Introduction to the Course

As stated in the syllabus, this class uses Spanish film since the 1950s to explore how its evolution reflects the aesthetic, social, political, and cultural changes that took place in Spain from that time to the present, and which are also an open dialog with the values inscribed through the traditions and history of the country as it confronted the challenges of modernity/globalization. 

The class develops from the philosophical theories of German philosopher Jurgen Habermas, who argued that ideas, images, actions, etc. represent and conform SYSTEMS OF REPRESENTATION through which people experience the material conditions of their existence. These systems of representation are structures constructed by THE IDEOLOGICAL APPARATUS OF THE STATE  (ideas around which the state justifies its authority) and reflected --consciously and unconsciously-- in literature, education, religion, art, popular culture, etc.   

Our goal is to explore, through the class, how the arts --in our case, cinema-- can be used to observe mechanisms for questioning or subverting the dominant ideological paradigms during times of crisis (in other words,  art is used to challenge the authority of the state, or REFLECTS how those challenges emerge in a given society).  

We will explore this through Spanish cinema because the recent history of Spain offers some very clear examples of how these changes take place.

In the end, this is not JUST a class on Spanish cinema, not even Spanish history. I would hope that the course serves beyond its narrow historical or aesthetic scope, and it will help students develop new tools for understanding and critical analysis applicable to any academic field.