On successful completion of this module students will:

• Understand the key recent historical, economic, and socio-cultural developments that have influenced questions of identity in twenty-first-century Spain
• Recognise why and how fiction can offer valuable insight into the impact of real-world events
• Be able to identify and analyse the angles from which different forms and genres approach cultural questions and the narrative techniques they use to shape our response
• Be confident in analysing primary sources independently and drawing effective comparisons to develop convincing arguments about literary and cinematic responses to their twenty-first-century contexts

Weeks 1-4: Legacies of the Spanish Civil War in Fiction and Film

Week 1: Lecture on legacy of the Spanish Civil War; Mini lecture and seminar on Soldados de Salamina in relation to the memory boom
Week 2: Seminars on Javier Cercas, Soldados de Salamina: using extracts/scenes to discuss of (auto)fictional responses to uncovering the legacy of the Civil War and to compare how the book vs the film presents the story
Week 3: Mini lecture and seminar on Dulce Chacón, La voz dormida; close analysis workshop on narrative techniques in book vs film version (groups will prepare a short commentary in class in preparation for first summative assessment)
Week 4: Lectures on using primary and secondary sources to develop an effective comparison between texts
First summative assessment (due 6pm Friday, Week 6): commentary (500 words) on one technique that is used to shape the way in which we view the impact of the suppressed legacy of the Civil War across the two films/books; you must use close analysis of the primary texts to develop your answer (10% of final grade)


Weeks 5-8: Literary and Cinematic Responses to the 2008 Financial Crisis

Week 5: Lecture on the economic crisis and its impact on Spain and Spanish literature; Seminar comparing literary responses to the crisis across different texts/genres
Week 6: Seminar comparing scenes from cinematic responses to the crisis; Seminar comparing the effects of genre and on how to use secondary sources effectively in developing an argument
Week 7: Reading week (use this time to prepare your group presentations and read Gabriela Ybarra, El comensal)
Week 8-9: Group presentations x 3 classes: meeting

Weeks 9-11: Socio-political Divisions and Discourses of Identity in Twenty-First-Century Spain

Week 9: Lecture on social, cultural and political divisions in twenty-first century Spain
Week 10: Lecture/seminar on El comensal; Lecture/seminar on Ocho apellidos vascos
Week 11: Seminar and workshop comparing approaches to division and identity El comensal and Ocho apellidos vascos
Week 12: Essay planning and writing workshops

Final essay (due Week 13): Comparative essay (1500-2000 words) on El comensal and Ocho apellidos vascos

Not applicable to this module.

• Feedback individually to students, on an activity or draft prior to summative assessment
• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment
• Peer review activities

Not yet recorded.