| Unit name | Celestina and the Fiction of Isabelline Spain |
|---|---|
| Unit code | MODLM2051 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Professor. Hook |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | School of Modern Languages |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
The reign of Isabel and Fernando saw not only the conquest of the last Muslim kingdom in Europe with the fall of Granada, the expulsion of the Jews, and the Columbus expedition in 1492, but an explosion of creative writing in Spanish. This coincided with the growing availability of printing as a means of diffusion alongside traditional manuscript circulation. Works of fiction produced during this phase of creative energy deal with some perennial problems such as violence (personal and political), sexuality, the relations between the individual and authority, and religious belief; they occupy varying positions on the spectrum of support for, and subversion of, conventional belief and behaviour. The unit explores literary and contextual aspects of major works from this period, including the enigmatic Celestina, and works by Diego de San Pedro, Juan de Flores, and others. The European diffusion and reception of selected works is also examined.
Aims:
To introduce students to the literature of late medieval Castile and its background and to equip them with the analytical and linguistic tools necessary to successfully engage with texts of this period.
As well as factual knowledge of a significant period in Spanish culture and familiarity with its major literary works, students will have the opportunity to use primary source material alongside literary texts as a means of relating cultural production to its historical context. They will have the opportunity to acquire a reading command of Medieval Spanish and of relevant techniques of analysis.
Weekly seminars.
1 x 5000-word essay or 2 x 2500 word essays.
