• Home
• Study
• Study Information
• Modules
• Module Information

Catalonia Is Not Spain? Modern Catalan Culture in Context

Module description

If you travel to Catalonia, you will see graffiti everywhere proclaiming (in English) that ‘Catalonia is not Spain’. In this module, you will study modern representations of Catalan identity – film, sport, literature, language its political institutions and more – to discover what it is that makes Catalonia different, and the history behind these differences. You will also study how Catalonia is portrayed outside its borders, primarily in Spain, as well as the UK.

No knowledge of Catalan is required for this module; where short Catalan resources are used, you will be provided with an English and Spanish translation.

Module aims - intentions of the module

The module aims to allow students to:

• Understand modern Catalan culture from the point of view of constructing Catalan identity
• Analyse a range of resources (academic texts, written press, film, television and radio)
• Develop an interrogative and comparative approach to texts in general, and specifically with a view to understanding portrayals of cultural identity
• Provide a research-led and interdisciplinary approach, allowing students to develop a range of interests through appropriate research skills and methodologies

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Demonstrate a sound understanding of the core texts used in the module, relating them to key points of the expression of Catalan identity and their wider cultural and historical context
• 2. Compare and contrast conflicting representations of Catalan identity, and perform further research to analyse concepts in detail

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 3. Present a cogent and sustained written argument in an appropriate register, on a topic chosen from a range of options provided, to a specified length and deadline
• 4. Locate and identify library and electronic resources on a given topic; Use recommended reference works to support an original analysis and to compile a bibliography

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 5. Undertake independent research on the basis of a taught course, managing learning time and asking for guidance when necessary
• 6. Present information and arguments on a designated topic to a group of listeners and respond to questions and responses from the group
• 7. Demonstrate ability to combine a variety of IT skills in researching and reporting on a topic

Syllabus plan

Whilst the content may vary from year to year, it is envisioned that it will cover some or all of the following topics:

• Catalan history: a timeline
• Barcelona: the capital of a country that does not exist.
• Catalan nationalism and language
• Catalan in the 21st century
• Catalan political institutions
• An independent Catalonia?
• Catalans abroad: Catalan Culture at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2007
• The role of translation in building a literature in Catalan
• FC Barcelona: 'The army of a defenceless people'
• Blurred borders: En Construcción
• Exploring content beyond the classroom

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Students are not required to buy a specific text for the course, and all seminar reading will be provided via ELE in electronic format.

The following is an indicative reading list covering the issues raised in the syllabus.

• Allen, Esther, To Be Translated or Not to Be (Barcelona: Institut Ramon Llull, 2007)
• Balcells, Albert, and Geoffrey J. Walker, Catalan Nationalism: Past and Present (Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave, 1996)
• Ball, Phil, Morbo: The Story of Spanish Football (London: WSC Books, 2011)
• Guerín, José Luis, The Construction (S.A.V., 2008)
• Hargreaves, John, Freedom for Catalonia?: Catalan Nationalism, Spanish Identity, and the Barcelona Olympic Games (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000)
• Hughes, Robert, Barcelona (London: Panther, 2001)
• Keown, Dominic, ed., A Companion to Catalan Culture (Woodbridge: Tamesis, 2011)
• McRoberts, Kenneth, Catalonia: Nation Building without a State (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001)
• Dols Salas, Nicolau, and Richard Mansell, Catalan: An Essential Grammar (London and New York: Routledge, 2017)
• Smith, Angel, The Origins of Catalan Nationalism, 1770-1898 (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014)
• Solís, Fernando León, Negotiating Spain and Catalonia: Competing Narratives of National Identity (Bristol and Portland: Intellect, 2003)
• Terry, Arthur, A Companion to Catalan Literature (Woodbridge: Tamesis, 2003)

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• ELE – https://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=11653
• For those wishing to develop Catalan language skills, there is the free and on-line self-study course parla.cat at http://www.parla.cat/
• There is a great deal of information on Catalan and aspects of Catalan culture on the site of the Anglo-Catalan Society ( http://www.anglo-catalan.org ), including free access to their series of monographs and English versions of the Joan Gili Memorial Lecture, available at http://www.anglo-catalan.org/publications.html