ficciones (1944) and The Aleph (1949), the short story collections for which he is best-known, we will read selections from his poetry and essays. The course will also introduce students to the significant critical body of work produced about Borges, including works by Beatriz Sarlo, John Barth, Paul de Man, and George Steiner.