| CODE | SLA2017 | ||||||||
| TITLE | Literature and Society in Modern Spain | ||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 02 - Years 2, 3 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 5 | ||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Spanish and Latin American Studies | ||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit would be comprised of three sections, each addressing one period of social ‘crisis’ through the work of canonical authors whose knowledge is relevant to the overall understanding of Spanish literary history. Each section will firstly provide an overview of the period and of the literature published and then engage in an analysis of a chosen text. These three sections are: (1) The Restoration crisis: using Benito Pérez Galdós’s Doña Perfecta this section will look at the so-called crisis de la Restauración investigating how Galdós’s novel showcases the clash of two opposing social views — the traditional one embodied by the character of Doña Perfecta and the inhabitants of Orbajosa, and the progressive one embodied by Pepe Rey; (2) The fin de siècle philosophical crisis: using Azorín’s Diario de un enfermo, this section will present the transition from the realist-naturalist novel to the modernist novel prompted by eruption of irrationalism and pre-existentialism challenging positivism; (3) The Civil War: using Camilo José Cela’s La familia de Pascual Duarte, this section will consider literary responses to Spain’s Civil War both in Spain and in the fiction written by exiled authors. The unit will centre particularly on the 1940s literary tend known as tremendismo. Study-unit Aims: The proposed study-unit is intended to offer students an in-depth review of the interplay of literature and social history in one the most critical periods of Spain’s recent history — 1875 to the post-war period. The aim of this course is threefold. It seeks: (1) to provide an insight into the social and intellectual changes in Spain during the Restoration, Primo de Rivera’s dictatorship, the II Republic, the Civil War, and the post-war period as construed by some of the country’s most influential literary authors; (2) to train students in analytical methods of literary criticism; (3) to expand the student’s knowledge and critical understanding of some of Spain’s most consequential masterworks of the past two hundred years. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Be conversant with some central topics of Spanish history and be able to apply this knowledge of history to the analysis of literary works; - Assess and interpret the socio-political stance of intellectuals and literary authors in some critical junctures of Spanish modern history; - Develop a knowledge of some of Spain’s major novelists and their socio-political commitment, and particularly to appreciate their objectivity and political moderation in their portrayals of Spanish society; - Define the significance of some of Spain’s major authors in the history of Spanish fiction and also in the history of European fiction. 2. Skills By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Identify the main features of historical fiction; - Assess and interpret fiction as an artistic representation of society and to grow awareness of the artists’ licences; - Identify some of the mainstream topoi in Spanish committed literature, particularly the dichotomy tradition-modernity; - Formulate informed hypothesis on the interpretation of history contained in the primary bibliography on the basis of the authors’ context and milieu. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Primary Bibliography: - Benito Pérez Galdós, Doña Perfecta. Any edition. - Azorín, Diario de un enfermo. Any edition. - Camilo José Cela, La familia de Pascual Duarte. Any edition. Secondary Bibliography: - Beck, Mary Ann (1964). “Nuevo encuentro con La familia de Pascual Duarte”, Revista Hispánica Moderna, XXX, 3-4, 279-298. - Garrido Ardila, J. A. (2013b). “Itinerario de la novela modernista española”, Revista de Literatura, LXXV, 150, 547-571. - Garrido Ardila, J. A. (2015). A History of the Spanish Novel, Oxford, Oxford University Press. - Garrido Ardila, J. A. (2016). Historia y política en La familia de Pascual Duarte, Barcelona, Castalia. - Godsland, Shelley (2015). “The Neopicaresque. The Picaresque Myth in the Twentieth-Century Novel”, in J. A. Garrido Ardila (ed.), The Picaresque Novel in Western Literature. From the Sixteenth Century to the Neopicaresque, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 355-385. - Gullón, Germán (1985). “Contexto ideológico y forma narrativa en La familia de Pascual Duarte: en busca de una perspectiva lectorial”, Hispania, LXVIII, 1, 1-8. - Higuero, Francisco Javier (2001). “Deconstrucción de la estética del reposo en Diario de un enfermo de Azorín”, Hispanic Journal, XXII, 2, 455-470. - Hoyle, Alan (1994). Cela. La familia de Pascual Duarte, London, Grant and Cutler. - Knickerbocker, Dale F. (1994). “Pascual Duarte y el narcisismo fóbico”, Revista Hispánica Moderna, XLVII, 2, 407-420. - Lanzuela, María Luisa (2000). “La literatura como fuente histórica: Benito Pérez Galdós”, in Carlos Alvar et al, (eds.), Actas del XIII Congreso de la Asociación Internacional de Hispanistas, Madrid, Castalia,. - Pope, Randolph (2013). “Cambio, progreso y transformación. Releyendo Doña Perfecta de Galdós”, Anales de la Literatura Española Contemporánea, XXXVIII, 1-2, 277-292. |
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| ADDITIONAL NOTES | Pre-Requisite qualifications: A Level Spanish or Equivalent |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Seminar | ||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Juan Antonio Garrido Ardila Paulina Perez |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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