SP3NCC-Narrating the Colombian Conflict

Module Provider: Languages and Cultures
Number of credits: 20 [10 ECTS credits]
Level:6
Terms in which taught: Autumn / Spring / Summer module
Pre-requisites:
Non-modular pre-requisites:
Co-requisites:
Modules excluded:
Current from: 2023/4

Module Convenor: Dr Cherilyn Elston
Email: c.elston@reading.ac.uk

Type of module:

Summary module description:

This module examines the history of the Colombian armed conflict from the 1940s to the present day. Through the analysis of interdisciplinary historical and cultural texts (including essays, fiction, poetry, film, testimony and new media) it explores the stories that have been told about the Western hemisphere’s longest war and asks how these narratives have shaped both national and international interpretations of the conflict. Moving from the civil conflict of the 1940s-50s, through the creation of guerrilla groups in the 1960s, to the emergence of the war on drugs and recent peace processes, the course will interrogate the role stories play in both justifying conflict and creating the possibilities for peace.

Aims:

• To introduce students to the history of the Colombian armed conflict from the 1940s to the present day.


• To examine contrasting narratives of twentieth-century Colombia and situate these narratives politically and historically.


• To situate the Colombian conflict in broader international developments.


• To enhance students’ knowledge of the contemporary Spanish language and develop their close textual analysis and critical reading skills of historical and cultural texts.

Assessable learning outcomes:

• An understanding of the key actors, developments and historical trajectory of the Colombian conflict.


• To critically analyse, interpret and put into context a variety of Colombian historical and cultural texts.


• The ability to do close readings of primary sources and apply secondary sources and theoretical frameworks in a critical analysis.


• The ability to work collaboratively with other students and express written and oral argumentseffectively.


• The ability to show evidence of independent research.

Additional outcomes:

• Knowledge and skills gained from extra-curricular resources, such as guest speakers and cultural excursions.


• Students will also improve their IT proficiency by conducting Web searches for materials relevant to the module and by being required to submit word-processed essays and infographic posters.


• Oral communication and interpersonal skills will be developed through class discussion and group presentations.

Outline content:

Texts and topics for study may include:

• Sociological analyses and novels about La Violencia of the 1940s-50s.


• The Bogotazo and the assassination of Jorge Eliécer Gaitán.


• Journalism and testimonio about the founding of the guerrilla groups.


• The Holocaust of the Palace of Justice.


• The peace processes of the 1980s and 1990s and the genocide of the UP.


• Narconovelas (films, novels and soap operas about the war on drugs).


• Current peace processes and discourses of historical memory.

Brief description of teaching and learning methods:

This module will be taught through a combination of lectures and seminars (in Spanish and English, where appropriate). Students will be required to do preparatory reading for each seminar, participate in class discussion and undertake small-group work.

Use of office hours and additional individual meetings for guidance and feedback.

Students may also undertake an academic placement, through which they will learn how to apply the knowledge and skills gai ned in studying for this module in a professional context outside the University.