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2020/21 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

SPPO1420 Researching Spanish and Latin American Studies

20 creditsClass Size: 140

Module manager: Professor Thea Pitman
Email: t.pitman@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) View Timetable

Year running 2020/21

Pre-requisite qualifications

A Level Spanish or equivalent level.

This module is mutually exclusive with

SPPO1410Researching Spanish and Latin American Studies

Module replaces

SPPO1060SPPO1210

This module is not approved as a discovery module

Module summary

This module will equip you with the skills and knowledge necessary to successfully carry out a research project on a topic of your choice in the medium of Spanish, working collaboratively with peers and in close contact with lecturers. You will attend lectures on themes central to the disciplines of Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American studies, connected to those taught in the optional modules for Single Honours students. You will be exposed to key texts in large group seminars, and will receive support in formulating and expressing your opinions on these in specialist language workshops. In small group seminars, you will prepare for the final project by undertaking a staggered series of the various tasks involved in the process of research, with in-class feedback on each.

Objectives

This module aims to:

1. introduce students to key approaches, themes and developments in Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies, embedded in the research context of the University of Leeds
2. encourage students to conceive of Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies as an interdisciplinary field of study that includes literature, culture, history, politics and society
3. engage students with scholarship and to develop a good general understanding of key principles in academic research
4. encourage students to utilise the research tools available at the University of Leeds (e.g. Special Collections, Skills@Leeds)
5. develop students’ skills to engage with and analyse scholarship and analyse and discuss a wide range of primary materials, such as film, literature, media, political rhetoric, historical sources
6. develop the ability to craft own arguments and use evidence to support them, to work independently and collaboratively with peers.

Learning outcomes
On completion of this module, students should be able to:

1. demonstrate an understanding of key approaches, concepts and themes in Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies
2. identify and critique the main arguments of a range of scholarly publications drawn from the discipline of Spanish and Hispanic American Studies
3. locate primary and secondary materials in libraries and online, and use the MHRA and Harvard referencing styles correctly
4. reflect effectively on the feedback provided on the various stages of the course in order to produce a research output that is rigorously researched and appropriately structured
5. analyse a range of primary materials in the target language such as literature, film, media, political rhetoric, historical sources, and use them critically as evidence to support own arguments
6. present complex ideas in written and spoken forms of target language

Skills outcomes
In addition to generic academic skills, the projects that students produce over the course of the module will enable them to explore in detail issues specific to Spanish and Hispanic American topics covered in History or Culture modules at Level 1, and will prepare them for the Final Year Project at Level 3.


Syllabus

Elements taught on this module will typically include lectures, large-group seminars, academic skills sessions, language workshops and a group research project. The module will be taught through a set of units that centre around key concepts and themes in Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies. These will vary from year to year. These might include:

Nationalism and Fall of Empire
Authoritarian Rule and Resistance
Urban Development and Decline
Contested/Conflictive Territories

Teaching methods

Delivery typeNumberLength hoursStudent hours
Workshop41.004.00
Lectures51.005.00
Seminars31.003.00
seminars81.008.00
Group learning21.002.00
Private study hours178.00
Total Contact hours22.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)200.00

Private study

Reading and preparation for lectures, large group seminar, small group seminars, workshops and skills sessions: 4 x 22 = 88 hours
Preparation for formative assessments= 40 hours
Preparation for summative assessments = 50 hours

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

Formative Comprehension Qs in TL: 500 words, week 4

Formative Commentary in TL: 500 words, week 8

Formative Group Presentation in TL: Oral expression in TL, week 11

Formative Group Presentation in TL: Project Proposal, week 18

Methods of assessment


Coursework
Assessment typeNotes% of formal assessment
EssayResearch essay - 1,000 words in TL60.00
Literature Review1,000 words in TL40.00
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)100.00

Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated

Reading list

The reading list is available from the Library website

Last updated: 26/01/2021 12:51:41

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