Unit name | Children and Adolescents in Iberian and Latin American Cinema |
---|---|
Unit code | HISP30093 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | H/6 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
Unit director | Dr. Randall |
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 addresses a variety of Iberian and Latin American films featuring child and adolescent protagonists from countries including (but not limited to) Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Spain and Brazil. The films studied are united by their explorations of ‘coming-of-age’, impoverished childhood and the relationship between childhood and national identity. Students will reflect on the extent to which childhood and adolescence are socially constructed and intersected by race, gender and class. They will also critically consider the films’ deployment of the child’s gaze to reconstruct past periods of dictatorship or civil conflict in Spain and Latin America throughout the twentieth century. Finally, students will examine the cinematic techniques used to evoke child characters’ subjectivity and agency on film, thereby cultivating their skills of close filmic analysis.
By the end of this unit students will be able to:
1. Demonstrate an advanced knowledge of a variety of Iberian and Latin American films featuring child or
adolescent protagonists (B).
2. Articulate a complex understanding of the key socio-political and historical contexts to which the
primary texts relate (B).
3. Respond critically and analytically to the issues and debates raised by the films studied (B).
4. Engage critically with theoretical and critical scholarship in the relevant fields of study (B).
5. Demonstrate skills of filmic analysis appropriate to the level (B).
6. Demonstrate good oral presentation skills and the ability to work together in groups (C and D).
1 x 2 hour seminar per week, including plenary presentation, class discussion and small group
presentations.
1 x 20-minute group presentation about one of the films studied (20% group mark) with a 500-word individual reflection following the presentation (20% mark): this tests ILOs 2-6
1 x 3,000-word comparative essay focusing on two films (60%): this tests ILOs 1-6
Selected Primary Texts ·
Selected Critical Reading