Multiple Identities in 21st Century Spain - LAN00067I

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Module summary

This module will provide students with a higher level of understanding of the different identities that comprise Spanish society in the 21st century. Students will be encouraged to reflect on different aspects of Spanish identity and how different identities are present amongst the different groups that make up contemporary Spanish society.

The medium of instruction is Spanish.

Related modules

Pre-requisite module

Understanding Spanish-speaking Cultures and Societies.

Open as an elective for students with equivalent level in Spanish.

Module will run

Occurrence	Teaching period
A	Semester 2 2024-25

Module aims

The aim of this module is to give students a higher level of understanding about the different identities that comprise Spanish society in the 21st century. The module will allow students to reflect on different aspects of Spanish identity and how different identities are present amongst the different groups that make up contemporary Spanish society. It will reflect on what it means to be Spanish and discuss if this identity is singular and/or multiple.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module students should:

• Be able to identify and understand the different cultures and identities that comprise 21st century Spain from a territorial and sociological point of view

• Understand and reflect upon written and aural materials related to different aspects related to the main topics in Spanish

• Develop their research and analysis skills and critically evaluate sources and materials

• Have an increased understanding of fundamental issues of social, cultural, and political nature related to the concept of identity in 21st century Spain

• Present and develop arguments effectively in both spoken and written Spanish

• Achieve a good level of accuracy in the production of both written and spoken Spanish

Module content

• Nations and/(or) nationalities in Spain: We will discuss aspects related to the Basque, Catalan and Galician identities. These three groups being the largest “differential” groups with a parallel or additional identity in Spain. But we would also aim to discover other, not so well known, identities circumscribed to a territory (Andalusian, Valencian, Balearic, Canarian etc.) This part of the module will explore how the different communities that comprise the Spanish state historically have managed to find their place (or not) in the Spanish political and sociological systems.

• Forgotten identities: This part of the module will explore those communities that, even large in number, might have been neglected, forgotten and in some cases ostracised throughout history in Spain. We will pay special attention to the Roma community and their situation in today’s society. In this part of the module we will also identify historic aspects of Spanish culture related to those who were Spanish and suffered the diaspora. We will reflect on the Sephardic identity and their relation with 21st century Spain.

• New Spaniards: In this part of the module we will aim to reflect on those “new Spaniards” first, second or third generation of Spanish citizens or residents and their relation between their culture of origin or heritage and their new identity. We will explore concepts such as xenophobia, integration, assimilation and racism in this part of the module.

• Intersectional identities: In this section we will explore those ingredients that can be added to the previous ones. We will discuss how personal and collective identity in 21st century Spain can be multiple and dependent on multiple factors. We will reflect on urban and rural, on political views, sexual and gender identity etc. and how all this can translate in the self-perception of individuals in relation to their personal and collective identities.

Indicative assessment

Task	% of module mark
Closed/in-person Exam (Centrally scheduled)	40
Essay/coursework	60

Special assessment rules

None

Indicative reassessment

Task	% of module mark
Closed/in-person Exam (Centrally scheduled)	40
Essay/coursework	60

Module feedback

Formative tasks done individually or in groups throughout the module

Feedback will include written comments and oral feedback during class discussions.

Written feedback with comments on different aspects of the work, i.e. structure, content, logic and argumentation, grammatical accuracy, examples of typical mistakes (language).

Indicative reading

Nations and/(or) nationalities in Spain

González Navarro, F. (1996). España, una nación de naciones. dialnet.unirioja.es. Last updated 2023. https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=555054

Álvarez Osés, J. A. (1997). Nación, nacionalidad,nacionalismo en España. revistas.comillas.edu. https://revistas.comillas.edu/index.php/razonyfe/issue/view/1357

Forgotten identities.

Salmerón Ruiz, J. (2009). Ori´genes, vicisitudes, realidad actual y retos del pueblo gitano en Espan~a y Regio´n de Murcia. revistas.um.es. https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=2921610