Course Catalogue

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This course will provide an introduction to contemporary Catalan society and culture. Students will explore a representative selection of non-fiction and fictional narratives that project various images of Catalan national identity. They will be introduced to the historical development of Catalan nationalism, a political movement that advocates the political autonomy of the region and, in some cases, independence from Spain.

20 x 1-hour sessions over both semesters as scheduled on MyCampus.

This is one of the honours options in SMLC and may not run every year. The options which are running this session are available on MyCampus.

Available to all students fulfilling requirements for Honours entry into Spanish, and by arrangement to visiting students or students of other Honours programmes who qualify under the University's 25% regulation.

None

None

Time-limited assignment to be completed over a 4-day period (1,500 words) semester 1 - 50%

Essay (2,000 words) - 50%

Reassessments are normally available for all courses, except those which contribute to the Honours classification. For non-Honours courses, students are offered reassessment in all or any of the components of assessment if the satisfactory (threshold) grade for the overall course is not achieved at the first attempt. This is normally grade D3 for undergraduate students and grade C3 for postgraduate students. Exceptionally it may not be possible to offer reassessment of some coursework items, in which case the mark achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade. Any such exceptions for this course are described below. 

This course will provide the opportunity to:

■ analyse the ways in which Catalan society is represented in recent narratives;

■ explore the history and society of the Catalan-speaking areas in relation to the Spanish context; 

■ explore the construction of contemporary Spanish identities within the context of the country's transformation from a dictatorship to a democracy;

■ position Catalonia within the broader context of European and global socio-cultural change, exploring the relationship between history, social change and culture.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ describe the political, cultural, and social forces that have shaped Catalan society;

■ apply a range of analytical approaches introduced during the course (cultural, historical, socio-political, etc.);

■ use a wide range of sources of information critically and selectively, appreciating the difference between factual information and cultural products that are open to a wide range of interpretations;

■ analyse and historically contextualise a range of films and novels;

■ Produce a research paper on a course topic that is established on a well-defined working hypothesis and references current critical scholarship.

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.