Department of Spanish and Portuguese
M.Phil. Courses
This page gives detailed information about the M.Phil. (Masters) courses which the Department participates in. If you are trying to decide what kind of postgraduate study you would like to undertake, you might like to start with the Ph.D. of the Handbook, which discusses the available options. If you are thinking of undertaking a Ph.D., you should also start with that page. If you are looking for the various Masters courses at Cambridge which have Hispanic elements, please read on.
M.Phil. Courses and Modules
The Department of Spanish and Portuguese contributes fully to the following post-graduate M.Phil. programmes in the University:
- the M.Phil. in European Literature run by the Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages, with four Hispanic modules (Gender, Sexuality and Culture in Iberian and Latin American Literature, Topics in Latin American Culture, Latin American Film and Visual Arts and Authority and Text);
- the M.Phil. in Latin American Studies run by the Centre of Latin American Studies, with a range of interdisciplinary modules, including two cultural modules: Latin American Film and Visual Arts, and Latin American Literature;
- the M.Phil. in Screen and Media Cultures to which the Department contributes two modules: The Cinema of Pedro Almodóvar, and Latin American Film and Visual Arts;
- the M.Phil.
in Theoretical and Applied Linguistics, with a module on Romance Linguistics
- Hispanic Pathway in the M.Phil. in Linguistics
For information about Hispanic elements within the M.Phil. in Theoretical and Applied Linguistics, please contact Dr Ioanna Sitaridou.
Please note that despite the title of the M.Phil. in European Literature, Latin American culture (literature, cinema, and visual arts) can be included within it to a significant degree.
Within the M.Phil. in European Literature, the M.Phil. in Latin American Studies, and the M.Phil. in Screen and Media Cultures, we offer four modules (click on one for more information):
- Gender, Sexuality and Society in Iberian and Latin American Culture: this can only be taken under the auspices of the M.Phil. in European Literature;
- Latin American Film and Visual Arts: this new module can be taken under the auspices of either of the two M.Phils, so prospective students with an interest in Latin American culture can choose which M.Phil. reflects most closely their broader interests.
- Topics in Latin American Culture: as above, this can be taken under the auspices of either of the two M.Phils.
- Authority and Text in the Iberian Peninsula: this can only be taken under the auspices of the M.Phil. in European Literature.
- The Cinema of Pedro Almodóvar: this can only be taken under the auspices of the M.Phil. in Screen and Media Cultures.
Detailed information on the M.Phil. in European Literature is available via the
EuroLit web pages, on
the M.Phil. in Latin American Studies via the
CLAS web pages, and on the M.Phil.
in Screen and Media Cultures via the
Screen and Media Group site.
For formal information, including information about applications, please see the
relevant entries in the Prospectus of the Board of Graduate Studies:
Modern
Languages;
Latin American Studies.
Gender, Sexuality, and Society in Iberian and Latin American Culture
M.Phil. in European Literature
This module is taught by staff from the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, and addresses questions of gender and sexuality in texts ranging from the Middle Ages to the present day in both Iberia and Latin America. The aim of the module is not simply to examine literary (or, where appropriate, cinematic) representations but to explore how those representations might be addressed theoretically and submitted to historical analysis. The topics to be covered are likely to include:
- Sexuality and society in medieval texts
- Representations of Gender in the Comedia: Text and Context
- Dislocation and Somatisation of the 19th-century Spanish novel
- Latin American Narrative: Writing Under the Sign of the Father: Women's Narrative from Argentina and Uruguay
- Latin American Narrative: Female Voices in Mexico
- 20th Century peninsular prose
- Queer theory
The work on each topic will consist of an initial presentation of the member of staff concerned, and two or three student-led introductions to aspects of the topic. It is recognized that by its very chronological (and geographical) span the module will necessarily cover some areas which are unfamiliar to some of the students. The intention of the module is, however, through its general thematic concern, to allow students to approach areas of literature and culture with which they are not necessarily familiar, and the reading suggestions for each topic take this into account. A good reading knowledge of Spanish is needed. Where available or appropriate, information about texts in translation is given, but those doing the module should anticipate doing most of their reading in Spanish.
Students doing this module will find that a wide variety of lectures offered for papers in Part II in the Department are of some interest and relevance to the module. This applies particularly for those who wish to acquire further background to aspects or periods covered by the module with which they feel unfamiliar.
Latin American Film and Visual Arts
M.Phil. in European Literature, M.Phil. in Latin American Studies, M.Phil. in Screen and Media Cultures
This module offers students the opportunity to analyse some of the most exciting
films, photography, and art to have emerged in Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Cuba,
and Chile in the 20th and 21st Centuries. Many of the works
studied address important contemporary issues such as globalization, questions of
(post)modernity, the construction of gender and sexuality, questions of race and
ethnicity, the representation of history, and the role of visual culture in society.
Emphasis will be placed on studying films and other visual arts within the cultural
and social contexts of their production, and in the light of current theory of visual
culture. The module has a
Learning Resources
web site, where details of the teaching programme can be found.
The module has a slightly different course structure depending on whether you take
it from within the M.Phil.
in Latin American Studies, or from within the
M.Phil. in European
Literature. If the former, then seminars will run throughout the majority of
the year (Michaelmas and Lent Terms); if the latter, then the Michaelmas Term seminars
are optional, as your designated course runs in the Lent Term (Jan-Mar). However,
if you have not previously studied film or visual culture, you are strongly
advised to attend the first-term seminars too, in order to ensure you have the necessary
grounding for in-depth study in the second term.
The course is taught by Geoffrey Kantaris, Joanna Page, Erica Segre, and Paul Smith.
Topics in Latin American Culture
M.Phil. in European Literature, M.Phil. in Latin American Studies
This module, which is co-taught with the M.Phil. in Latin American Studies, aims to provide an in-depth view of a series of topics in Latin-American Culture (primarily Spanish-language). Currently, these topics include:
- Visions of the feminine and masculine in 'Boom' literature
- Gender and writing (México - narrative and poetry)
- Urban modernity (Argentina/México - literature)
- Urban postmodernity (Colombia/México - cinema)
- Women's writing and dictatorship (Argentina, Uruguay)
- Popular culture (Argentina/Perú/Cuba - literature and cinema)
- Latin American narrative (M.Phil. in Latin American Studies only)
- Latin American poetry (M.Phil. in Latin American Studies only)
There is also some scope for student-led topics within the programme. The course is taught by Steven Boldy, Erica Segre, Joanna Page and Geoffrey Kantaris, and, apart from lectures given in the Faculty, teaching takes the form of open-discussion seminars at which students may, if they wish, present papers. Two of the topics overlap with those taught in the Gender and Sexuality Hispanic Module, but this would not prevent students from taking both modules. The module has a Learning Resources web site, where details of the teaching programme can be found.
The course is primarily intended for students who already have a base in the
study of Latin American Literature. Teaching for this module under the
M.Phil. in Latin American
Studies runs from October to May (i.e., throughout the year); however, if you
take the module under the
M.Phil. in European
Literature, you would only join the course in January because, like all optional
modules for this M.Phil., teaching is confined to the Second Term (the First Term
is dedicated to the Core Course). Euro students who do not have a base in Latin
American Literature, but who do have good reading knowledge of Spanish, may
still take the course, but would be expected to attend various lectures and seminars
on Latin American Literature during the First Term (October to December), including
those of the M.Phil. in Latin American Studies.
Authority and Text in the Iberian Peninsula
M.Phil. in European Literature
This module is taught by members
of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese and centres on questions of authority
and text in the Iberian
peninsula. The historical range of the module is from the Middle Ages to the present
day, and the aim of the module is to explore the ways in which texts can be seen
as the embodiment of power, interpretation of power, mediation of power, and subversion
of power. Texts are understood in a broad manner, and can include painting, film
and architecture as well as written text. The topics that can be covered include:
- Translation and authority in the Middle Ages; sources and subversion in literary texts
- Forms of social, cultural and ideological discipline in the Golden Age
- Strategies of Political Interrogation and Subversion in seventeenth-century Theatrical discourse
- Paula Rego: Representations of Nation, Church and Masculinity
- Cinema and Authority in Francoist Spain
- Writers, Language and Identity in Post-war Catalonia
- Conflicts of Cultural Discourse in nineteenth and twentieth-century Spain
The work for this module will combine initial presentations by members of staff
with some student-led work. As with the module on Gender, Sexuality
and Culture, it is recognized that for most students some of the areas to be
covered will be new to them, and it is hoped that the module will provide a way
of exploring unknown territory through a firm central concept, and one which is
of particular importance in the culture of the Iberian peninsula. A good reading
knowledge of Spanish is needed. Students doing the module will find that a
wide variety of lectures offered for a number of Part II papers will be of interest
to them, especially where they feel in need of further background to parts of the
module which
are unfamiliar to them.
