Introductory description

This course provides a detailed introduction to Spanish film from the 1950s until the present day. It explores the ways in which Spanish cinema has frequently explored, constructed and problematized Spanish nationhood across a diverse range of cinematic movements and genres.

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.

El espíritu de la colmena (Víctor Erice, 1973)
Carmen (Carlos Saura, 1983)
Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios (Pedro Almodóvar, 1988)
Vacas (Julio Medem, 1992)
Los lunes al sol (Fernando León, 2002)
Balada triste de trompeta (Alex de la Iglesia, 2010)

Learning outcomes

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

• - a keen understanding of the development of Spanish film, across various genres, aesthetic movements and historical periods
• - an ability to apply detailed textual analysis to cinematic texts and relate them to wider social and industrial contexts and discourses
• - a sound understanding of the ways in which Spanish film has reflected upon and contested questions of national identity
• - an ability to consider how the aesthetics of Spanish film have responded to historical, social and industrial change
• Intercultural awareness, understanding and competence
• Ability to access, read and critically analyse primary and secondary source materials in target language
• Familiarity with the methodologies and approaches appropriate to the discipline.
• Intercultural awareness, understanding and competence

Indicative reading list

Reading lists can be found in Talis

Specific reading list for the module

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 Spanish 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.