SPAN3181: CONTEMPORARY SPANISH CINEMA

• Spanish Language 2A (SPAN2011) OR Spanish Language 2B (SPAN2111) OR an equivalent qualification to the satisfaction of the Chairman/Chairwoman of the Board of Studies in MLAC or his/her representative.

• Modern European Languages, Combined Honours and all Joint and 'with' programmes: Spanish Language 4 (SPAN3011). Other: see Chairman/Chairwoman of the Board of Studies in MLAC or his/her representative.

• None.

• To develop the students' ability to analyse and criticise filmic texts.
• To develop the students' research skills.
• To consolidate and refine the theoretical concepts learned by students in previous years, especially within the fields of Film and Gender Studies and to place this in the wider context of Cultural Studies.
• To expand the students' knowledge of contemporary Spanish culture, society and history and to examine their implications in the wider European context.

• This course covers aspects of contemporary Spanish History and Culture with specific focus in 1990s cinema but in the wider context of pre and post-Franco Spanish society, history and politics.
• Students will become familiar with important Spanish issues such as national stereotypes, European integration, violence, trauma, race, immigration and changing gender and sexual identities, as well as relevant concepts in Film Studies such as cinematic genre, spectatorship and the star system.

Subject-specific Knowledge:

• On completion of this course you should:
• recognise the importance of contemporary Spanish cinema and identity in the wider context of Europe and its relation/opposition to mainstream Hollywood,
• understand recent changes in Spanish society and its contrast with previously established images and stereotypes of Spain. These will include: eroticism, gender roles and stereotypes, machismo, the post-war years, and rural/industrial Spain,
• manage with confidence new concepts and terminology in the fields of Film and Gender Studies and, more generally, cultural theory.

Subject-specific Skills:

• On completion of the courses, students shoudl be able to think critically about the ways in which films represent society in general and Spanish society in particular.

Key Skills:

• The module will be taught intensively either in Term I or in Term II on a 'short-fat 'basis.
• Lectures (twice weekly) will deliver key information about the module
• A weekly seminar with smaller groups will allow for individual presentations and active discussions
• This format responds to student feedback gained in SSCC and NSS responses

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