Manuscripts and Multimedia: Analysing 19th-century Spanish Texts Rhian Davies Department of Hispanic Studies University of Sheffield

What is ‘Literature’? ‘stories written before I was born’ ‘horrid novels’ ‘torture’ ‘gateway to a whole world of knowledge’ ‘freedom, escape from today’s world’ (from Hard Going but Worth It, LLAS survey of attitudes towards reading, 2006)

Barriers Problems with ‘lots of new vocabulary as it means I can’t let the story or text flow so I lose concentration easily.’ ‘Students read fewer texts or read fragments of texts because they are no longer trained to read for prolonged periods.’ (Bassnet) ‘I had little experience of reading literary prose – it always seemed too frightening.’

Torquemada en la hoguera & electronic edition See Teaching aims –Break tasks down into manageable chunks –Encourage close reading –Increase confidence –Increase sense of inquiry –Improve understanding and appreciation of language –Have fun learning!

Teaching programme 1.Introduction to the electronic edition 2.Historical context 3.Textual variants 4.Characters and style 5.Themes, purpose of the novel and its modernity

Considerations Meaning of the words Way in which sentences are constructed Sounds and rhythm Words and images – links with other parts of the novel

Use of ICT? Conveys the idea that the novel is a fluid, developing entity Increases students’ confidence – awareness that there are no right/ wrong answers Students in control Easier to carry out research

Benefits of Group Work ‘The Inquiry based learning worked really well because we were able to work in groups. Learning from our peers is one of the best ways to learn because our minds work at the same wavelength and we can build on each others’ ideas.’ ‘It is really useful working in groups because we were not afraid to share our ideas with each other; we could talk about the possible answers and arrive at the solution together.’ ‘It was fairly low pressure working in groups, which was good.’

Benefits of ICT ‘The technology really helped me to get to grips with the detail of the novel, and helped me to think about the issues. I learnt loads! ‘I think it [the technology] has been very helpful. It has made learning more engaging […].’ ‘[The technology] makes the lessons more fun so you learn more as you’re sharing ideas with others.’

Social Significance of Literature ‘The respondents in this survey confirmed that there was a social aspect of reading for them in that they like talking to friends about their reading.’ (Gallagher-Brett) Does (/can) ICT used in conjunction with textual analysis remove the fear associated with the engagement in a solitary activity?...