Visual Culture in Modern Spain: Film, Painting and Photography

SPLA20062 Visual Culture in Modern Spain: Film, Painting and Photography 20 Semester 2 Undergraduate Level 2 Samuel Llano Unit coordinator Spanish, Portuguese and Latin 1 FHEQ level (Framework for Higher Education Qualifications) ' Middle part of Bachelors ' European Credit Transfer & Accumulation System Rating : 10.0 This course introduces students to different areas of visual cultural production in late-nineteenth and twentieth-century Spain, and studies the ways in which they relate to social and political developments (the emergence of class, regional and national identities, and struggles for social, racial and gender equality). The course takes a three-pronged approach to the analysis of visual culture in modern Spain. Firstly, it analyses the ways in which moving and still images (film, painting, photography) have been used to articulate critical portrayals of Spanish society and effect social and political change. Secondly, it studies the impact of emerging technologies such as the illustrated printed press, photography and film on the development of new techniques of visual representation. Thirdly, it analyses how visual technologies and visual techniques of representation have shaped the expansion of mass culture, the development of the public sphere and processes of public opinion-making. Rather than separating these three approaches, this course combines them in order to help students enhance their analytical and critical skills. The course begins in the late nineteenth century, when mass entertainment was born in Spain, and proceeds chronologically through the late twentieth century. The course is focused on broad social developments rather than on specific historical events and will cover the following periods: the Restoration regime (1874-1931); the Second Republic (1931-1936); the Civil War and Franco dictatorship (1936-1975); the Transition to democracy and post-Transition period (1975-1992). Students studying Spanish will be expected to use primary materials in the target language; materials will be provided in English translation for other students.  This course introduces students to different areas of visual cultural production in late-nineteenth and twentieth-century Spain, and studies the ways in which they relate to social and political developments (the emergence of class, regional and national identities, and struggles for social, racial and gender equality). The course takes a three-pronged approach to the analysis of visual culture in modern Spain. Firstly, it analyses the ways in which moving and still images (film, painting, photography) have been used to articulate critical portrayals of Spanish society and effect social and political change. Secondly, it studies the impact of emerging technologies such as the illustrated printed press, photography and film on the development of new techniques of visual representation. Thirdly, it analyses how visual technologies and visual techniques of representation have shaped the expansion of mass culture, the development of the public sphere and processes of public opinion-making. Rather than separating these three approaches, this course combines them in order to help students enhance their analytical and critical skills. The course begins in the late nineteenth century, when mass entertainment was born in Spain, and proceeds chronologically through the late twentieth century. The course is focused on broad social developments rather than on specific historical events and will cover the following periods: the Restoration regime (1874-1931); the Second Republic (1931-1936); the Civil War and Franco dictatorship (1936-1975); the Transition to democracy and post-Transition period (1975-1992). Students studying Spanish will be expected to use primary materials in the target language; materials will be provided in English translation for other students. <ul><li>To enhance students' knowledge of key areas of visual cultural production in modern Spain;</li><li>To develop student' understanding of the roles of visual culture in actively shaping wider social debates and processes in modern Spain;</li><li>To increase students' understanding of and sensitivity towards social diversity in its different historical manifestations;</li><li>To give students and understanding of current theoretical approaches to issues such as identity, race, gender, class, authenticity, nostalgia and heritage, as applied to specific visual genres and cultures from Spain.</li></ul>  <ul></ul> At the end of the course students will be able to:<ul><li>Critically evaluate the role of visual culture in shaping important social and political developments in modern Spain;</li><li>Recognise the main artists, works and genres that have contributed most significantly to shaping visual culture in modern Spain;</li><li>Understand the difference between the different techniques of visual representation and technologies of visual reproduction developed in modern Spain;</li><li>Understand the relevance of social change in different stages of Spanish history since the 19th century;</li><li>Demonstrate an increased ability to analyse works of Spanish visual culture, including film, painting, posters and photography, and to report accurately about interpretations of those works both verbally and in written and audio-visual forms;</li><li>Demonstrate increased intercultural awareness and understanding as well as increased competence and knowledge of the Spanish language, where relevant.</li></ul> At the end of the course students will have enhanced their ability to:<ul><li>Analyse the ways in which social change is represented by and shaped through visual cultural products;</li><li>Understand the development of key visual media and visual regimes of representation in modern Spain and beyond;</li><li>Articulate reasoned arguments about painting, art, and film in relation to notions of nationhood, race, ethnicity and gender.</li></ul> At the end of the course students will have enhanced their ability to:<ul><li>Carry out visual analysis of films, paintings, posters and photographs;</li><li>Plan, structure and create a written essay and a visual essay on visual culture in relation to wider social, political and cultural issues in modern Spain;</li><li>Develop clear interpretations of visual cultural products and support these interpretations with references to critical literature.</li></ul> At the end of the course students will have improved the following skills:<ul><li>Their ability to engage in independent and critical thinking;</li><li>Their written and digital communication skills;</li><li>Their ability to critically engage with different primary and secondary sources, historical periods and cultural theories;</li><li>Their ability to conduct visual analysis and to formulate arguments that are informed by critical literature.</li></ul> Analytical skills This course will also be helpful for students considering a career in Spain or other parts of the Spanish-speaking world, as well as for those considering any other career where profound knowledge of the Spanish language and a strong sense of intercultural awareness are needed. Students will also hone their visual and digital skills by analysing a series of works of visual art and reporting about those analysis during class discussions and in a written and video essays. Written communication These skills will also be useful in commercial contexts, where strong visual communication skills (e.g. the production of engaging and comprehensive video presentations) are often needed. Finally, the theoretical components of the course unit will be helpful for students interested in pursuing an academic career. Other Students on this course will gain a detailed understanding of visual culture in its relations with key social, cultural and political developments in modern Spain. These skills are particularly relevant for students considering a career that involves engagement with political affairs, journalism, historical research and careers in the culture industry (film and literature festivals, art exhibitions). Lectures will introduce students to particular aspects, genres, works and media of Spanish visual culture, in relation to specific historical and political contexts.  Seminars will be structured around the discussion of primary and secondary sources as a way to hone students’ communication and analytical skills. One mid-term revision seminar will be dedicated to discussing the material of preceding weeks and to preparing the mid-term essay.Group work (preparation of class discussions)Individual preparation of mid-term essay and final essay    0 Other 100% <figure class="table" style="width:500px;"><table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1"><tbody><tr><td>Assessment task</td><td>Formative or Summative</td><td>Weighting within unit (if summative)</td></tr><tr><td>Mid-term written essay or mid-term video essay (individual)</td><td>Formative and Summative</td><td>40%</td></tr><tr><td>Final video essay or final video essay</td><td>Summative</td><td>60%</td></tr></tbody></table></figure> Resit Assessment<figure class="table" style="width:500px;"><table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1"><tbody><tr><td>Assessment task</td></tr><tr><td>Written essay or video essay</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>  <table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width:500px;"> <tbody> <tr> <td>Feedback method</td> <td>Formative or Summative</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Oral feedback during seminar discussions</td> <td>Formative</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Written feedback on written essay and video essay</td> <td>Formative and summative</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Additional one-to-one feedback (during the consultation hour or by making an appointment)</td> <td>Formative</td> </tr> </tbody></table>  Available on: All programmes with Spanish / Cultures and Societies.The course will be taught in English, but primary sources will be in Spanish (with English translations available for students on programmes that do not include Spanish).  Y Balfour, Sebastian and Alejandro Quiroga, The Reinvention of Spain: Nation and Identity since Democracy (Oxford: Oxford Scholarship Online, 2002).Casanova, Julián and Carlos Gil Andrés, Twentieth Century Spain: A History (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014).Graham, Helen and Jo Labanyi, Spanish Cultural Studies: An introduction. The Struggle for Modernity (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995).Faber, Sebastiaan, Memory Battles of the Spanish Civil War: History, Fiction, Photography (Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press, 2018).Labanyi, Jo (ed.), Constructing Identity in Contemporary Spain: Theoretical Debates and Cultural Practice (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002).Larson, Susan, and Eva María Woods (eds.), Visualizing Spanish Modernity (London/New York: Routledge, 2020).Vázquez, Oscar E. Inventing the Art Collection: Patrons, Markets, and the State in Nineteenth-Century Spain (University Park: Penn State Press, 2010).Zamora, Andrés, Featuring Post-National Spain: Film Essays (Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2016). Lectures 11 Seminars 22 0 167