Spanish Civilization and Culture

COURSE OBJECTIVE:

Acquisition of general knowledge of the Spanish History and Art (architecture) from the pre- historic period till 20th Century and the outcomes in the Spanish way of life.

EVALUATION:

The final grade consists of three parts: class participation, homework and exams. Attendance is COMPULSARY. Any absence will affect negatively students? final grade. Students need to do their homework and review the contents at home in order to enable active class participation.

? 30% attendance and active participation in class.
It will be evaluated not only the knowledge but also the active participation inside and outside the class. The methodology used in class demands from the student a daily participation in the following aspects:
.- To answer the questions done in class.
- To establish debates about the topics in class.
.- To relate the actual politics with past history.
.- To analyse the class slides.

? 30% daily work.
Students must do the following tasks out of the class.
.- To study the vocabulary.
.- To read the texts or copies related to the course.

? 40% exams: written exams.

? The final grade will be the average among the daily work, participation and the exams.

GENERAL RULES FOR PAPERS PRESENTATIONS

All papers will be handed in following these rules:
? Papers can be printed or sent to the professor by e-mail to ralves@nebrija.es
No handwritten papers will be admitted.
? Papers MUST BE HANDED IN ON TIME. No unjustified delayed paper will be corrected or evaluated.
? All papers must include: name and surname of the student, title of the paper and date.
? Format:
o Word Document.
o Times New Roman 12.
o 1.5 interline spacing.
o Text fully justified.

IMPORTANT!

*A warning on plagiarism*. When writing a research paper or an essay exam you must identify your intellectual indebtedness to the authors you have read. This can be done through footnotes, bibliography, or by making a direct reference to the scholar or author in question. Failure to do so will be considered plagiarism. Plagiarism is the most serious academic offence you can incur in and could have serious consequences for you.

SPANISH CIVILIZATION AND CULTURE

1. GEOGRAPHY AND ITS RELATION TO THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF SPAIN.

2. THE EARLY SETTLERS

a. Spanish pre-history:
- Palaeolithic.
- Neolithic.
- Task: Charles Darwin?s Theory of evolution.

b. Pre- Roman cultures:
- The Indo-Europeans: the origins of our language.
- The Celtic.
- The Phoenician.
- The Greek.
- The Carthaginian.
- The Iberian.
- Task: Comparing different cultures. Formal presentation in class.

3. ROMAN SPAIN

a. The Roman Conquest: stages.
b. Romanization of the conquest territory.
- Political organization.
- Social organization.
- Art and culture.
- Task: Most relevant roman remains in Spain. Formal presentation in class.

4. GOTHS

a. Political organization.
b. The kingdom organization.
c. Task: Visigoths quiz. (Computers Lab).

5. PRE-ROMANESQUE STYLES
a. Visigothic.
b. Mozarabic.
c. Asturian.

6. THE MUSLIM CONQUEST

a. Main transformation in Al-Andalus.
b. Political Institutions.
c. Religion.
d. Art.
e. Task: The Alhambra.

7. CHRISTIAN SPAIN: THE RECONQUEST.

a. The Reconquest.
b. Social changes.
c. Art and culture:
- Romanesque art.
- Gothic art.
d. Task: Key differences between Romanesque and Gothic Art.

8. A BRAND NEW NATION: SPAIN (THE SPANISH EMPIRE)

a. Ferdinand and Isabella: The Catholic Monarchs.
b. Economy and society.
c. The discovery of America.
d. Absolute Monarchy:
- Charles I.
- Philip II.
e. Monarchy in the seventeenth century (?Validaje?).
- Philip III.
- Philip IV.
- Charles II.

9. CRISIS AND DECLINE

a. The Habsburgs: sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
b. Renaissance Art and Architecture.
c. Baroque Art and architecture.
d. Task:
- True or false statements.
- Getting the main idea.

10. FROM THE 1898 CRISIS TO GENERAL FRANCO?S DICTATORSHIP. XIX CENTURY: CHANGES

a. The disaster of 1898 and the crisis of the Parliamentary Monarchy.
b. From the republic to the civil war and General Franco?s dictatorship.
c. 98 Generation: new ideas.
d. The loss of colonies.
e. A new society: The new middle class.
f. Task: True or False Statements.

10a THE CIVIL WAR

g. The second republic.
h. Pre-War atmosphere.
i. The war.
j. Task: Guernica.

10b.THE FRANCO PERIOD

k. Isolation and self-government
l. Society

11. TRANSITION TO DEMOCRACY

a. The years after Franco.
b. Parliamentary monarchy.
c. Political reform.
d. The 80s.

12. ART AND CULTURE IN SPAIN TODAY.

a. Political situation.
b. Society.
c. Art and culture.