Spanish Culture Ii

The course aims to explore the history of Spanish culture, highlighting its political and cultural roots and the long-term phenomena which, starting from the Middle Ages and Modern Age, led to the current cultural context. The major political, social, economic and cultural developments in the history of Spain are analysed in a diachronic perspective, with a focus on particular historical moments and their related cultural productions. The course examines interrelations between culture, discourse strategies, political and social phenomena, creation and consumption of cultural products, to identify common areas between the different cultures observable on Spanish soil in the Middle Ages as well as in the Modern Age. To this end, students will be equipped with the necessary language and semiotic tools, with a view to facilitating their acquisition of the course contents.

The course aims to facilitate an understanding of cultural shifts in medieval and modern Spain, by describing it as a heterogeneous environment where contacts and relations with other European and extra-European countries played a role in shaping culture. This will enable students to understand Spanish culture in a broader diachronic perspective and to interpret today's Spanish cultural context. Students will also develop critical thinking and project skills enabling them to further explore contemporary Spain, an environment where cultural heterogeneity is a key factor to take into account for inclusion practices. Students will be equipped with the tools to refine their interdisciplinary and diachronic understanding of Spanish culture, and to identify the underlying relations within a heterogeneous cultural context. Moreover, they will be able to use the cultural competence acquired through the course to further study inclusion practices. Finally, students should be able to communicate the contents of the course, with proper command of the language.