Hispanic Culture Through Film - LAN00019I

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Module summary

This module focuses on the representation of Spanish and Latin American culture through the medium of film; we will appraise how aspects of social order, gender and cultural background shape contemporary issues in Spanish-speaking societies.

The medium of instruction is Spanish.

Related modules

Pre-requisite module

Spanish Language and Cultures: Advanced

Module will run

Occurrence	Teaching period
A	Semester 2 2023-24

Module aims

This course focuses on the analysis of key Spanish-language films to enhance students’ understanding of critical issues and cultural values of Spanish and Latin American societies.

Students will also improve and refine their language skills through actively participating in class discussion, presentations, group project work, and formal writing in the target language.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module students should:

• Be familiar with a number of Spanish-speaking films and the social, cultural or historical context they refer to and/or the context in which they were produced

• Have an increased understanding of fundamental issues of social, cultural, and political nature shaping current challenges of twentieth and twentieth-first century Spain and Latin America

• Be able to analyse and research films, and engage in critical discussion of issues such as social order, gender, and discrimination affecting Spanish-speaking societies

• Be able to carry out independent research about case studies related to the topics of analysis.

• Develop a proficient level of accuracy in the production of written and spoken Spanish

Module content

Teaching will focus on three major key themes affecting the societies of the Spanish-speaking world:

• Violence against women
• Gender and sexual diversity issues
• Corruption and poverty

Indicative assessment

Task	% of module mark
Coursework - extensions not feasible/practicable	50
Essay/coursework	50

Special assessment rules

None

Indicative reassessment

Task	% of module mark
Coursework - extensions not feasible/practicable	50
Essay/coursework	50

Module feedback

Students’ performance will be monitored through formative work throughout the semester and assessed via end of semester exams.

Feedback and formative assessment

• Formative tasks done individually or in groups throughout the module

• Feedback will include written comments for written formative work

• Oral feedback will be given during class discussions.

Feedback and summative assessment

Students will be given marks and written feedback for their work in line with within the University’s marking and feedback turnaround policy.

Indicative reading

The reading list will be provided by the module convenor and will consist on articles and documentaries focused on three major issues affecting the societies of the Hispanic world:

• Violence against women
• Gender and sexual diversity issues
• Corruption and poverty

Examples of films that will be studied in the module as a window to discuss key issues in the Spanish-speaking world are:

• ‘Te doy mis ojos’ (2003, Icíar Bollaín) (Spain)
• ‘María llena eres de gracia’ (2004, Joshua Marston) (Colombia)
• ‘Cuatro lunas’ (2014, Sergio Tovar Velarde) (México)
• ‘La ley de Herodes’ (1999, Luis Estrada) (México)
• ‘Todo el poder’ (2000, Fernando Sariñana) (México)