OVERVIEW

Fiction, poetry and theatre in Spain between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries

The course is aimed at students enrolled in the three-year degree course in Modern Languages and Cultures (9 credits).

Annual course; consists of 54 hours of lectures.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims to provide a general overlook on the main critical and historical methodologies to deal with the History of Spanish Literature, leading students to experience deep and aware ways of reading the texts of the Spanish canon.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims to provide students with an overview of the history of Spanish literature between the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Given the close links between political history and literary history in Spain during this period, part of the course will be devoted to an in-depth study of the main historical events of the period in question (the Bourbon Restoration, the Cuban War, the Civil War).
At the end of the course, students will be able to read, comment on, contextualise and relate a Spanish literary text to the historical and cultural environment in which it was created. They will also learn about the historical, social, economic and political stages that Spain went through from the beginning of the Bourbon Restoration to the present day.

PREREQUISITES

The course, bibliography and exam will be entirely in Spanish. Therefore, a good knowledge of Spanish is required.

TEACHING METHODS

54 hours of lectures per year, distributed as follows:
Part 1: Prof. Marco Succio   24 hours - first semester 
Part 2: Prof. Alessia Cassani   30 hours - second semester.

Attendance is not compulsory but strongly recommended.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

The course will be divided into two thematic parts.

Part 1 (Prof. Succio, 24 hours in the first semester)
Historical introduction to the period covered by the course, with some general notes on the 18th century. The development of fiction in Spain—particularly the novel—in the period between the Bourbon Restoration (1875) and the outbreak of the Civil War (1936).
The course will cover the key authors of the period, including: Clarín, Emilia Pardo Bazán, Benito Pérez Galdós, José Martínez Ruiz (Azorín), Vicente Blasco Ibáñez and Pío Baroja.

Part 2 (Prof. Cassani, 30 hours in the second semester)
Poetry and theatre of the early 20th century. This part deals with the so-called “Edad de plata” (Silver Age) of Spanish literature (1898-1939), and therefore the generations of '98, '14 and '27, in particular poetic and theatrical production:
Modernism and '98 (Rubén Darío, Miguel de Unamuno, Ramón María del Valle Inclán, Antonio Machado).
Novecentismo, avant-garde movements and the '14 generation (Juan Ramón Jiménez).
The '27 generation, the Republic and the Civil War (Federico García Lorca, Rafael Alberti, Gerardo Diego, Pedro Salinas, Jorge Guillén, Vicente Aleixandre, Carmen Conde, Ernestina de Champourcin).

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

BIBLIOGRAPHY
For attending students:
1.    Course notes
2.    Anthology of texts provided by lecturers on Aulaweb
3.    “Historia del teatro español. Siglo XX”. Article available on Aulaweb.

Further bibliographical references will be provided during the course.

For non-attending students:
1.    A literature textbook chosen from the following:

-Vicente Granados, Literatura española (1900-1939), Madrid, Editorial Universitaria Ramón Areces, 2011.
-José Carlos Mainer, ‘6. Modernidad y nacionalismo 1900-1939’, Barcelona, Crítica, 2010.
-Lina Rodríguez Cacho, Manual de Historia de la Literatura española 2 - Siglos XVIII al XX (hasta 1975), Madrid, Castalia, 2009, pp. 13-421.

2.    Material provided by the teachers on Aulaweb.
3.    4 works to be chosen from the list; 2 relating to part 1 (Prof. Succio) and 2 relating to part 2 (Prof. Cassani)

Works to choose from for part 1 (Prof. Succio):
-Leopoldo Alas (Clarín), La Regenta, any edition in Spanish
-Emilia Pardo Bazán, Los pazos de Ulloa, any edition in Spanish
-Benito Pérez Galdós, Misericordia, any edition in Spanish
-José Martínez Ruiz (Azorín), La voluntad, any edition in Spanish
-Vicente Blasco Ibáñez, La horda, any edition in Spanish
-Pío Baroja, El árbol de la ciencia, any edition in Spanish
-Felipe Trigo, Jarrapellejos, any edition in Spanish

Works to choose from, part 2 (Prof. Cassani):
-Antonio Machado, Poesías completas, ed. by Manuel Alvar (ed. Austral Espasa-Calpe).
- Federico García Lorca, Tutte le poesie, Spanish text alongside Italian translation, Bo-Felici edition (ed. Garzanti).
- Federico García Lorca, La casa de Bernarda Alba, any edition with notes and introduction.
- Federico García Lorca, Bodas de sangre, any edition with notes and introduction.
Federico García Lorca, Yerma, any edition with notes and introduction.
- Ramón María del Valle Inclán, Luces de bohemia, ed. Espasa-Calpe.
- I poeti del Ventisette, anthology with parallel text edited by Maria Rosso (ed. Marsilio).
- Luis Cernuda, Antología poética, edited by Ángel Rupérez (ed. Espasa), or Antología, edited by José María Capote Benot (ed. Cátedra).
- Arturo Ramoneda, Antologia De La Poesia Espanola Del Siglo XX 1890-1939, Madrid, Alianza, 2007. 
Other titles or editions may also be agreed upon with the instructor.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

LESSONS START

October 2025

Class schedule

SPANISH LITERATURE AND CULTURE II

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Oral exam at the end of the course. 

The exam consists of an oral interview in Spanish on the topics covered in the course and on the bibliography. During the exam, students will be required to demonstrate that they have acquired general theoretical knowledge and that they are able to comment on and contextualise the literary texts that will be proposed in class (for attending students) or chosen by the student (for non-attending students). The ability to critically rework the content studied and to establish connections and analogies between works, authors and literary currents will be evaluated positively.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

Students must demonstrate knowledge of the bibliography included in the programme, the ability to navigate the various historical periods covered in the course, and the development of adequate skills in analysing and contextualising literary texts. 

FURTHER INFORMATION

Students are reminded that Aulaweb will be the platform used to communicate detailed information during lessons and to share some of the study material included in the syllabus.

Students who have duly submitted a certificate of disability, SLD or other special educational needs are advised to contact both Prof. Sara Dickinson (sara.dickinson@unige.it) and the lecturer at the beginning of the course to agree on teaching and examination methods which, in accordance with the teaching objectives, take into account individual learning styles and provide appropriate compensatory tools.