The Spanish Civil War: Dictatorship & Cultural Aftermath Business & European Studies Program Spring 2018 Semester - Barcelona

The Spanish Civil War remains the most influential phase of 20th Century Spanish history and its deep and varied consequences still resonate across a wide range of cultural, social, and political manifestations in Spanish society today. The passions the civil war unleashes both then and now and both within and beyond Spain?testify to the critical social, political and international issues at stake in that dramatic and deeply tragic conflict.

While this course helps you explore and understand the causes, complex historical phases, and ongoing consequences, the cultural approach this course takes to conveying the significance of the Spanish Civil War draws upon various artistic expressions in film, literature, art and theater. Together, these reveal how the conflict and subsequent fascist dictatorship shaped post-civil war society and cultural expression. Experiencing and interpreting such cultural manifestations help you understand the conflict and better enable you to measure Francos overall impact on Spanish society, both during the totalitarian regime (1936 to 1975) and since the restoration of constitutional monarchy and transition to democracy in 1978.

A related theme in this historical survey of the Spanish Civil War is the important role played by the city of Barcelona. The heart of Spanish republicanism, a center of Leftist resistance to Francos coup détat, devastated during the civil war, and scene of both fascist retribution and post-conflict cultural repression of Catalonian culture, Barcelona personified all the tragedies, divisions and passions the conflict unleashed among opposing sides. For this reason, the city as tragic civil war actor?plays a crucial role in this historical study that requires that you explore, analyze and experience the city of Barcelona within the specific framework of the civil war. Numerous onsite study excursions to key historical sites are therefore a central part of your study.

Finally, because the Spanish Civil War was an international event, closely reported by an international and highly politicized media, joined by a great many non-Spanish and celebrated combatants, and later understood as prelude to World War II, this course also introduces comparative approaches to the conflict by considering how other countries England, France, the United States, Germany, Italy, and the Soviet Union participated in and later reflected upon the war.

At the courses conclusion, you will appreciate how the civil war shaped 20th century Spain and why it is so crucial to understanding the present dynamics of Spanish and Catalan culture and peoples.