Unit name | Arts of Unreason |
---|---|
Unit code | HISP21312 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | I/5 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
Unit director | Professor. Ginger |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
None |
Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | Department of Hispanic, Portuguese and Latin American Studies |
Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
This unit considers a highly influential idea in Spanish cultural history: that reality contains within itself the makings of ‘unreason’ –disparates or caprichos - , an alternative, and truer way of understanding the world. Important Spanish thinkers have tried to trace this concern back through the historical cultures of Iberia. In turn, influential writers, artists, and filmmakers have turned to the disparate for inspiration in finding fresh new ways of imagining and comprehending the reality about them. In this unit, we will look at some of the reasons and history behind these trends. We will look at attempts to create illuminating ‘arts of unreason’ through examples from the visual arts, cinema, literature, and politics.
Aims:
Successful students will:
Lecture and seminars
one 4000 word essay 100%
Extracts from writings about the disparate, especially Ramón Gómez de la Serna, José Bergamín, Jorge Oteiza (to be supplied), María Zambrano and related visual objects from 16th-17th and pre-historic Spain
Jorge Oteiza, selected sculptures including Apostoluak (1950) and De la serie de la desocupación de la esfera (1957) in relation to the above
Francisco Goya, Caprichos (various editions available including the Dover edition)
Antonio Ros de Olano, Relatos (Crítica, 2008) (especially ‘La noche de máscaras’, ‘Celos’ and ‘Los niños expósitos)
Dir. Buñuel, Un chien andalou/Un perro andaluz
Dir. Arregi & Goenaga, Lucio