Writing and Accounts of Crisis in Modern and Contemporary Spanish literature

Teacher(s)

Sábado Novau Marta;

Language

Spanish

Prerequisites

The prerequisite(s) for this Teaching Unit (Unité d’enseignement – UE) for the programmes/courses that offer this Teaching Unit are specified at the end of this sheet.

Main themes

The course offers a thematic journey through some of the major works of Spanish literature of the 16th, 17th, 20th and 21st centuries in the light of the idea of crisis, viewed at one and the same time from a perspective that is historical and social as well as literary. 

Aims

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :
1	By the end of the course, students will be able to: - situate within their historical, social and literary context the works and literary currents covered in the course; - analyse extracts from the works in question in a rigorous way - deal in a critical and informed way with the theoretical development of key concepts from the course, such as that of 'crisis'

Content

The term “Generation of ‘98” refers to a group of writers who, in their youth, witnesses the loss of the last Spanish colonies. This historical event plunges the country into a national crisis. Through the study of three representative novels of this period, this class aims to study this transitional moment in Spanish history and literature. The writers of this generation turn to the Spanish literary tradition as well as to the Spanish landscapes of Castilla in order to discover the “essence” of Spain and find solutions for “regeneration”. In addition, they also attempt to enter into a larger cultural and intellectual space represented by Europe at this moment. These identitarian interrogations about Spain as a nation go along with interrogations of existential and individual order. The works and protagonists of the three novels are challenged with the ideas of German philosophy (Schopenhauer, Nietzsche) and search for the meaning of life, not without pessimism.

Teaching methods

Due to the COVID-19 crisis, the information in this section is particularly likely to change.

This course will alternate lectures and moments of analysis of literary texts where students will be invited to participate.

Evaluation methods

Due to the COVID-19 crisis, the information in this section is particularly likely to change.

The students will have to write a “reading journal” in Spanish, where they will give an account of their reading of the three works in the program. At the end of the semester there will be a written evaluation.

Bibliography

• José Martínez Ruiz (Azorín), La voluntad, Cátedra, Madrid, 2006 [1902].
• Pío Baroja, El árbol de la ciencia, Cátedra, Madrid, 2006 [1911].
• Miguel de Unamuno, Niebla, Cátedra, Madrid, 2007 [1914].

Une bibliographie critique sera mise à disposition par l’enseignante.

Teaching materials

• Les trois oeuvres du corpus et les notes de cours. Ponctuellement d'autres textes seront mis en ligne par l'enseignante.

Faculty or entity

ELAL