ML0073: The Falklands War in Argentine Culture

School Hispanic Studies
Department Code MLANG
Module Code ML0073
External Subject Code 101138
Number of Credits 15
Level L6
Language of Delivery English
Module Leader Dr Tilmann Altenberg
Semester Autumn Semester
Academic Year 2022/3

Outline Description of Module

On 2 April 1982, Argentine troops disembarked on the Falkland Islands located in the South Atlantic, some 300 miles off the South American coast. Within ten and a half weeks, a British task force sent by then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher crushed the attempt to establish Argentine sovereignty over the inhospitable archipelago. The military defeat against Britain left deep marks on Argentina’s culture and society. Cultural responses to this war that was never formally declared demonstrate an on-going uneasiness about the failed attempt to reintegrate the Islas Malvinas into national territory. The module explores the ways in which Argentine literature, film, comics, and popular music have told the story of the Guerra de Malvinas and its consequences from 1982 to the present. In doing so, we will trace representational patterns and strategies, linking them to the historical events and to the wider context. A second line of inquiry looks at how the Falklands War has been remembered in contemporary Argentine society, for example through monuments, public holidays, veterans’ associations, and the school curriculum. Engaging with the Argentine experience of a territorial dispute that continues to be unresolved is an exercise in cultural sensitivity and self-awareness. By developing an understanding of this conflict and Argentine cultural responses to it, students will reflect on the relationship between war and culture, between Latin America and Europe, and on the perspectives on history that visual and literary culture offer.

On completion of the module a student should be able to

  • Outline the reasons behind the Falklands War, its course, and its consequences (LO 1),
  • Identify key themes and representational patterns in the cultural responses to the Falklands War (LO 2),
  • Apply concepts and tools of textual and visual analysis to the primary and secondary materials studied (LO 3),
  • Critically evaluate the relationship of cultural responses to the Falklands War to one another and to their context of production (LO 4),
  • Develop a structured, logical, and coherent argument on a specific aspect of the materials studied, drawing on relevant secondary reading (LO 5).

How the module will be delivered

The module will be delivered through a range of interactive teaching sessions supplemented by online teaching and learning activities and materials – and may include, where relevant, asynchronous materials such as lecture recordings. Full details on the delivery mode of this module will be available on Learning Central at the start of the academic year – and may be, in part, determined by Welsh Government and Public Health Wales guidance.  

The module is delivered by a combination of lectures, seminars, and workshops, complemented by extensive independent study. Lectures introduce students to the broader historical and aesthetic issues as well as to relevant critical concepts and analytical tools; seminars discuss specific texts or text passages, applying the concepts and tools introduced; workshops allow students to pursue specific areas of interest individually or in small groups with guidance by the tutor. Over the course of the semester, students will do one presentation, on which they receive feedback from both the tutor and peers. Substantial reading, film viewing, and writing outside the classroom are required to successfully complete this module.

Skills that will be practised and developed

  • Close reading,
  • Basic research skills,
  • Writing skills,
  • Word-processing skills,
  • Presentation skills,
  • Team-working skills.

How the module will be assessed

Students will be assessed through a combination of formative and summative assessments. The summative assessments are a group presentation in class and an analytical essay; for the essay students are encouraged to draw on the work previously done for the presentation.

Group presentation assesses ILO 1,2

Essay assesses ILO 2,3,4,5

THE OPPORTUNITY FOR REASSESSMENT IN THIS MODULE:

Students who fail the module will be reassessed through the one synoptic re-assessment (weighted at 100%)   

Resit assessments that are not supported by extenuating circumstances will be capped at the pass mark applicable to your programme.

Assessment Breakdown

Type % Title Duration(hrs)
Presentation 40 Group Presentation N/A
Written Assessment 60 Analytical Essay N/A

Syllabus content

Mandatory content

The module will cover the following topics:

  • The historical and political context of the Falklands War
  • Key facts of the Falklands War and its aftermath
  • Argentine cultural responses to the Falklands War: literature, film, comics, and popular music
  • Narratological, aesthetic, and thematic aspects of Falklands War narratives
  • The Falklands War and Argentine memory culture

Optional content

In addition, students may choose to explore the following areas or develop their own topics for the summative assessments:

  • Additional Falklands War novels, poems, films, and comics from Argentina
  • Eyewitness accounts and testimonial literature of the Falklands War
  • Photography of the Falklands War

The Falklands War in British culture and society


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