SPN3730 - Dictatorship and Democracy in Contemporary Spanish Fiction

Leader: Dr Stewart King

Offered

Not offered in 2007

Synopsis

This unit studies different literary forms (fiction, poetry and drama) written in Spain since the end of the Civil War to the present day. This course concentrates on the social and artistic conditions of Spain under the Francoist dictatorship and the return to democracy during the 1980s and 1990s. What were the conditions under which Spanish authors wrote during the dictatorship? How did they show their dissatisfaction with the regime? What are the trends in post-Franco literature? The unit will be taught in Spanish.

Objectives

1. Demonstrate a broad understanding of the major Spanish literary movements since 1939.
2. Explain the effects of government policies on cultural production and the reaction of writers and artists to these policies.
3. List the principal differences between literary production during the Franco regime and the Return to Democracy in Spain.
4. Analyse a variety of literary texts and films in light of Spanish sociocultural concerns.
5. Understand and apply techniques of reading and analysing historical documents and literary texts in Spanish.
6. Produce a coherent, logical and well-argued written and oral assignments in Spanish.

Assessment

Two short essays (750 words each): 33%
Essay (2000 words): 45%
Class presentation (equivalent to 1000 words): 22%

Contact hours

3 hours (1 x 1 hour lecture and 1 x 2 hour seminar) per week