Spain in Progress, Spanish Society Today

Spain in Progress, Spanish Society Today
6 ECTS

Note: Students may NOT be enrolled in any advanced-level Spanish courses.

Competences and skills that will be acquired and learning results:
This course focuses on the recent history of Spain, but it does so not only from the perspective of the study of the past, as it aims to go further: through the topics to be discussed, the scope is to reach an understanding of Spanish culture and reality. This way, it constitutes not only an academic subject, but also presents a more flexible and dynamic vision. It offers the required knowledge and skills for students to get a profound, but also critical and analytical understanding of the country in which they are going to live for several months. This comprehension will qualify students to explain the complex implementation of civil, political and social rights in Spanish society, to reflect on the normality and specificities of the history of Spain in the western world context and to acquire a deep and complex vision of the current problems of the Spanish and, therefore, global society.

Trough the study of current events in today¿s Spain, the course will grant a vast comprehension of the Spanish society at the present time. However, one major focus will be the study of contemporary Spanish History of the last century. In the context of a complex and rapidly changing world, the History of the twentieth century faces remarkable opportunities. It is an important factor of social cohesion, as it is one of the first forms of social consciousness and regional and group identity. Thus, a large part of the contents of the course will be linked to the Spanish national culture and vision of the past.
The course will start with the study of the nineteen thirties, analyzing the modernizing project of the Second Republic, frustrated by the civil war and the subsequent Franco dictatorship. These decades, up to the present day ¿and the special emphasis given to the study of the transitionship to democracy- will be the basis to go deeply into issues that are today under discussion in Spanish society, such as the different political, but also cultural trends, and the problems that have shaped the current Spanish society: the question of nationalism, the situation women, the organization of the state, the education system, etc¿
We will turn to the cinema, the media -the written press but also to audiovisual journalism- to investigate about the historic fundamentals of contemporary Spain. Likewise, the students will be presented with texts to analyze, political propaganda, pictures, documentaries and films that will help them assimilate a complete and detailed knowledge of the problems that will arise during the course.

Assessment Criteria
The student work will consist on three tasks:
1) Activities within the class ¿readings, class discussion and short exercises- (25%).
2) An oral presentation about a topic related to the subject (25%).
3) A final paper that will require working outside the class, the use of the library resources and the search of references (50%). For this final dissertation, the students can count on individual or group tutorials.

Class attendance is mandatory. Unjustified absence in more than three instances will result in failure of the course.

Learning activities and methodology:

Active participation will be required, as it will provide students with analytical, critical and communication skills. Class attendance is mandatory.
The course will be based on lectures and class work.
The lectures will consist on a topic presentation, which will give the basic background to be able to fulfill the class work. In the practical part of the class, the students will have to read and work with texts and audio-visual material related to the time and circumstances that are been studied.
The office hours will be stablished weekly, and students will be able to discuss in them any matters related to their work within the class or their papers. They will be able to do so in individual meetings or in small groups.