COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course will examine a variety of representations of the Spanish Civil War (1936-39) from different periods and genres, while providing significant historical, cultural, political, and economic background for understanding and evaluating the representations we will analyze. Representations range from novels, poetry, speeches, photographs, paintings, propaganda posters, feature films, documentaries and testimonies from the 1930s to the 2000s. Students will gain a comprehensive understanding of the Spanish Civil War and its significance in Spain and beyond during the twentieth century, as well as its traumatic legacy in the present, while learning how to read history through cultural representations of contested events.
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REQUIRED TEXTS*
The following texts are required and it is highly recommended that you purchase a personal copy of each, although I've put a copy on reserve in Geisel Library for your convenience:
Helen Graham, The Spanish Civil War, A Very Short Introduction
Ramón José Sender, Réquiem por un campesino español
Alberto Méndez, Los girasoles ciegos
PDFs of all other required reading material will be linked to this website on the "Weekly Schedule" page.
*It is imperative that you complete all the assigned reading/screenings for each day BEFORE coming to class and to have a PRINTED COPY of the readings with you in class, preferably one with your own personal annotation and notes.
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COURSE GRADING POLICY
Your final course grade will be calculated as follows:
Attendance & Participation 15%
Quizzes (4) 20%
Response Papers, 2-3 pgs (4) 40%
Presentation 10%
Final Paper, 4-6 pgs 15%
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ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION
I will take attendance every class and more than one absence will result in a letter grade deduction of your overall grade. Since there are no exams in this course, it is crucial that you attend class every day and that you are prepared to participate in classroom discussions about the material, which will occur during every class meeting. This means having read the assigned material before class, but also having something to say about it and being willing to speak in class. The overall quality of this course will ultimately depend upon everyone's commitment to being present, being prepared, and being open to sharing ideas with one another.
Please let me know immediately if you have to be absent because of a family emergency, serious illness or another exceptional circumstance, and I will work with you around this as appropriate.
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COURSE ASSIGNMENTS
In addition to your regular attendance and participation, I will evaluate your work in this course through two different writing assignments, which are designed to help you: a) process the course material through synthesis and b) apply what you've learned from the course to a survivor testimony of the Spanish Civil War. (I will also give two quizzes early in the course to ensure you're keeping up with the reading material from the beginning.)
I. Response Papers
Each response paper should focus on the film assigned for the section. In your response, you are required to cite two of the readings that accompany the film. Papers that fail to cite two of the assigned readings in your analysis of the film will automatically receive an F. The goal of these response papers is for you to synthesize the material assigned for each class. You are welcome and encouraged to write about any aspect of the films that you find most interesting, as long as you're able to relate what you have to say to the course readings. I will post a series of questions to help you think about the films a couple of days before they are due. You are not required to answer any of them, though you may choose to consider using one or more of them as a basis for your paper (although it's not a good idea to try to answer all of them).
Response papers will be graded on the following scale:
✓+ An outstanding paper that effectively and creatively synthesizes course material with a response to the week's film (corresponds to an A/A-)
✓ A good paper that meets the requirements of the assignment as outlined above (corresponds to a B+/B/B-)
✓- A paper that requires further thought or more development of ideas or lacks understanding of course material or demonstrates only a surface level engagement with the film and/or the week's readings (corresponds to a C+/C/C-)
F A paper that is not long enough (1 1/2 page minimum) or doesn't mention at least two of the week's readings or fails to discuss the film in any substantive way or does an extremely poor job doing so
II. Final Paper
You are required to write one final paper (4-6 pages) that analyzes a survivor testimony from the Spanish Civil War Memory Project archive: http://libraries.ucsd.edu/speccoll/scwmemory/?temp-new-window-replacement=true. You may analyze the testimony however you would like, but I highly recommend meeting with me about your approach before turning in the final paper. I also recommend that you watch 3-4 full interviews before choosing one to analyze. As part of this paper writing process, you will also give a 8-10 minute presentation on the last day of class about the testimony you've chosen to analyze. Final papers are due by e-mail on Saturday, August 3rd at 10:00am. [We will discuss these paper projects in further detail in class.]
EMAIL AND OFFICE HOURS
If you have a quick question, please email me at sboehm@ucsd.edu. Please include your name and a proper greeting in every email. During the week I will usually respond to email within 24 hours. I don't generally check university email on the weekends.
If you would like to discuss any aspect of the course in more depth, please plan on meeting with me during my office hours on Thursdays from 11:00-12:00pm in my office in the Literature Building, #143. Please contact me if those hours don't work for you in order to make alternative arrangements to meet.
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SPECIAL NEEDSIf you have a learning disability or any other condition that would require accommodation on my part or during the final exam, or if you will miss any classes in order to observe a religious holiday, please inform me in person as soon as possible.
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ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
University policy requires me to report all cases of suspected plagiarism to the Office of Academic Integrity. You are responsible for understanding what constitutes plagiarism, and for avoiding it: “I didn’t know…” is not an acceptable excuse. If you are unsure how plagiarism is defined, or if you would like guidance with knowing how to avoid plagiarism, please consult this university resource: http://libraries.ucsd.edu/locations/sshl/guides/preventing-plagiarism/index.html?temp-new-window-replacement=true
