- UNED
Facultad de Filología
Paseo de la Senda del Rey, 7, 5ª planta, 28040, Madrid
Spain - 0034913986862
- Medieval Catalan Literature, Women in the Renaissance, Early Modern Women, Medieval Misogyny, Medieval Latin Literature, Ausiàs March, and 68 moreMedieval French Literature, Medieval Iberian Literature, Medieval Women, History of the Troubadours, Medieval Culture, Literary representations of women, Medieval Literature, Courtoisie, Chretien de Troyes, Literature, Sexuality and chivalry/courtly love, Feminist Literary Theory and Gender Studies, Courtly literature, Jonathan Littell, Arthurian Studies, Comparative Literature, Simone de Beauvoir, Medievalism, Romance philology, Gender Studies, Courtly Love, Medieval History, Medieval Iberian History, Chivalry and Courtly Love, Rosemary Radford Ruether, Renaissance Lyric Poetry, Early Modern Spanish literature, Renaissance Studies, Medieval Spanish Literature, Petrarch, Petrarch Studies, Petrarchism, Medieval Europe, Medieval France, Gender History, Medieval parody and satire, Women troubadours, Medieval Occitan Literature, Medieval Studies, Medieval Aristocracy, Court history, Christine de Pizan, Arthurian Literature, Filologia Românica, Provençal Literature, Courtly Lyric, Literary Theory, Literatura, Bernart de Ventadorn, Aristocracy, Elites, Nobility, Ausias March I Les Dones, Troubadours, Early Modern History, Cultural Studies, Manuscripts (Medieval Studies), Medieval Spain, Middle Ages, Language Teachers, teachers of foreign languages, Teacher of Foreign Languages and Cultures, Modern Foreign Languages Teaching and Learning, Modern foreign languages in uk education, Modern Foreign Languages, Modern Foreign Language Teacher Education and Training, Foreign Language Teacher Education, and Methodology of Second and Foreign Language Teaching, Teacher Trainingedit
- I graduated in Romance Studies from University of Barcelona (1995). I then completed a MA in Textual Criticism with a... moreI graduated in Romance Studies from University of Barcelona (1995). I then completed a MA in Textual Criticism with a dissertation on the works of the Provençal troubadour Bernart de Ventadorn (Barcelona, 1997). After a few years teaching Catalan and Spanish in Barcelona for both public and private institutions, I was awarded an Institut Ramon Llull grant to pursue doctoral research at Durham University (2003). The work then undertaken resulted in the PhD thesis “L’amant, la dama i l’amor: evolució dels ideals cortesos a la lírica amorosa catalana dels segles XIV i XV” (Durham, 2008). I worked as an Associate Lecturer at Universitat de Barcelona (2008-2013), and I taught at Durham University, where I coordinated the Spanish institution-wide language programme (2014-2023). My research focuses primarily on representations of women and the feminine in medieval courtly lyric, as well as the origins and evolution of ethics within this cultural tradition.edit
The aim of this book is to challenge the traditionally held view of the image of the lady in medieval courtly lyric as either the summit of perfection or the source of all evil. Feminine images in courtly lyric have tended to be analysed... more
The aim of this book is to challenge the traditionally held view of the image of the lady in medieval courtly lyric as either the summit of perfection or the source of all evil. Feminine images in courtly lyric have tended to be analysed in terms of a bipolar pattern represented by the wholly positive model of the bona domna in opposition to the entirely negative figure of the mala domna. It is argued in this essay that praise and blame are not opposite trends in this kind of poetry, but different representations of the feminine arising from the interaction between the misogynist background of cultural tradition and the civilizing trends characteristic of courtly literature. The scope of this work is Provençal troubadour lyric of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, as well as love lyric written in Provençal and Catalan in the crown of Aragon over the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. A special attention is dedicated to the work of the Valencian poet Ausiàs March, who, fully assuming the controversial position of courtly ideals in late-medieval Catalan love lyric, reworks and renews the tenets of tradition to ensure the purposefulness and the prestige of learned love lyric. Detailed study of a representative selection of texts shows how deference for the lady, originally one of the signs of distinction defining courtly love lyric, is progressively displaced by other features of courtly discourse that grant distinction.
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Research Interests: Comparative Literature, Translation Studies, Medieval Literature, Medieval French Literature, Medieval Studies, and 10 moreLiterary Criticism, Medieval Latin Literature, Vocabulary, Medieval Catalan Literature, Medieval Italian Literature, Medieval Occitan Literature, Hispanic Studies, Medieval and Early Modern Hispanic literature, Medieval Translation, and Troubadours
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Letras Hispánicas. Cátedra: Madrid, 2017.
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This paper deals with the role of the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) among staff on teaching-only contracts in UK higher education, particularly in contrast with the activities of researchactive staff. Drawing on the results... more
This paper deals with the role of the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) among staff on teaching-only contracts in UK higher education, particularly in contrast with the activities of researchactive staff. Drawing on the results of a quantitative study carried out during the summer of 2021 among modern foreign language teachers in 64 UK universities, the questions of the status and purpose of SoTL are addressed. The results of the survey show that, beyond the traditional two-tier division of academic labour based on the research vs. scholarship dichotomy, a third group of academic staff with no research or SoTL responsibilities has emerged in recent years. The paper concludes with recommendations to review the existing divisions between staff on research, SoTL and teaching-only contracts in order to create a more inclusive academic environment where individuals in different types of academic posts can fulfil their scholarly potential.
Research Interests: Teaching and Learning, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, Higher Education, Learning and Teaching, Teaching of Foreign Languages, and 14 moreScholarship of Learning and Teaching, Teachers' professional development, Learning And Teaching In Higher Education, Foreign language teaching and learning, Modern Foreign Language Teacher Education and Training, SOTL, Scholarship, Faculty Diversity, Modern Foreign Languages Teaching and Learning, Modern foreign languages in uk education, Teaching Staff, Teaching and Learning In Adult and Higher Education, Modern Foreign Languages, and Higher Education in the UK
This chapter lays out a framework for the reconsideration of assessment systems used in language modules in the wake of the move to emergency remote teaching. It describes how the principles of holism, flexibility, choice and digital... more
This chapter lays out a framework for the reconsideration of assessment systems used in language modules in the wake of the move to emergency remote teaching. It describes how the principles of holism, flexibility, choice and digital equity have emerged as the pillars of the reflection on assessment practices, looking into the potential implications of adopting these principles as the default foundations for future assessment systems. A case is made for the design of a model where online assessment grants all students equal opportunities to succeed, regardless of their technical, physical, human and social resources and circumstances, in both face-to-face and online teaching. Several aspects of assessment are considered, such as the nature, planning, scheduling and timing of tasks. The ongoing debate about the proliferation of academic misconduct in assessment practices—not only in language modules but widely in higher education—is factored in the discussion about the implementation of the principles mentioned above. The chapter concludes with a set of practical recommendations aimed at helping teachers to put these principles into practice. In all, the chapter offers language practitioners a resource for reflection and analysis of current and future assessment practices, focusing on how we can make the most of the learnings acquired during the move to online teaching to make assessment more diverse, inclusive and resilient.
Research Interests: Languages and Linguistics, Assessment, Academic Integrity, Assessment in Higher Education, Language Assessment, and 9 moreMethodology and Didactics of Foreign Language Teaching, Modern Foreign Language Education, Online assessment, Digital Equity, Continuous Assessment, Modern Foreign Languages Teaching and Learning, Inclusive Assessment, Modern Foreign Languages, and Modern Foreign Languages (MFL)
La questio dels origens i el desenvolupament de la lirica cortesa a les corts occitanes durant les ultimes decades del segle xi i al llarg del xii continua ocupant la critica literaria. Alguns dels estudis que s’hi han dedicat han... more
La questio dels origens i el desenvolupament de la lirica cortesa a les corts occitanes durant les ultimes decades del segle xi i al llarg del xii continua ocupant la critica literaria. Alguns dels estudis que s’hi han dedicat han identificat les claus de l’exit d’aquesta lirica amb alguns aspectes que consideren innovadors per al public de l’epoca, com ara l’exaltacio de l’amor huma i la posicio de poder en la qual apareix la dona. Aquest argument resulta poc convincent per dues raons: d’una banda, no considera la varietat de la casuistica amorosa que presenta la lirica trobadoresca; d’una altra banda, no te en compte que aquests motius ja eren presents en altres manifestacions liriques. En aquest article mostrem que l’atractiu de la lirica cortesa per a la seva audiencia no raia en aquests trets, sino en altres aspectes exclusius d’aquesta manifestacio i, per tant, innovadors. Tambe afirmem que la sobirania que s’ha atribuit a la dona en la lirica cortesa es, en realitat, ficticia...
Research Interests: Medieval Literature, Art, Sexuality and chivalry/courtly love, Medieval Latin Literature, Language and Power, and 12 moreMedieval Catalan Literature, Lyric poetry, Courtly literature, Medieval Occitan Literature, Lingüística, History of the Troubadours, Courtly Love, Medieval Lyric Poetry, French & Occitan Medieval Language & Literature, Troubadour Studies, Courtly Culture, and Troubadours
espanolLa lirica amorosa catalana de los siglos XIV y XV y la lirica castellana de cancionero, ademas de ser manifestaciones literarias contemporaneas y proximas en el espacio, comparten algunas caracteristicas: ambas se inscriben en la... more
espanolLa lirica amorosa catalana de los siglos XIV y XV y la lirica castellana de cancionero, ademas de ser manifestaciones literarias contemporaneas y proximas en el espacio, comparten algunas caracteristicas: ambas se inscriben en la tradicion lirica cortes en lengua romance iniciada por los trovadores provenzales. Sin embargo, ciertos rasgos definitorios de la lirica de los poetas catalanes y valencianos de estos siglos implican la puesta en cuestion de algunos planteamientos basicos de la cortesia. En ocasiones, los poetas llegan a despojar los ideales corteses de su valor original, desacreditandolos en tanto que fuente de bien y de virtudes para el amante. En este articulo partimos de la constatacion de estas caracteristicas para analizar la lirica castellana en busca de posibles manifestaciones similares. El analisis que llevamos a cabo se centra en tres motivos: la valoracion de los usos amorosos contemporaneos, la imagen del amante cortes y la presencia en la ficcion poetic...
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... Bernart de Ventadorn: Lo fin amic?: Imatges negatives de la Domna. Autores: Marion Coderch; Localización: Anuari de filologia. Secció G, Filologia romànica, ISSN 1131-6918, Vol. 20, Nº 8, 1997 , págs. 31-44. Fundación Dialnet. Acceso... more
... Bernart de Ventadorn: Lo fin amic?: Imatges negatives de la Domna. Autores: Marion Coderch; Localización: Anuari de filologia. Secció G, Filologia romànica, ISSN 1131-6918, Vol. 20, Nº 8, 1997 , págs. 31-44. Fundación Dialnet. Acceso de usuarios registrados. ...
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The aim of this activity report is to provide an initial appraisal of the current makeup of the professional group of modern foreign language teachers in UK Higher Education. The report is in two parts: a literature review that identifies... more
The aim of this activity report is to provide an initial appraisal of the current makeup of the professional group of modern foreign language teachers in UK Higher Education. The report is in two parts: a literature review that identifies the main defining qualities of modern foreign languages teachers, and an evaluation of the professional and academic profiles of language teachers in UK higher education, as displayed in the institutional websites of the universities where they work. The analysis of the data collected corroborates the characteristics identified in the literature: the low status of teaching staff, the often unconventional entry paths into the profession, the prevalence of the “native speaker” construct as a desirable feature in candidates who aspire to teach the language, the disparity in qualifications of language teachers, and their low engagement in research activities. Future prospects involve the verification (or amendment, where necessary) of the data collecte...
Research Interests: Teaching of Foreign Languages, Modern Foreign Language Teacher Education and Training, Modern Foreign Languages Teaching and Learning, Modern foreign languages in uk education, Modern Foreign Languages, and 6 moreProfessional profile, Qualifications of University Language Teachers, Research of University Language Teachers, Scholarship of University Language Teachers, Status of University Language Teachers, and University Language Teachers
The use of feudal vocabulary is the most innovative feature of twelfth- and thirteenth-century Occitan troubadour love lyric. The Catalan and Valencian poets who continued and reworked this tradition over the fourteenth and fifteenth... more
The use of feudal vocabulary is the most innovative feature of twelfth- and thirteenth-century Occitan troubadour love lyric. The Catalan and Valencian poets who continued and reworked this tradition over the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries preserved this convention with varying degrees of fidelity. The aim of this paper is to identify trends in the use of feudal vocabulary in the works of Catalan and Valencian poets, and to interpret these tendencies in the light of contemporary historic developments. The poets’ choices in selecting materials from the previous tradition provide valuable information about their strategies of adaptation to the requirements of their audiences. This analysis will allow delimitating similarities and differences between classical troubadour lyric and the works of later Catalan and Valencian poets, an essential step towards the definition of Catalan poetry in the late Middle Ages. The specific identity of this poetic expression has yet to be outlined, since it has traditionally been described in the context of disparaging comparisons with other earlier and contemporary poetic traditions.
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The development of courtly lyric in Occitan courts during the eleventh and twelfth centuries is still a subject of study for literary criticism. Some of the essays that have dealt with this matter have linked the success of courtly lyric... more
The development of courtly lyric in Occitan courts during the eleventh and twelfth centuries is still a subject of study for literary criticism. Some of the essays that have dealt with this matter have linked the success of courtly lyric to its apparently innovative features, such as the exaltation of human love and the depiction of women in a position of power. However, this argument is less than convincing: on the one hand, it ignores the extraordinarily varied love casuistry in troubadour lyric; on the other hand, it obviates the presence of such literary motifs in previous and contemporary poetic traditions. This paper shows that the success of courtly lyric is not owed to these aspects, but to a different set of features that were truly new and exclusive to the courtly milieu. It is also argued that the alleged sovereignty of women in courtly lyric is actually false. Examples from Provençal, Catalan and Valencian lyric texts from the twelfth to the fifteenth centuries are quoted in support of these ideas.
Research Interests: Medieval Literature, Sexuality and chivalry/courtly love, Medieval Latin Literature, Language and Power, Medieval Catalan Literature, and 11 moreHistory Of Sexuality (Sexuality And Chivalry Courtly Love), Lyric poetry, Courtly literature, Medieval Occitan Literature, History of the Troubadours, Courtly Love, Medieval Lyric Poetry, French & Occitan Medieval Language & Literature, Troubadour Studies, Courtly Culture, and Troubadours
Les Bienveillantes (2006), a novel written in French by North-American author Jonathan Littell, contains several references to myths and themes of the medieval Western tradition, particularly to the legend of Tristan and Isolde. This... more
Les Bienveillantes (2006), a novel written in French by North-American author Jonathan Littell, contains several references to myths and themes of the medieval Western tradition, particularly to the legend of Tristan and Isolde. This essay shows how the contemporary writer resorts to the old myth to draw parallel lines between the story of Tristan and Isolde and the ill-fated love life of the main character, depicting the tragic aspect of an impossible love. The paper also demonstrates how Littell reworks and updates the medieval legend, overcoming the boundaries of the old story and adapting it to the troubled period in which the action of the novel is set. The writer uses this new view on the myth to describe the anxiety of an individual tortured by his tumultuous environment and by the impossibility to live by his ideals.
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Catalan-Valencian love poetry of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries and cancionero Castilian poetry are not only linked by geographical and temporal bonds, but also share the same origins: both are heirs, each one in its own way, to... more
Catalan-Valencian love poetry of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries and cancionero Castilian poetry are not only linked by geographical and temporal bonds, but also share the same origins: both are heirs, each one in its own way, to the poetic tradition of Provençal troubadours. However, some of the characteristic features of fourteenth and fifteenth centuries’ Catalan-Valencian poetry involve a revision and a discussion of some of the fundamental ideas in the courtly love code. In some cases, poets even strip courtly ideals of their original ennobling power. The starting point of this paper is the acknowledgement of such attitudes among Catalan and Valencian poets. The aim of this essay is to identify the possible concurrence of such topics in Castilian poetry, in order to draw an outline of similarities and differences between the Catalan-Valencian and the Castilian poetic traditions in the treatment of conventional courtly love motifs. To this end, text analysis is carried out around three main topics: the lover’s attitude towards contemporary courtly love habits, the image of the courtly lover, and the presence of other men –potential rivals for the lover– within poetic fiction. Finally, the results of this comparative exercise are assessed in connection with the political and social context of the time.
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This essay studies gender representation in fourteenth and fifteenth century’s treatises in defence of women, written within the context of the Querelle des Femmes. Taking the undoubtedly patriarchal nature of Western tradition as a... more
This essay studies gender representation in fourteenth and fifteenth century’s treatises in defence of women, written within the context of the Querelle des Femmes. Taking the undoubtedly patriarchal nature of Western tradition as a starting point, the author identifies the most valued qualities of women and examines the vision of feminine virtue in these works, specially in Álvaro de Luna’s Libro de las virtuosas e claras mugeres. This analysis shows that feminine virtue is often linked to female performance in fields that were traditionally deemed as masculine, such as politics and war; in other cases, it appears conditioned to self-sacrifice and renunciation of female features and functions, like sexual activity, motherhood, or external feminine traits. The ascertainment of this fact calls into question the role of such defence treatises as effective statements of feminine virtue.
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The legacy of Bernart de Ventadorn (fl. 1147-1170) in Catalan and Valencian lyric of the 14th and 15th centuries, while as important as his impact on German and French traditions (for instance, Gaucelm Faidit, fl. 1172-1203), is much less... more
The legacy of Bernart de Ventadorn (fl. 1147-1170) in Catalan and Valencian lyric of the 14th and 15th centuries, while as important as his impact on German and French traditions (for instance, Gaucelm Faidit, fl. 1172-1203), is much less known. This article fills an important gap by tracing intertextual echoes of one poem, "Lo rossinhols s’esbaudeya," in later texts by Pere Torroella (ca. 1420-95, author of poems in Catalan and Castilian, and the central figure at the court of Juan II of Aragon, including in Naples from 1450, and Carlos IV of Navarra), Gilabert de Próixita (fl. 1392-1405, author of 21 extant Catalan poems, whose family, originary of Naples, was connected to Pere the Great), Joan Berenguer de Masdovelles (author of some 180 poems, the greatest medieval poetic corpus in Catalan, active in Barcelona ca.1442-76), and the Valencian poet writing in Catalan Joan Roís de Corella (1435-1497).
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The treatment of traditional courtly ideals in Ausiàs March’s love lyric is one of the aspects where the innovative thrust of the Valencian poet comes up. March reworks and renews the courtly heritage of the Provençal troubadours in order... more
The treatment of traditional courtly ideals in Ausiàs March’s love lyric is one of the aspects where the innovative thrust of the Valencian poet comes up. March reworks and renews the courtly heritage of the Provençal troubadours in order to adjust it to his social and cultural milieu. As in the previous tradition, the poems in which the courtly legacy is more visible picture a range of images of the beloved, from virtue to abjection. This paper shows the different stages in the degradation of the lady’s image, from the first suspicions of the lover to the confirmation of her flaws. In view of the lady’s unsuitability as the object of pure love, March proposes an alternative option that ensures the continuity of the lyric discourse.
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The aim of this essay is to offer a broad, comprehensive view of the various images of the beloved in Provençal troubadour lyric. In spite of the commonly accepted idea of a bipolar representation of women in courtly lyric, based on the... more
The aim of this essay is to offer a broad, comprehensive view of the various images of the beloved in Provençal troubadour lyric. In spite of the commonly accepted idea of a bipolar representation of women in courtly lyric, based on the opposition bona domna / mala domna, there is a multiplicity of feminine images, where positive features are hardly dissociated from negative traits. The comment of Raimon de Miraval’s song “Ben aia•l cortes essiens” illustrates the ideas put forward in this paper.
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A significant part of the lyric production of the Valencian poet Ausiàs March is dedicated to love. Some of these poems develop philosophical thoughts on different kinds of love, whereas in other pieces of March’s work the discourse is... more
A significant part of the lyric production of the Valencian poet Ausiàs March is dedicated to love. Some of these poems develop philosophical thoughts on different kinds of love, whereas in other pieces of March’s work the discourse is set within the frame of the courtly tradition. Here, the image of the lady as the object of love plays a key role. Taking the unworthiness of the feminine gender as a point of departure, March’s work shows that the only circumstance under which the lady can deserve pure, spiritual love is the loss of her fleshly nature. In this essay, we show how this process takes place in March’s verses.