Questions of Spanish literature during the Middle Ages

Duration

30h Th

Number of credits

Lecturer

Alvaro Ceballos Viro

Language(s) of instruction

Spanish language

Organisation and examination

Teaching in the second semester

Schedule

Schedule online

Units courses prerequisite and corequisite

Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program

Learning unit contents

This course attempts to present a representative and coherent overview of mediaeval Spanish literature. The initial sessions will provide a general overview: the various genres which were cultivated, the metre, phonetics and spelling of the Castilian dialect, the political context on the iberian peninsula, etc. We will then address a text which enables us not only to illustrate the various aspects of mediaeval literature, but also to discover the mediaeval era in all its facets: the political, social, religious, sexual and linguistic order of the time - Libro de buen amor by Juan Ruiz, the archpriest of Hita, written between 1330 and 1343.
This european classic presents itself as a textbook for seduction; it contains, though, a great deal of allegoric episodes, parodies of Goliardic inspiration, religious poems, inversions of the courtly love, topsy-turvy world descriptions, etc. The Libro de buen amor contains, hence, most of the litterary practices of the time, as well as a stunningly modern hermeneutical theory.
 

Learning outcomes of the learning unit

• An in-depth knowledge of literary genres from the Middle Ages on the Iberian peninsula as well as their thematic and formal characteristics.

• An understanding of the political, geographic, dialectal and cultural complexity of the Iberian peninsula in the Middle Ages.

• A philological sensitivity to the status of a mediaeval text and the difficulties in communicating this.

• Skills in diachronic linguistics required to read mediaeval texts in the Castilian dialect (helped of course by commented editions and dictionaries).

Prerequisite knowledge and skills

Level B2 or preferable C1 in Spanish - written and oral comprehension.

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

Presentations of some of the main critical papers on Libro de buen amor.

Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)

Face-to-face. Flipped classroom.

Recommended or required readings

Studies are expected to purchase a Spanish commented edition of the Libro de buen amor before the start of the term.
A portfolio with the mandatory secondary literature will be handed to the students at the beginning of the term.

Assessment methods and criteria

Exam(s) in session

Any session

- In-person

written exam ( open-ended questions )

- Remote

written exam ( open-ended questions )


Additional information:

Written exam. Oral presentations during the semester may add one or two points to the exam grade. 

Work placement(s)

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Organizational remarks

This course is given mainly in Spanish. Explanations may be given in French, particularly with regards to terminology. Assessed exercises may be written in French. French translations of the required reading may aid with understanding but are no substitute for reading the original Castilian.

Contacts

Álvaro CEBALLOS VIRO Département de Langues et Littératures Romanes Place Cockerill, 3/5 - Bât. A2 4000 Liège - Belgique E-mail: a.ceballosviro@ulg.ac.be Tlf.: +32 (0) 4366 5389

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