Brown University Department of Hispanic Studies HISP 1290J. Spain on Screen: 80 Years of Spanish Cinema Fall, 2013 Tuesday and Thursday, 9:00-10:20am, Salomon 004 Prof. Sarah Thomas 84 Prospect Street, #301 [email protected] Tel.: (401) 863-2915 Office hours: Thursdays, 11am-1pm Course description: Spain’s is one of the most dynamic and at the same time overlooked of European cinemas. In recent years, Spain has become more internationally visible on screen, especially thanks to filmmakers like Guillermo del Toro, Pedro Almodóvar, and Juan Antonio Bayona. But where does Spanish cinema come from? What themes arise time and again over the course of decades? And what – if anything – can Spain’s cinema tell us about the nation? Does cinema reflect a culture or serve to shape it? This course traces major historical and thematic developments in Spanish cinema from silent films of the 1930s to globalized commercial cinema of the 21st century. Focusing on issues such as landscape, history, memory, violence, sexuality, gender, and the politics of representation, this course will give students a solid training in film analysis and also provide a wide-ranging introduction to Spanish culture. By the end of the semester, students will have gained the skills to write and speak critically about film (in Spanish!), as well as a deeper understanding and appreciation of Spain’s culture, history, and cinema. Prerequisite: HISP 0730, 0740, or equivalent. Films, all written work and many readings are in Spanish. This is a writing-designated course (WRIT) so students should be prepared to craft essays through multiple drafts in workshops with their peers and consultation with the professor. Texts and films: Required: -Barry Jordan and Mark Allinson, Spanish Cinema: A Student’s Guide. (Bloomsbury, 2005). Available at the Brown Bookstore or for purchase online. On reserve at Rockefeller Library. -Course reader (R), available at Allegra Copy Center, 102 Waterman Street. Recommended: -Timothy Corrigan, A Short Guide to Writing About Film. (Longman, 2011). Available at the Brown Bookstore or for purchase online. On reserve at Rockefeller Library. Films: All films for the course will be streamed on the course OCRA website (http://library.brown.edu/reserves/student/student.php?task=begin&semesteri d=37&term=201310). Most will have Spanish subtitles, and where none are available, English subtitles. Requirements and evaluation: 25%: Attendance, preparation, and participation. This means not only attending class, but also preparing and actively participating. Preparation entails reading the assigned readings and watching each course’s film in advance of the class session. Active participation means that you offer comments frequently, listen to your classmates’ interventions, and build upon them in the interest of fostering a lively and engaging class discussion. Frequent participation will also improve your oral and listening skills in Spanish. 25%: Comentarios (5% each). Over the course of the semester you will write five comentarios, short responses based on a prompt. The initial prompts will be more specific, and will become progressively more open-ended. You are encouraged to be creative and original in your comentarios, but also to keep them focused, concise, and engaged with the film(s) you are responding to. Comentarios should be between one and two pages long, maximum 650 words. 30%: Two short papers (15% each). You will write two short papers (3-4 pages, maximum 1600 words, in Spanish). You will write a first draft, which will receive feedback from the professor and be discussed in a workshop with your classmates. You will then have the opportunity to revise the essay into its final form. So that you can turn in the best work possible, only the revised final version will be graded. Papers should advance an original thesis, supported by close analysis of the film(s) being considered. More detailed guidelines for paper assignments will be distributed in advance of the due date. 20%: Final project – paper and presentation. You will write a final 6-8 page paper (maximum 3000 words), due by 5pm on December 17. The topic for the final paper will be flexible, and you are encouraged to write on a topic that suits your personal interests, in consultation with the professor. You will write on one or (maximum) two films not seen in class, applying critical readings and formal analysis in the service of an original argument. Two of our last classes will be devoted to students’ presentations on their final projects, to be discussed in an informal workshop with the class at large. A brief annotated bibliography, thesis statement and outline will be due on November 26. Policies: - Class discussions and written work will all be carried out in Spanish. If you would like to consult with me outside of class (via email, in office hours, etc.) you can do so in Spanish or English. - Attendance and timely arrival are essential. During the semester you are allowed 3 absences before your grade will be penalized; after that each absence will deduct one point from your final grade. These are not free classes, but should rather be used in case of illness, family emergencies, etc. Late arrivals not only lead to your missing material but also disrupt the flow of class. Please make every effort to be on time and present for all course meetings. - Late work will not be accepted, except in extreme cases and with proper documentation. - All written work should follow MLA style for scholarly writing as outlined at: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/2/11/ or in the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. - Proper citation of sources and any ideas not your own is fundamental. If you are not certain how to attribute information or ideas, please feel free to come to office hours and discus your work. Plagiarism is a very serious matter and will not be tolerated. Any sources you use should be properly cited, both when quoting directly as well as paraphrasing or summarizing sources. Please familiarize yourself with the Brown Academic Code: http://www.brown.edu/Administration/Dean_of_the_College/curriculum/documents/academ ic-code.pdf - The use of laptop computers and tablets is strongly discouraged as it can be distracting to you and those around you. All readings will be available in a bound course reader and textbook. If for some reason you require a laptop or tablet, please make the reasons known to me as soon as possible. Cell phones are not permitted in class. - Email is the best way to reach me, though at night and during weekends I may be delayed in responding. You are strongly encouraged to take advantage of office hours as well; often, in-person conversations are a better way to resolve questions. - Please feel free to let me know if there are any special considerations I should know about that might affect your performance in the class. If you have a disability or other condition that might require some modification of any of these course procedures, please inform me. You may speak with me after class or during office hours, and any such information will remain confidential. For more information, contact Students and Employee Accessibility Services at 401-863-9588 or [email protected]. - Class rosters are provided with the student’s legal name. I will gladly honor your request to address you by an alternate name or gender pronoun. Please advise me of this preference early in the semester so that I may make appropriate changes to my records. - **NOTE: Many of the films we will watch this semester contain graphic content, in terms of language, nudity, sexual situations, and violence. If watching or discussing such content might pose a serious problem for you, it is advisable not to enroll in the course. PROGRAMA DEL CURSO 5 de septiembre Introducción al curso jueves 1) CARTOGRAFÍAS DEL CINE ESPAÑOL: PUEBLOS Y PAISAJES 10 de septiembre Ver: Pedro Almodóvar, Volver (2006) martes Leer: -Cronología, de Pavlović et al., 100 Years of Spanish Cinema (R) -Jordan/Allinson, Glosario (ojo: empezar lecturas para el jueves) 12 de septiembre Ver: Luis Buñuel, Un chien andalou (1929); Florián Rey, La aldea maldita (1930) jueves Leer: -Jordan/Allinson, Introduction and History: págs. 1-10, Style págs. 63-65; Luis Buñuel págs. 83-87 -Pavlović et al., “Surrealism and the Advent of Sound,” págs 21-38; “La aldea maldita,” págs.15-20 de 100 Years of Spanish Cinema (R) 17 de septiembre Ver: José Antonio Nieves Conde, Surcos (1951) martes Leer: -Jordan/Allinson, History: págs.10-18 (hasta “New Waves and Old Genres”) -Jordan/Allinson, Film Studies Basics/Mise-en-scène: págs. 35-41 -Kinder, extracto de Blood Cinema págs. 45-53 (R) 19 de septiembre Ver: Luis García Berlanga, ¡Bienvenido, Mister Marshall! (1953) jueves Leer: -Jordan/Allinson, Representation/National Identity págs. 134-140 -Jordan/Allinson, Bienvenido Mister Marshall págs. 143-147 -Rolph, “¡Bienvenido, Mister Marshall!” de Evans, Spanish Cinema: The Auteurist Tradition, págs. 8-18 (R) *Entregar: Comentario #1: Mise-en-scène en ¡Bienvenido, Mister Marshall! 24 de septiembre Ver: Mario Camus, Los santos inocentes (1984) martes Leer: -Jordan/Allinson, History págs. 20-28 (hasta “Only Entertainment?”) -Jordan/Allinson, Cinematography págs. 43-47 -Jordan/Allinson, Narrative págs. 58-60 -Besas, extracto de Behind the Spanish Lens, págs. 251-254 (R) 26 de septiembre Ver: Julio Medem, Vacas (1992) jueves Leer: -Jordan/Allinson, Sound págs. 48-51; Editing págs. 54-58; Other Nationalities: The Case of Basque Cinema/Vacas págs.148-152 -Dix, “Time and motion pictures,” “The sense of an ending,” 109-19 (R) 2) ALGUNAS REPRESENTACIONES DE GÉNERO Y SEXUALIDAD EN EL CINE ESPAÑOL 1 de octubre Ver: Luis Buñuel, Viridiana (1961) martes Leer: -Jordan/Allinson, Representation: Gender/Viridana págs.