Literature and Art in the Contemporary and Modern World

This course focuses on the relationship between Literature and other arts in the History of Art in the Modern and Contemporary Ages and seeks to complete and complement the knowledge acquired in the first year, concerning Antiquity and the Middle Ages, providing an overview of the relations between different arts and the different types of research on them, from the diachronic, synchronic and conceptual viewpoints at the present time. It will try to complement the disciplinary perception of the literary and artistic world inherited in the form of independent spaces, seeking to present social and cultural life linked to different systems of representation, communication, fiction, etc., of a symbolic and aesthetic nature like a system of creative, communication, fiction, etc., practices in continuous interaction. In this regard, and taking into account that this is the only module with a specifically literary profile in the History of Art curriculum, such module will put students in touch , although in an introductory way, with the basics and the current perspectives of literary studies, and, in particular, of Comparative Literature. Our aim is to enable students to include the study of Literature and the analysis of literary texts, from a comparative and interartistic point of view, in the field of their own specific professional interests and the future research ones.

Theory
1. Fundamentals of Interartistic Comparatism. Comparative Literature, Semiotics and Cultural studies
2. Word and image (sound and body). The semiosphere as a space for interdiscursive practices
3. Intertextuality, intermediality and remediation

History
4. Concepts of Art and Literature in their historical dynamic. Competence and hierarchy
5. The formation and crisis of the Western canon
6. The conquest of autonomy and difference between arts

Criticism (objects)
7. Literature and visual arts
8. Literature and music
9. Literature, cinema and media
10. Literature and ciberculture

Seminars
11. The subjectification of the gaze in modern art and literature
12. Self-referentiality as an interartistic and postmodern practice
13. Adaptation/ rewriting: intermediate productivity in the contemporary repertoire

Basic bibliography
Alonso, S. (ed.), Literatura y música, Madrid, Arco Libros, 2002
Aristóteles, Poética, (ed. and tr. by Fernando González Muñoz), A Coruña, Universidade, 1999
Bloom H., El canon occidental, Barcelona, Anagrama, 1995
Bourdieu, P., O campo literario, Bertamiráns, Laiovento, 2004
Casas, A. (coord.), Elementos de crítica literaria, Vigo, Xerais, 2004.
García Jiménez, J., Narrativa audiovisual, Madrid, Cátedra, 1993.
García-Noblejas, J. J., Poética del texto audiovisual, Pamplona, Universidad de Navarra, 1982.
Monegal, Antonio (ed.), Literatura y pintura, Madrid, Arco, 2000
Peña Ardid, Carmen, Literatura y cine, Madrid, Cátedra, 1992
Pérez Bowie, J.A. (ed.) Reescrituras fílmicas. Nuevos territorios de la adaptación, Salamanca, Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca, 2010.
Vega, M. J.& N. Carbonell: La Literatura Comparada: Principios y métodos, Madrid, Gredos, 1998
Villanueva, D., El Quijote antes del cinema, Madrid, Real Academia Española, 2008
VV.AA., Metaliteratura y metaficción. Balance crítico y perspectivas comparadas, monográfico de Anthropos, 208, 2005

Complementary bibliography
Specific bibliography and the different programme outlines will be provided.

Competence

Fostering analytical skills and abilities to read and analyze literary texts in connection with other cultural and artistic discourses.

Incorporating a comparative perspective against the literary field into the students’ knowledge and interests concerning History of Art.

Developing a comprehensive and critical understanding of culture, from the interactions of the different systems and artistic and cultural traditions.
Proposing and developing a small academic research project on the subject contents.

Writing an academic report on the project.

Publicly presenting and discussing their project conclusions in the working seminar.

Fostering analytical skills and abilities to read and analyze literary texts in connection with other cultural and artistic discourses.

Incorporating a comparative perspective against the literary field into the students’ knowledge and interests concerning History of Art.

Developing a comprehensive and critical understanding of culture, from the interactions of the different systems and artistic and cultural traditions.
Proposing and developing a small academic research project on the subject contents.

Writing an academic report on the project.

Publicly presenting and discussing their project conclusions in the working seminar.

The theoretical sessions and the interactive ones are not conceived in a rigid and isolated way. The first ones in no case will become the passive and uncritical transmission of schematic contents or notes, and will include textual analyses, case analyses or viewing and commenting on works. The second ones naturally do not renounce either the presentation or discussion of the programme contents. The difference is referring to quantity rather than exclusivity and it is established in accordance with the greater or lesser centrality of the professor’s explanations, or the student’s activity as the major figure of his/her own learning process.
The balance between theoretical and interactive teaching in the subject matter structure seeks, as well as providing students with the basics and the access to basic and specialized bibliography about each of the themes, involving them in the process of active learning of such themes by means of two kinds of practice: the first ones, directly complementary to the theoretical programme of the subject, are aimed at the commentary on passages from the bibliography or the literary texts and/or works from different arts or times in order to enable students to put into practice all the knowledge and skills they have acquired. The second ones, in turn, connect significantly with the academically guided distance activity, and are aimed at the completion of individual assignments and at their group presentation.

-Academically guided activity. The student must do an exercise comparing the literary discourse with any other artistic one, starting from two texts, lines and comparison methods, whose choice is made by him/her and constitutes not only the means, but just one of the aims of the activity. To this end, we will organize different seminars (programme themes: 11-13), which will be introduced in the teaching sessions and will be developed at the same time in the interactive ones. The work in the respective seminar will consist of guided readings, bibliographic reviews, and, finally, each student will present orally the theoretical approach, main lines and conclusions drawn from the comparative analysis carried out by him/her, with the subsequent sharing of knowledge and group discussion.

- Field practice. It is also proposed, as a complementary activity to the classroom sessions and depending on the cultural activities hold in the city during the academic year, that the group attends one or several of the following ones: a performance, the showing of a film adapted from a literary work, a choral or vocal music concert, an opera, an exhibition, etc., in order to use them didactically in connection with the teaching contents.
If the available resources make it possible, it would be ideal to visit a virtual reality museum, but the city has none, or to visit some outstanding exhibition to be held in other nearby cities or towns during the academic year.

In accordance with the regulations in force, the assessment of the subjects taught by the Department of Literary Theory and Comparative Literature includes, apart from the official examination session held at the University each year, equivalent and complementary tests under the continuous assessment system. Important factors of such assessment will be the active and ongoing participation in teaching and interactive sessions and monitoring of other practical activities that the teaching staff considers of special academic and learning interest.

As indicated in the Degree report, the Final Examination will account for a maximum of 40% of the mark, so students cannot pass the subject if they do not fulfil the requirements established by the continuous assessment regarding compulsory attendance and participation, which will account for the remaining 60% of the mark. The latter will come from the critical and informed participation in class and the completion of assignments and other tasks proposed by the professors.

Specifically, the continuous assessment of the subject will focus precisely on the results of the assignments as part of academically guided activities done by the student, besides taking into account different activities- textual analyses, summaries and bibliographic reviews, participation in class, etc. – performed by him/her throughout the course in expository and interactive sessions.

The preparation of academically supervised work and its oral presentation in interactive sessions is compulsory. Only in exceptional and duly justified cases (illness, etc), the oral presentation of the activity result may be replaced by the submission of a written report on the work done.

On this basis, the presentation of the academically supervised work will represent 40% of the Final Mark. Attendance, class participation and the completion of assigned tasks (readings, commentaries, reviews, etc…) will count for 60% of the mark.

In the continuous assessment system, class attendance is regarded as compulsory and will not be taken into consideration. If unexcused absences constitute more than 20% of the class sessions, the student will fail continuous assessment.

If some student does not achieve a pass mark in the continuous assessment or, optionally, if he/she wants to improve his/her mark, he/she may sit a written exam, dealing with the contents and theoretical-practical skills achieved during the course. Students who fail the subject examination in June may sit a new Final Examination in July and the continuous assessment scores will be kept. In subsequent examination sessions, it will be necessary to study the whole course and pass again the entire assessment process.

Important note on plagiarism: Plagiarism in the examination or when writing scheduled assignments or the misuse (or not indicated properly) of printed or electronic sources may entail failing the course with the minimum score in the corresponding examination session.

Face-to-face teaching: 37 (x factor 1.5) 55 hours of autonomous work
Preparation of the assignment and participation in the seminar: 40 hours of autonomous work
Readings: 25 hours of autonomous work
Examinations: 2.5 (x factor 7): 15 hours of autonomous work
Tutorials: 3 face-to-face hours

Because of the characteristics of the subject matter, either from the strictly literary perspective or from the one focussed on the comparative and interartistic study, students are advised to gain as much knowledge as possible regarding different traditions and literary and artistic cultures. They are also advised to take advantage, in a relational way, of the knowledge provided by the different disciplines and artistic subfields under study throughout the degree (plastic arts, music, cinema, aesthetics and theory of art, etc…)

Tutorías
Para el seguimiento y la supervisión de las actividades programadas, la consulta de dudas, etc., se utilizarán las tutorías ordinarias de carácter semanal y presencial. El uso del correo electrónico se limitará normalmente a las comunicaciones urgentes o para concertar la tutoría presencial. Los trabajos deberán presentarse usualmente en forma impresa en la forma y plazos indicados en el aula.

Bibliografía complementaria
Adicionalmente, en la guía docente de la materia, también accesible en línea, se facilitará un apartado de bibliografía complementaria recomendada para cada uno de los temas, en la que se incluirán y destacarán preferentemente trabajos disponibles a través de la sección de documentos abiertos de Scribd (puede ser necesario registrarse para el acceso de prueba gratuita), accesible en https://scribd.com/.

Asimismo, el aula virtual de la asignatura activada en el campus virtual, se utilizará como repositorio de los materiales, presentaciones y lecturas esenciales, así como herramienta de comunicación con el grupo a través del foro de noticias, publicación de las calificaciones y revisiones, etc.

La materia se imparte indistintamente en castellano y gallego, en función de la interacción con los diferentes estudiantes.

ALUMNADO CON NECESIDADES ESPECÍFICAS:
Se aconseja encarecidamente al alumnado con necesidades específicas de apoyo educativo que contacte con el Servizo de Participación e Inclusión Universitaria (SEPIU) al objeto de que dicho servicio determine cómo se pueden atender las necesidades en cuestión en el marco de esta materia.