| Unit name | Oceanic Images in Modern Chilean Culture |
|---|---|
| Unit code | HISP30084 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Paul Merchant |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | Department of Hispanic, Portuguese and Latin American Studies |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
Why is this unit important?
The sea is a constant but unsettling presence in Chilean culture. This unit explores how writers and artists have turned towards the Pacific Ocean in order to represent people and ideas that have been marginalised by conventional narratives about Chilean modernity. Inspired by the sea’s restlessness, avant-garde artists from Vicente Huidobro to Raúl Zurita and Cecilia Vicuña challenge the boundaries between aesthetic forms. Images of the declining fortunes of the port of Valparaíso in the middle of the 20th century reflect on the people excluded from Chile’s economic development. Contemporary cinema, meanwhile, broaches issues from the destruction wrought by tsunamis to the eradication of seafaring indigenous peoples.
Through close analysis of a range of media, you will reflect on the differing ways in which artworks relate to and contest ideas about national identity, political dissidence, transnational exchange, and the place of humanity in the natural world. Critical frameworks such as ecocriticism will be brought into contact with historical contexts, from the legacy of the War of the Pacific (1879-83) to the desire to forge new connections globally after Pinochet’s dictatorship.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
This unit builds on the ground in Latin American history and culture that is available in Years 1 and 2 of our degree programmes. Through working in partnership with the environmental NGO Fundación Mar Adentro on your first assessment, you will see how cultural analysis can play an important role in environmental activism and campaigning. You will be encouraged to draw comparisons with material you have encountered in other cultural and historical contexts across your degree programme.
An overview of content
The unit covers a diverse range of materials, from canonical poetry (e.g. Pablo Neruda and Gabriela Mistral) to contemporary documentary (e.g. Patricio Guzmán), and visual and installation art (e.g. Enrique Ramírez and Claudia Müller). The importance of indigenous understandings of human-nature relations is recognised, and students are strongly encouraged to explore relevant material beyond the key texts covered in seminars.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit
Students will develop a creative, enquiring mindset, undertaking advanced independent research (particularly for the 4,000-word coursework essay). They will acquire specialist knowledge of contemporary culture and environmental concerns in Chile, and will be able to draw parallels with other cultural contexts. They will develop strong collaborative working skills through formative and summative assessments, and will learn to adapt their oral and written expression to suit different audiences.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this unit, you will be able to:
The unit will be taught via a weekly 2-hour seminar, which will include plenary presentations by the unit tutor, group oral presentations by students, discussions of reading done before the session, and whole-class analysis of key primary sources. These seminar sessions will be supplemented by asynchronous activities on Blackboard.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
Group oral presentations in weekly seminars. These formative presentations will help develop skills in collaborative working and independent research in advance of the first summative assessment task.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
collaborative blog post, produced in partnership with Fundación Mar Adentro, 1,000-word (25%). [ILOs 1-5]
coursework essay, 4,000-word (75%). [ILOs 1-4]
When assessment does not go to plan
When required by the Board of Examiners, you will normally complete reassessments in the same formats as those outlined above. However, the Board reserves the right to modify the form or number of reassessments required. Details of reassessments are normally confirmed by the School shortly after the notification of your results at the end of the academic year.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. HISP30084).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
