Creative Destruction. Cultural responses to contemporary Portugal (level 6)

• Credit value: 30 credits at Level 6
• Convenor: to be confirmed
• Assessment: a 2000-word review (of works taught in class) or interview (with authors of works taught in class) (30%) and a 3500-word essay (70%)

By questioning given assumptions about the world, periods of crisis are particularly rich and challenging to culture. This module will focus on the economic crisis experienced in Portugal in the last decade, as well as its social and political manifestations, and analyse how artists and intellectuals from different areas (video, cinema, music, literature, etc) creatively responded to what they perceived as a moment of destruction.

Indicative module content

• International crisis, local responses
• Political responses to the crisis: activism and subversion
• The political culture of the crisis
• Mapping the crisis
• Cinema and the crisis
• Video and crisis
• Photography and the crisis
• Music and the crisis
• Cartoon and comics in the crisis

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

• identify and analyse the economic, political and social impact of moments of crisis in contemporary Portugal
• demonstrate awareness of the complex relations between dramatic historical moments and cultural creation
• recognise the tensions between culture and economy, politics and social transformation
• recognise the role of militant art in critical moments
• situate Portuguese history and culture in broader international context
• develop analytical, critical and conceptual skills and demonstrate ability to work with theoretical arguments
• demonstrate ability to understand cultural forms within their socio-historical context
• apply interdisciplinary practices in the study of concepts, works and authors.