Undergraduate Course: Basque Culture and Society (ELCH08025)
Course Outline
| School | School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 8 (Year 2 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course will provide an interdisciplinary survey of the culture, politics and society in the Basque Country, or Euskal Herria. Basque Culture will be explored through the study of literary texts, academic monographs, art, music and film in their historical context . This course will be taught in English. |
| Course description |
This course will provide an interdisciplinary survey of the culture, society, and politics of the Basque Country with a focus on the period from the birth of Basque Nationalism in the late 19th century to the present day. This module will build through a strong grounding in different aspects of the Basque Country and society, including its geography and the natural world, urban and rural working traditions, including transhumance and the maritime industries, societal structures, religion, food and artistic expression, from the visual arts and music to folk theatre (pastorals) and improvised verse traditions (bertsolaritza).
It will develop analysis of the region's dynamic rapport with neighbouring France and Spain and its place in an increasingly globalised world. The Basque language will also be a focus, as a language isolate and key element of identity and barometer of Basqueness in society. The course will cover significant moments in Basque political history such as initial moves towards establishment as an Autonomous Community in 1936 and eventual success in 1979. It will explore the concepts of minority, nation and identity, which are at the heart of the current debates in the Basque country. This will include a focus on the multiplicity of Basqueness, with the contrasting lived experiences of being Basque between nation states (French-Basque, Spanish-Basque) and regions (from Pyrenean Zuberoa to coastal Bizkaia and the southern Basque Rioja), along the Basque diaspora across Europe and the Americas.
The module will be taught through lectures and small-group seminars. Students will prepare for each seminar by engaging with one or two key sources (academic, literary, art or film) and attending an initial interactive lecture on the theme, before delving more deeply into the content and debates through a student-led seminar discussion.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | Literary texts - roughly £35 |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2024/25, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 15 |
| Course Start |
Full Year |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 22,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
174 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Coursework 100%
Presentation - 40%
2000-word essay - 60%
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| Feedback |
Throughout both semesters, students will receive regular oral formative feedback on their performance during classes in addition to summative feedback on coursework. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Develop analytical, communication and presentation skills through group discussions and individual presentations on aspects of Basque literature and history
- Engage in historical debate and how to adopt a critical approach to literature assessing the relationship between history and aspects of cultural expression
- Be familiar with the background to the cultural and artistic expression of the Basque country
- Consider the present in relation to the past and understand the wider role of literature and memory in the shaping of a nation's development as well as its political institutions
- Demonstrate self-reliance, initiative, organisational and problem-solving skills
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
By the end of the course, students will have further developed their skills in the areas of research and enquiry, personal and intellectual autonomy, communication, and personal effectiveness.
For further specification of these skills see the University's graduate and employability skills framework at https://graduate-attributes.ed.ac.uk/framework |
| Keywords | Basque,DELC,Culture,Euskera,Euskadi,Euskal Herria |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Mr Dylan Inglis
Tel:
Email: dinglis3@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | |
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