Spanish American Cinema

Module Identifier: SP26120
Module Title: Spanish American Cinema
Academic Year: 2027/2028
Semester: Semester 1
Co-ordinator: Dr Guy Baron
Reading List: View on Aspire
Pre-Requisite: SP11740 or SP11940
Either SP11740 or SP11940.
Other Staff: Dr Jose Goni Perez

Assessment

Assessment Type	Assessment details	Proportion
Semester Assessment	Presentation: 15 Minutes	20%
Semester Assessment	Essay: 2000 Words	50%
Semester Assessment	Reflective Learning Diary: 2000 Words	30%
Supplementary Assessment	Presentation: 15 Minutes	20%
Supplementary Assessment	Essay: 2000 Words	50%
Supplementary Assessment	Reflective Learning Diary: 2000 Words	30%

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this module students should be able to:

participate in social debates concerning the study of Cinema in Spanish America
show understanding of the historical background of the region
demonstrate skills in comparative analysis and to show familiarity with cinematic and technical vocabulary
engage critically with a variety of scholarly material including monographs and specialised articles
present their findings in a logical, organised and scholarly fashion both orally - through debates and presentations - and in written form - through essays.

Brief description

The course studies Mexican, Cuban, Chilean and Argentinean cinema covering a period from 1952-2001. Thematically, it will cover aspects such as national identity, gender and sexuality and social critique in 6 films of this period.

Aims

This course aims to familiarise students with questions of Spanish American culture and its representation within film from the 1950s to 2001. It will give students a broad understanding of the most important aspects of Spanish American Cinema in its historical, socio-economic and political context. It will explore the themes of social criticism, gender and sexuality and national identity as seen through the medium of film. It will also give students a basic understanding of film analysis.

Content

Week 1 - Introduction to course and contents plus lecture on the fundamentals of 'reading' films.
Week 2 - Spanish American Cinema: introduction and context. Lecture.
Week 3 - Spanish American Cinema: introduction and context continued. Analysis of theoretical debate on cinema in Latin America.
Week 4 - Los olvidados (Luis Bu'rel, Mexico, 1952). The first session will take the form of a lecture on this film followed, in the second session, by a seminar discussing the film as a whole class or in small groups.
Week 5 - El chacal de Nauhueltoro (Miguel Littin, Chile, 1969).
Week 6 - Retrato de Teresa (Pastor Vega, 1979, Cuba). The first session will take the form of a lecture on this film followed, in the second session, by a seminar discussing the film as a whole class or in small groups.
Week 7 - Yo, la peor de todos (Maria Luisa Bemberg, Argentina, 1990). The first session will take the form of a lecture on this film followed, in the second session, by a seminar discussing the film as a whole class or in small groups.
Week 8 - Lista de espera (Juan Carlos Tabio, Cuba, 2000). The first session will take the form of a lecture on this film followed, in the second session, by a seminar discussing the film as a whole class or in small groups.
Week 9 - Y tu mama tambien (Alfonso Cuaron, Mexico, 2001). The first session will take the form of a lecture on this film followed, in the second session, by a seminar discussing the film as a whole class or in small groups.
Week 10 - Class presentations/Revision.

Module skills

Skills type	Skills details
Communication	Students will develop oral communication in seminars and student presentations; written communication will be developed in assessments in English.
Improving own Learning and Performance	Students will be able to assess their own progress week by week through their increased understanding of the issues raised and the skills developed.
Information Technology	Students will use on-line journals and source collections; delivery of course materials and information via e-learning system.
Personal Development and Career planning	Students will acquire transferable skills such as the ability to create and deliver presentations; in-depth acquaintance with cinema as an academic subject.
Problem solving	Students will select appropriate reading material; developing evaluative analysis and critical skills and formulating a detailed argument.
Research skills	Students will analyse cinematic representations in their political/historical contexts and synthesize information in an evaluative argument.
Subject Specific Skills	Students will acquire Modern Spanish vocabulary; slang expressions; a variety of Spanish language from different countries in the region.
Team work	Students will participate in debates and group presentations in seminars.

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 5