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Spanish Honours Modules

In Honours we offer eight 15 credit core modules:

  • SP3001 Spanish Language I; SP3221 Conflict and Society
  • SP3002 Spanish Language II; SP3222 Love and Loss
  • SP4003 Spanish Language III; SP4223 History and Culture
  • SP4004 Spanish Language IV; SP4224 Reality and Illusion

which include both language and topics. There are a variety of Spanish optional modules in literature, linguistics, cinema and history as well. In Senior Honours there is also the possibility of writing a dissertation.

Below is a full list of the modules that we offer at Honours level. Not every module will be offered every year; please click on the individual module link for further information.

Click on module code to skip directly to information below:

Semester 1

Semester 2

Whole year

Please note that individual courses of study have to be approved by the relevant Faculty and your choice of modules may be restricted by the regulations. If in doubt, please ask for advice.

15 Credits

SP3001 Spanish Language 1

The overall objective of this core module is to promote advanced skills in listening, speaking, reading and writing in Spanish. In addition there will be elements that stimulate a high level of awareness of grammar. The syllabus is based on a selection of modern Spanish texts from both Spain and Spanish America which are used as sources for the study of various registers through reading and listening comprehension, precis and writing and rewriting exercises. The grammar involves a full understanding of an array of issues dealt with by Butt and Benjamin.

Availability:
Semester: 1
Time: 9.00 am Thu, plus 1 practical to be arranged.
Teaching method: 1 class, 1 practical and 1 surgery hour.
Prerequisites: SP2002 or SP2004 with grade 11 or better
Antirequsites:
Assessment: Coursework = 100%
Reassessment:
15 Credits

SP3002 Spanish Language 2

The overall objective of this core module is to promote advanced skills in listening, speaking, reading and writing in Spanish. The syllabus combines two main types of material: listening comprehension on the basis of recordings and a selection of texts for the study of different linguistic registers (including dialogues from fictional works and essays, books and sports reviews and written portraits of famous characters from newspapers.)

Availability:
Semester: 2
Time: 9.00 am Thu, plus 1 practical to be arranged.
Teaching method: 1 class, 1 practical and 1 surgery hour.
Prerequisites: SP3001
Antirequsites:
Assessment: Coursework = 40%, 2-hour Written Examination = 60%
Reassessment:
15 Credits

SP3006 Literary Translation

This module is designed to guide and train the student of the Spanish language in the translation of demanding literary texts, both from and into Spanish. The emphasis will be on practical translation. The source texts will be chosen so as to represent a variety of periods, genres and registers. The module has a complementary relationship to language work in the core language modules. It will require systematic use of sources of information about Spanish (e.g. dictionaries, grammars). Emphasis will be placed on the quality of the translation. To achieve that end, the module will be conducted in seminar mode in order to stimulate discussion and revision of draft translations.

Availability: provisionally available 2013/4 as well.
Semester: 1
Time: 9.00 am - 10.30 am Wed.
Teaching method: Seminar and 1 surgery hour.
Prerequisites:
Antirequsites: SP3007
Assessment: Coursework = 100%
Reassessment:
Short loan supplementary reading list
15 Credits

SP3011 History of the Spanish Language

The module explores the evolution of Spanish from Latin to the seventeenth century. A prior knowledge of Latin is not expected. In addition to linguistic and socio-political history, the module involves an introduction to the works of Spanish linguists of the period.

Availability: provisionally available 2013/4 as well.
Semester: 1
Time: 2.00 pm - 3.30 pm Fri.
Teaching method: 1 class and 1 surgery hour.
Prerequisites:
Antirequsites:
Assessment: Coursework = 100%
Reassessment:
Short loan supplementary reading list
60 Credits

SP3101 Spanish Integrated Year Abroad

The objective of the module is language learning and cultural familiarisation through work placements in a Spanish speaking country. Placements will be as language assistants or on other assignments approved by the department. Formal learning and assessment will be through a supervised project chosen in consultation with the module co-ordinator, who will provide more detailed guidelines. The project will be 5,000 words in Spanish to be received by the department by 25 April.

Availability: May be subject to restrictions from receiving country.
Semester: Whole Year
Time: Please Contact Department
Teaching method: Please Contact Department
Prerequisites: Admission to the Honours Programme with Integrated Year Abroad.
Antirequsites: SP4102, SP4103 or Erasmus exchange.
Assessment: Project = 100%
Reassessment:
15 Credits

SP3122 Spanish American Literature 2

The aim of the module is to study a topic or genre in Spanish American literature. The module includes texts which are not particularly Latin American in their depiction of historical or cultural aspects of the continent, such as modernismo, River Plate cosmopolitanist literature or the novel of the Boom. The selection is likely to include three or four works by the following authors: Borges, Onetti, Cortazar, Donoso, Sabato, Garcma Marquez, Rosario Castellanos, Alfonsina Storni, Juana de Ibarbourou. Apart from general and historical introductions, the course proceeds on the basis of seminar papers by students.

Availability:
Semester: 2
Time: 9.00 am - 10.30 am Wed.
Teaching method: 10 x 1.5-hour seminars and 1 surgery hour.
Prerequisites:
Antirequsites:
Assessment: Coursework = 40%, 2-hour Written Examination = 60%
Reassessment:
Short loan supplementary reading list
15 Credits

SP3124 Spanish Cinema (Director)

The aim of the module is to develop critical expertise in and enjoyment of film. Through the study of one influential Spanish director, understanding of the cinema and knowledge of one particular artist are acquired, as well as insight into contemporary social issues. Linguistic skills will also be developed. The student studies four or five films that represent a topic of cinema studies and explores it with reference to a Spanish director, for example: Carlos Saura and the concept of authorship, Luis Buquel and the development of film technology, Gutiirrez Aragsn and film narrative.

Availability:
Semester: 2
Time: To be arranged.
Teaching method: 10 x 1.5-hour seminars.
Prerequisites:
Antirequsites:
Assessment: Coursework = 50%, 2-hour Written Examination = 50%
Reassessment:
15 Credits

SP3138 Mexico in the Nineteenth Century

Students will examine political and historical developments of Mexico in the Siglo de Caudillos (from the beginning of Independence in 1810 to the start of the Mexican Revolution in 1910). Particular attention will be given to the tensions which characterised the period - such as Church-State relations, military-civil relations, federalism versus centralism, conservatism versus liberalism, constitutionalism versus authoritarianism - and to key political leaders, 'caudillos', such as Hidalgo, Morelos, Iturbide, Santa Anna, Juarez, Maximilian and Diaz. Reading will include primary material such as letters, speeches and articles from the Mexican press as well as secondary historical studies of the period.

Availability:
Semester: 1
Time: 11.00 am - 12.30 pm Wed.
Teaching method: Seminar and 1 surgery hour.
Prerequisites:
Antirequsites:
Assessment: Coursework = 100%
Reassessment:
15 Credits

SP3140 Literature and Politics in Spain 1930 - 1939

Based on an understanding of a particularly turbulent period of contemporary Spanish history, students will examine the ways in which writers responded both to specific political events (such as the Moroccan War and the Asturian Revolution) and to pressures to enshrine in their work a particular political affiliation. Through the study of representative texts from the period (prose narrative, poetry and drama), students will look at such issues as the nature of committed literature, the relationship between literature and propaganda, and the aesthetic and ethical implications of writing creatively at the service of a political cause whether it be left- or right-wing.

Availability:
Semester: 1
Time: To be arranged.
Teaching method: 10 x 1.5-hour seminars
Prerequisites:
Antirequsites:
Assessment: Coursework = 40%, 2-hour Written Examination = 60%
Reassessment:
15 Credits

SP3145 Post-1975 Writing in Spain 1

The aim of the module is the close study of a selection of literary texts (works of prose fiction and poetry, in the main) produced in the post-Franco period. These narratives distance themselves from the realist (and experimental) mode of writing that dominated much of the literature produced between 1939 and the 1970s. Instead, they construct subjective worlds that, nevertheless, tend towards a universality of experience and can be seen as part of a process of the gradual 'normalization', Europeanisation, and universalisation of Spanish cultural creations.The selection is likely to include five works written by authors born after the end of the Civil War, such as: A. Bautista, F. Benmtez Reyes, J. Cercas, L.A. de Cuenca, L. Garcma Montero, J Marmas, E. Mendoza, A. Muqoz Molina, A. Orejudo, A. Pirez-Reverte, S. Puirtolas and A. Rosetti. In the case of poetry, a relevant anthology including some of these authors will be recommended.

Availability:
Semester: 2
Time: To be arranged.
Teaching method: Seminar.
Prerequisites:
Antirequsites:
Assessment: Coursework = 40%, 2-hour Written Examination = 60%
Reassessment:
15 Credits

SP3158 Representations of the Urban: Twentieth-Century Buenos Aires

This is an interdisciplinary module, which explores representations of the urban in twentieth-century Argentina. It focuses on poetic, novelistic, cinematic and artistic accounts of the city of Buenos Aires from the 1920s to the present day. In particular, it examines overlapping techniques and methods, and semantic and conceptual concurrences in mapping the urban in different cultural disciplines. The module involves a close study of the work of internationally acclaimed figures of Argentine culture and engages with theoretical issues related to space, time, identity and the dialectic of art (in its broader sense) and society.

Availability:
Semester: 1
Time: To be arranged.
Teaching method: 1.5-hour seminar.
Prerequisites:
Antirequsites:
Assessment: Coursework = 40%, 2-hour Written Examination = 60%
Reassessment:
15 Credits

SP3159 Gender and Violence in Golden Age Literature

This module will examine how conflicts and cultural tensions in the Spanish Habsburg Empire are reflected and acted out in Golden age literature. The students will focus on the representation of violence and its fascinating and disturbing relation to gender and power in texts drawn from different literary genres, such as autobiographical writing (e.g. Catalina de Erauso, the "lieutenant nun"), narrative literature (e.g. Maria de Zayas, Miguel de Cervantes), theatre (e.g. Cervantes, Lope, Calderon) or poetry (e.g. Gacilaso de la Vega). The module involves the discussion of critical approaches developed within the framework of Queer and Gender Studies.

Availability:
Semester: 1
Time: 3.00 pm - 4.30 pm Tue.
Teaching method: Seminar and 1 surgery hour.
Prerequisites:
Antirequsites:
Assessment: Coursework = 100%
Reassessment:
Short loan supplementary reading list
15 Credits

SP3160 Facing the News: Spanish Literature and Society (1888 - 1918)

This module will explore changes and tensions in Spanish culture, society, literature and art from the evolution of literary realism and naturalism to the beginning of the historical avant-gardes and the First World War. Through varied materials (poems, short stories, novels, plays, paintings, etc.) students will discuss the transformations of the role of the artist and the intellectual, the modernist 'tradition of the new' and the aesthetical currents of the era. The module will focus on specific literary examples (the novels by Miguel de Unamuno and Jos? Martinez Ruis 'Azorin') as well as the cultural and artistic life of the times through the analysis of literary magazines.

Availability:
Semester: 2
Time: 11.00 am - 12.30 pm Wed.
Teaching method: Seminar and 1 surgery hour.
Prerequisites:
Antirequsites:
Assessment: Coursework = 100%
Reassessment:
Short loan supplementary reading list
15 Credits

SP3221 Language, Conflict and Society

This module aims to provide a sound understanding of important modes of literary expression in Spain and Spanish America following a source of conflict across the centuries. The syllabus will involve the study of a selection of canonical texts from Spain and Spanish America. The reading list will be available online as from the preceding month of May.

Availability:
Semester: 1
Time: 9.00 am Tue plus 1 seminar per week, to be arranged.
Teaching method: 1 lecture, 1 seminar and 1 surgery hour.
Prerequisites:
Antirequsites:
Assessment: Coursework = 100%
Reassessment:
Short loan supplementary reading list
15 Credits

SP3222 Language, Love and Loss

This module aims to provide a sound understanding of important modes of literary expression in Spain and Spanish America following an expression of emotional tension across the centuries. The syllabus will involve the study of a selection of canonical texts from Spain and Spanish America. The reading list will be available online as from the preceding month of May.

Availability:
Semester: 2
Time: 9.00 am Tue, plus 1 seminar to be arranged.
Teaching method: 1 lecture, 1 seminar and 1 surgery hour.
Prerequisites:
Antirequsites:
Assessment: Coursework = 40%, 2-hour Written Examination = 60%
Reassessment:
Short loan supplementary reading list
15 Credits

SP4003 Spanish Language 3

The overall objective of this core module is to build on advanced skills in listening, speaking, reading and writing in Spanish. The syllabus is made up of a selection of texts in different registers (fiction, topical magazines, interviews, economic and political reports from newspapers) which provide the basis for both written and oral work in class.

Availability:
Semester: 1
Time: 9.00 am Thu, plus 1 practical to be arranged.
Teaching method: 1 class and 1 practical and 1 surgery hour.
Prerequisites: SP3002 (see Honours Adviser if there is a problem).
Antirequsites: SP4102, SP4103
Assessment: Coursework = 100%
Reassessment:
15 Credits

SP4004 Spanish Language 4: Communication Skills

The overall objective of this core module is to build on advanced skills in listening, speaking, reading and writing in Spanish. The syllabus uses listening comprehension based on recording, debates and oral presentations by students, and a selection of texts for the study of different linguistic registers (including dialogues from fictional works, essays, and translation and rewriting of texts using a different style). The final oral examination will form part of this module.

Availability:
Semester: 2
Time: 9.00 am Thu, plus 1 practical to be arranged.
Teaching method: 1 class and 1 practical and 1 surgery hour.
Prerequisites: SP4003, SP4103 or SP4102
Antirequsites:
Assessment: Coursework = 40%, Aural Comprehension = 30%, Oral Examination = 30%
Reassessment:
15 Credits

SP4008 Contemporary Spanish Language

The module builds on the skills of the four Honours core language courses whose overall objective is to promote the advanced communicative skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing in Spanish. Its objective is to stimulate creative writing in Spanish in a variety of linguistic registers. The syllabus is made up of a selection of texts in different registers (but drawn basically from fiction and commercial writing) which provide the basis for creative writing exercises.

Availability: Provisionally available 2013/4 as well.
Semester: 2
Time: 9.00 am Thu.
Teaching method: 1 class and 1 surgery hour.
Prerequisites:
Antirequsites:
Assessment: Coursework = 40%, 2-hour Written Examination = 60%
Reassessment:
15 Credits

SP4012 Linguistic Study of the Spanish Language

This module presents the scientific approach to describing languages as well as the concept of linguistic variability and some of its salient manifestations in Spanish across the Hispanic world. Structural features will be treated at phonological, morphological, syntactic and lexico-semantic levels, and variation will be examined at geographical, social and stylistic levels.

Availability: provisionally available 2013/4 as well.
Semester: 2
Time: 2.00 pm - 3.30 pm Mon.
Teaching method: 1 class and 1 surgery hour.
Prerequisites:
Antirequsites:
Assessment: Coursework = 100%
Reassessment:
15 Credits

SP4098 Dissertation on a Spanish Topic

This module offers students the possibility of personal advanced study on a topic on which they already have adequate basic knowledge and for which a suitable Supervisor can be found. Guidance will be offered on research methods and on presentation. The Critical Review involves the evaluation of a range of secondary material on a given subject. It should be 5,000 - 6,000 words in length, be submitted in accordance with guidelines and deadlines, and normally written in English. The topic must be formally agreed in advance with the research co-ordinator and potential supervisor.(Guidelines for printing and binding dissertations can be found at: http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/printanddesign/dissertation/)

Availability: Available only to students in the Final year of the Honours Programme.
Semester: Both
Time: To be arranged.
Teaching method: 3 all-group seminars plus up to 4 individual sessions with your supervisor.
Prerequisites: -
Antirequsites: SP4099 or 30-credit dissertation in another subject
Assessment: Dissertation = 100%
Reassessment:
30 Credits

SP4099 Long Dissertation on a Spanish Topic

The dissertation offers students the possibility of personal advanced study on a topic on which they already have adequate basic knowledge and for which a suitable Supervisor can be found. Guidance will be offered on research methods and on presentation. The dissertation will, as a rule, consist of a study of a given body of primary material in a given perspective. Its length should be 10,000 words maximum, and it should be submitted in accordance with guidelines and deadlines, and normally be written in English. The topic must be formally agreed in advance with both the research co-ordinator and the potential supervisor.(Guidelines for printing and binding dissertations can be found at: http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/printanddesign/dissertation/)

Availability: Available only to Single Honours students in the Final year of the Honours Programme.
Semester: Whole Year
Time: To be arranged.
Teaching method: 3 all-group seminars plus up to 8 individual sessions with your supervisor.
Prerequisites:
Antirequsites: SP4098 or dissertation in another subject
Assessment: Dissertation = 100%
Reassessment:
30 Credits

SP4102 Semester with Study Abroad in Spain

The objective of the module is to allow students who are unable to take a year or a semester away from St Andrews in a Spanish-Speaking country to spend one term (September to December) studying in Spain at an institution with which we have a Erasmus exchange. The students will take a range of approved courses at the host university, Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona. They will also take SP4099, Spanish Dissertation; a dissertation topic will have been negotiated with their tutors before the summer recess. Preparation for SP4099 will be carried out during their stay in Spain, and continued in St Andrews during January and Semester 2. If places are available, the module can also be open to students who spent their WIYA year at a non-Spanish-speaking country, but not to those who have already spent an Erasmus year.(Guidelines for printing and binding dissertations can be found at: http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/printanddesign/dissertation/)

Availability:
Semester: 1
Time: To be arranged.
Teaching method: By arrangement
Prerequisites: SP3002
Antirequsites: SP4003, SP4103
Assessment: Coursework = 100%
Reassessment:
15 Credits

SP4103 Residential Project in Spanish-Speaking Country

The object of the module is language learning and cultural familiarisation through self-access residence in Spain or Spanish America. The student will spend six weeks in a Spanish-speaking country during the summer vacation. There will be an approved project, so that the process of understanding and writing in Spanish is conscientiously and formally addressed. It will be written up on the student's return and in lieu of SP4003 or SP4223. The project will not exceed 6,000 words, although recorded material and its transcription may be supplementary.

Availability:
Semester: 1
Time: Please Contact Department
Teaching method: Please Contact Module Co-ordinator and Department
Prerequisites: SP3002
Antirequsites: SP4003, SP3101, SP4102
Assessment: Project = 100%
Reassessment:
15 Credits

SP4223 Language, History and Culture

This module aims to provide a sound understanding of important modes of literary expression in Spain and Spanish America following the representation of different historical moments through fictions. The syllabus will involve the study of a selection of canonical texts from Spain and Spanish America. The reading list will be available online as from the preceding month of May.

Availability:
Semester: 1
Time: 9.00 am Tue, plus 1 seminar to be arranged.
Teaching method: 1 lecture, 1 seminar and 1 surgery hour.
Prerequisites:
Antirequsites: SP4102
Assessment: Coursework = 100%
Reassessment:
Short loan supplementary reading list
15 Credits

SP4224 Language, Reality and Illusion

This module aims to provide a sound understanding of important modes of literary expression in Spain and Spanish America following the conflict of reality and illusion across the centuries. The syllabus will involve the study of a selection of canonical texts from Spain and Spanish America. The reading list will be available online as from the preceding month of May.

Availability:
Semester: 2
Time: 9.00 am Tue, plus 1 seminar to be arranged.
Teaching method: 1 lecture, 1 seminar and 1 surgery hour.
Prerequisites:
Antirequsites:
Assessment: Coursework = 40%, 2-hour Written Examination = 60%
Reassessment:
Short loan supplementary reading list