Icons and Representations of the Hispanic World
| Module Code: HP104 |
|---|
| Module Name: Icons and Representations of the Hispanic World |
| Module Convenor: Dr Tom Whittaker |
| 2 Term Module |
| Module Credits: 30 |
Module Convenor: Dr Tom Whittaker
Module Tutors: Dr Tom Whittaker, Dr Michela Coletta, Dr Jorge Sarasola Herrera, Dr Fabienne Viala
Module Description (2025-26)
!Bienvenidas y Bienvenidos! Have you ever wondered where the most famous icons and familiar stereotypes of Spain and Latin America come from? How have they circulated and been understood at different times and in different places? And how have Spaniards and Latin Americans represented themselves to travellers, tourists, artists, and even invaders?
The module will introduce you to a wide range of written and visual representations of the Hispanic world, and some of its most influential and iconic cultural figures. In so doing, we’ll investigate where familiar stereotypes of Spain and Latin America come from. This year's selection includes:
Autumn Term
Section 1. (Weeks 1-4) Dr Tom Whittaker
The image of the Gypsy in Twentieth-Century Spain
This section explores the significant, yet often contradictory role, that Gypsies have played in twentieth-century Spanish culture and nation building. Despite living in Spain for over four centuries, the Spanish Romany are still socially marginalised and have long been regarded as an exoticised ‘Other’. Yet Gypsies have been an instrument in Spanish nation formation – and, through their long-standing association with Andalusia, have often come to stand for Spanishness, both inside and outside of Spain. We will explore the complex ways in which Spanish Gypsies have been imagined and contested in Spanish culture from the Franco period (1939-1975) to the present day, with a particular emphasis on their representation within Spanish film, photography, and flamenco.
Primary texts:
- Bienvenido Mr Marshall (José Luis García Berlanga, 1953)
- Carmen (Carlos Saura, 1984)
- Carmen y Lola (Arantxa Echevarría, 2018)
- A selection of photographs by Carlos Pérez Siquier and other photographers
Section 2. (Weeks 5-9) Dr Michela Coletta
Colonizing and Decolonizing Nature in the New World
This part of the module offers insights into the process of colonization and subsequent decolonization of Spanish America with a focus on visions and representations of nature. To what extent has the symbolic colonization of nature shaped the cultural and material structures of Latin America throughout its history? Is decolonisation a historical period or an ongoing process? Why is nature significant for understanding the relationship between the global north and the global south?
Primary texts:
- Colonial chronicles
- También la lluvia (film by Icíar Bollaín, 2010)
- Selection of Latin American paintings
Week 10. Essay Writing Skills and Tips
Spring Term
Section 3. (Weeks 1-4) Dr Jorge Sarasola Herrera
Representations of Tango by Three Iconic Figures: Carlos Gardel, Jorge Luis Borges, and Tita Merello
Tango – as a musical genre, dance form, and literary field – is a quintessential cultural practice from the River Plate region (Uruguay and Argentina). In line with the academic study of popular culture, we will conceive of tango as a rich locus of interest through which to explore societal developments in this region related to language, immigration, national identity, and gender. In particular, we will focus on the indelible mark left on this genre by three iconic Latin American figures: the singers Carlos Gardel and Tita Merello, and the poet Jorge Luis Borges. In terms of primary texts, this section will consider the poetics of tango by studying its history through the close reading of influential lyrics.
Primary texts: tango lyrics and poems such as “Mi noche triste”, “Volver”, “Milonga sentimental” sang by Gardel; “El tango”, “Alguien le dice al tango”, “Milonga del muerto”, by Borges; “Se dice de mí”, “Arrabalera”, “Pipistrela”, by Merello.
Section 4. (Weeks 5-9) Prof Fabienne Viala
La Malinche and the Conquest of Mexico
In this section of the module, we will focus on the historical figure of La Malinche, one of the most complex cultural icons of post-conquest America according to anthropologist Mary Louise Pratt. Born Malintzin, and renamed Marina after she collaborated with the Spanish to invade the Aztec Empire, Malinche played a key role in the conquest of Mexico, facilitating translation into several indigenous languages to Hernán Cortés. We will analyse the ambivalence of this character in Mexican identity building and politics, mother of a new race but also the embodiment of the cruel woman condition. We will analyse and compare different narratives of Malinche, including her rehabilitating in Chicana scholarship by indigenous, feminist and gender studies.
Primary Texts:
Octavio Paz, The Sons of Malinche ( in The Labyrinth of Solitude, 1950)
Rosario Castellanos, La Malinche, a Poem ( in Rosario Castellanos Reader, 1988)
Gloria Anzaldúa, Entering the Serpent ( in Borderlands/La Frontera, or the New Meztiza, 1987)
Week 10. Essay Writing Skills and Tips
You will prepare for each seminar with guided research, reflection and close reading of a set text or extract. Each session combines tutor-led lecture with student-led analysis and discussion. Your work in this course will help you to extend the linguistic ability you will acquire in language modules, to develop your critical reading skills, and to manage and understand a wide range of primary and secondary source materials.
Assessment Method:
Assessment is designed to develop your advanced writing and analytical skills in English. Over the course of the year, you will prepare three independent pieces of work. You will have individual feedback meetings with your tutors to discuss each piece of work, and you will choose your best two pieces to revise for submission as an assessed portfolio at the end of the year.
Formative assessment:
2 x 1500-word commentaries/essays in English to be submitted at the end of Term 1 and Term 2. These will be revised and submitted for the summative portfolio.
Summative assessment:
2 x 2000-2500-word commentaries/essays in English (revised from formative work).
