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SP351E: PLAYFUL FICTIONS: CERVANTES, BORGES, CORTáZAR (2020-2021)

Last modified: 05 Aug 2021 13:04


Course Overview

The course will study three of the best-known writers of fictions that engage the reader in a playful manner: Miguel de Cervantes from Spain, Jorge Luis Borges and Julio Cortázar from Argentina. We will read selections from Cervantes’ masterpiece the Don Quixote de la Mancha and short stories by the other two writers. We will study the digital inflections of these writers, all of whom challenge reality and the borders between virtual (fictional) and physical worlds.  

Course Details

Study Type Undergraduate Level 3
Session Second Sub Session Credit Points 15 credits (7.5 ECTS credits)
Campus Aberdeen Sustained Study No
Co-ordinators
  • Dr Jesse Barker

What courses & programmes must have been taken before this course?

  • Spanish And Latin American Studies (SP)
  • One of Programme Level 3 or Programme Level 4 or Programme Level 5
  • Any Undergraduate Programme

What other courses must be taken with this course?

None.

What courses cannot be taken with this course?

Are there a limited number of places available?

No

Course Description

In the first part of this course we will get to know what many consider to be the first modern novel: Don Quixote de la Mancha, published in two parts by Miguel de Cervantes in 1605 and 1615. We will study why Cervantes’ novel has had such an enormous impact over the centuries. We will visit the university library’s special collections to see and handle editions of the novel published in different times and places. We will also explore the presence of the novel in different visual and digital media.

The second part of the course will then turn to the 20th century Argentine writers Jorge Luis Borges and Julio Cortázar, who have arguably had a similar impact to Cervantes on contemporary literature and thinking. We will consider why Borges’s stories are often considered visionary precursors of the digital age and the influence of Cortazar’s conception of stories as elaborate games.

Students will be assessed on weekly homework assignments and seminar participation as well as two longer research-based assessments. The first will encourage students to engage creatively with one or more of these writers through the writing of a story or a fictional news item (accompanied by a reflective piece). Alternatively, students can create a digital audiovisual document. The second assessment can be a traditional essay or include creative elements as well.


Contact Teaching Time

Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.

Teaching Breakdown

More Information about Week Numbers


Details, including assessments, may be subject to change until 31 August 2023 for 1st half-session courses and 22 December 2023 for 2nd half-session courses.

Summative Assessments

Report: Individual

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 30
Assessment Weeks 31 Feedback Weeks 34

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Feedback

Written feedback on MyAberdeen

Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ConceptualAnalyseUnderstand and analyse the importance of major groundbreaking works of Spanish and Latin American fiction.
ReflectionCreateApply the fictional strategies for representing and engaging the world studied to an evaluative understanding of the student’s own engagement with the surrounding world, through self-reflective docs.

Tutorial/Seminar Participation

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 10
Assessment Weeks 25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35 Feedback Weeks 35

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Feedback

Orally in class and in notes on MyAberdeen, throughout the term, as needed. In a note at the end of the term along with mark on MyAberdeen.

Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ConceptualAnalyseUnderstand and analyse the importance of major groundbreaking works of Spanish and Latin American fiction.
ReflectionCreateApply the fictional strategies for representing and engaging the world studied to an evaluative understanding of the student’s own engagement with the surrounding world, through self-reflective docs.

Essay

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 60
Assessment Weeks 37 Feedback Weeks 40

Look up Week Numbers

Feedback

Written feedback through Turnitin

Word Count 2500
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ConceptualAnalyseUnderstand and analyse the importance of major groundbreaking works of Spanish and Latin American fiction.
ReflectionCreateApply the fictional strategies for representing and engaging the world studied to an evaluative understanding of the student’s own engagement with the surrounding world, through self-reflective docs.

Formative Assessment

There are no assessments for this course.

Resit Assessments

Essay

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 100
Assessment Weeks Feedback Weeks

Look up Week Numbers

Feedback Word Count 2500
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
Sorry, we don't have this information available just now. Please check the course guide on MyAberdeen or with the Course Coordinator

Course Learning Outcomes

Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ConceptualAnalyseUnderstand and analyse the importance of major groundbreaking works of Spanish and Latin American fiction.
ReflectionCreateApply the fictional strategies for representing and engaging the world studied to an evaluative understanding of the student’s own engagement with the surrounding world, through self-reflective docs.

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