| Unit name | Dictatorships, prisons, and writing(s) in the Portuguese and Spanish-speaking worlds |
|---|---|
| Unit code | HISP30070 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Dr. Infante |
| 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?
Have you noticed how many countries and politicians around the world have traits that are common to dictatorships and dictators from the past? This unit will allow you to engage with various primary sources that deal with those who wrote against dictatorships in the Iberian Peninsula and Latin America, either from prison, home, or exile. From Politics to Feminism, from poetry to film, this unit allows you to examine the past, but also link it to the present.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
This unit is open to all final-year students of either Portuguese or Spanish (or both). Therefore, please don’t worry if you only know one of the languages, as primary sources are available in translation, so that all students can follow. This unit allows you to analyse a wide array of primary sources that relate to imprisonment in a context of dictatorship: letters, diaries, and poems. Therefore, this unit allows you to discuss primary sources that related to historical events about which you learned in your first and second years, and that you may have talked about in your year abroad. Therefore, it brings a sense of ‘closing the circle’ of your learning at HiPLA.
Overview of content:
This unit covers a wide array of texts (letters, diaries, poems) as well as films that engage with being a political prisoner under dictatorships in Brazil, Chile, Portugal, and Spain, in the 20th century. You will have the opportunity to study and discuss a range of touching and inspirational sources produced by those who resisted under various dictatorships in Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula. Some texts will include trigger warnings. In the case of film, you will have the opportunity to discuss films that are contemporary to these dictatorships and more contemporary films that look back at those times.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit?
This unit will not simply allow students to learn more deeply about key historical moments of Portuguese- and Spanish-speaking countries; it will also allow them to connect those past events with the present, not only at country level (e.g.: contemporary Spain vis-à-vis Francoism), but also at a more international level (e.g. how nationalist discourse was a common recurrence in these dictatorships, and how it is used nowadays across the globe). The idea is that students become more resilient and self-aware about how current affairs are often closely linked to past affairs. Students will be able to make important and exciting connections, as well as be inquiring and creative in their analytical approach.
NB given the subject of the unit, some of the texts we will study deal with difficult and potentially distressing topics. If you have any concerns about this, please speak to the unit director in advance.
Learning Outcomes:
On successful completion of the unit you will be able to:
Seminar discussions are interactive and inquiry-based, which is a great way of getting engaged with both topics and primary sources.
Some texts are accompanied by a content warning, which is important for students who find certain material a bit more difficult. If you have any concerns about specific texts, please speak to the unit director in advance. The assessment is planned so that students can avoid a text that they found harder due to a content warning.
As we progress in this unit, you will have plenty of opportunities to reflect on and prepare for each summative assessment. Some of the seminars will have time allocated specifically for how to write a commentary and what to include in it; the same approach will be used for the essay, as both are key components of the Learning Portfolio.
There will also be opportunities to practise for what to include in the written exam.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
The first summative assessment is a 3000-word Learning Portfolio. The Learning Portfolio is divided into a 1500-word commentary on a primary source, and a 1500-word essay.
A 1500-word commentary will help you deepen you close-reading skills and allow you to imprint your own voice and thoughts. A shorter essay is also excellent, for it helps you to develop your focus and concision to a higher level. This is a transferable skill, not only to other units in your final year but also for the future.
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. HISP30070).
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.
