Module Code - Title:
SP4003
-
SOCIO-POLITICAL ISSUES IN THE CONTEMPORARY HISPANIC WORLD: SOCIETY, CULTURE AND REPRESENTATION
Year Last Offered:
2025/6
Hours Per Week:
Grading Type:
N
Prerequisite Modules:
Rationale and Purpose of the Module:
Aims and Objectives:
* To further develop studentsÆ background knowledge of the Hispanic World.
* To explore contemporary socio-political issues and their impact on cultural production in Spain and Latin America.
* To develop studentsÆ analytical skills in the study of contemporary Hispanic culture.
* To prepare students to analyse contemporary socio-political issues in the Hispanic World in a critical manner.
Syllabus:
This module builds on the foundation modules taken in year one. Students will explore issues of relevance in contemporary society in Spain and Latin America by means of the exploration of up-to-date cultural production about such issues.
Accordingly, the module will focus on the politics and representation of gender, cultural constructions of the past and contemporary developments in the construction of national identities.
After completion of this module, students will have achieved an in-depth knowledge of contemporary socio-political issues in the Hispanic World and their cultural representation, thus enhancing their understanding of the cultures they will be encountering during their off-campus period.
Learning Outcomes:
Cognitive (Knowledge, Understanding, Application, Analysis, Evaluation, Synthesis)
After successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
* Recognise the most important socio-political issues in contemporary Spain and Latin America.
* Examine the connection between contemporary socio-political issues and cultural production in the contemporary Hispanic World.
* Analyse a number of cultural artefacts in the light of contemporary socio-political developments in the Hispanic World.
Affective (Attitudes and Values)
After successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
* Demonstrate an understanding of the contemporary societies that they may encounter during their off-campus period.
* Respond appropriately to cultural differences when faced with
Psychomotor (Physical Skills)
N/A
How the Module will be Taught and what will be the Learning Experiences of the Students:
The module consists of one weekly lecture where the main items of the syllabus are introduced, and two tutorials where students will be exposed to different cultural artefacts in order to analyse them and relate them to the main issues dealt with in the lectures. Students will also have the opportunity to explore related items through a number of sources (Internet, written and filmic texts) and will develop their own analytical skills by applying the knowledge in a number of group and individual projects.
Research Findings Incorporated in to the Syllabus (If Relevant):
Prime Texts:
Grandes, Almudena (2005)
Los aires difíciles
, Tusquets Editores
Grandes, Almudena (2007)
The Wind from the East
, Phoenix (Orion Publishing Group)
Dorfman, Ariel (1996)
Death and the Maiden
, Nick Hern Books
Sánchez-Conejero, C. (Ed.) (2007)
Spanishness in the Spanish Novel and Cinema of the 20th ¿ 21st Century
, Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Hillman, R.S. (Ed.) (2005)
Understanding Contemporary Latin America
, Lynne Riener Publishers
Other Relevant Texts:
Richards, M. (1998)
A Time of Silence. Civil War and the Culture of Repression in Franco's Spain, 1936-1945
, Cambridge University Press
Ramón Resina, J. (Ed.) (2000)
Disremembering the Dictatorship. The Politics of Memory in the Spanish Transition to Democracy
, Rodopi
Eckstein, S. et al. (2003)
Struggles for Social Rights in Latin America
, Routledge
Kirby, P. (2003)
Introduction to Latin America: Twenty-first Century Challenges
, Sage
Programme(s) in which this Module is Offered:
Semester(s) Module is Offered:
Module Leader:
Xose.Boan@ul.ie