The massive participation at the last two Global Feminist Strikes in Spain during the International Women's Day (2018 and 2019) called attention to the pervasive gender inequality, which continues to be one of the main problems for the young democracy (1978-2019). For example, since 2003 almost 1,000 women have been killed in Spain because of gender-based violence. Behind this dramatic figure there exists a chain of layers of oppression and symbolic violence. Cultural documents such as films, commercials, literature or media can either help to naturalize, or on the contrary, criticize such violence in order to prevent the transmission of sexist behaviors. Through the critical analysis of cultural documents, this course offers students the chance to study feminism in Spain while developing their Spanish skills. We will do so by talking and writing about the main feminist struggles over the course of the 20th and 21st Centuries in Spain, with special emphasis on the fourth wave that emerged during the global financial crisis that began in 2008. We will explore the artistic genres that have reflected these struggles through the novel, short story, poetry, cinema, documentary, drama, and the graphic novel. By studying this collection of cultural documents, the students will come in contact with the most relevant genres, the trends, terms and issues within contemporary feminist social movements in Spain.

This course counts as literature credit for the Spanish minor.