History of Spain through Cinema

Universidad Católica de Valencia

Course Description

  • Course Name

    History of Spain through Cinema

  • Host University

    Universidad Católica de Valencia

  • Location

    Valencia, Spain

  • Area of Study

    European Studies, History

  • Language Level

    Taught In English

    Hours & Credits

  • Credits

    3
  • Recommended U.S. Semester Credits
    0
  • Recommended U.S. Quarter Units
    0
  • Overview

    This course provides students with a general overview of Spanish history from the Middle Ages to the present through cinema. In order to understand contemporary Spanish society, the class focuses on important aspects of the country?s history and analyzes each through a selection of films and historical texts. The aim of this course is not only to teach students how to analyze a film, but also to demonstrate how cinema can be both enjoyable and didactic, as it provides students with an increasing knowledge of Spanish culture and history.
    Language of Instruction: Spanish or English based on demand

    Class description: Students are introduced to key historical events and cultural movements that have shaped Spanish national identity as they explore the notion that history culture and civilization are concepts under constant construction through the analysis of films.

    CONTENIDOS (CONTENTS)
    ____________________________________________________________________________
    Capítulo 1. La España Medieval, the Middle Ages -El Cid de Samuel Bronston 172 mins
    Capítulo 2. El Renacimiento, the Renaissance -1492 La conquista del paraíso de Ridley
    Scott, 1992, La Celestina de Gerardo Vera, 1996 92 mins
    Capítulo 3. El Imperio Español, the Spanish Empire - Alatriste de Elías Yanes, 2006 147 minutos,
    El Quijote de Miguel de cervantes de Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón, 1983, Teresa de Jesús, serie TVE
    Capítulo 4. El siglo XVIII, the 18th Century - La Misión de Roland Joffé, 1986 120 mins.
    Capítulo 5. El siglo XIX, Goya y la Invasión Napoleónica, the 19th Century, Goya and the
    Napoleonic Invasion - Los fantasmas de Goya, de Milos Forman, 2006 109 mins.
    Capítulo 6 El cambio de siglo, the Turn of the Century. - La Regenta
    Capítulo 7. Alfonso XIII y la Primera Guerra Mundial, Alfonso XIII and the Great War - La
    ciudad de los prodigios, de Mario Camus, 1999
    Capítulo 8. La Segunda república, the Second Republic - Belle Epoque, de Fernando Trueba, 1992,
    La lengua de las mariposas, de José Luis Cuerda, 1999 96 mins.
    Capítulo 9. La Guerra Civil, the Spanish Civil War - Dragon Rapide, de Jaime Camino, 1986 145
    mins., El laberinto del Fauno, de Guillermo del Toro, 2006 114 mins, Soldados de Salamina, de
    David Trueba, 2003 180 mins
    Capítulo 10. La posguerra. The 40s and the 50s - La Colmena, Mario Camus, 1982 108 mins
    Capítulo 11. España Contemporánea. Contemporary Spain - Tesis, de Alejandro Amenábar,180
    mins,, Abre los ojos, de Amenábar 180 mins, La noche de los girasoles, de Jorge Sánchez
    Cabezudo, 2006, 118 mins.

    REQUISITOS PREVIOS (PREREQUISITES)
    ____________________________________________________________________________
    -Some knowledge of Western History is desirable.

    METODOLOGÍA (METHODOLOGY)
    ____________________________________________________________________________
    The class will be organized on a seminar style basis. That is, the professor will count on students having read the assigned material beforehand (articles, handouts, news, etc.) and, therefore, coming to class prepared to debate. Students will read the historical or critical overviews in advance on a permanent basis. In-depth comments, frequent participation, oral presentations and research papers will be the basis of the students work for this course. Active participation and attendance are essential and will play an active role in the final grade.

    MATERIALES
    ____________________________________________________________________________
    1. Reader´s Package: Class Materials prepared by the Professor
    2. Bibliography Used for this course
    Bajo Álvarez, Fe y Julio Gil Pecharromán. Historia de España, Madrid: SGEL, 1998.
    ISBN: 978-84-7143-704-4
    Heath, Stephen. Questions of Cinema. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1981.
    Jordan, Barry, Rikki Morgan-Tamosunas. Contemporary Spanish Cinema. Manchester: Manchester
    University Press, 2001
    Juan Payán, Miguel. La Historia de España a través del cine. Madrid: Capitel, 2007
    Monterde, José Enrique, Marta Selva Masoliver y Anna Sola Arguimbau. La representación
    cinematográfica de la historia. Madrid: Akal, 2001
    Monterde, José Enrique. Cine, historia y enseñanza. Col. ?Cuadernos de Pedagogía?. Barcelona: Laia,
    1986
    Monterde, José Enrique. ?Cine documental e Historia: la experiencia de la escuela británica.?
    Romaguera, J., E. Rimbau (eds.) La Historia y el cine. Barcelona: Fontamara, 1983: 212-
    3. Movies: *La Edad Media. El Cid de Samuel Bronston, * El Renacimiento. 1492 La conquista
    del paraíso de Ridley Scott, 1992, Aguirre, la cólera de Dios de Werner Herzog, 1972, El Dorado de
    Carlos Saura, 1988, Juana la Loca de Vicente Aranda, 2001, La Celestina de Gerardo vera, 1996, El
    Lazarillo de Tormes, * La Edad de oro Alatriste de Elías Yanes, 2006 147 minutos, El Quijote de
    Miguel de Cervantes de Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón, 1983, Yo la peor de todas, de María Luisa
    Bemberg, 1990, El greco, El rey pasmado, de Imanol Uribe, 1991, * El siglo XVIII La
    Misión de Roland Joffé, 1986, Don Juan en los infiernos, de Gonzalo Suárez, 1991, Esquilache, de
    Josefina Molina, 1989, El perro del hortelano, de Pilar Miró, 1996, * El siglo XIX. Los fantasmas
    de Goya, de Milos Forman, 2006, Goya en Burdeos, de Carlos Saura, 1999, Días de Mayo, Vacas, de
    Julio Medem, 1992, Carmen, de Vicente Aranda, 2003, * El desastre del 98. Los últimos de Filipinas, de
    Antonio Román, 1945, * El cambio de siglo. El abuelo, de José Luis Garci, 1998, El maestro de esgrima, de
    Pedro Olea, 1992, Luces de Bohemia, de Miguel Ángel Díez, La Regenta, *. Alfonso XIII y la Primera Guerra
    Mundial. La verdad sobre el caso Savolta, de Antonio Drove, 1979, La ciudad de los prodigios, de Mario
    Camus, 1999, *. La Segunda República. Belle Epoque, de Fernando Trueba, 1992, La lengua de las
    mariposas, de José Luis Cuerda, 1999, Pascual Duarte, de Ricardo Franco, 1975, *. La Guerra Civil. Dragon
    Rapide, de Jaime Camino, 1986 145 mins., Raza, de José Luis Sáenz de Heredia, 1942, Lorca, muerte de un
    poeta, de Juan Antonio Bardem, 1987, Muerte en Granada, de Marcos Zuriñaga, 1997, ¿Por quién doblan las
    campanas? De Sam Wood, 1943, Tierra y Libertad, de Ken Loach, 1995, El laberinto del Fauno, de Guillermo
    del Toro, 2006 114 mins, Soldados de Salamina, de David Trueba, 2003 180 mins. * El plan Marshall.
    Bienvenido Mr. Marshall, de Luis García Berlanga, 1952, * La posguerra. La Colmena, Mario Camus, 1982, El
    espíritu de la Colmena, de Víctor Erice, 1973, Tiempo de Silencio, de Vicente Aranda, 1986, El lápiz del
    carpintero, de Antón Reixa, 2002, * La transición Asignatura Pendiente, de José Luis Garci, 1976, *. La
    movida madrileña. Historias del Kronen, *. El mundo contemporáneo El Lobo, de Miguel Courtoix, 2004,
    Días contados, de Imanol Uribe, 1993, Yoyes, de Héctor Taberna, 2000, Todos estamos invitados, de Manuel
    Gutiérrez Aragón, 2007, Martin (Hache) de Adolfo Aristarain, 1997, Ilegal, de Ignacio Vilar, 2001, Poniente, de
    Chus Gutiérrez, 2002, Ilusiones rotas 11-M, de Alex Quiroga, 2005, Sobrevivir a Picasso, de James Ivory,
    1996, Tesis, de Alejandro Amenábar,180 mins, Abre los ojos, de Amenábar, La noche de los girasoles, de
    Jorge Sánchez Cabezudo, 2006, 118 mins.
    You may find those movies on https://archive.org/

    ASISTENCIA (ATTENDANCE).
    ____________________________________________________________________________
    Sólo se permiten 2 ausencias. Después de la 2ª ausencia se restará medio punto de la nota final por cada una adicional (-0,5). Sólo se considerará como algo excepcional una ausencia en caso de
    hospitalización y/ o emergencia que requiera viaje urgente a EEUU.
    This class is intensive; therefore it is necessary to keep up with the material, complete the exercises (there will be quite a bit of homework each night) and attend class daily. You are allowed up two absences, use them wisely. Any absence beyond that will lower your final grade in 0,5 points (out of a grand todal of 10 points) for each absence beyond the second one (exceptions will only be granted in case of hospitalization or when the student is required to go back to the States). So, please, use them wisely. Do not assume you will never get sick or will never miss your flight back.

    PUNTUALIDAD. (PUNCTUALITY)
    ____________________________________________________________________________
    El alumno deberá llegar puntual a clase. En caso de que un alumno llegué sistemáticamente tarde a clase, éste verá su nota afectada. A partir de 15 minutos de retraso se considera Retraso. Cuando se tengan 2 Retrasos, se considerará como 1 Ausencia: (2 retrasos = 1 ausencia). Si el alumno se va de clase 15 minutos antes del final, se considera 1 Retraso. Si el alumno se va antes de 15 minutos del final, se considera 1 Ausencia.

    ENTREGA DE TRABAJOS (TURNING IN PAPERS & COMPOSITIONS).
    ____________________________________________________________________________
    Según las normas UCV-US PROGRAM, no entregar el trabajo en la fecha y hora indicadas supone un
    punto (sobre 10) de penalización por día. Entregarlo después de las 5 pm del día indicado, 1 punto, después de las 5 pm del día siguiente, 2 puntos, y entregarlo después de las 5 pm del siguiente día (72 horas después de lo establecido) = nota 0, aunque se le corrija el ensayo al estudiante.
    * Es responsabilidad únicamente del estudiante el asegurarse que el profesor ha recibido y puede abrir su documento adjunto (attachment) en formato Word.doc. Si por cualquier motivo el profesor no puede abrir el documento o no lo recibe, es responsabilidad del estudiante el asegurarse, NO del profesor. De otra manera la nota será 0, cero.
    *Plagio (plagiarism): el plagio esta prohibido y censurado. Cualquier trabajo plagiado recibirá nota de 0, cero. Direct translation from an English article to Spanish is considered a breach of academic integrity as is copying an article in Spanish or specifically memorizing an article in Spanish that you have not written. In addition, do not have another person who is more advanced in Spanish than you extensively review/re-write your oral and/or written work. This often results in work that is not your own. Copy and paste, except on ?quotations? regulated by MLA procedures, from any kind of digital work is also considered plagiarism. Any form of academic dishonesty may result in your failing the course.
    CONVERSIÓN DE LAS NOTAS ESPAÑOLAS A LAS AMERICANAS

    (SPANISH-AMERICAN GRADES EQUIVALENCIES:
    ____________________________________________________________________________
    La equivalencia de notas se llevará a cabo teniendo en cuenta la siguiente tabla:
    A+= 10-9.90
    A (Matrícula de honor)9,90 ? 9.0 A- (Sobresaliente) 8.99 ? 8.75 B+ (Notable alto) 8.74 ? 8.25
    B (Notable bajo) 8.24 ? 7.5 B- (Bien alto) 7.49 ? 7.0 C+ (Bien bajo) 6.99 ? 6.0
    C (Suficiente alto) 5.99 ? 5.0 D (Deficiente) 4.99 ? 4.0 F (Muy deficiente) 3.99 - 0

    CRITERIOS DE EVALUACIÓN (EVALUATION CRITERIA)
    ____________________________________________________________________________
    Analysis of Filming Techniques Forms: 5 of the movies 2% each 10%
    **2 Academic Presentations on How Filming Techniques affect the Historical Aspects shown in one
    of the movies on the list, one different movie for each presentation. 15-20 mins 20% each 40%
    **2 Research Papers analyzing how the filming techniques affect the point of view of one movie on the list and how is the historical event portrayed 2500 words in the body of the paper + works cited Times New Roman 12, 1,5 25% each 50% Please read the following links about how to prepare your research paper and to follow MLA Style
    How to prepare a research paper https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/589/01/
    How to follow the MLA format http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/06/
    **No grade above B will be granted without the use of a minimum of 5 academic resources.
    Interviews, Wilkipedia and the like are not considered ?academic?. The student should use resources from
    sites such as JStor, NYConnect, OCLC First Search, ArticlesFirst, EBSCO, etc.
    **Crédito extra: El alumno puede obtener crédito extra haciendo un trabajo académico de un mínimo de 1160 palabras + bibliografía, siguiendo los parámetros mencionados anteriormente, y previa autorización del tema por parte del profesor. La nota obtenida podrá sustituir a la nota de la presentación académica si la del trabajo es superior a aquella.

    Recommended Bibliography
    ____________________________________________________________________________
    Barthes, Roland. Mitologías. Trans. Héctor Schmucler. México: Siglo XXI Editores, 1980
    ---. ?Le Discours de l´histoire.? Social Science Information 6: 4 (1967): 65-75.
    Baudrillard, Jean. ?On Seduction.? en Selected Writings. Ed Mark Poster, Standford: Standford UP,
    1988.
    ---. In the Shadow of the Silent Majorities?Or the End of the Social and Other Essays. Trans. Paul
    Foss et alt. New York: Foreign Agents Series, 1983.
    Benjamin, Walter. ?Theses on the Philosophy of History.? en Illuminations. Ed. and
    intro. Hannah Arendt. Trans. Harry Zphn. London: Fontana, 1973.
    Bhabha, Homi K. Nation and Narration. London & New York: Routledge, 1990.
    ---. ?The Other Question: Difference, Discrimination and the Discourse of Colonialism.? En
    Literature, Politics and Theory. Eds. Francis Barker, Peter Hulme, Margaret Iversen &
    Diane Loxley. London: Methuen, 1986. 148-172.
    Carr, Raymond. Spain. A History. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2000.
    Certeau, Michel de. The Writing of History. Trans. Tom Conley. New York: Columbia UP, 1988.
    Clark, Robert P. & Michael H. Haltzl eds. Spain in the 1980s. The Democratic Transition and a New
    International Role. Cambridge: Ballinger, 1987
    Commager, Henry Steele. The Search for a Usable Past and Other Essays. New York: Knopf, 1967.
    Fanon, Frantz. The Wretched of the Earth. Trans. Constance Farrington. Harmondsworth: Penguin,
    1967.
    Fishkin, Shelley Fisher and Elaine Hedges, eds. Listening to Silences: New Essays in Feminist
    Criticism. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1994.
    Foucault, Michel. The Archeology of Knowledge. Trans. A.M. Sheridan Smith. London: Travistock,
    1972.
    ---. Discipline and Punish. The birth of the Prison. Trans. Alan Sheridan. London: Allen
    Lane, 1979.
    ---. The Order of Things. An Archeology of the Human Sciences. Trans. Anonymous. London:
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    ---. Power-Knowledge. Selected Interview and Other Writings. 1972-1977. Trans. Colin
    Gordon, Leo Marshall, John Mepham and Hate Soper. New York:Panteón Books, 1980.
    Funkestein, Amos. ?Collective Memory and Historical Consciousness.? History and Memory 1
    (1989): 6
    García Canclini, Néstor. Consumers and Citizens. Globalization and Multicultural Conflicts.
    Minneapolis: Univ. Of Minnesota Press, 2001.
    García Escudero, José María. Historia Política de las dos Españas. 3 vols. Madrid: Editorial
    Nacional, 1975.
    Gedi, Noa y Yigal Egam. ?Collective Memory- What is it?? History and Memory 8 (1996): 30-50.
    Gies, David T. The Cambridge Companion to Modern Spanish Culture. Cambridge: Cambridge UP,
    1999.
    Gilmour, David. The Transformation of Spain. From Franco to the Constitutional Monarchy.
    London: Quartet Books, 1985.
    Graham, Helen and Jo Labany, eds. Spanish Cultural Studies. An Introduction: The Struggle for
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    Halbwacha, Maurice. The Collective Memory. New York: Harper, 1980
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    Hassan, Ihab. ?Pluralism in Postmodern Perspective.? en Exploring Postmodernism. Eds. Matei
    Calinescu and Douwe Fokkema. Ámsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 1987.
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    Heller, Agnes. A Theory of History. London: n.p. 1982.
    Herzberger, David K. Narrating the Past. Fiction and Historiography in Postwar Spain.
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    Hutcheon, Linda. The Politics of Posmodernism: History, Theory, Fiction-Theorizing the
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    Jover Zamora, José María. España en la Política Internacional. Siglos XVII-XX. Madrid: Marcial
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    Klein, Julie Thompson. Interdisciplinarity. History, Theory & Practice. Detroit: Wayne State UP,
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    Labanyi, Jo. ?Narrative in Culture, 1975-1996.? en The Cambridge Companion to Modern Spanish
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    Helen Graham, and Jo Labanyi. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1995. 396-418.
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