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Mediated Lives: Intermedial Fiction from Latin America

Module description

What we see on screen – from films to telenovelas and reality TV – shapes how we experience our present and remember our past. In this module, we will explore the power of screen media in Latin America and how this has influenced literary fiction. How could Hollywood cinema provide escapism for prisoners of dictatorship? How can telenovelas create a sense of national community? How does a reality TV show relate to a corrupt government? We will look at these questions and more with reference to novels from Argentina, Chile and Venezuela.

Module aims - intentions of the module

This module aims to introduce you to theories of intermediality in the Latin American context, increasing your understanding of the role of the media in Latin America and how this has shaped literary fiction. The module will allow you to practise both close textual reading and broader critical analysis of secondary material. This module also aims to develop your comprehension of written Spanish, and your skills in communication, intercultural understanding and research.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

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

• 1. Demonstrate understanding of the use of radio, film and television in Latin American fiction
• 2. Assess the set texts in relation to critical theory of intertextuality and intermediality

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

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

• 3. With some guidance from the course tutor, evaluate and apply a range of critical approaches to the material covered
• 4. Mount a detailed argument in the appropriate register of English, mustering a range of textual or other evidence in its support
• 5. Understand and use, in written and oral contexts, a range of critical terms
• 6. Following broad guidelines, locate and identify library and electronic resources on a given topic

ILO: Personal and key skills

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

• 7. Conduct independent study, including the presentation of material for group discussion, developed through seminars
• 8. Digest, select and organise material to produce, to a deadline, a coherent and cogent argument, developed through the mode of assessment.
• 9. Interact effectively with the tutor and the wider group

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:

• An introduction to theories of intertextuality and intermediality
• The role of screen media in Latin America.
• Dictatorship and escapism: El beso de la mujer araña (Manuel Puig, Argentina)
• Mediated memory: Fuenzalida (Nona Fernández, Chile)
• The Revolution as spectacle: Rating (Alberto Barrera Tyszka, Venezuela)
• Conclusions

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

Primary sources

• Barrera Tyszka, Alberto. Rating (Barcelona: Anagrama, 2011)
• Fernández, Nona. Fuenzalida (Sanitago de Chile: Mondadori, 2013)
• Puig, Manuel. El beso de la mujer araña. (Barcelona: Seix Barral, 1976, or other edition).

Select secondary reading

• Allen, Graham. Intertextuality. (London: Routledge, 2011)
• Gackstetter Nichols, Elizabeth and Timothy R Robbins. Pop Culture in Latin America and the Caribbean. (Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2015).
• Garde-Hansen, Joanne. Media and Memory. (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2011)
• Swanson, Philip. The New Novel in Latin America: Politics and Popular Culture After the Boom. (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1995).

Key words search

Latin America, intermediality, fiction, TV, film, memory, politics