Introductory description

Journeys and cities have occupied a central location in Latin American cinema in recent years. In drawing on the theme of travel and the urban experience, key film directors such as Alfonso Cuarón, Walter Salles and Iciar Bollaín have used their filmmaking to explore the impact of globalisation and neoliberalism on culture and everyday life in Latin America.

Module web page

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

TBC

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• - a keen understanding of the issues at stake in contemporary Latin American film, particularly with regards to representations of mobility and space
• - a sound understanding of the social issues explored by Latin American filmmakers, including the impact of globalisation, transnationalism and neoliberalism
• - ability to apply detailed textual analysis to cinematic texts and relate them to wider social and geographical contexts and discourses
• - ability to write about Latin American film and culture from a spatial perspective
• Intercultural awareness, understanding and competence
• Ability, willingness and openness to engage with other cultures, appreciating their distinctive features
• Knowledge, awareness and understanding of one or more cultures and societies, other than their own.
• Familiarity with the methodologies and approaches appropriate to the discipline.

Indicative reading list

Y Tu Mamá También (Alfonso Cuarón, 2001)
Whisky (Pablo Stoll and Juan Pablo Rebella, 2004)
Central do Brasil (Walter Salles, 1998)
Amores perros (Alejandro González Iñárritu, 2000)
Elefante blanco (Pablo Trapero, 2012)
La mujer sin cabeza (Lucrecia Martel, 2008)
También la lluvia (Iciar Bollaín, 2010)

View reading list on Talis Aspire

International

All modules delivered in SMLC are necessarily international. Students engage with themes and ideas from a culture other than that of the UK and employ their linguistic skills in the analysis of primary materials from a non-Anglophone context. Students will also be encouraged to draw on the experiences of visiting exchange students in the classroom and will frequently engage with theoretical and critical frameworks from across the world.

Subject specific skills

This module will develop students’ linguistic skills through engaging with primary materials in the target language. It will build students’ capacity to engage with aspects of Hispanic culture through analysis of this primary material and through seminar discussion aimed at deeper critical thinking. In particular, students’ awareness of Latin American film will be enhanced through lectures and seminars which engage in scholarship in the field.

Transferable skills

All SMLC culture modules demand critical and analytical engagement with artefacts from target-language cultures. In the course of independent study, class work and assessment students will develop the following skills: written and oral communication, creative and critical thinking, problem solving and analysis, time management and organisation, independent research in both English and their target language(s), intercultural understanding and the ability to mediate between languages and cultures, ICT literacy in both English and the target language(s), personal responsibility and the exercise of initiative.