Instructor: Cecily
Quintanilla
Prerequisites: oral communication skills
at least at the fifth year AP high school level or SPAN 216, along with some
background in reading Spanish literature.
Material
and skills covered:
Students
will view and discuss 7-8 Spanish language films. The films are selected as representative
samples of Spanish and Latin American cinema from various periods (with focus
on contemporary), genres and auteurs/directors. Students will analyze the ways in which these films seek to
“re”-present a sense of national identity through images of specific cultural,
social and political milieus, including the use of metaphor as a means of
bypassing censorship.
Students
will hone their listening, speaking and writing skills in Spanish through this
process. Critical thinking skills,
including analysis and synthesis, will be used.
Methods used:
Typically, the viewing of each film
will be prepared in advance through readings and a background presentation by
the instructor or by a student. There
will be focused discussions of the films, in some instances
student-directed. Students will respond
to each film in writing in the form of a critical review. The material in these
papers will be incorporated into a final paper for the course. Students will
apply their analytical and communicative skills by giving an presentation on an additional film of their
choice, not seen by the class.
Grade determined by:
Papers, presentation, preparedness,
class contributions and midterm and final exams.
Attendance policy:
Regular attendance is expected.
Comments:
This class uses the unique window of
film as a means of increasing students’ cultural perceptiveness.
4/25/08