This class is a study of some of the best contemporary Spanish Women Film Directors. Since the nineteenth century, with the advent of post-Enlightenment thought and the slow but steady integration of women into the social sphere and cultural arena Spain, has had a strong tradition in feminist thought, in women writers, and in feminist social movements. Moreover, women have been fundamental protagonists in some of the most important social struggles and cultural movements of the twentieth century in the Hispanic world. After the death of the dictator Francisco Franco, and the emergence of democracy, women started to play an important role in all areas of culture and art. This class will examine, from a feminist point of view, the films of women whose works (and experiences) center on social and personal events and problems such as historical events, domestic violence, maternity, childhood, the construction of gender and sexuality, memory, trauma, desire, love, etc. Through filmic, historical, cultural, and theoretical readings on the collective and the intimate, the class will visualize and analyze a number of interesting Spanish films that bring to the center the gaze of women on the collective and the personal, on the social and the intimate.

This class will be conducted in Spanish. Films will be available to watch individually before class and through the semester and will be all in Spanish with subtitles in English. The critical reading will be both in Spanish and English.

This class counts toward the Spanish major and as elective credit toward the Spanish minor.

Class Format:

For Winter 2022: During certain periods of the term, we will engage in large discussions and activities about the course content in an in-person format; during other periods of the term (1/3 of the classes), we will engage in activities where students collaborate in small-group activities via breakout sessions in Zoom.