Spanish Civilization and Culture

I. OBJECTIVES
This course has two main goals: (i) to increase the students? knowledge and appreciation of
Spanish culture and its people and (ii) to build and strengthen their intercultural awareness as
result. Focusing mostly on the 20th century, we will explore Spain's diverse heritage through the
different factors which constitute its present identity: history, art, economy, social organization,
education, dance, music, and folklore. We will also read about and discuss linguistic and
cultural variety, regionalism, nationalism, ethnicity and politics.

II. COURSE MATERIALS
Students will be required to purchase and read John Hooper?s The New Spaniards, which will
be available at the campus bookstore, located in the Celestino Mutis building. In addition,
students will also be asked to acquire a course pack with a few extra reading assignments. The
course pack will be available at the copy center, located in the Celestino Mutis building as well.

III. COURSE CONTENTS
The course will be thematically structured into these 10 units:
Unit 1: Envisioning Spain: Past and Present
Unit 2: Spain Today I: Society
Unit 3: Spain Today II: Politics
Unit 4: Spain Today III: Art and Culture (Includes Movie Projection)
Unit 5: Education in Spain
Unit 6: Faith and Religion
Unit 7: Social Life and Leisure
Unit 8: Spanish Regional Diversity: (Oral Presentations)
Unit 9: A Changing Society
Unit 10: Conclusions: Contrasting Spain, the U.S. and other Countries and Cultures

IV. METHODOLOGY: CLASS FORMAT
Students will come prepared to class, reading the daily assignment from the course pack. In
class, we will use audiovisual materials (slides, films, music) to supplement the information
presented in the readings. Every session will be structured around class discussion, focusing on
the readings assigned and the audiovisual material presented. Students? progress will be checked
by their class participation, 5 in-class quizzes, 5 short essays, oral presentations and a
cumulative final exam.

V. GRADING
The final grade is broken down as follows:

Class Participation 15%
Oral Presentations 15%
5 In-class Quizzes (1 every 2 units) 20%
5 Short Essays (1 every 2 units) 25%
Cumulative Final Exam 25%

A) Class Participation: The whole course is structured around class discussion based on
readings, teacher instruction and debates. Previous reflection on assigned readings is crucial for
success in this course since students will be asked in class about specific and general aspects of
the material read. In fact, lively discussions will be encouraged at all times. Class participation
will therefore be graded in accordance to both the students? previous readings and reflection
about the assigned texts, manifested in the relevance of their contributions to discussion.

B) Oral Presentations: For Unit 8, students will be expected to deliver interactive group
presentations based on a selected Spanish region (its cultural traditions, ?fiestas?, etc.). Each
group will be formed by a maximum of 5 members, each of whom will have to present an
aspect of the topic selected for about 10 minutes. Previously, the groups will be required to hand
in a neat outline of the overall presentation to the instructor and their classmates. The overall
grade will be based on each student?s presentation along with the overall quality of the group
performance.

C) In-class Quizzes: These are aimed at evaluating the students? knowledge of the different
topics covered with a focus on detail. They will be asked to complete 5 in-class quizzes in
blocks of two units. These quizzes, designed to be completed in 10 minutes, will hinge around
the information from the readings and the material presented and discussed in class. They may
include, but not be limited to, true/false questions, definitions, multiple choice activities, short
questions, etc. Missing class without medical excuse will not be considered a reason for
rescheduling a quiz.

D) Short Essays: These are conceived to check the students? ability to put acquired knowledge
in context and establish comparative reflections across the topics covered. The students will
have to conduct some research and write 5 1,000-word essays whose topics they will have to
choose from a list that the professor will provide every two units. Essays will be typed and
printed (Times New Roman pt.12, 1 & ½ spaces). Their grade will depend on parameters such
as thematic pertinence and coherence, appropriateness of language use, quality of the crosscultural
reflections included and reliability of the sources explored. Handwritten and emailed
essays will not be accepted. Late turn-ins will lower the essay grade by ½ a point per day.

E) Cumulative Final Exam: This test will measure the students? ability to critically react to the
material covered in class, with a focus on establishing thematic links among topics. They will be
asked to write a 4-page long essay on one of the 5 different topics which the professor will
previously select. The exam?s date will be announced in class soon.

VI: BIBLIOGRAPHY AND OTHER RESOUCES: Throughout the course, we will use
of all the bibliography and resources listed below as our main reference framework.

Book Sources

Brenan, Gerald. The Spanish Labyrinth. (new edition of 2nd revised edition). CUP, 1990

Fernández Santiago, Miriam. Spanish Civilization and Culture. Seville, 2006

Gies, David (ed.) The Cambridge Companion to Modern Spanish Culture. CUP, 1999.

Hooper, John. The New Spaniards. (2nd edition). Penguin Book, 2006

Kamen, Henry. Imagining Spain: Historical Myth and National Identity. YUP, 2008

Payne, Stanley. España: Una Historia Única. Temas de Hoy, 2008

Richardson, Bill. Spanish Studies: An Introduction. London: Arnold, 2001

DVD Collections

Arteseros, Alfonso. España en la Memoria: Intereconomía TV, 2009

García de Cortázar, Fernando (coord.) Memoria de España: RTVE, 2004

Prego, Victoria. Historia Audiovisual de la Transición: Tiempo, 2003

Internet Sites

www.cervantes.es
Instituto Cervantes Web Page

www.mcu.es
Spain?s Department of Culture Web Page