Module SPAN3271: CONTEMPORARY SPANISH LITERATURE, THEATRE AND FILM

Department: Modern Language and Cultures (Spanish)

SPAN3271: CONTEMPORARY SPANISH LITERATURE, THEATRE AND FILM

Prerequisites

• Spanish Language 2A (SPAN2011) OR Spanish Language 2B (SPAN2111) OR an equivalent qualification to the satisfaction of the Chairman/Chairwoman of the Board of Studies in MLAC or his/her representative.

Corequisites

• Modern European Languages, Combined Honours and all Joint and 'with' programmes: Spanish Language 4 (SPAN3011) or Spanish Language 4 following Year Abroad (SPAN3121). Other: see Chairman/Chairwoman of the Board of Studies in MLAC or his/her representative.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• Modern Spanish Literature (SPAN3041), Contemporary Spanish Cinema (SPAN3181)

Aims

• To develop students' ability to analyse and criticise filmic, literary and dramatic texts:
• To develop students' academic research and writing skills;
• To consolidate and refine the theoretical concepts and approaches introduced in previous years, especially within the fields of film, literary and gender studies; and to place these in the wider context of cultural studies;
• To expand students' understanding of contemporary Spanish culture, society and history within a wider European context, especially with reference to cultural identities

Content

• This course covers aspects of contemporary Spanish culture, focussing specifically on cinema, literature and theatre of the 1980's - 1990's but placing these in the wider context of 20th century Spanish society, history and politics.
• The texts selected for detailed study will be considered in relation to issues of central importance to contemporary Spain (national stereotypes, collective memory, European integration, violence, trauma, race, immigration, and changing gender and sexual identities), as well as to relevant concepts in critical theory and cultural studies such as genre, narratology, idealogy, postmodernism, perofmativity, spectatorship and the star system

Learning Outcomes

• On completion of this course students should be able to:
• critically analyse the formal characteristics of cinematic, literary and dramatic texts in relation to cultural, social and historical contexts;
• understand recent changes in Spanish society and cultural identities, and in the ways in which these are represented;
• make confident and productive use of concepts and teminology in the fields of cultural theory, film/literature/theatre studies, and gender studies

• Thinking critically about the ways in which films, plays and literary texts represent society in general and Spanish society in particular:
• linguistic and cultural comprehension skills - reading, viewing and interpreting primary and secondary materials in Spanish and understanding their significance within the source culture
• Communication skills - articulating analytical and critical arguments using appropriate sources, terminology and methodologies
• Research skills - making effective use of theoretical, critical and historical sources.

• Communication skills - expressing ideas clearly, coherently and in an appropriate style
• Research skills - finding and managing information form a range of sources, and selecting what is required for particular assignments
• IT skills - presenting written assignments as appropriately formatted word-processed documents; using an online learning environment )including online submission of assignments).

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Teaching will be delievered through plenary lectures (to establish contexts, key theoretical frameworks and core approaches) and small-group seminars (to develop more detailed, interative discussion of issues and set texts). Students will be required to prepare specific materials before teaching sessions, and will be expected to folloow up topics and issues through independent reading
• The film analysis and review components of summative assessment test specific skills of cinematic analysis, the first based on film clips under controlled examination conditions and the second encouraging independent research. The essay to be submitted at the end of the course requires comparative discussion, drawing togehter strands running through the whole module and requiring in-depth research.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

None.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University