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76513-01 - Lecture: Dictadura y memoria en literatura y cine (2 CP)
| Semester | fall semester 2025 |
| Course frequency | Once only |
| Lecturers | Harm Den Boer (harm.denboer@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | This course is offered in English and is targeted at students and in an interested audience; an added feature of the course is a parallel Film Program at the Stadtkino Basel between October and November, where some of the most influential films about Dictatorships, Resistance and Memory of Latin America produced from the 1970's to our days will be shown. The course deals with a period of great changes and upheaval in Latin America, when in a context of expansive capitalism, regions and countries in Latin America were exploited for their resources to contribute to a growing international market; it was also the time of the great ideologies and of social struggle that started in the early 20th century, and converted Latin America to one of the arenas or venues of the so-called Cold War. In Spanish American Literature a genre of "Regionalist" novels reflect the importance of the soil, apparently as the roots of national identity, but frequently pointing to the brutal exploitation of minerals and natural resources, followed by a variety of fiction on the character of the Dictator. The literature of the Boom, the novels by García Márquez, Vargas Llosa, Fuentes and others can, then, not only be read as explosions of creativity and imagination, but also as reflections on the great social conflicts erupting in societies still determined by colonial realities. The dictatorships in Central America, the revolt of Cuba, the regimes of so many South-American countries -Brasil, Chile, Argentina are the most known cases- with their brutal repression, killings, leading to so many exiles were one of the great -tragical- realities on the world stage in the 70s and 80s. Their effects are still present among the survivors, and the generatios after them: they now figure in literature and film occupied with memory. In a series of lectures, some of them by invited speakers, we will discuss the impact of the period of Latin America dictatorships (mainly between 1950-1983) as reflected in literature and film. We will deal with voices of testimony and resistance, not forgetting the reflection of daily life and family relations. |
| Learning objectives | The course offers an insight in Latin American political, social and above all, cultural reality between the 1960s and now. Students will not only get acquainted with those works of fiction -literature, film- that reflect and examine these realities, they will also deal with some key theoretical concepts in the areas of: "culture and repression," "memory and post-memory," "art and politics." |
| Bibliography | The list of novels, essays and films will be ready at the start of the semester. |
| Comments | An added feature of the course is the possibility to see and enjoy a selection of films at the Stadtkino between October and November 2025, for a reduced tariff. |
| Admission requirements | An understanding of Spanish (and in some cases, of Portuguese) is highly beneficial. Films and literature are shown/read in their original language, but translations (subtitles, literary translations) will be available. |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | No specific media used |
| Course auditors welcome |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|---|
| wöchentlich | Wednesday | 16.15-18.00 | Maiengasse, Seminarraum 0105 |
Dates
| Date | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|
| Wednesday 17.09.2025 | 16.15-18.00 | Maiengasse, Seminarraum 0105 |
| Wednesday 24.09.2025 | 16.15-18.00 | Maiengasse, Seminarraum 0105 |
| Wednesday 01.10.2025 | 16.15-18.00 | Maiengasse, Seminarraum 0105 |
| Wednesday 08.10.2025 | 16.15-18.00 | Maiengasse, Seminarraum 0105 |
| Wednesday 15.10.2025 | 16.15-18.00 | Maiengasse, Seminarraum 0105 |
| Wednesday 22.10.2025 | 16.15-18.00 | Maiengasse, Seminarraum 0105 |
| Wednesday 29.10.2025 | 16.15-18.00 | Maiengasse, Seminarraum 0105 |
| Wednesday 05.11.2025 | 16.15-18.00 | Maiengasse, Seminarraum 0105 |
| Wednesday 12.11.2025 | 16.15-18.00 | Maiengasse, Seminarraum 0105 |
| Wednesday 19.11.2025 | 16.15-18.00 | Maiengasse, Seminarraum 0105 |
| Wednesday 26.11.2025 | 16.15-18.00 | Maiengasse, Seminarraum 0105 |
| Wednesday 03.12.2025 | 16.15-18.00 | Maiengasse, Seminarraum 0105 |
| Wednesday 10.12.2025 | 16.15-18.00 | Maiengasse, Seminarraum 0105 |
| Wednesday 17.12.2025 | 16.15-18.00 | Maiengasse, Seminarraum 0105 |
| Modules |
Doktorat Iberoromanische Literaturwissenschaft: Empfehlungen (PhD subject: Ibero-Romance Literature) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft BA (Bachelor's degree subject: English) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft BA (Bachelor's degree subject: Ancient Civilizations) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft BA (Bachelor's degree subject: German Language and Literature) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft BA (Bachelor's degree subject: French Language and Literature) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft BA (Bachelor's degree subject: Spanish Language and Literature) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft BA (Bachelor's degree subject: Italian Language and Literature) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft BA (Bachelor's degree subject: Nordic Philology (Start of studies before 01.08.2022)) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft BA (Bachelor's degree program: Ancient Civilizations) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft BA (Bachelor's degree subject: Nordic Philology) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft MA (Master's degree subject: Slavic Studies) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft MA (Master's degree subject: English) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft MA (Master's degree subject: German Language and Literature) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft MA (Master's degree subject: French Language and Literature) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft MA (Master's degree subject: Spanish Language and Literature) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft MA (Master's degree subject: Italian Language and Literature) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft MA (Master's degree subject: German Literature) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft MA (Master's degree subject: Latin Philology) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft MA (Master's degree subject: Nordic Philology) Modul: Interphilologie: Literaturwissenschaft MA (Master's Studies - Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences) Modul: Literatur aus Spanien und Lateinamerika seit 1700 (Bachelor's degree subject: Spanish Language and Literature) Modul: Literatur im Zusammenspiel der Künste und Medien (Master's degree program: Literary Studies) Modul: Literaturgeschichte (Master's degree program: Literary Studies) Modul: Spanische Literaturwissenschaft (Master's degree subject: Spanish Language and Literature) |
| Assessment format | record of achievement |
| Assessment details | Participating students will have a written exam on the last day of the course - with limited access to Internet. |
| Assessment registration/deregistration | Reg.: course registration; dereg.: not required |
| Repeat examination | one repetition, repetition counts |
| Scale | Pass / Fail |
| Repeated registration | no repetition |
| Responsible faculty | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, studadmin-philhist@unibas.ch |
| Offered by | Fachbereich Iberoromanistik |