Module SPAN3231: POPULAR CULTURE IN LATIN AMERICAN LITERATURE

Department: Modern Languages and Cultures (Spanish)

SPAN3231: POPULAR CULTURE IN LATIN AMERICAN LITERATURE

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

• None

Aims

• to expand upon the students' knowledge of Latin American literary and popular culture by exploring how various (popular) cultural forms are engaged with in the works of some of the most important Latin American literary authors
• to break down barriers between different forms of cultural expression and require the students to think through important aspects of cultural and literary theory and practice in the twentieth century, such as the contrast between high and low culture, the truth value of different narrative productions, the postmodern self, and literature in a postmodern age, both in Latin American and in more general terms
• to engage with and develop an advanced understanding of key critical and theoretical issues, as well as a knowledge of cultural and historical context.

Content

• The module will look at the work of four authors: Julio Cortazar; Alejo Carpentier; Mario Vargas Llosa; and Manuel Puig. All four authors are major Latin American novelists of the twentieth century, and the module will examine how each one engages with and uses a variety of other cultural forms in their work
• The focus will be on both the way in which the texts incorporate these cultural forms into their narrative structure and key thematics, as well as the wider impact on such questions as: the nature of literature; the apparent divide between popular and high art forms; assumptions of truth value and genre; self-referentiality; and the postmodern condition of both the self and writing
• As well as looking at the individual examples of these authors' works, the module will also offer them up in two comparative sections. Cortazar and Carpentier both incorporate different musical genres into their work and the emphasis here will be given to investigating the extent to which their use of and engagement with music, despite its apparent similarity, serves a very different ideological and literary purpose in each case. Vargas Llosa and Puig, on the other hand, incorporate many different cultural genres into their writing and plots, from autobiography to newscasts, from tango to Hollywood film
• The aim with regard to this comparative focus is to ask to what extent either or both of these authors can be said to be 'postmodernist'. In all cases, the students will be asked to think about these issues both in general terms and in the specific context of Latin American cultural production and discourse
• In the course of the module, key theoretical discourses from both literary and cultural fields will be employed. This will include, in particular, theories of modernism and postmodernism.

Learning Outcomes

• By the end of the module students will have developed an advanced understanding of the ways in which canonical Latin American literary authors use and incorporate popular culture forms into their writing and thematics
• They will also have gained an advanced knowledge and understanding of critical issues regarding narrative and self in the theoretical climate of the late twentieth century both in Latin America and more generally, as well as an awareness of how individual examples of cultural interaction in literature form part of a wider cultural and theoretical debate and context

• By reading primary and secondary texts in the target language students will enhance their comprehension skills in the language that they are learning and their ability to mediate between it and English
• The module will also enhance their skills of critical analysis and contribute to the development of intercultural awareness.

• Through participation in seminar discussion and writing essays, students will develop their key skills in oral and written argumentation and presentation
• They will also reinforce and develop their research, teamwork and time-management skills. They will, in addition, develop their ability to compare and contrast different examples of cultural interaction in literature, and link the subject being studied to broader themes and theoretical debates

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

• The module will consist of a weekly lecture for the whole group and a fortnightly seminar in which students will be divided into smaller groups. The module will be taught and examined in English. The lectures will give the students contextual information regarding the literary texts and the cultural forms with which they interact , a grounding in appropriate theoretical approaches, and guided textual analysis and interpretation, as well as offering a comparative reading of the authors being studied. Students will be required to attend all lectures.
• Students will be required to prepare weekly reading and seminar tasks and to attend all lectures. These seminars will enable them to develop their skills in independent preparatory work, original contributions to the topic area, presentation of ideas, and team-work. They will be encouraged to participate actively in classroom discussion
• The module will be assessed by a combination of summative coursework (to encourage independent research and learning, as well as enabling them to engage in extended critical analysis) and an end-of-year examination (to ensure an element of assessment under controlled conditions). Both types of assessment will involve comparative work between the authors studied, as well as essays on individual authors. This will ensure that the students are practised in detailed critical analysis of individual cases of cultural interaction, as well as analysis of the way in which these interactions correspond to a wider cultural debate and context.

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