Spanish MA
Medievalism and Orientalism in Hispanic America HISP4115
- Academic Session: 2026-27
- School: School of Modern Languages and Cultures
- Credits: 20
- Level: Level 4 (SCQF level 10)
- Typically Offered: Runs Throughout Semesters 1 and 2
- Available to Visiting Students: Yes
- Collaborative Online International Learning: No
- Curriculum For Life: No
Short Description
This course explores approaches to the medieval and the oriental in Hispanic American literary and nonfictional writings, especially in Argentina, Chile, and Brazil. It places texts and topics in theoretical and historical context, highlighting differences between the Hispano-American archive and other studies of medievalism and orientalism.
Timetable
20x1hr seminars over both semesters as scheduled in MyCampus.
This is one of the honours options in SMLC and may not run every year. The options that are running this session are available on MyCampus.
Excluded Courses
None
Co-requisites
None
Assessment
The standard assessments for this course are:
■ Time-limited assignment to be completed over a 4-day period (1,500 words) semester 1 - 50%
■ Essay (2,000 words) - 50%
If required, for instance where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, the following alternatives are available:
■ There is no alternative to the time-limited assignment, but extra time can be offered as reasonable adjustment (students should follow the usual process for examination adjustments).
■ There is no alternative to the essay, but an extension to the deadline can be offered as reasonable adjustment (students should follow the usual process for extensions).
Further reasonable adjustments may be provided where necessary. Students are encouraged to consult with the course convenor. 
Main Assessment In: April/May
Course Aims
This course will provide the opportunity to:
■ introduce students to key Hispano-American texts evidencing use of medievalist and orientalist ideas;
■ interrogate the ways in which these texts engage with continental identity through the Islamic background of medieval Iberia;
■ chart the modifications of medievalist and orientalist ideas from the 1800s to the 1950s as embodied in literary and nonfictional texts.
Intended Learning Outcomes of Course
By the end of this course students will be able to:
■ account for the context and the particularities of medievalist and orientalist ideas in Hispano-America vis-Ã -vis other regions of the world;
■ evaluate the progression of medievalist and orientalist discourses in Hispano-America from the 1800s to the 1950s as embodied in literary and nonfictional texts;
■ produce an essay on a course topic that is established on a well-defined working hypothesis and references current critical scholarship.