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From the Troubadours to Ramon Muntaner

Code: 105837 ECTS Credits: 6
2024/2025
Degree Type Year
2503998 Catalan Philology: Literary Studies and Linguistics OB 2

Contact

Name:
Francesc Josep Gomez Martin
Email:
francescjosep.gomez@uab.cat

Teaching groups languages

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


Prerequisites

None


Objectives and Contextualisation

This course is an introduction to the history of medieval Catalan literature within its European context. Students will also be introduced into the practice of reading and interpreting medieval Catalan texts.

At the end of the course, students are expected (a) to have a general knowledge of all the relevant authors and genres, (b) to understand the developing of a literary tradition, (c) to be able to comment (viva voce) on any of the works included in the syllabus, and (d) to write short essays on any of them.


Competences

  • 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.
  • Interpret literary texts from a philological and comparative viewpoint.
  • 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.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Analyse literary texts from philological and comparative standpoints, apply these criteria to the study of modern-period texts and write analyses of the literary language of modern Catalan texts.
  2. Comment on literary texts, using the instruments acquired, with regard to the historical, social and cultural context.
  3. Critically interpret literary works, taking into account the relationships between the different areas within literature and their relationship to humanistic, artistic and social areas.
  4. Describe and interpret the Western cultural tradition, from the classical period to the late Middle Ages, and recognise features of the Western tradition in a medieval text.
  5. Describe the historical context of contemporary Catalan literature and relate works to their historical and cultural context.
  6. Describe the historical context of modern Catalan literature and relate literary works to their historical and cultural context.
  7. Discern the sex/gender factor in the configuration of the literary canon.
  8. Display basic knowledge of medieval Catalan and write versions of medieval texts in modern Catalan.
  9. Explain the context of medieval Catalan literature and relate works to their historical and cultural context.
  10. Gain a greater capacity for reading, interpreting and critically analysing literary and linguistic texts.
  11. Identify principal and secondary ideas and express them using correct language.
  12. Identify the key elements of Western cultural tradition from the 19th century to the present day.
  13. Identify the relationships between literature and history, art and other cultural movements.
  14. Identify themes and motifs of the classical and medieval European tradition in any of its literary and artistic manifestations.
  15. Interpret Western cultural tradition from the 19th century to the present day, pinpointing features of the Western tradition in a contemporary text.
  16. Make appropriate use of the knowledge acquired in order to collect data and handle documentary sources in the study of Catalan language and literature.
  17. Master oral and written expression in Catalan.
  18. Plan, organise and carry out work in a team.
  19. Present and explain overall perspectives on phenomena of contemporary Catalan literature.
  20. Present and explain overall perspectives on phenomena of modern Catalan literature.
  21. Produce critical texts on the main trends and the most significant authors and works of poetry and prose in Catalan literature.
  22. Produce critical texts on the main trends, the most significant authors and the most representative works in Catalan literature.
  23. Produce critical texts on works and trends in modern Catalan literature, showing suitable mastery of concepts and methods, and write original essays, showing mastery of the relevant literature on authors and works of the modern period.
  24. Produce normatively correct written and oral texts.
  25. Produce work in accordance with academic ethics.
  26. Produce written work and oral presentations that are effective and framed in the appropriate register.
  27. Recognise literary texts from philological and comparative standpoints, apply these criteria to texts in contemporary Catalan literature and write analyses of the literary language of contemporary Catalan texts.
  28. Recognise themes and motifs of the European tradition in a medieval Catalan text.
  29. Respect the opinions, values, behaviour and customs of others.
  30. Use IT tools and be able to consult specific documentary sources.
  31. Use technological resources (digital and audiovisual) to acquire knowledge and apply it in language and literature.
  32. Write historical interpretative essays on the contemporary literary tradition.
  33. Write historical interpretative essays on the modern Catalan literary tradition.
  34. Write original essays, showing mastery of the relevant literature and of contemporary authors and works.
  35. Write original essays, showing mastery of the relevant literature, on medieval authors and works.
  36. Write text commentaries from a critical standpoint.

Content

  1. Troubadour poetry. Courtly love and feudalism. Troubadour genres. Royal patronage in the Crown of Aragon. Catalan-born troubadours. The trobairitz.

  2. Medieval chronicles. The Book of King James (†1276). The Book of King Peter (1280-86). Ramon Muntaner's chronicle (1325-28).

  3. Life and works of Ramon Llull (1232-1316). The Lullian Ars and its literary output.

  4. The troubadour tradition in the 14th and early 15th c. The Cançoneret de Ripoll(1320-1350). MSS Sg. (c. 1360/70) and Ve-Ag (1426).

  5. Verse narrative. Genres. Presence of The Arthurian legend.


Activities and Methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Lectures 30 1.2 16, 30, 4, 9, 13, 14, 3, 10
Seminars 17.5 0.7 2, 4, 9, 11, 13, 14, 3, 29, 10
Type: Supervised      
Oral presentations (flipped class) 9 0.36 30, 2, 7, 17, 25, 26, 11, 29, 24, 31
Type: Autonomous      
Bibliographical research 10 0.4 16, 30, 25, 31
Critical reading 30 1.2 2, 8, 13, 14, 3, 10

Lectures will provide students with the historical context of medieval Catalan literature from 1150 to 1425. Seminars are aimed at improving the student's reading skills, by commenting on both the language and the literary contents of short texts. The students' oral presentations of one of such texts are meant to promote debate. Essays (on a work or more than one) are devised to start developing in-depth comprehension of both medieval language and literature. Focus is placed on improving reading skills.

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.

15 minutes of a class are reserved, during the calendar established by the center/degree, for the complementation by the students of the evaluation polls.

 

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
Essay writing 40% 24 0.96 16, 30, 2, 8, 4, 17, 21, 25, 9, 26, 11, 13, 14, 3, 10, 24, 36, 31
Exams 50% 28.5 1.14 16, 30, 2, 8, 4, 17, 21, 25, 9, 11, 13, 14, 3, 29, 10, 24, 36, 31
Oral presentations (flipped class) 10% 1 0.04 1, 16, 30, 2, 8, 5, 6, 4, 7, 17, 23, 22, 21, 25, 9, 19, 20, 26, 12, 11, 13, 14, 3, 15, 29, 18, 10, 24, 28, 27, 33, 32, 34, 35, 36, 31

Assessment is continuous. A minimum grade of 5 is required to pass the course.

Students will be assessed by means of (a) written exams, (b) individual essays, and (c) oral presentations (in the classroom or via Teams etc.). The final qualification will result from the following proportion: (a) 50%, (b) 40%, (c) 10%. 

On carrying out each evaluation activity, lecturers will inform students (on Moodle) of the procedures to be followed for reviewing all grades awarded, and the date on which such a review will take place

To opt for reassessment students must have been assessed of at least 2/3 of the overall input, and must have obtained a final mark between 3.5 and 4.9. Reassessment may include a written exam and/or submitting again an essay which had not reached the pass mark (5). The reassessment grade will not be higher than 5.

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.

In the event that tests or exams cannot be taken onsite, they will be adapted to an online format made available through the UAB’s virtual tools (original weighting will be maintained). Homework, activities and class participation will be carried out through forums, wikis and/or discussion on Teams, etc. Lecturers will ensure that students are able to access these virtual tools, or will offer them feasible alternatives.

One-day assessment

On the same day as in the continuous assessment (January, wk 2/3), students must sit a written exam (40%) and submit (b) a questionaire on Guillem de Torroella'a La faula (40%) as well as (c) a résumé of Ramon Llull's life and works (20%). Reassessment will follow the same procedure as with the continuous assessment.

 

 


Bibliography

Badia, Lola (dir.), Literatura medieval, 3 vols. in A. Broch, Història de la literatura catalana, I-III (Barcelona: Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2013-15).

Riquer, Martí de, Història de la literatura catalana: part antiga, 3 vols (Barcelona: Ariel, 1964); also in 4 vols (Barcelona: Planeta, 1984).

Riquer, Martín de, Los trovadores: historia literaria y textos, 3 vols (Barcelona: Planeta, 1975).

Cingolani, Stefano Maria, La memòria dels reis. Les quatre grans cròniques i la historiografia catalana, des del segle X fins al XIV (Barcelona: Base, 2007).

Riquer, Martí de, Llegendes històriques catalanes (Barcelona: Quaderns Crema, 2000).

Badia, Lola, & Anthony Bonner, Ramon Llull: vida pensament i obra literària (Barcelona: Empúries, 1988).

Badia, Lola (ed.), Tres contes meravellosos del segle XIV (Barcelona: Quaderns Crema, 2003). / Badia, Lola (ed.), La faula (Barcelona: Editorial Barcino, 2021).

Links
www.narpan.net.
Repertorio Informatizzato dell'Antica Letteratura Catalana (RIALC): www.rialc.unina.it


Software

None


Language list

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