SPAN2212 An Introduction to Spanish and Latin American Cultures

2020

4.5

1 x 2-hour lecture weekly

9 units of SPAN topics

Since the beginning of the 20th Century, great changes have taken place in all areas of Spanish and Latin American culture, including literature, film, art, and music. At the same time, the last hundred years have given rise to some of the best-known and most influential figures and movements in Spanish and Latin American culture.

In this topic, students will study and examine some of Spain and Latin America's most significant cultural movements and figures in their historical context. A particular emphasis will be placed on Spanish and Latin American culture in the 20th and 21st Centuries. Examples will be drawn from a wide range of cultural areas, including literature, film, art, and music, and will include work by figures such as García Lorca, Pedro Almodóvar, Pablo Neruda, Isabel Allende, Gabriel García Márquez, Salvador Dalí, and Frida Kahlo.

This topic aims to:

• introduce students to some of the key movements and figures in contemporary Spanish and Latin American cultures

• develop students' understanding of how certain movements and figures in contemporary Spanish and Latin American cultures relate to their historical context

• develop students' understanding of the similarities and differences between key movements and figures in contemporary Spanish and Latin American cultures

• develop learners' critical and analytical skills through the study of certain important movements and figures in contemporary Spanish and Latin American cultures

• introduce students to the analysis of literary and other artistic texts

• develop student's critical and analytical skills through the study of literary, artistic, and other works

• enhance students' communicative competence in Spanish in all four language skills (reading, writing, listening, and speaking)

On completing this topic, students will be able to:

• demonstrate knowledge and understanding of some of the key movements and figures in contemporary Spanish and Latin American cultures

• demonstrate an understanding of how certain movements and figures in contemporary Spanish and Latin American cultures relate to their historical context

• demonstrate an understanding of how key movements and figures in contemporary Spanish and Latin American cultures differ from and are similar to one another

• analyse literary and other artistic works with an appropriate level of skill

• understand a variety of texts in written and spoken Spanish from and relating to the areas studied

• analyse and discuss critically texts in Spanish from and relating to the areas studied

• communicate their knowledge, understanding and analyses of a range of topics in written and spoken Spanish