Module Convenor: Dr Michela Coletta
Module Tutors: Dr Michela Coletta, Dr Tom Whittaker, Mr. Erik Urbieta, Dr Verónica Díaz Cerda

Module Description (2024-25)

!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) Colonizing and Decolonizing Nature in the New World, Michela Coletta

Section 2. (Weeks 5-9) The image of the Gypsy in Twentieth-Century Spain, Tom Whittaker

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

Week 10. Essay Writing Skills and Tips

Spring Term

Section 3. (Weeks 1-4) Colombian Cinema, Erik Urbieta

This section examines several issues in contemporary Colombian society through the films of Víctor Gaviria. Some of the issues, concepts and ideas that will be discussed in class include the representation of urban and rural spaces, marginality, the representation of violence, and cinematic realism. A close reading of the films will allow us to reflect, among others, on the following questions: what is it that Gaviria makes room for in his films, which others leave out? What are the possibilities and issues derived from Gaviria’s unique approach to filmmaking?

Primary texts: Rodrigo D. No futuro (Víctor Gaviria, 1990) and La vendedora de rosas (Víctor Gaviria, 1997)

Section 4. (Weeks 5-9) Gabriela Mistral: Activist Beyond Borders, Verónica Diaz Cerda

The final section of this module explores the figure and human rights activism of Chilean poet Gabriela Mistral (1889-1957), the only Latin American woman (and the first Latin American author) to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Through her essays, letters and poems, we will analyse the context in which she lived and the way in which she opened a space for children, women and marginalised people in Latin America. Through closely analysing her texts, we will reflect on the current significance of the social and political issues raised by Mistral more than a century ago.

Primary texts:

• Agosín, Marjorie. Gabriela Mistral: The audacious traveller. Athens: Ohio University Press. 2003
• Gabriela Mistral. Selected Prose and Prose-Poems, edited by Stephen Tapscott. Austin: University of Texas, 2022.

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.