Advanced Studies in Latin American History and Culture with Bachelor's Thesis

Undergraduate course

Course description

Objectives and Content

SPLA259 is an advanced course in Latin American cultural studies. The aim of the course is to provide a deeper knowledge of a spesific topic. The course topic can vary from semester to semester but will always be within the field of Latin American cultural studies. The topic may in one semester feature specialisation in for example a historical period, a spesific country or a spesific theme.

Learning Outcomes

Knowledge:

The candidate

  • has knowledge about a topic in Latin American historical and cultural studies
  • has an understanding of how the course topic shapes the Latin American reality
  • can explain how the course topic fits in with general characteristics in Latin American historical and cultural studies

Skills:

The candidate

  • has developed the ability to use relevant analytical tools to interpret different issues in Latin American historical and cultural studies
  • has developed their language competence, especially with regard to interpreting different Spanish language texts from Latin American historical and cultural studies

General Competence:

The candidate

  • has the ability to continue with a Master¿s program in Spanish language and Latin American studies (after also having completed other required or elective courses)

Full-time/Part-time

Not relevant

ECTS Credits

10

Level of Study

Bachelor

Semester of Instruction

Spring

Place of Instruction

Bergen
Required Previous Knowledge
No formal requirements, but all teaching is in Spanish and is based on knowledge of Spanish corresponding to the courses at the 100-level in Spanish language and Latin American studies.
Recommended Previous Knowledge
SPLA259 is based on knowledge of Spanish corresponding to the courses at the 100-level in Spanish language and Latin American studies. The teaching builds on SPLA109 and SPLA119.
Credit Reduction due to Course Overlap
SPLA209 (10 credits), SPLA203/253 (10 credits) and SLAN642 (10 stp)
Teaching and learning methods
The course includes both lectures and seminars. Classes are shared with SPLA209. Normally there will be four hours of teaching a week for eight weeks. The teaching may also be organized in larger blocks.

If fewer than five students register for a course, instruction will be tailored to the number of students. If this is the case, students will be informed of alternate instruction arrangements at the beginning of the semester prior to the registration deadline of Feb 1/Sept 1.
Compulsory Assignments and Attendance

Students must attend at least 70% of the classes in order to be allowed to take the final course assessment.

The supervised Bachelor's thesis described under "Forms of Assessment" must be turned in for supervision during the semester within set deadlines. The deadlines are final, and the students are responsible for keeping themselves informed of these deadlines. There will be two tutoring sessions by agreement between the course instructor and student. It is mandatory for students to attend tutoring sessions at the agreed times. Supervision via email or phone is not normally given.

The mandatory course assignments are valid for one semester after the semester the course was taken.

Forms of Assessment

In the course, the following forms of assessment will be used:

Course assessment includes a supervised Bachelor's thesis and an oral exam. The length of the Bachelor's thesis should be about 3500 words plus bibliography, written in Spanish. The oral exam is a conversation in Spanish about the course required readings, where the Bachelor's thesis may also be brought up.

The Bachelor's thesis is worth 60% of the final grade and the oral exam is worth 40%. Failing one of these parts means that the final course grade in SPLA259 will be an F. Both parts of the exam must be passed the same semester.

When retaking the exam in a semester without instruction, the student must submit the revised thesis without further supervision.

The Bachelor's thesis and oral exam fulfill the requirements for independent work that is a necessary part of a Bachelor's degree. A maximum of one course with the SPLA250 course code can be taken during the same semester.

Grading Scale
Det vert nytta gradert karakterskala frå A til F, der F er stryk.
Assessment Semester
Spring. There will also be given an assessment early in the fall semester for students with valid compulsory course assignments.
Reading List

The required course reading (in total 550 pages) includes a selection of historical source texts and scholarly articles/essays, and more general overview texts related to these.

As a rule, students are to adhere to the course reading list given the semester the course is taken. However, one may, in special cases, get permission to replace the reading list with that of an earlier semester. This requires an application at the beginning of the semester. Contact the Department of Foreign Languages.

Course Evaluation
The teaching is evaluated according to the quality assurance system of the University of Bergen.
Programme Committee
The program committee is responsible for the academic content and the structure of the program, as well as for the quality of the study program and related courses.
Course Administrator
The Department of Foreign Languages at the Humanities Faculty is responsible for the administration of this course and study program.