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Module

SPA4008 : Youth Cultures in Spain, Portugal & Latin America

  • Offered for Year: 2024/25
  • Module Leader(s): Dr Patricia Oliart
  • Owning School: Modern Languages
  • Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters

Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.

Semester 1 Credit Value: 20
ECTS Credits: 10.0
European Credit Transfer System

Aims

In consonance with the overall aims of the degrees offered in the SML: To develop critical reading skills in Spanish and/or Portuguese for stage 4 students.
- To provide access to contemporary academic literature on cultural studies and social studies on youth cultures from Latin America, Spain, and Portugal.

This module is taught and assessed in English. It will provide students with information and analyses of contemporary urban and rural youth cultures in Latin America, Spain, and Portugal. Most countries in Latin America are statistically "young societies," with a substantial proportion of their populations under the age of thirty. Many important changes these societies go through are perceived and interpreted by the young in a way that is peculiar and influential as well. Many important social and cultural movements of relevant impact in the region have then been ‘youth movements’, accompanied by numerous cultural manifestations.

Students work with research examples and original sources in Spanish and Portuguese.

Outline Of Syllabus

1. Youth cultures: useful concepts.
2. Transitions to adulthood and cultural diversity. Cases from Spain, Brazil, Bolivia and Peru
3. Marginalized urban youth. Cases from Brazil and El Salvador
4. Youth cultures and migration. Cases from Spain, Portugal, and Latinos in the US
5. Youth and politics. Youth and anti-racism, environmentalism and grassroots feminism. New right-wing movements. Cases from Chile, Argentina, Peru, Spain and Portugal.

Teaching Methods

Teaching Activities
Category Activity Number Length Student Hours Comment
Guided Independent StudyAssessment preparation and completion1100:00100:00N/A
Scheduled Learning And Teaching ActivitiesLecture112:0022:00N/A
Scheduled Learning And Teaching ActivitiesSmall group teaching111:0011:00N/A
Structured Guided LearningStructured research and reading activities103:0030:00N/A
Guided Independent StudyIndependent study137:0037:00N/A
Total200:00
Teaching Rationale And Relationship

This module combines lectures and seminar sessions and close supervision of independent research topics. Apart from 33 contact hours in a combination of lectures and seminars, there are recorded talks available as online resources or ad-hoc interviews conducted by the ML with specialists. After one general introductory lecture for the module, one introductory lecture for each of the four main topics will be followed by the study of specific cases from different countries. Different groups lead the discussion on the assigned readings for specific sessions, providing information beyond the common assigned readings.

Assessment Methods

The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners

Other Assessment
Description Semester When Set Percentage Comment
Essay2M702500 word essay in English
Case study2M30Case study in Spanish or Portuguese 1000 words
Formative Assessments

Formative Assessment is an assessment which develops your skills in being assessed, allows for you to receive feedback, and prepares you for being assessed. However, it does not count to your final mark.

Description Semester When Set Comment
Research proposal2MResearch plan and bibliography for the final essay
Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The essay questions for this module are phrased broadly to allow students to narrow the research questions down to specific areas of their individual interests. The essay therefore tests independent research and writing skills. It is based on extensive use of sources in Spanish and/or Portuguese, and requires basic command of concepts in the sociology and anthropology of youth.

The case study assesses students' ability to work with secondary sources on one of the four areas of research and its manifestation in a country of each student's individual choice. It provides an opportunity to selectively explore relevant bibliography and critically work with a wide range of sources.

The formative assessment involves feedback on the formulation of the individual question for the final essay, research plan and bibliography.

Reading Lists

Timetable