Spanish Culture Up Close (in English)--Fall Semester Only

This course offers a panoramic overview of the socio-cultural make-up of Spain nowadays. Given the volunteer experience students will have to take part in as an essential part of the program (15 hours), special relevance will be given to: (i) the management of time, space and interpersonal relations in Spain, within the framework of intercultural communication studies; and (ii) the in-depth analysis of the idiosyncrasy of the different social environments they will be doing their volunteering in.

 

II. COURSE MATERIALS Students will be required to purchase a course pack with all the compulsory reading assignments. It will be available at the copy center, located in the Celestino Mutis building. Supplementary material will be provided in class.

 

III. COURSE CONTENTS The course will be thematically structured into these 10 units: Unit 1: Understanding Spain Unit 2: Interpersonal Communication in Spain Unit 3: The Spanish Welfare State Unit 4: Immigration in Spain Unit 5: Spain?s Educational and Cultural Programs Unit 6: Spain?s Environmental Issues and Policies Unit 7: Volunteering in Spain Unit 8: Volunteer Reports (I-II) Unit 9: Volunteer Reports (III-IV) Unit 10: Volunteer Reports (V)

 

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, the audiovisual material displayed and the volunteer reports presented. Students? progress will be checked by their class participation, a mid-term exam, the volunteer report (in-class presentation + essay) and a cumulative final exam.

 

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

 

Class Participation 15%

 

Mid-Term Exam 20%

 

Volunteer Reports (in-class presentation + paper) 40%

 

Cumulative Final Exam 25%

 

A) Class Participation: The whole course is structured around class discussion, based on readings, teacher instruction and the debates originated from the volunteer report presentations. 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, as well as the relevance of their contributions during the volunteer report presentations.

 

B) Mid-Term Exam: This test is aimed at evaluating the students? knowledge of the topics covered until then with a focus on detail. It will hinge around the information from the readings and the material presented and discussed in class. It may include, but not be limited to, true/false questions, definitions, multiple choice activities, short questions and a 2-page long essay. Missing class without medical excuse will not be considered a reason for rescheduling this test.

 

C) Volunteer Reports: This report will consist of two parts: on the one hand, students will be required to carry out an interactive and dynamic in-class presentation of their volunteer experience for 20 minutes starting in November. On the other hand, on the last day of class students will also be asked to turn in a 3,000-word paper reporting critically the whole of their volunteer experience. The paper will be typed and printed (Times New Roman pt.12, 1 & ½ spaces). Its grade will depend on parameters such as thematic pertinence and coherence, appropriateness of language use, quality of the cross-cultural reflections included and reliability of the sources explored. Handwritten and emailed papers will not be accepted.

 

D) Cumulative Final Exam: This test will measure the students? ability to critically react to the material covered in class and the debates originated from the volunteer report presentations, with a focus on establishing thematic links among topics/ cultures. They will be asked to write 2 2-page long papers on 2 of the 5 different topics which the professor will previously select.

 

VI: BIBLIOGRAPHY AND OTHER RESOUCES: Throughout the course, we will make 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