Unit information: Close Encounters with Discourse in 2021/22

Unit name	Close Encounters with Discourse
Unit code	HISP10016
Credit points	20
Level of study	C/4
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12)
Unit director	Professor. Jo Crow
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

Description including Unit Aims

This unit focuses on close reading of Spanish language texts, whether written, visual or oral and allows students to delve deeper into language as social practice and to hone their skills of analytical reading, presentation and independent research, while also enhancing their skills as learners of the Spanish language. The texts studied will relate to social issues drawn from historical and contemporary contexts. Students will be introduced to discourse analysis approaches, and will develop practical skills in researching the broader sociohistorical context of the texts studied.

During the unit, students will work in groups and assess each other's formative work, as well as developing their skills in the light of feedback from the tutor. The formative group work is designed to facilitate the summative individual tasks. The skills developed in this unit (research, summary, presentation of data) all have direct relevance for later employment in graduate careers.

Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of the unit, students will be able to:

1. Produce a bibliography relevant to the subject being studied (and explain its relevance and use)
2. Write a brief literature review
3. Use the aforementioned bibliography and literature review to put together a analytical commentary on a specific primary source, which opens up questions about specific issues related to the historic and contemporary Hispanic world
4. Digest and scrutinise the language of a given primary text (written or produced in Spanish)
5. Summarise secondary literature written in Spanish
6. Present the findings of their analysis at a standard appropriate to level C.

Teaching Information

Teaching will be delivered through a combination of synchronous sessions and asynchronous activities, including seminars, lectures, and collaborative as well as self-directed learning opportunities supported by tutor consultation

Assessment Information

Formative:

• two bibliographies related to a text studied (ILO1)
• two brief literature reviews (ILO2)
• two brief commentary presentations (ILO6)

Summative:

• two 1500 word commentaries, each drawing on the formative work (50% each) (ILOs 3, 4, 5)

Resources

If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.

If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. HISP10016).

How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks, independent learning and assessment activity.

See the Faculty workload statement relating to this unit for more information.

Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit. The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. If you have self-certificated your absence from an assessment, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (this is usually in the next assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any extenuating circumstances and operates within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.