General
Required Texts/Materials
Details
General:
Class discussion and writing assignments will be in Spanish. Reading assignments will be both in Spanish and English. Many films will be subtitled in English. All assignments written outside of class must be typed and double-spaced in Times 12 font. Any work turned in outside of regular class time should be left on my door at 869 Ballantine Hall.
Required Texts/Materials:
*You are required to bring the texts we are discussing to class and have them on hand and ready to go.1. Email Account and Web Access:
Both an email account and web access are required for this course. You will be required to check email twice per week since you will receive emails through our listserve clarifying homework or presentation information. The course website will provide you with necessary images and links that will allow you to complete projects (see #5).2. Book:
Graham, Helen and Jo Labanyi, eds. Spanish Cultural Studies: An Introduction. The Struggle for Modernity. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1995.3. Course Pack:
The Course Pack can be purchased at Mr. Copy at 501 E. 10th Street (the corner of 10th and Dunn). We will begin using the Course Pack immediately, so be sure to pick it up today or tomorrow early. It is listed under our course number. You may also request it by its shelf number: #103.4. Films:
These films will be available for individual viewing in Media/Reserves at the Main Library. We will also have group viewings in Chemistry Room 001 at 7 pm on the days specified on this syllabus (see Course Schedule – usually the day prior to class discussion of the film). Chemistry is the Building just west of Ballantine; Room 001is most easily accessed through the main door in the middle of the building, facing the Union.Almodóvar, Pedro. "Todo sobre mi madre" (1999)
Armendariz, Montxo. "Cartas de Alou" (1990)
Camus, Mario. “Los santos inocentes” (1984)
Luna, Bigas. "Jamón, Jamón" (1993) or Almodóvar’s “Carne trémula” (1997)
Medem, Julio. “La ardilla roja” (1993)
Saura, Carlos. "¡Ay, Carmela!" (1990)
Trueba, Fernando. “Belle epoque” (1992)5. Movie Guides; Web-based Images:
For any of our assignments involving the web, you can locate the texts and images via our course web page. Homework postings will be announced in class and found on the web page under “Noticias” (and via email). Images are found in the “Image Gallery”.
Course Evaluation:
15% Class Participation
5% Homework & Reading Guides
10% Oral Presentations
25% Compositions/ Short Writing Assignments (5)
10% Movie Guides (5)
15% Midterm Exam
20% Final Paper
Class participation: This may be the element most crucial to your interest and therefore, the class's success. Engaged, intellectual participation in class discussion is fundamental both to your understanding and that of your peers. To this end, you should take notes and think critically about the texts before coming to class. You will find that if you bring all of your questions, opinions, and problems to the discussion, we all benefit from them. You will generally be required to have read and prepared anywhere from approximately 30-50 pages per class discussion, depending on the difficulty of the text.
Attendance: The class format is driven by class discussion, with very few lectures, therefore regular class attendance is critical to your success. You may miss 2 classes during the course without penalty, after which, your final grade will be directly affected for each subsequent absence. These “free” absences also cover those days where you’re too sick to come to class, but not enough to go the health center. Please remember that if you must miss class, you are responsible for both the material covered that day as well as the work for the following class. Be sure to record the emails and phone numbers of two peers.
Oral Presentations: Each student will be required to give at least two 5-7 minute oral presentations in class. This means that each presenter will be prepared with her own observations and reading of the text, and will then follow it up with 2-3 pertinent questions to pose to the class as a springboard for ensuing discussion. Those who are not presenting will be involved in the consideration of the text and should come to class with questions already formulated to pose to all of us as a group as well as to the discussion leader. See Website for guidelines on how to create a successful presentation.
Compositions/ Short Writing Assignments: During the term, you will have 5 short writing assignments from approximately 2-3 pages long (see course schedule for due dates). These writing assignments will range from analysis of war posters, to a comparative paper on emigrants’ personal stories, to analysis of contemporary media images of women. These assignments will serve a variety of purposes, but all are intended to be a place for you to reflect on our readings and class discussions, push beyond what we have talked about in class, and work through issues you find interesting in the visual and written texts. It will allow you to pose relevant questions about the texts we discuss, help you work through your readings in a more coherent way, and provide a space for your readings to gel. They will also all be focused on pushing you to actively analyze culture, not passively receive it. Since you will use the same tools on the Midterm and in your Final Paper, in a very real sense, the short writing assignments are building blocks. During the term, check the course website for guidelines on each assignment. You may also receive clarifications via email, depending on the needs of our particular class.
Homework & Reading Guides: Depending on our needs as a group, there will be question guides available during the term for many of the texts we are reading. You will find them to be helpful in preparing your readings and your discussion interventions; they will give you a sense of how to look at the text, issues I want you to be thinking about, and topics to focus on for the midterm, short writing assignments, and final paper. If they are not included in the reading itself, they will be made available to you via email and/or the course website (see above). As we progress through the readings, check there for new guides.
Movie Guides: For five of the seven films, you will turn in movie guides that contain questions that engage you with the film. Like the Reading Guides above, these will help you get a sense of the ways you should be analyzing the films, connections you can be making to our course topics, and further questions you might formulate and bring to class. Again, these will aid you in preparing yourself to be actively involved in class discussion. They are available via the course website (see above).
Midterm Exam: This will be an in-class exam that builds on your past readings and our class discussions. It will most likely include short answer analyses and essay questions.
Final Paper: We will discuss the requirements for the final paper during the term, but it will require analysis of cultural materials and will be limited to 6-8 pages. The due date for the final paper is Tuesday, May 3, 2001 at 2:30 pm as listed in the Final Exam Schedule for Spring 2001.
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