| Unit name | Latin America in the Twentieth Century: A People's History |
|---|---|
| Unit code | HISP20119 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | I/5 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Professor. Brown |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | Department of Hispanic, Portuguese and Latin American Studies |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
Why is this unit important?
This unit will explore Latin American history from 1910 to 1990. It explores the profound changes in Latin American cultures and societies that have occurred since republics were established in the nineteenth century. It will introduce you to the key historical themes of race, class, gender and geography and how they have shaped processes of urbanization, inequality, national identity, social transformation and environmental change.
The unit will explore these themes and processes through critical analysis of a range of primary source material in Spanish, including novels, poetry, speeches, newspaper reports and photography, and comparison will also be made to historical experience in Brazil. Our approach is therefore transnational, transhistorical and intercultural as we compare across time periods, geographical spaces and themes.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
This unit builds on the themes explored in Y1 Spanish units. You will explore several texts in detail and will analyse them within their political and historical contexts. Our source material includes creative forms such as beauty competitions, novels and political speeches, and assessment is also designed around enabling you to use your creativity.
You will also be trained in conducting historical research online, finding and identifying primary sources through libraries and databases, and building your own extended research bibliographies from the materials presented by the unit tutors.
An overview of content
We will look at key moments in Latin America’s twentieth century, using the experience of marginalized peoples as the connecting thread from the Mexican and Cuban Revolutions to the hosting of football World Cups and Olympic Games, from waves of migration and cultural change to dictatorships and transitions to democracy.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit?
Students will be more knowledgeable of Latin America’s twentieth-century history and more confident in their intellectual abilities to engage with scholarship produced in and about the region. Through engagement with a range of sources from different places and time periods, students will learn to manage their time, prioritise effort and remain focused and creative when thinking about the past.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
Teaching will be delivered through a combination of synchronous and asynchronous sessions, including group seminar-style discussion and self-directed exercises.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
The unit directors will provide informal feedback on attendance and participation in seminars, knowledge of sources set for discussion in class, and engagement with the themes of the unit. In seminars we will do 3 exercises that will be similar to the exam questions, and feedback will be provided.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
Creative group presentation, which might be in the form of a performance, panel discussion, film or imagined intervention in a historical moment or discussion with historical figures (30%) [ILOs 1-4].
Exam, 2 hours (70%) [ILOs 1-3 and 5]. The exam will consist of 5 commentaries on short extracts from our primary sources. The exam will test real-world skills by asking you to explain each source to a non-specialist and demonstrate how and why it is important.
When assessment does not go to plan
When required by the Board of Examiners, you will normally complete reassessments in the same formats as those outlined above. However, the Board reserves the right to modify the form or number of reassessments required. Details of reassessments are normally confirmed by the School shortly after the notification of your results at the end of the academic year.
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. HISP20119).
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 University 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. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
