OVERVIEW

The course offers a literary, cultural, social and historical panorama of Spain in the first three decades of the twentieth century, with the aim of providing students with the tools to understand and appreciate the authors and main works of Spanish "Edad de Plata".

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Learn about and study prose and poetry of the Spanish Edad de Plata in depth.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

Through course attendance and individual study, students will understand the evolution of Spanish literature in the first three decades of the twentieth century and the related historical, political, and cultural context. They will be able to relate major European cultural movements to the works and authors studied, establishing appropriate connections.
Students will be able to read and translate the proposed literary texts into Spanish and contextualize a literary work. They will also be able to comment on and analyze a literary text from the period studied, identifying literary stylistic devices, topoi, and rhetorical figures.

PREREQUISITES

Understand and speak Spanish.

TEACHING METHODS

During the 36 hours of lessons, all the topics that make up the course program will be covered.
Before each lesson, when possible, the literary texts that are the subject of the commentary will be made available on Aulaweb, so that students can have them with them in class. Furthermore, for each topic covered, support material, various insights and suggestions will be uploaded on Aulaweb for those who want to independently expand the study of a theme or a specific author.
The teacher will also use Aulaweb to communicate with students, who are therefore invited to enroll in the course.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

“Spanish Edad de Plata”:

Poetry (Modernism, Ultraism, the generations of '98 and '27, social poetry).

Prose (Valle-Inclán, Azorín, Unamuno, the greguería and the microstory).

Aesthetics (The Generations of '98 and '27, José Ortega y Gasset, Ramón Gómez de la Serna).

During the lessons, due emphasis will be given to the study of the birth and development of the various literary currents, placing them in the historical-political, and artistic framework of Western culture in which they come to life. However, students' attention will be particularly drawn to the literary text. A selection of proposed texts, made available, when possible, through Aulaweb, will be read, commented and analyzed.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

For attending students:

1. Notes of the lessons.
2. Literary texts:

• José Martínez Ruiz (Azorín), Diario de un enfermo, qualsiasi edizione in spagnolo con studio introduttivo.
• Ramón María del Valle-Inclán, Sonata de otoño, qualsiasi edizione in spagnolo con studio introduttivo.
• Unamuno, Miguel de, San Manuel Bueno, mártir, ed. de Mario Valdés, Madrid, Cátedra, 2006.
• José Ortega y Gasset, La deshumanización del arte e ideas sobre la novela (y otros ensayos), Madrid, Alianza editorial, 2018.

      3. A further selection of texts and articles will be provided by the teacher and uploaded or indicated on AulaWeb.

For non attending students:

1. Literary texts:

• José Martínez Ruiz (Azorín), Diario de un enfermo, qualsiasi edizione in spagnolo con studio introduttivo.
• Ramón María del Valle-Inclán, Sonata de otoño, qualsiasi edizione in spagnolo con studio introduttivo.
• Unamuno, Miguel de, San Manuel Bueno, mártir, ed. de Mario Valdés, Madrid, Cátedra, 2006.
• José Ortega y Gasset, La deshumanización del arte e ideas sobre la novela (y otros ensayos), Madrid, Alianza editorial, 2018.

       2. A further selection of texts and articles will be provided by the teacher and uploaded or indicated on AulaWeb.

       3. Manual: Felipe B. Pedraza, Milagros Rodríguez, Manual de literatura española, X, Novecentismo y vanguardia: Introducción, prosistas y dramaturgos, all the chapter 1, and chapter 2.3 about Ramón Gómez de la Serna.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

LESSONS START

Second half of february 2026.

Class schedule

SPANISH LITERATURE AND CULTURE II

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The exam consists of an interview  (about 30 minutes) in Italian or Spanish on the topics covered by the course.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The student must demonstrate knowledge of the bibliography and course notes (for attending students), and of being able to read, translate, comment and contextualize a proposed literary text. Students will need to demonstrate that they:

- Know the themes and stylistic evolution of the first three decades of XX century Spanish literature.

- Know how to comment and analyze literary texts and contextualize them.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Students with SLD, disability or other special educational needs certification are advised to contact the teacher at the beginning of the course to agree on teaching and exam methods that, in compliance with the teaching objectives, take into account the learning methods individual and provide suitable compensatory tools.