Latin American Literature and culture I (online)

ECTS Credits

10

Level of Study

Bachelor

Full-time/Part-time

Not relevant

Teaching semester

Spring

Place of Instruction

Online

Objectives and Content

The course gives insight into central topics in modern Spanish American literature and culture with an emphasis on tendencies in contemporary literature.

The students will work with a representative selection of texts, and films representing different genres and periods, and develop an analytical understanding of the character of the texts and images. The course will give insight into central issues and questions within Spanish and Latin-American literature and culture, and students will develop the ability to analyze subject material and draw their own conclusions.

Learning Outcomes

Knowledge:

The candidate

• has knowledge about representative texts, and films representing different genres, and currents in modern Spanish American literature and culture
• has developed basic text analysis skills

Skills:

The candidate

• can read and interpret modern literary works in Spanish
• can express him/herself in written and spoken Spanish, both about literary and cultural topics, as well as more generally

General Competence:

The candidate

• can analyze subject material and draw their own conclusions
• can further develop their knowledge, skills, and understanding through further study and in their professional life

Required Previous Knowledge

There are no formal requirements, but all teaching will be held in Spanish and requires a good command of the Spanish language.

Recommended Previous Knowledge

An introductory course in Spanish or Spanish Level 2 taken in upper secondary school (VGS).

Credit Reduction due to Course Overlap

SPLA102 (10 credits), SLAN614 (10 credits) and SPLA108 (10 credits)

Access to the Course

The course is open to students with admission to UiB Videre.

Teaching and learning methods

Instruction is given over a period of 8 to 10 weeks, with one digital lecture and normally two digital seminars a week, depending on available resources. Student active learning methods are employed, and the students are thus expected to prepare for classes through a variety of learning materials as well as engaging in class and after-class work. Students might also be asked to prepare and give presentations in class.

Compulsory Assignments and Attendance

There are three mandatory assignments: two written ones and an oral text commentary. These assignments must be completed by the deadlines, and are assessed as approved/not approved.

According to the University of Bergen's degree- and academic regulations, the students are given one new attempt per assignment if one or more of them were not approved the first time. Both assignments must be approved before the students can be assessed in the course.

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

Forms of Assessment

Assessment for the course is based on an oral exam. For the oral exam, the student will hold a 10-12 minute presentation of a topic given by the course instructor one week before the exam. After the presentation, the student will be examined on one other course topic. The grade will be based on the presentation and the conversation afterwards. The exam will be in Spanish.

The oral exam will be held digitally.

Examination Support Material

Not relevant

Grading Scale

The grading scale A-F is used, where F is a failing grade.

Assessment Semester

Spring. There will also be given an assessment early in the fall semester for students with valid mandatory course work.

Reading List

The course reading (in total 400 pages) includes a selection of literary texts (novels, drama, short stories, and poetry) mainly from Spanish American contemporary literature. In addition, there will be historical reference works or a historical overview from an anthology relating to the literary texts. There will be an attempt to represent female and male authors equally.

Course Evaluation

The teaching will be 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