This paper is available for the academic year 2024-25.
This paper covers more than a century of literature, film and art produced not only in Spain, and in Spanish, but also the other languages of the Spanish state that extend beyond its physical borders in relation to Spain鈥檚 colonial holdings. Students who studied SP4 in Part IB will find a wealth of new material and ideas to explore and some revisions of previously presented materials.. Those who have not followed Peninsular focused courses before will encounter a rich variety of cultures from the early nineteenth-century to the present day. The material is grouped into four broad topics which allow students to approach varied cultural, historical and political questions.听 The topics are porous, meaning that texts from any given topic are often relevant to other topics.听 Students should therefore feel free to explore alternative connections and combinations.
'Genealogical Fictions' examines questions related to education, degeneration, politics, art versus science, gender, power, city and country in Restoration-era Spain. The four lectures will focus on two important novels from the late nineteenth century. 'Experiments in Form' covers literary experimentation in Spain from the avant-garde period, centring on questions of vision, fragmentation, gender, sexuality and politics in the first three decades of the twentieth century. 'Writing Memory' explores questions related to the writing of the nation, as well as the writing of the self in a range of works from the late nineteenth century to the late 1980s. 'Spain in Crisis' explores the forty-year legacy of democracy in Spain from the Transition in the mid 1970s to the present. Students will be asked to screen a series of films that look back at this period through the prism of the financial crash of 2008 and the culture of crisis permeating Spain and other Western nation-states in the wake of the neoliberal turn.
NB: Many key texts can be found online for free at www.gutenberg.org or http://www.cervantesvirtual.com/.
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MICHAELMAS TERM 2024
鈥榃riting Memory鈥�
Primary texts:
Donato Ndongo:听Las tinieblas de tu memoria negra听(1983)
Gabriela Wiener, Huaco Retrato (2021)
Limam Boica, Ya cay贸 la lluvia (2019)
Javier Cercas, Soldados de Salamina (2001)
听
Seminar reading:
Cathy Caruth, 鈥淚ntroduction: The Wound and the Voice,鈥� Unclaimed Experience: Trauma, Narrative, and History (1-9).
听
鈥楨xperiments in Form鈥�
Jacinto Esteva and Joaqu铆n Jord脿, Dante no es 煤nicamente severo (1967)
Cecilia Bartolom茅, Margarita y el lobo (1969)
Jos茅 Luis Guer铆n, Tren de sombras (1997)
Iv谩n Zulueta, Arrebato (1979)
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Seminar reading:
Mary Anne Doane, 鈥淭he Instant and the Archive,鈥� The Emergence of Cinematic Time: Modernity, Contingency, the Archive (206-232).
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LENT TERM 2025
鈥楪enealogical Fictions鈥�听
Primary texts:
Emilia Pardo Baz谩n,听Los Pazos de Ulloa (1886)
Leopoldo Alas (鈥淐lar铆n鈥�),听Su 煤nico hijo (1891)
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Seminar Readings:
Excerpts: Pedro Felipe Monlau鈥檚 Higiene del matrimonio, o el libro de los听casados (1865)
Excerpts: 脕ngel Pulido Fern谩ndez Bosquejos m茅dico-sociales para la mujer (1874)
Edward Said, 鈥淪ecular Criticism,鈥� The World, the Text, and the Critic (1-30).听
听
鈥楽pain in Crisis鈥�
Primary texts:
Pere Portabella:听Informe general sobre algunas cuestiones p煤blicas de inter茅s para una proyecci贸n p煤blica (1976) / Pere Portabella:听Informe general II. El nuevo rapto de Europa听(2015)
Alejandro Gonz谩lez I帽谩rritu,听Biutiful听(2010) / Fernando Le贸n de Aranoa,听Amador (2010)
Carlos Vermut,听Magical Girl听(2014) / Bel茅n Funes, La hija de un ladr贸n (2019)
Oliver Laxe, O que arde (2019) / Rodrigo Sorogoyen, As bestas (2022)
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Seminar readings:
1. Lauren Berlant, 鈥淐ruel Optimism,鈥� Cruel Optimism (23-49)
2. Excerpts: Manuel Castells, Rupture: The Crisis of Liberal Democracy
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- Brenan, G.听The Spanish Labyrinth听(1950)
- Shubert, A.听A Social History of Modern Spain听(1990)
- Labanyi, Jo.听Spanish Literature: a Very Short Introduction听(2010)
- Triana Toribio, N.听Spanish National Cinema听(2004)
Teaching is provided through 16 lectures (4 hours on each topic) with an introductory seminar for each topic. The introductory seminars for both topics will take place in week one in order to allow and even encourage students to move between the topics.听 Students also receive 8 fortnightly supervisions (plus revision support in Easter term if offering the exam). You are expected to attend all lectures for the paper. In supervisions you should expect to look at all the topics. Each term students will write one supervision essay entirely in Spanish. Additionally, SP9 students will have the option to attend one supervision per term, which will be conducted entirely in Spanish. Students will have the option to write one revision essay in Spanish during Easter Term although the vast majority of the feedback will centre on content and not issues related to grammar, lexis, spelling, syntax, etc. NB there is no requirement to answer in Spanish in the examination, although candidates have the option to do so. Please see SP9's Moodle page. The enrolment password can be collected from the paper coordinator.
SP9 2025:听The examination will consist of two parts:
听1) Lent term Coursework Essay
Answer one question. You should make reference to two or more works in your answer.
You should write no more than 1,800 words.
Essays will be due for submission at the start of the Easter term (the precise date and time to be announced in due course.)
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2) Easter Exam听(3h timed online)
Answer two questions, no more than听one听from any section. Do听not听answer the questions from the section you have worked on in your Lent Coursework Essay. Each answer should be no longer than 1,500 words in length, not including the bibliography.
Essays may be written in听either听English听or听Spanish, using only听one听language for each individual response.
Candidates for this paper may not draw substantially on material from their dissertations or material which they have used or intend to use in another scheduled paper. Candidates may not draw substantially on the same material in more than one question on the same paper.
It is possible to offer an Optional Dissertation in place of SP9.
Dr Stuart Davis (paper co-ordinator, Michaelmas 2024) | |
Dr Bryan Cameron (paper co-ordinator, Lent/Easter 2025) |
