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Literary Movements from Modernisme to Postmodernism

Code: 105835 ECTS Credits: 6
2024/2025
Degree Type Year
2503998 Catalan Philology: Literary Studies and Linguistics FB 1
2504380 English and Catalan Studies OB 1
2504388 Catalan and Spanish Studies FB 1

Contact

Name:
Josep Sanz Datzira
Email:
josep.sanz@uab.cat

Teaching groups languages

You can view this information at the end of this document.


Prerequisites

There is no previous requirement in order to take this course.


Objectives and Contextualisation

Propaedeutic course. Introductory overview of Catalan literary movements throughout the 20th century and their relationship with current cultural movements. The training objective of this course is the acquisition of the skills to contextualize the great movements and currents of 20th century Catalan literature in the context of universal literary traditions. In addition, students will gain familiarity with the fundamental bibliography of the period and with the reading strategies that will allow them to elaborate a critical discourse.


Competences

    Catalan Philology: Literary Studies and Linguistics
  • Act with ethical responsibility and respect for fundamental rights, diversity and democratic values.
  • Apply concepts, resources and methods of literary analysis to Catalan literature taking into account the sources, periods of Western literary history and social context.
  • Assess gender inequalities when acting in this field of knowledge.
  • Carry out historical studies on the trends, genres and authors of the Catalan literary tradition.
  • Critically read and interpret texts.
  • Demonstrate a mastery of the rules of the Catalan language, its linguistic bases and all its application in the academic and professional fields.
  • Display teamwork skills.
  • Identify the main tendencies, most significant authors and most representative work in Catalan literature.
  • Innovate in the methods and processes of this area of knowledge in response to the needs and wishes of society.
  • Produce written work and oral presentations that are effective and framed in the appropriate register.
  • Students must be capable of applying their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way and they should have building arguments and problem resolution skills within their area of study.
  • Students must be capable of collecting and interpreting relevant data (usually within their area of study) in order to make statements that reflect social, scientific or ethical relevant issues.
  • Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  • Students must develop the necessary learning skills to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
  • Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
  • Use information in accordance with academic ethics.
    English and Catalan Studies
  • Act in one's own field of knowledge evaluating inequalities based on sex/gender.
  • Act with ethical responsibility and respect for fundamental rights and duties, diversity and democratic values.
  • Carry out effective written work or oral presentations adapted to the appropriate register in different languages.
  • Critically evaluate the literary and cultural production in the Catalan and English languages and their historical and social context.
  • Demonstrate knowledge of the rules of Catalan and mastery of its foundations and applications in the academic and professional fields.
  • Demonstrate the ability to work autonomously and in teams with the aim of attaining the planned objectives in multicultural and interdisciplinary contexts.
  • Innovate in the methods and processes of this area of knowledge in response to the needs and wishes of society.
  • Recognise the most significant periods, traditions, tendencies, authors and works of literature in the Catalan and English languages in their socio-historical context.
  • Students can apply the knowledge to their own work or vocation in a professional manner and have the powers generally demonstrated by preparing and defending arguments and solving problems within their area of study.
  • Students must be capable of collecting and interpreting relevant data (usually within their area of study) in order to make statements that reflect social, scientific or ethical relevant issues.
  • Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  • Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
  • Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
    Catalan and Spanish Studies
  • Act with ethical responsibility and respect for fundamental rights and duties, diversity and democratic values.
  • Carry out effective written work or oral presentations adapted to the appropriate register in different languages.
  • Carry out historical-type studies on tendences, genres and authors of the Catalan and Spanish literary tradition.
  • Demonstrate knowledge of the rules of Catalan and Spanish and mastery of their applications in the academic and professional fields.
  • Demonstrate the ability to work autonomously and in teams with the aim of attaining the planned objectives in multicultural and interdisciplinary contexts.
  • Innovate in the methods and processes of this area of knowledge in response to the needs and wishes of society.
  • Recognise the most significant periods, traditions, tendences, authors and works in Catalan and Spanish literature in their historical and social contexts.
  • Students can apply the knowledge to their own work or vocation in a professional manner and have the powers generally demonstrated by preparing and defending arguments and solving problems within their area of study.
  • Students have the ability to gather and interpret relevant data (normally within their study area) to issue judgments that include reflection on important issues of social, scientific or ethical.
  • Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  • Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
  • Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
  • Take sex- or gender-based inequalities into consideration when operating within one's own area of knowledge.
  • Use the methodology and concepts of literary analysis taking into account the sources and the historical and social context.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Apply the tools and know consult the documentary sources.
  2. Apply the tools and know consult the specific documentary sources.
  3. Comment on literary texts, apply the acquired tools and take into account the historical and sociocultural context.
  4. Comment on literary texts, using the instruments acquired, with regard to the historical, social and cultural context.
  5. Commenting on literary texts, applying the acquired tools and taking into account the historical and sociocultural context.
  6. Critically interpret literary works take into account the relationships between different areas of literature and its relationships with human, artistic and social areas.
  7. Critically interpret literary works, taking into account the relationships between the different areas within literature and their relationship to humanistic, artistic and social areas.
  8. Critically interpreting literary works taking into account the relationships between the different areas of literature and its relationships with human, artistic and social areas.
  9. Demonstrate knowledge of the topics related to the study of literature and its methods of analysis.
  10. Describe the historical context of contemporary Catalan literature and relate works to their historical and cultural context.
  11. Discern the sex/gender factor in the configuration of the literary canon.
  12. Gain a greater capacity for reading, interpreting and critically analysing literary and linguistic texts.
  13. Identify principal and secondary ideas and express them using correct language.
  14. Identify relationships between literature and history, art and other cultural movements.
  15. Identify the key elements of Western cultural tradition from the 19th century to the present day.
  16. Identify the main and secondary ideas and express them with linguistic correctness.
  17. Identify the relationships between literature and history, art and other cultural movements.
  18. Identifying the key elements of the Western culture from the 19th century to the present.
  19. Identifying the main and secondary ideas and expressing them with linguistic correctness.
  20. Identifying the relationships of literature with history, art or other cultural movements.
  21. Interpret Western cultural tradition from the 19th century to the present day, pinpointing features of the Western tradition in a contemporary text.
  22. Maintain an attitude of respect for the opinions, values, behaviors and practices of others.
  23. Make appropriate use of the knowledge acquired in order to collect data and handle documentary sources in the study of Catalan language and literature.
  24. Master oral and written expression in Catalan.
  25. Plan, organise and carry out work in a team.
  26. Present and explain overall perspectives on phenomena of contemporary Catalan literature.
  27. Produce critical texts on the main trends, the most significant authors and the most representative works in Catalan literature.
  28. Produce normatively correct written and oral texts.
  29. Produce work in accordance with academic ethics.
  30. Produce written and oral texts with correction rules.
  31. Produce written work and oral presentations that are effective and framed in the appropriate register.
  32. Properly apply the knowledge gained to data collection and management of documentary sources application to the study of Catalan language and literature.
  33. Respect the opinions, values, behaviour and customs of others.
  34. Strengthen the capacity of reading, interpretation and critical analysis of literary texts and language.
  35. Use IT tools and be able to consult specific documentary sources.
  36. Use technological resources (digital and audiovisual) to acquire knowledge and apply it in language and literature.
  37. Write text commentaries from a critical standpoint.

Content

1. The concepts of period and literary movement

1.1. Theoretical approaches to literary history

1.2. The movements of contemporary Catalan literature in literary histories

2. Emergence and development of Modernisme 

2.1. The definitions of the movement

2.2. Modernisme and the contemporary Catalan literary field

2.3. Aesthetic and ideological diversity

3. Emergence and development of Noucentisme

3.1. The definitions of the movement

3.2. Translation policies

4. The avant-garde

4.1. Definition of literary avant-garde

4.2. The Catalan avant-garde

4.3. The avant-garde and literary periods

5. The interwar literary movements (1920s and 1930s)

5.1. The plurality of movements

5.2. Literary ideas and groups of authors

6. War, postwar period and exile

6.1. Historical circumstances and literary movements

6.2. Literary ideas and groups of authors

7. The Catalan literary system during Historical Realism

8. Postmodernity and postmodernism

8.1. Definitions of the postmodern period

8.2. Generational debates in Catalan literature

8.3. Literary trends and cultural market

8.4. Postmodernity and 21st century literature


Activities and Methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Discussion of theoretical, critical and literary texts 29 1.16 4, 10, 11, 15, 17, 7, 21, 33, 12
Teacher's exhibition of program points and contextualization of readings 15.5 0.62 4, 10, 11, 15, 17, 7, 21, 33, 12
Type: Supervised      
Mentoring. Supervision of exercises 10 0.4 23, 35, 4, 11, 24, 27, 29, 26, 31, 15, 13, 17, 7, 21, 33, 25, 12, 28, 37, 36
Oral presentation of readings of theoretical and critical texts 13 0.52 23, 35, 4, 10, 11, 24, 26, 31, 15, 13, 17, 7, 21, 33, 28, 36
Type: Autonomous      
Collective written commentary on theoretical, critical and literary texts 20.5 0.82 4, 10, 11, 24, 27, 29, 26, 31, 15, 13, 17, 7, 21, 33, 25, 28, 37
Personal study 35 1.4 23, 35, 11, 15, 17, 7, 21, 33, 12, 36
Sources and documentary resources 15 0.6 23, 35, 15, 17, 36

The subject is distributed in theoretical sessions and reading seminars that can be flipped classroom. The theoretical sessions have a panoramic and contextualizing character and include the commentary of criticism and theoretical texts. The reading sessions prepare the student for oral presentations. Tutorials are applied to follow up on written assignments.

The calendar will be available on the first day of class. Students will find all information on the Virtual Campus: the description of the activities, teaching materials, and any necessary information for the proper follow-up of the subject. In case of a change of teaching modality for health reasons, teachers will make readjustments in the schedule and methodologies.

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.


Assessment

Continous Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Exercise-questionnaire about theoretical aspects of the subject 5 % 1 0.04 9, 11, 26, 15, 17, 7
Final written test of the studied contents 50 % 1.5 0.06 23, 32, 35, 2, 1, 3, 5, 4, 9, 10, 11, 24, 27, 29, 26, 31, 15, 18, 13, 16, 19, 17, 14, 20, 6, 8, 7, 21, 22, 33, 25, 12, 34, 28, 30, 37, 36
Individual literary commentary 20 % 1.5 0.06 4, 9, 10, 11, 24, 27, 29, 31, 15, 13, 17, 6, 7, 21, 22, 33, 12, 34, 28, 30, 37
Reading seminar and group work 25 % 8 0.32 23, 35, 10, 11, 24, 26, 31, 15, 13, 19, 21, 33, 25, 12, 28, 30, 36

 

Activities

 

Continuous assessment

Exercise-questionnaire about theoretical aspects of the subject: 5%

Individual literary commentary: 20%

Final written test of the studied contents: 50%

Group work and In-Class activities on reading seminars: 25%



Unique assessment*

Questionnaire about theoretical aspects of the subject: 20%

Written test of the studied contents: 50%

Oral presentation about a literary commentary: 30%

 

 

 

At the end of each evaluation activity information of the procedure and date of qualifications review will be provided (via Moodle).

The final grade of the evaluation is the average grade of each activity (0 for unperformed activities). In order to pass the course, a minimum overall grade of 5 must be obtained. Students will obtain a Not assessed/Not submitted course grade unless they have submitted more than 30% of the assessment items.

In the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded to an assessment activity, the student will be given a zero for this activity, regardless of any disciplinary process that may take place. In the event of several irregularities in assessment activities of the same subject, the student will be given a zero as the final grade for this subject.

 

Recovery

 

In order to do the recovery the student must have been previously evaluated in a set of activities that amounts to at least two-thirds of the total qualification of the course.

Recovery can be done only if the overall grade is between 3.5 and 4.9. Recovery willbe done with a final test and group work is excluded. The maximum reassessment grade is 5.

*The same assessment method as continuous assessment will be used.


Bibliography

 

1. Theoretical studies

Bourdieu, Pierre, Las reglas del arte. Génesis y estructura del campo literario, Barcelona: Anagrama, 2010.

Even-Zohar, Itamar, Polisistemas de cultura, 2007 https://www.tau.ac.il/~itamarez/works/papers/trabajos/polisistemas_de_cultura2007.pdf. Works in several languages: https://www.tau.ac.il/~itamarez/ez-publications.htm and in Catalan: https://www.tau.ac.il/~itamarez/works/papers/trabajos/index.html

Gutiérrez Carbajo, Francisco, Movimientos y épocas literarias, Madrid: UNED, 2002.

Jameson, Fredric, El Posmodernismo o la lógica cultural del capitalismo avanzado, Barcelona [etc.]: Paidós, 2002.

Lyotard, Jean-François, La condició postmoderna. Informe sobre el saber, Barcelona: Angle, 2004.

Taylor, Victor E.; Winquist, Charles E., Enciclopedia del posmodernismo, Madrid: Síntesis, 2002.

Wellek, René; Warren, Austin, Teoría literaria, Madrid: Gredos, 2009 [19531].

 

2. History of Catalan literature

AV, Història de la literatura catalana, 4 vol., Barcelona: Edicions 62 / Orbis, 1984.

Bordons, Glòria; Subirana, Jaume (ed.), Literatura catalana contemporània, Barcelona: Edicions de la Universitat Oberta / Proa, 1999.

Bou, Enric (dir.), Noudiccionari62 de la literatura catalana, Barcelona: Edicions 62, 2000.

Bou, Enric (dir.), Panorama crític de la literatura catalana.Segle XX, vol. V i VI, Barcelona: Vicens Vives, 2010 and 2009.

Broch, Àlex (dir.), Diccionari de la literatura catalana, Barcelona: Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2008.

Carbó, Ferran; Simbor, Vicent, Literatura catalana del siglo XX, Madrid: Síntesis, 2005.

Castellanos, Jordi (ed.), Guia de literatura catalana contemporània, Barcelona: Edicions 62, 1973.

Castellanos, Jordi & Marrugat, Jordi (dir.), Història de la literatura catalana. Literatura contemporània  II. Modernisme. Noucentisme. Avantguardes, Barcelona: Enciclopèdia Catalana / Barcino / Ajuntament de Barcelona, 2020.

Castellanos, Jordi & Marrugat, Jordi (dir.), Història de la literatura catalana. Literatura contemporània  III. Del 1922 al 1959, Barcelona: Enciclopèdia Catalana / Barcino / Ajuntament de Barcelona, 2021.

Fuster, Joan, Literatura catalana contemporània, Barcelona: Curial, 1972.

Malé, Jordi, Història de les històries de la literatura catalana, EDIUOC, PID_00167451: http://openaccess.uoc.edu/webapps/

Massot i Muntaner, Josep, «La historia de la literatura catalana als Països Catalans», dins Escriptors i erudits contemporanis, Barcelona: PAM, 1996, p. 273-281.

Molas, Joaquim (dir.), Història de la literatura catalana. Part moderna, vols. VIII, IX, X i XI, Barcelona: Ariel, 1986-1988.

Molas, Joaquim, «Sobre la periodització en les històries generals de la literatura catalana», dins Sobre la construcció de la literatura catalana, Palma: Lleonard Muntaner, 2010, p. 73-93.

Romero Muñoz, Carlos, «Breve historia de las historias de la literatura catalana», Rassegna iberistica, núm. 17, September 1983, p. 3-34.

 

3. Catalan literary movements (20th-21st centuries)

 

Modernisme and Noucentisme

AV, «El Modernisme. Un entusiasme», Serra d’Or, núm. 135, December 1970: http://www.cervantesvirtual.com/portales/serra_dor/obra-visor/any-xii-num-135-desembre-1970/html/

Castellanos, Jordi, «Modernisme i Noucentisme», L’Avenç, núm. 25, March 1980, p. 26-51.

Castellanos, Jordi, «El Noucentisme: ideologia i estètica», dins Aulet, Jaume (dir.), El Noucentisme. Cicle de conferències fet a la Institució cultural del CIC de Terrassa curs 1984/85, Barcelona: PAM, 1987, p. 19-39.

Castellanos, Jordi, El Modernisme. Selecció de textos, Barcelona: Les Naus d’Empúries, 1988.

Castellanos, Jordi, «Modernitat, Modernisme i la invenció de la història de la literatura catalana», dins Panyella, Ramon (ed.), Concepcions i discursos sobre la modernitat en la literatura catalana dels segles XIX i XX, Lleida: GELCC / Punctum, 2010, p. 223-245.

Marfany, Joan Lluís, «Modernisme i noucentisme, amb algunes consideracions sobre el concepte de moviment cultural», Els Marges, núm. 26, 1982, p. 31-42: https://www.raco.cat/index.php/Marges/article/view/108221

Marfany, Joan-Lluís, Aspectesdel Modernisme, Barcelona: Curial, 1984.

Molas, Joaquim, «Segona història del Modernisme», dins Garcia i Espuche, Albert (dir.), El Modernisme, Barcelona: Olimpíada Cultura / Lunwerg, vol. I, 1990, p. 27-31.

Murgades, Josep, «Assaig de revisió del noucentisme», Els Marges, núm. 7, 1976, p. 35-53: https://www.raco.cat/index.php/Marges/article/view/98702

Murgades, Josep, Escrits sobre Noucentisme. Barcelona: Universitat de Barcelona, 2022.

Panyella, Vinyet, Cronologia del Noucentisme (Una eina), Barcelona: PAM, 1996.

Peran, Martí (dir.), El Noucentisme. Un projecte de modernitat, Barcelona: Enciclopèdia Catalana, 1994. 

Vallcorba, Jaume, Noucentisme, mediterraneisme i classicisme, Barcelona: Quaderns Crema, 1994.

 

Avant-garde and interwar movements

AV, «Les avantguardes a Catalunya (1914-1936)», L’Avenç, núm. 19, September 1979, p. 17-48. 

<pclass="defaultCxSpMiddle">AV, Els anys vint en els Països Catalans (Noucentisme / Avantguarda), Barcelona: PAM, 1997.

AV, Avantguardes a Catalunya 1906-1939, Barcelona: Fundació Caixa de Catalunya / Olimpíada Cultural Barcelona'92, DL 1992.

Malé, Jordi, Les idees literàries al període d’entreguerres. Antologia de textos, Lleida: Pagès, 2011.

Malé, Jordi; Borràs, Laura (ed.), Poètiques catalanes del segle XX,Barcelona: UOC,2008.

Molas, Joaquim, La literatura d’avantguarda (1916-1938), Barcelona: Antoni Bosch, 1983.

 

War, postwar period and exile

AV, Literatura de la guerra civil. Memòria i ficció, Lleida: Institut d’Estudis Ilerdencs, 2002.

Campillo, Maria (ed.), Llegir l’exili, Barcelona: L’Avenç, 2011.

Guillamon, Julià, El dia revolt. Literatura catalana de l’exili, Barcelona: Empúries, 2008.

Guillamon, Julià, El jove Palau i Fabre. Una família de l'Eixample de Barcelona, el somni d'Eivissa i la Guerra Civil. Barcelona: Galàxia Gutenberg, 2024.

Molas, Joaquim, La literatura de postguerra, Barcelona: Dalmau, 1966.

Samsó, Joan, La cultura catalana: entre la clandestinitat i la represa pública (1929-1951), 2 vol., Barcelona: PAM, 1994.

Vall, Xavier, L’existencialisme en la literatura catalanadurant el franquisme, Catalonia, núm. 7, 2010: https://crimic-sorbonne.fr/img/pdf/vall.pdf

Vallverdú, Marta, Seixantisme. L’esclat cultural català dels 60. Barcelona: L'Avenç, 2023

 

Historical realism

Castellet, Josep M.; Molas, Joaquim, Poesia catalanadelsegle XX, Barcelona: Edicions 62, 1963.

Martinez-Gil, Víctor (ed.), Una Terra, més enllà. Històries catalanes de ciència-ficció durant la guerra freda i el franquisme. Barcelona: Sfabula, 2023.

Vallverdú, Marta, «El Realisme Històric. L’agitació cultural dels anys seixanta», L’Avenç, núm. 385, November 2012, p. 28-43.

 

Postmodernity and postmodernism

Broch, Àlex, Literaturacatalana dels anys setanta, Barcelona: Edicions 62, 1980.

Broch, Àlex, Literatura catalana dels anys vuitanta, Barcelona: Edicions 62, 1991.

Guillamon, Julià, La ciutat interrompuda, Barcelona: Anagrama, 2019 [20011].

Marrugat, Jordi, «L’escriptor català i la societat postfranquista. Models de relació de l’escriptor català amb la seva societat des de la fi del franquisme fins als nostres dies», I i II, Revista de Catalunya, núm. 234, 2007, p. 9-41 i núm. 235, 2008, p. 9-32. 

Marrugat, Jordi, Aspectes de la poesia catalana de la postmodernitat, Barcelona: PAM, 2013, esp. p. 13-93.

Martínez-Gil, Víctor, «El lloc de la literatura en la societat postmoderna», dins Culla i Clarà, Joan B. (dir.), Història Política, Societat i Cultura dels Països Catalans, vol. XII. Barcelona: Enciclopèdia Catalana, 1999: p. 314-323.

Martínez-Gil, Víctor, «Els escriptors com a intel·lectuals postmoderns», dins Panyella, Ramon; Marrugat, Jordi (ed.), L’escriptor  i la seva imatge. Contribució a la història dels intel·lectuals en la literatura catalana contemporània, Barcelona: L’Avenç, 2006, p. 299-322.

Muntaner, Maria, et al. (ed.), Poètiques de ruptura, Palma: Lleonard Muntaner, 2008. 

Orja, Joan, Fahrenheit 212. Una aproximació a la literatura catalana recent, Barcelona: La Magrana, 1989.

Pi de Cabanyes, Oriol; Graells, Guillem-Jordi, La generació literàriadels 70. 25 escriptors nascuts entre 1939-1949, Barcelona: Institució de les Lletres Catalanes, 2004 [19711].

Rourera, Jordi, «Del nyap il·legible a la novel·la execrable. La “polèmica Carner” i altres manifestacions antinoucentistes dels Imparables», Els Marges, núm. 81, 2007, p. 107-20: https://www.raco.cat/index.php/Marges/article/view/142110

 

Webography

Traces. Bases de dades de llengua i literatura catalanes:http://traces.uab.cat/

lletrA. La literatura catalana a Internet-UOC:  https://lletra.uoc.edu/

Associació d’escriptors en llengua catalana:https://www.escriptors.cat/autors

 

Short literary works will be proposed to be read during the course.

 


Software

   


Language list

Name Group Language Semester Turn
(PAUL) Classroom practices 1 Catalan first semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 1 Catalan first semester morning-mixed