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2010/1 Module Catalogue
 Module Code: SPA1033 Module Title: INTRODUCTION TO THE HISTORY OF SPAIN
Module Provider: Language & Translation Studies Short Name: LIH121
Level: HE1 Module Co-ordinator: FERNANDEZ-TUNON JM Mr (Lang & Trans)
Number of credits: 10 Number of ECTS credits: 5
 
Module Availability

All year
Assessment Pattern

Unit(s) of Assessment
Weighting Towards Module Mark( %)
Written assignment of 800 words, end of Semester 1
25%
10 minute Group presentation, Semester 2
25%
Two hour unseen examination, end of Semester 2
50%
Qualifying Condition(s)
A weighted aggregate of 40% is required to pass the module

Module Overview

This is a Level 1 module for Spanish, both post-A level and ab initio. It is taught largely in the target language, over Autumn and Spring semesters, one contact hour per teaching week. Attendance is compulsory.
Prerequisites/Co-requisites

Module Aims

This module provides students with a broad understanding of the historical background which has shaped the modern Spanish culture and society. It also provides further language practice on the four skills: speaking, listening, reading and writing.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module students will:
  • be able to follow lectures in Spanish and take coherent notes;
  • have acquired a foundation of historical knowledge of the development of Spain;
  • be able to identify and analyse the significance of key events and key figures in the development of Spain;
  • have acquired the necessary skills to read, understand and interpret both historical texts and texts about history;
  • understand the relevance and value of the study of history within the study of modern languages;
  • be able to conduct independent research on given topics;
  • be able to express their views coherently in writing on matters relating to Spanish history;
  • have developed communicative skills through group presentations and class discussions.
Module Content
The module will look at:
  • Influence of geography in the historical development of Spain.
  • The contribution of the Roman Empire
  • The Muslim invasion
  • The reconquista
  • The Spanish Renaissance. The discovery of America
  • The Protestant Revolution and the Spanish Counterreformation. The Inquisition
  • The Spanish Empire as seen by Velazquez
  • Goya and the impossible Enlightment
Methods of Teaching/Learning

Teaching will be in small groups. Students will be required to prepare mini-presentations and items for class discussion on a regular basis. The module is taught largely in the target language and the stimulus material used will be drawn from a variety of texts.
Selected Texts/Journals
Castro, Americo. The structure of Spanish History; Princeton University Press, 1954
Davies, R, Roper, T. The Golden Century of Spain, 1501-1621. London : Macmillan, 1937. Reprint. Westport,
Connecticut: Greewood Press, 1984
Spain in Decline, 1621-1700 London: Macmillan, 1957
Elliott, J.H. Imperial Spain, 1469-1716. New York: St. Martin Press, 1963
Glick, Thomas F. Islamic and Christian Spain in the early Middle Ages. Princeton University Press 1979
Hillgarth, J.N. The Spanish Kingdoms., 1250-1516. Oxford University Press, 1976
Jackson, Gabriel. The making of Medieval Spain. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1972
Kamen, Henry. Inquisition and Society in Spain in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press 1985
Stradling, R.A. Europe and the Decline of Spain: A Study of the Spanish System, 1580-1720. London: George Allen and Unwin, 1981
Schama, S Power of Art, BBC Books 2006
Hughes, R The shock of the New; Art and the Century of Change. Random House, 1991
Goya. Alfred Knopf 2003
Brown, J. Velazquez: The Technique of Genius. Yale University Press, 2003
Richardson, J; A life of Picasso: Triumphant Years 1917-1932. Random House, 2004
Last Updated

1.6.10