SSP10417 Spanish-language Literature and Society 2 (Spring 2019)

The course is connected to the following study programs

Compulsory course in the one-year programme in Spanish.
A part of the 60-credit unit can form part of the Bachelor's Programme in Society, Language, and Culture.

Lecture Semester

One-year programme in Spanish: second semester (spring)
Bachelor's programme in society, language and culture: 2nd, 4th or 6th semester (spring).

The student's learning outcomes after completing the course

Knowledge
The student 

- has good knowledge about recent Spanish and Latin American history and culture
- has good insight into key historic events and processes, as well as current topics and phenomena in Spanish-speaking areas
- has an overview of and in-depth knowledge about literary trends and genres in recent Spanish and Latin American literature
- is familiar with key concepts in literary analysis
- is familiar with some literary theory and methods relevant to interpreting selected literary works

Skills

The student can

- understand and explain the linguistic expression and content of Spanish-speaking texts from different genres
- apply relevant tools to analyse and interpret texts from different genres (literature, non-fiction, music and film)
- recognise and explain distinguishing features of certain periods and genres in Spanish and Latin American literature
- familiarise him or herself with and explaining key historic events and processes, as well as cultural phenomena in Spanish-speaking areas
- obtain information from different sources and use it in a reflected and critical manner in his or her own presentations on the various works and topics covered in the course 

General competence
The student

-has general competence in communicating relevant academic content and reflecting on various problems relating to the field

Content

The students will read and analyse modern texts in Spanish throughout the course. These texts are taken from different fiction genres, non-fiction, music, film, internet blogs and/or other popular genres.

Key events and development trends in Spanish and Latin American history are dealt with, but emphasis is placed on the modern era.

Forms of teaching and learning

Teaching will be given in the form of online meetings. The learning platform is used to distribute subject matter, assignments, relevant information and sources for the course. The literature part of the course consists of reviewing texts that the students have read in advance, as well as watching films and listening to music, with subsequent discussions in small groups and in plenary sessions. Students are expected to actively participate.

The cultural knowledge topics are presented partly as online lectures and partly as presentations by the students with subsequent discussions. Several films will also be shown related to relevant topics and these, along with relevant literature, will form the basis for discussions about Spanish and Latin American society in a contemporary and historical perspective. The course places great emphasis on active student participation during teaching activities.

The language of instruction will be Norwegian and Spanish.

Workload

Approx. 420 hours

Coursework requirements - conditions for taking the exam

• One individual written assignment must be submitted about literary and cultural topics. Scope: maximum 3,000 words, excluding the literature list. All sources must be cited. Font and font size: 12-point Times New Roman. Line spacing: 1.5.  

Required coursework must be approved before the student can take the exam.

Examination

Written exam, 5 hours.
Permitted aids: Spanish, Norwegian–Spanish and Spanish–Norwegian dictionaries.

Grade scale A–F.

As a rule, the exam is digital and the written exam is held on campus.
A special form may be used to apply to take the written exam at another approved location, if the time difference and possibility of necessary communication with the external place of the exam etc. so permit.

Examiners

One external and one internal examiner or two internal examiners.

Course evaluation

Feedback from our students is decisive in order for us to be able to offer the best possible courses and study programmes. The following forms of evaluation are used for this course:

- A mid-semester evaluation and continuous/final evaluation

The results are considered by/in:

- lecturer groups
- the programme coordinator
- the local programme committee

Literature

Updated on November 9th 2018

Álvarez-Solar, María y Elisabeth Fonseca (eds.) Sociedad y cultura en América Latina. Bergen: Fagbokforl. 2006.

López Moreno, C. (2014). España contemporánea. Madrid: Editorial SGEL.

A short story («novela corta»). The title of the short story will be announced in Canvas well before the spring semester starts.

Kompendium: Textos. Literatura y cultura. España y América Latina.