Module Identifier SP20920  
Module Title MODERN SPAIN (1930-2000)  
Academic Year 2004/2005  
Co-ordinator Professor Robert G Havard  
Semester Intended for use in future years  
Next year offered N/A  
Next semester offered N/A  
Assessment
Assessment TypeAssessment Length/DetailsProportion
Semester Exam2 Hours A two hour written examination60%
Semester Assessment 2 Essays of 1500 to 2000 words40%

Learning outcomes

On completion of this module students should have:

Brief description

A study of the making of modern Spain from the turmoil of the Second Republic and the trauma of the Spanish Civil War 1936-39, through to the Franco Dictatorship and the transition to democracy after Franco's death. Against this sociopolitical background, students explore through major representative works (of novel, film and poetry) the experience of living in twentieth-century Spain.

In their assignments students may choose to emphasise either literary/cultural or sociopolitical issues, or the way the latter are treated by writers.

Syllabus:

Weeks 1-6: the Second Republic and the Spanish Civil War: two crucial phases illustrated by Alberti's depiction of Madrid under siege in De un momento a otro (poesia) and by Cela's tremendista novel, La familia de Pascual Duarte.

Weeks 7-12: The two novels by Atxaga and Grandes are read against the background of the political changes which took place in Spain following the Franco regime and Spain's transition to a democratic, pluralist nation.

Reading Lists

Books
** Recommended Text
Rose, Alan (1991) Surrealism and Communism New York
Havard, Robert (2001) The Crucified Mind Tamesis London
Hoyle, Alan (1994) Cela: La familia de Pascual Duarte, critical guide Grant & Cutler
Carr, Raymond (1985) Modern Spain 1875-1980 Oxford
Thomas, Hugh (1977) The Spanish Civil War Harmondsworth
Preston, Paul Franco
Gilmour, David (1985) The Transformation of Spain London
Preston, Paul (1986) The Triumph of Democracy in Spain London
Balcells, J.M. (1993) Introduction to Rafael Alberti, De un momento a otro Barcelona
Nantell, J A (1987) 'Ordering the Chaos: Rafael Alberti's Elegia civica' Hispanofila 57-80
Wesseling, P (1977) 'Violence in Counterpoint: Alberti's Poems of 1935' - Also Revolution and Tradition, The Poetry of R Alberti, Chapel Hill 1981. Hispanofila 220-26
Bowra, C M Poetry and Politics, p 124 etc - The Creative Experiment Lonsdon 1949, 220-253 (on Alberti)

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 5