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Fakultät Geistes- und Kulturwissenschaften

Professur für Amerikanistik

  1.  Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg
  2. Fakultäten
  3. Geistes- und Kulturwissenschaften
  4. Institute
  5. Anglistik/Amerikanistik
  6. Professur für Amerikanistik
  7. Exkursionen
  8. "Hemingway, Iberian Contemporaries, and the Spanish Civil War" - Blockseminar in Spanien

"Outliving systems of tyranny": Hemingway, Iberian Contemporaries, and the Spanish Civil War

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Dr. Nicole K. Konopka (American Studies)
Susen Halank, M.A. (Romance Literary Studies)

Course Description

In this course, we explore the literary, cultural, and historical landscapes of the Spanish Civil War through the works of Ernest Hemingway and several Iberian contemporaries. Our goal is to examine how these authors depicted and responded to the era's political turmoil, offering insights into themes of resistance, endurance, and democratic values amidst tyranny. Additionally, we will examine how writers up to this day reflect on the horrors of the war and its aftermath.

Students will engage with a diverse range of materials, including novels, plays, poems, and short stories. In addition to literary texts, the course will incorporate discussions of films and paintings that portray the Spanish Civil War and its aftermath, providing a multimodal representation of the time period. As part of this seminar, we will embark on an immersive field trip to Spain, visiting key locations such as Madrid, Pamplona, and the Spanish North. These visits will enrich our understanding of the cultural and historical context, allowing students to experience firsthand the settings that inspired these pivotal works of literature and art.

Field trip to Spain: January 07-14, 2025 (including stops in Madrid, Pamplona, Bilbao, and Guernica)

Mandatory Friday meetings in Bamberg:

  • October 18, 2024, 10-12 a.m. c.t. (general orga)
  • November 15, 2024, 10 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. s.t. (historical context) and screening of Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth (2006; orig. El laberinto del fauno)
  • November 29, 2024, 10 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. s.t. (literary context)
  • January 24, 2025 (debriefing)

Reading – American Studies:

  • Ernest Hemingway: The Sun Also Rises (1926); The Fifth Column And Four Stories of the Spanish Civil War (1938); For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940) - and selected essays
  • Munro Leaf, The Story of Ferdinand (1936)

Reading – Romance Literary Studies:

  • Javier Cercas, Soldados de Salamina (2001; transl.: Soldiers of Salamis)
  • Carmen Laforet, Nada (1945)
  • Rafael Sanchez Ferlosio, El Jarama (1955/56; transl.: The River)
  • Federico Garcia Lorca, España en el Corazón (1937; transl.: Spain in My Heart)
  • Mercè Rodoreda, La plaza del diamante (1962; transl. In Diamant Square)