Following in the footsteps of the great Golden Age authors in university education: From canonical biographies to cinema, television and advertising approaches

Abstract

Since Louis Wirth first spoke about interdisciplinarity in 1937 many scholars and teachers have been trying to apply his assumptions to literature teaching with the aims of attracting students to literature knowledge and, above all, of making their teaching a significant process. University education has given priority, on a historical basis, to the knowledge of our classical playwrights' lives through canonical biographies. However, currently an interdisciplinary approach in which the world of literature joins cinema, television and advertising is preferred inside classrooms to give a contemporary and complete vision to students who are digital natives and, thus, are more used to audiovisual media. Therefore, this work is meant to be a short documental compilation on which this interdisciplinary educational experience could be based. Many of the most interesting resources of Spanish cinema, television and advertising, which could be used as materials for teaching such representative contexts for Lope's, Cervantes's or Quevedo's drama and poetic works as their vital and social ones, are presented on it. By means of citation and analysis we will be able to present their strengths and weaknesses and, furthermore, the benefits of a multidimensional methodology.