Intermediate Spanish: Chile after Pinochet

Transcription

1 Intermediate Spanish: Chile after Pinochet Start date 13 November 2015 End date 15 November 2015 Venue Madingley Hall Madingley Cambridge Tutor Dr Franco Pesce Course code 1516NRX033 Director of Programmes For further information on this course, please contact Emma Jennings Clare Kerr, Public Programmes Coordinator , To book See: or telephone Tutor biography Franco Pesce recently obtained a PhD in Spanish from the Department of Spanish & Portuguese at Cambridge. His thesis explored the works of two prominent contemporary writers Roberto Bolaño, from Chile, Enrique Vila-Matas, from Spain asking about their passionate defence of literature amidst the increasing prominence of other cultural forms. Franco has taught Spanish and Latin American literature and culture to undergraduate students at Cambridge, and Spanish language at Spanish Connection, a language centre based in London. He also has a degree in Industrial Engineering and seven years of professional experience in the business software sector. He is currently researching the impact of digital technologies on the social role of the writer.

2 Course programme Friday Please plan to arrive between 16:30 and 18:30. You can meet other course members in the bar which opens at 18:15. Tea and coffee making facilities are available in the study bedrooms. 19:00 Dinner 20:30 22:00 Session 1 Introduction to Contemporary Chile What do you know about contemporary Chile? Are you familiar with Chilean linguistic expressions? We will work in pairs to discuss our impressions about Chile; listen to a brief introduction to Chilean culture from the period; study some key words and idioms, and learn about some key cultural figures. 22:00 Terrace bar open for informal discussion Saturday 07:30 Breakfast 09:00 10:30 Session 2 The Chilean Transition As an introduction to both the study of the Chilean transition and the film to be screened later, we will watch the trailer of the film No (2012), directed by Pablo Larraín. Set in the 1980s, the film will also allow us to talk about our memories of that period, and to practise different linguistic structures that describe the past. We will also read a brief text about the period. 10:30 Coffee 11:00 12:30 Session 3 Chile, la alegría ya viene We will watch a clip from the campaign of the No side of the 1998 referendum. The campaign s anthem or jingle? invited the audience to think about the future. We will practise different structures for describing the future our expectations, certainties and hopes read a recent critical column about the campaign, and write a brief opinion piece. 13:00 Lunch 14:00 16:00 Free 16:00 Tea 16:30 18:00 Session 4 The Weight of the Past Alejandro Zambra is one of the most prominent Chilean writers. We will read an excerpt from his 2011 novel Formas de volver a casa, and then discuss how to approach and deal with Chile s violent past. Chile being a land of earthquakes, we will talk about their impact on Chilean culture, and revise the expressions needed to give instructions and advice.

3 18:00 18:30 Free 18:30 Dinner 20:00 21:30 Session 5 Screening of the film No, by Pablo Larraín (2012) 21:30 Terrace bar open for informal discussion Sunday 07:30 Breakfast 09:00 10:30 Session 6 The Parra Family The Parras are a family of outstanding artists, and their influence can be traced throughout the last 60 years. We will listen to an introduction to the work of some of the Parras, read a poem by Violeta Parra, talk about her music, and contrast it to that of other famous Latin American musicians. 10:30 Coffee 11:00 12:30 Session 7 Alexis Sánchez Arsenal s Alexis Sánchez is one of the most successful Chilean footballers in Chilean history. We will watch a clip about his career and learn some sports-related vocabulary. Then we will move on to Tocopilla, in the Atacama Desert, where Sánchez was raised, and learn about the place of the desert in recent Chilean history by watching a clip from Patricio Guzmán s Nostalgia de la luz (2010). 12:45 Lunch The course will disperse after lunch

4 Course syllabus Aims: 1. Develop the students Spanish skills and their language-learning skills by immersing them in a Spanish-speaking environment. 2. Familiarise the students with contemporary Chilean culture and some of the current debates in Chilean society. 3. Learn and practise the grammar and expressions required to talk about history describing the past and think about the future Content: The course is organised around the 2012 film No, by Pablo Larraín. This film gives a fictional account of the TV campaign of the no side in the 1988 referendum that ended Pinochet s dictatorship. The film stages a conflict between political engagement and mass culture between ideology and publicity/consumption that persists in today s Chile, and questions the achievements of the so-called Chilean transition. It also shows the importance of popular artists in the shaping of society, and the imperative to revisit Chile s traumatic past that many contemporary Chilean artists experience. The writer Alejandro Zambra (1975) is one such case. Of the same generation as Larraín, in his novel Formas de volver a casa he explores the life-stories of people his age, who were secondary characters during the Pinochet years, and who struggle to create their own country without forgetting the past. The course offers the opportunity to discuss these topics, and to read and write about them; hence it will also cover some specific vocabulary and the grammar and expressions needed to describe both the past and the future. Presentation of the course: The course will be run entirely in Spanish, and will put emphasis in the students participation and in the development of their language learning skills. There will be group discussions, as well as work in pairs. We will combine reading and listening with watching of clips and of an entire film. Each section will offer an introduction to its topic and a combination of oral and written exercises, to foster discussion, on the one hand, and to acquire and practise the necessary language skills, on the other. Outcomes: Increased confidence and enhanced linguistic skills to engage in conversation in Spanish. Knowledge about contemporary Chilean culture, some of Chile s central cultural figures, and the cultural debates that Chileans are engaged in. Experience in analysing films and texts in a critical way. Awareness of the scope of artistic production in Chile, and resources to explore it further.

5 Reading and resources list Listed below are a number of texts that might be of interest for future reference, but do not need to be bought (or consulted) for the course. Author Title Publisher and date Pablo Larraín (director) No 2012, released on DVD in 2013 by Network Alejandro Zambra Formas de volver a casa Anagrama, 2011 Alejandro Zambra and Megan McDowell (translator) Ways of Going Home Granta, 2013 Violeta Parra Décimas autobiográficas Various online versions Patricio Guzmán (director) Nostalgia de la luz 2010, released on DVD in 2012 by New Wave Films Website addresses Note Students of the Institute of Continuing Education are entitled to 20% discount on books published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) which are purchased at the Press bookshop, 1 Trinity Street, Cambridge (Mon-Sat 9am 5:30pm, Sun 11am 5pm). A letter or confirming acceptance on to a current Institute course should be taken as evidence of enrolment. Information correct as of: 21 October 2015