Cultural Studies: Spanish culture/s from 1936 to the present.
Professor Ana Peláez ana.pelaez.bc@gmail.com Office: 9.0.32, Fall, 2021
Office hours: Thursdays and Thursdays (by appointment).
Course description: We will study the cultural production within the historical and social frames of Spain since the second half of the 20th century, a period of its history during which significant changes occurred, until nowadays.
We will also study the cultural manifestations supported by the cultures of both "high culture" and the popular culture: we will analyze newspapers, political speeches, photography, propaganda posters, academic texts and cartoons; we will listen to popular songs; we will watch movies, documentaries, televised news reports and commercials; we will have one field-trip to the Reina Sofia Museum where the Spanish Civil War will be studied through the artists¿ work (This class will be offered Thursday afternoon to avoid conflict with other courses). There will be a strong emphasis on the role of women and the evolution of their role in society, analyzing various cultural products that bear witness to these changes.
Among the cultural manifestations that will be analyzed in this course we may mention "El Guernica", Spanish soccer, bullfights, touristic posters,) Educational Models, and Spanish truism and its rendering in advertisements.
Students are expected to study the assigned readings on a daily basis. Class attendance is mandatory.
Assignments:
BULLFIGHTING DEBATE 10.00
ADVS/ COMMERCIALS IN SPAIN 5.00
PROJECT: GOOGLE SLIDES AND ORAL PRESENTATION 20.00
VIEWING GUIDE FOR Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown 10.00
"Welcome, Mr. Marshall!" 10.00
Oral presentation of one figure of The Guernica 10.00
ANALYSIS OF CULTURAL MANIFESTATIONS RELATED TO THE SPANISH SOCCER 10.00
MIDTERM EXAM 15.00
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE WOMEN'S SECTION 10.00
Class evaluation is on-going throughout the course, consisting of class participation, assignments, one written exam and a group presentation about a cultural expression (to be chosen among a list of topics proposed by the professor). Class attendance is mandatory and active class participation is fundamental. If a student is absent, he or she is responsible for making up the work and material covered on the day of the absence. Analysis of movie viewings, art, and readings will be accompanied by "reading guides," which will later serve as a guide for class discussions.
Bibliography: Selection of readings from the following bibliographical sources.
Boyd, C.P, ¿History, politics and culture, 1936-1975¿. In Graham, Helen & Labanyi, Jo, Spanish Cultural Studies. An Introduction, Oxford U.P., 1995.
Bugallo, A. ¿Film discussion and debate. From late Francoist regime to Spanish transition: Woman, sexuality and national project through filmic comedies¿, U.Mass, Amherst, 2002.
Crolley, Liz, ¿Football and fandom in Spain¿, In Barry Jordan and Rikki Morgan-Tamosunas (eds.), Contemporary Spanish Cultural Studies: London: Arnold, 2000
Chislett, Williams, Spain, What Everyone Needs to Know¿, Oxford, U.P., 2013.
Davidson, ¿Women, Fascism and Work in Francoist Spain¿, Gender and History, 2011
De Haro, M, ¿Bullfighting as Television entertainment during Franco Regime¿, Communication and Society, Vol. 29, 2016.
Editorial, ¿The Making of Modern Spain¿, El País journal, June 15, 2007
Kelly, D, ¿Selling Spanish Otherness since 1960¿. In Barry Jordan and Rikki Morgan-Tamosunas (eds.), Contemporary Spanish Cultural Studies: London: Arnold, 2000
Lindo,Elvira,¿Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown:A Sweet New Style¿,The Criterion Collection, 2007
O¿Donnell, A, ¿Death and Life in the Afternoon: A Meditation on Bullfighting¿, America, Vol. 215, 2017
Mcdonald, F., ¿The story of a painting that fought fascism¿, BBC Culture, feb. 2017.
Law for Political, Professional and Labor Rights for Women, 1961
Reina Sofía Museum website (¿Rethinking Guernica: History and Conflict in the 20th century¿)
Stapell, Hamilton, ¿Remaking Madrid after Franco¿, Palgrave Macmillan, 2010
