SPANISH LITERATURE 1

Literature and the City
As part of the curriculum of European and American and Postcolonial Languages and Literatures, Literature and Culture, this course aims to provide students with a general knowledgeThe course aims to provide students with a general knowledge of the historical-cultural context and the study of the city, taking the case of Barcelona as an example. It also provides critical and methodological tools, aimed at the acquisition, by students, of understanding and analysis of texts and films that favor autonomy of judgment.
Lessons, reading, analysis of texts and exams will take place in Spanish, in order to consolidate understanding and communication skills in an appropriate language.

Expected learning outcomes are:
-knowledge of Barcelona’s history with special attention to the twentieth and twenty first centuries;
-knowledge of essential critical notions to analyse texts, films, and urban spaces;
-ability to develop films interpretation with bibliographical sources;
-capacity for autonomous apprenticeship that allow students to apply new knowledge to required readings.

Excellent knowledge of Spanish language, and knowledge of twentieth century Spanish history and literature; analytical skills to perform critical commentary of literary texts.

The course will cover essential elements of the cultural context that underpins the literary, artistic and cinematographic production of 19th and 20th century Barcelona, in its links with the European context. The study of the salient features of the great aesthetic-literary currents and of the transformation of the city in their evolution will be accompanied by some in-depth studies on authors and works of particular importance. The analysis of excerpts from other works in the program and anthologies.

a) literary texts (whole)
-Mercè Rodoreda, La plaza del diamante
-Eduardo Mendoza, La verdad sobre el caso Savolta
-Montserrat Roig, Tiempo de cerezas
-Manuel Vázquez Montalbán, Los mares del sur
-Sergi Belbel, Morir o no

Films
-Walter Ruttmann, Berlin, Symphonie einer Großstadt (1927) -José Luis Guerín, En construcción (2001)
-Ventura Pons, Barcelona (un mapa) (2007)
-Manuel Huerga, Salvador (2006)
-José Luis Guerín, En construcción

Other materials will be provided by the instructor.

b) Study texts
William H. Robinson, Jordi Falgàs, and Carmen Belen Lord, eds. Barcelona and Modernity: Picasso, Gaudí, Miró, Dalí. (New Haven, CT: Cleveland Museum of Art in association with Yale University Press, 2007).
Enric Bou & Jaume Subirana, The Barcelona Reader (Liverpool: Liverpool UP, 2017)

Final exam is a written test in Spanish. It consists of four questions (the student must answer two of their choice) in order to ensure the skills acquired in the analysis of filmd. Questions include two or more topics discussed in the course.
To pass the course is required:
-active participation in class.
-short critical essay on each one of the books/films.
-class presentation of one of the course topics.
-final written exam.

The constant and active participation in lessons and two cultural activities by the teacher will award a bonus of up to 3 points on the final grade.

Lectures in Spanish with the help of films, documentaries, interviews.

Italian

The file "Calendario" in noodle (available after the first class meeting) provides the daily activities/readings of this course.

written