Module manager: Gregorio Alonso
Email: g.alonso@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2025/26
A2 in the Spanish language according to the Common European Reference Framework.
| SPPO1010 | Pract Lang Skills in Spanish 1 |
| SPPO1091 | Pre-Intermediate Spanish Language (A2 of the CEFR) |
This module is not approved as a discovery module
This module explores the history of Spanish America and Brazil since independence, examining both general themes and case studies from specific countries. The central historical stages include the background to and the achievement of independence from Spain during the period 1800-1825; the transition from colony to empire in Brazil; the processes of nation- and state-building in the region from 1830 to 1880; the progressive integration of Latin America into the international economy between 1880 and 1930, and the social and political repercussions of export-oriented development. Participants will study slavery and abolitionism, caudillismo, indigenous resistance, democratization, mass-movement organizations, informal imperialism, and the history of gender in Latin America. Case studies include Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, México, Perú, and Venezuela. Relying on primary and secondary sources, students will reflect on the progressive and oft-conflictive historical development toward social and political modernization. Please note this is an optional module and runs subject to enrolments. If a low number of students choose this module, then the module may not run and you may be asked to choose another module.
Students will learn of Modern Latin America's outstanding cultural, political, and social dimensions after the end of Iberian imperial rule. They will acquire and develop knowledge of critical socio-economic transformations in the region and the accompanying politico-ideological changes that defined the arrival of modernity in the region. Participants will examine the entangled histories of the new nations, paying attention to the key driving factors and agents involved in the consolidation of republican democracy and their primary opponents. At the same time, they will acquire sound knowledge of the material and ideological dimensions of Latin American postcolonial development.
They will build upon the academic and transferable skills studied at Level 1 through lectures, seminar presentations, debates, and assessed written work. Interactive learning in lectures and seminars based on preparatory readings ensures the integration of comparative approaches to studying the multifaceted transformation of Latin American peoples and societies in the long nineteenth century.
Students will enhance their writing and academic skills by discussing, engaging with, and evaluating specialized historiographic monographic works via the completion of critical reviews.
Participants will develop their academic and critical skills to produce historiographic essays grounded on primary and secondary sources.
Students will read primary sources in English -as well as in Spanish and Portuguese, to further develop their academic and language skills and apply them to the study of past and non-European societies.
On successful completion of the module, students will have demonstrated the following learning outcomes relevant to the subject:
1. Expand and consolidate knowledge of Latin America's political, social, and economic trajectory in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
2. Discuss and critically assess the socio-economic and political conflicts, along with the ethnic and gender relations, that accompanied the state's construction and the nation-building processes in the post-independence period
3. Understand and engage with the historiographic contributions to the research field.
Skills Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following skills learning outcomes:
4. Apply analytical and writing skills by completing academic reviews and essays.
5. Demonstrate reasoned knowledge acquired in class and through independent reading, and evaluating different factors with reference to their specific contexts
6. Produce clear, well-structured and convincing arguments drawing evidence from a wide range of primary and secondary sources.
7. Effectively use and evaluate secondary sources and assess alternative and complementary points of view.
Details of the syllabus will be provided on the Minerva organisation (or equivalent) for the module
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supervision | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Lecture | 21 | 1 | 21 |
| Seminar | 20 | 1 | 20 |
| Independent online learning hours | 80 | ||
| Private study hours | 78 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 42 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200 | ||
As part of their summative assessment, students will share an essay plan and receive feedback before the submission of their assessed essays.
Individual consultations on any aspects of the module’s organization, content, and assessment will be provided on students request.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework | Literature review | 50 |
| Coursework | Essay | 50 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
The reading list is available from the Library website
Last updated: 25/04/2025
Errors, omissions, failed links etc should be notified to the Catalogue Team