The Emergence of National Literatures in Romance Languages

During this course you will learn about the origin and development of national literatures in the Romance languages from a historical and a socio-cultural perspective. You will learn about current theories that describe national literature, cultural identity and cultural memory, and how to apply them in practice on literature.

The school of Athens - CC

• Course structure

  The overall document for a course is the course syllabus. The syllabus can be found in the menu on the right. In this description, we clarify how to complete the course in practice. The course description should provide good guidance, but is not comprehensive. Further clarifications in oral or written form are given by the teacher during the lessons. Do not hesitate to ask the teacher if questions would remain. To see which teachers teach the course, and for information about the schedule and examination, see further under "Schedule". Information about Literature Lists can be found under Course literature.

  Teaching format

  This course deals with the emergence of national literatures from different epochs in the field of Romance languages. The course theoretically challenges the way in which and by whom a national literature has been defined. During the course we will discuss the historical and socio-cultural factors that contributed to the creation of a certain national literature, and how the different literatures in the Romance languages evolved in different parts of the world and how these literatures relate to each other from a comparative literature-based perspective. These insights will then be applied and deepened within the chosen language areas.

  The course is seminar-based, which means that you are expected to participate actively and contribute to the discussion during all classes. Participating in seminars is crucial for passing the course. You have to prepare yourself by reading the relevant material and articles that are posted on the learning platform and read them critically. You should reflect on arguments that could be relevant for discussion during classes. Source criticism is necessary to avoid simple reasoning. Keep in mind that you should always exemplify your statements. During the classes, you will receive exercises that help you to achieve the learning goals that are the following.

  After the course you should be able to:

  • account for the origin and development of national literatures in the field of Romance languages from historical and socio-cultural perspectives;
  • explain current theories that describe national literature, cultural identity and cultural memory;
  • apply these theories on literature in selected language areas.

  Assessment

  The course is assessed by a course paper and an oral presentation based on the course paper. All course papers will be presented during a seminar. The students should read the papers of the other students as well. The course assignment is written in one of the following languages: English, French, Italian, Portuguese or Spanish.

  Home assignments (i.e. essays, shorter independent assignments and assignments in general) must be written in your own words and based on your own reflections on the subject. All citations must be entered correctly with quotation marks and indication of source. A text must not, for the most part, consist of quotations. These should only be used to illustrate your own reasoning. If there are no sources or if they are very deficient and the teacher discovers plagiarism, it can lead to a report to the principal. Remember to use your own formulations also in oral presentations. If assignments appear during the course, these will be reviewed by a text-matching tool. For general information about cheating and plagiarism, see also Stockholm University's rulebook on regulations for examinations and guidelines for disciplinary matters at Stockholm University.

  Examiner

  Juan Carlos Cruz Suárez
  Christophe Premat
  Mauro Cavaliere
  Tzortzis Ikonomou
  Course results: Juan Carlos Cruz Suárez

• Schedule
  The schedule will be available no later than one month before the start of the course. We do not recommend print-outs as changes can occur. At the start of the course, your department will advise where you can find your schedule during the course.

  • Schedule RS71UN Autumn 2022 Daytime 50%

• More information

  Learning platform: Athena

• Contact

  Student Affairs Office

  If special measures are required for you to be able to complete the course, you can read more about this on SU's website. The contact person for these questions at the Department of Romance and Classics is the study counselor.