OVERVIEW

The course offers a literary, cultural, social, and historical overview of Spain from the 18th century to the first decades of the 20th century, with the aim of providing students with the tools to understand and appreciate the main authors and works of this historical period.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims to illustrate key moments of Spanish culture and literature from the 18th to the 20th century, in light of general historical developments.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

Through course attendance and individual study, the student will gain knowledge of the evolution of the history of Spanish literature from the 18th to the 20th century and its related historical-political and cultural context. Students will be able to relate major European cultural movements to the works and authors studied, establishing appropriate connections.

The student will know how to read, paraphrase, and translate the proposed literary texts in Spanish and contextualize a literary work. Furthermore, the students will be able to comment on and analyze a literary text from the period studied, identifying literary stylistics, topoi, and rhetorical figures.

PREREQUISITES

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

TEACHING METHODS

Classes will be held in person. The lecturer will assign short readings that must be commented on in class by the students.

Whenever possible, the texts to be discussed will be made available on AulaWeb before each class, so that students have the necessary time to read them. Furthermore, supporting materials and various in-depth resources will be uploaded to AulaWeb for each topic covered, for those who wish to independently expand their study of a specific theme, or author.

The lecturer will also use AulaWeb to communicate with students, who are therefore invited to enroll in the course.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

From the XVIII century to the “Edad de Plata”.

Prose (from the Realist/Naturalist novel to the Modernist novel - From Espronceda to Villaespesa).

Poetry (from Romanticism to Modernism - From Emilia Pardo Bazán to Miguel de Unamuno).

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

9 CFU

For attending students:

1. Lecture notes.
2. Compulsory texts:

• PARDO BAZÁN, Emilia, La Tribuna, any edition in Spanish.
• PÉREZ GALDÓS, Benito, Tristana, any edition in Spanish.
• MARTÍNEZ RUIZ, José (Azorín), Diario de un enfermo, any edition in Spanish (Recommended edition: Biblioteca Nueva, ed. by Francisco J. Martín, 2000).
• BURGOS, Carmen de, La rampa, any edition in Spanish.
• UNAMUNO, Miguel de, San Manuel Bueno, mártir, any edition in Spanish (Recommended edition: Cátedra, ed. by Mario Valdés, 1979).   

            3. A further extensive selection of texts and articles will be provided by the lecturer and uploaded to AulaWeb.

For non attending students:

1. Compulsory texts:

• PARDO BAZÁN, Emilia, La Tribuna, any edition in Spanish.
• PÉREZ GALDÓS, Benito, Tristana, any edition in Spanish.
• MARTÍNEZ RUIZ, José (Azorín), Diario de un enfermo, any edition in Spanish (Recommended edition: Biblioteca Nueva, ed. by Francisco J. Martín, 2000).
• BURGOS, Carmen de, La rampa, any edition in Spanish.
• UNAMUNO, Miguel de, San Manuel Bueno, mártir, any edition in Spanish (Recommended edition: Cátedra, ed. by Mario Valdés, 1979).    

        2. A further extensive selection of texts and articles will be provided by the lecturer and uploaded to AulaWeb.

        3. Manual (compulsory): Felipe B. Pedraza Jiménez, Milagros Rodríguez Cáceres, Las épocas de la literatura española, Barcelona, Editorial Ariel, 2007 or 2012; chapter 5 (El siglo XVIII), chapter 6 (El Romanticismo), chapter 7 (La época del Realismo), chapter 8 (Fin de siglo), pp. 163-288. 

6 CFU: The same bibliography of 9 CFU, except for the book San Manuel bueno, mártir, which will be not part of the exam.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

LESSONS START

The lessons will start on Friday 23/10/2026.

Schedule:

Friday, 13:00–15:00, Room 11, Albergo dei Poveri.

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

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.