Introduction to Spanish Cultural Studies

OBJECTIVES
The main goal of this course is to give students a core familiarity with Spanish history and culture. They are expected to come away from the class with a pronounced sense of the tensions and turning points that have shaped the Spanish past and help to understand its present.
Classes will combine lectures with in-class discussions of readings from course-pack materials and the students’ oral presentations. Classes will be supplemented by audio-visual material associated with the readings. Extra-curricular activities include field trips to diverse local monuments, as well as film showings.

SYLLABUS CONTENT: THEMES.
1. General Introduction to Spanish Culture and how to cope with cultural shocks (and with this course).
2. Cultural Life and Education in Seville (in case there be any).
3. Heartburn in Spain: symptoms, causes, and treatment
4. The Press (or what’s going on in Spain right now?).
5. How Spanish Television Mesmerized the Country (holiday).
6. A Visit to the Park of María Luisa.
7. Serious stuff: Spanish History from the Beginnings to the Golden Age.
8. Spain’s recent history at a glance (in Youtube).

 MIDTERM
9. Everything you always wanted to know about Seville’s History.
10. A walk along the river bank.
11. And you say this is politics?.
12.More serious stuff: the big names of Classical Spanish Culture.
Semana Santa
13. Top Ten Names in Spanish Modern Culture
14. Do Spaniards really enjoy life? popular festivities and traditions
15. Popular Music: from Flamenco Fusion to Rap
16. What music do Spaniards listen to? Classical and non-flamenco popular music
Feria de Abril
17. The Story of Bullfighting in the Age of Cultural Rights
18. Spanish early movies (classical movies you’d rather forget)
Día del Trabajo
19. Oral presentations
20. Oral presentations
21. FINAL EXAM

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Recommended basic readings:

• Casey, James. Early Modern Spain: A Social History. Ebrary.
• Hooper, John. The Spaniards: A Portrait of the New Spain. Los nuevos españoles (Library)
• Rodgers, Eamonn, ed. Encyclopedia of Contemporary Spanish Culture. Ebrary.
• Sánchez Mantero, Rafael. A Short History of Seville. Silex Ediciones, 1991. Bookshops/ Historia Breve de Sevilla (Ebrary)
• Shubert, Adrian. A Social History of Modern Spain. Ebrary.

GRADING SYSTEM:

• Class Participation and Assignments: 60% (attendance: 20%; oral presentations:20%; and quizzes: 20%) 
• Exams: 40% (20% each)