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CS92PROD
Cinema, Politics, and Society in Contemporary Spain
SPAN 252
Spring 2013 not offered
Crosslisting: COL 242, IBST 252

Our objective is to study the relationship between cinema, political reform, and social change in Spain since circa 1990. The course is organized around four themes--gender and sexuality; nationalities and nationalisms; immigration; and historical memory--that relate directly to the major public policy initiatives of the period. The ley de igualdad (2007) and el matrimonio homosexual (2005) seek to provide equality for women and homosexuals. Changes in Spain's política territorial and various estatutos de autonomía (2006) redefine the relationship between the central and regional governments. Modifications in the ley de extranjería (2009) aim to regularize the legal status of immigrants. The ley de memoria histórica (2007) was amended in hopes of achieving at long last a full reconciliation with the legacy of fascism. All of these initiatives continue to fuel public debate in the press, Parliament, and the public sphere over the topic of cultural identities and social relations within a national political framework. The course is designed, therefore, to show how artists--filmmakers, in this case--enter the fray. While doing so, it also provides an overview of contemporary Spanish social and political history. Supplementary readings taken from official government publications and web sites, from the press, and from various social research agencies (Spain's Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas, the Pew Research Center's Global Attitudes Project, the World Economic Forum) will help bring into focus the often problematic tensions that exist between artistic (cinematographic) representation and sociopolitical realities. Finally, insofar as Spanish films project local responses to transnational issues, the course is designed to stimulate debate over the status of culture in the age of globalization.
Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: HA RLAN
Course Format: Lecture / DiscussionGrading Mode: Graded
Level: UGRD Prerequisites: None
Fulfills a Major Requirement for: (COL)(FILM-MN)(RMST)

Last Updated on MAR-19-2024
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