Contemporary Spanish History: Republic to Present

Course Information

Program(s):

Madrid - Language & Area Studies

Discipline(s):

History

Terms offered:

Fall, Spring

Credits:

Language of instruction:

Spanish

Contact Hours:

Prerequisites:

Students should have some general knowledge of 20th Century European History.

Description:

The objective of this course is to study the historical evolution of Spain since the proclamation of the 2nd Republic (on April 14, 1931) to the present (the Spanish democracy, since the end of Franco’s dictatorship). The course will analyze political, economic, social, cultural, and foreign policy factors that characterize Spanish society during this period. In other words, Spain’s difficult journey towards modernization, or its transformation into an industrialized, urban, modern nation, as well as the transition to a democracy and the process of institutional consolidation and normalization both domestically and internationally.

Attendance policy:

Attendance is mandatory for all IES Abroad classes, including course-related excursions. Any exams, tests, presentations, or other work missed due to student absences can only be rescheduled in cases of documented medical or family emergencies. If a student misses more than two classes in any course half a letter grade will be deducted from the final grade for every additional absence. Seven absences in any course will result in a failing grade.

Learning outcomes:

By the end of the course students are able to:

Identify and explain the most important stages of the contemporary history of Spain.
Analyze the different periods of democracy and contrast them with the non-democratic and authoritarian periods
Analyze the political, social and economic organization of contemporary Spain
Understand the national and regional diversity of a democratic Spain
Identify the role of the main protagonists of the history of Spain
Understand the role of Spain within the international contemporary society
Make commentaries to historical texts and analyze videos and documentaries about the History of Spain.

Method of presentation:

Lectures are an essential part of the course program; however the final grade is based on class participation, the presentation and discussion of controversial and interesting topics relevant to the curriculum, and the preparation of text commentaries, which will be given to students for most of the course topics. The class will also view certain historical videos.

Field study:

The class will make two course-related excursions during the course period:

Palacio de El Pardo
Congreso de los Diputados

(Dates to be determined at the beginning of the course.)

Required work and form of assessment:

The final grade consists of the following:

Midterm exam (35%): Students must take a written midterm exam on the official dates determined by the IES Abroad.
Final exam (35%): Students must take a written midterm exam on the official dates determined by the IES Abroad.
Mandatory work assignments (20%): Students must complete a mandatory essay, inform the professor in a timely fashion, and later submit a final draft at the end of November.
Class participation and text commentaries (10%): Students’ attendance, punctuality and class participation will be taken into account (respecting the school’s internal rules).

content:

Week	Content	Required Readings
Week 1	THE HISTORY OF SPAIN: PERIODIZATION AND GENERAL CHARACTERICTICS. History and Contemporary History. The issue of Spain’s “modernization”: general characteristics of the contemporary period.	Conclusion of the mandatory book The Contemporary Crisis
Week 2 & 3	THE SECOND SPANISH REPUBLIC (1931-1936) The origins of the Second Republic. Economic, educational, religious and military problems. From the reformist biennium to the radical-cedist biennium. The Popular Front: Towards the civil war. Foreign politics and international context. Culture and Society	Chapters 5, 6 and 7
Week 3 & 4	THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR (1936-1939). The Two Spains of 1936: the origins of the conflict and the main controversies. Evolution of the dispute. Political development of Republican Spain. The creation of the New Francoist State. The internationalization of the civil war. Aid to the pro-Franco side. Aid to Republicans. Final balance.	Chapters 8 and 9 Franco’s Regime
Week 5 & 6	POLITICAL BASIS OF THE FRANCO REGIME The fundamentals of the Regime: Franco’s personality: authoritarianism and personal power. Families of the Regime. Political opposition to the dictatorship. The political evolution of the Franco Regime: 1939-1973. The global crisis of Francoism. (1973-1975).	Chapters 10, 11 and 12 Midterm Exam
Week 7 & 8	FOREIGN POLITICS OF THE FRANCO REGIME General characteristics of foreign policy. Ideas-force. Evolutionary phases of foreign policy. The importance of the year 1953: Concordat with the Vatican and Pacts with the USA. Partial integration in international society. The foreign policy crisis (1973-1975).	Chapters 10, 11 and 12
Week 8	ECONOMY, SOCIETY, AND CULTURE UNDER THE FRANCO REGIME Evolution of economy policies: autarchy, developmentalism and crisis. Social change: the role of the middle class. From cultural dearth to unwanted modernization. Spanish political culture.	Chapters 10,11 and 12 Democratic Spain
Week 9	THE TRANSITION TO DEMOCRACY (1975-1982): THE ARTICULATION OF A NEW POLITICAL SYSTEM A Spanish model of Transition to Democracy? The alternatives: between Post-Franco reformism and the opposition breaking away. The international context of political change. Building a new political system. The Constitution of 1978 and the socialist, democratic state of law. The first transition governments: UCD and Adolfo Suárez. The role of the King.	Chapter 13
Week 10	FROM DEMOCRATIC CONSOLIDATION TO A RETURN TO EUROPE: THE SOCIALIST ERA (1982-1996) The evolution of socialist governments. The development of an autonomous state. The definition of Spain’s international position. Economic modernization, social change and cultural transformation.	Chapter 14
Week 11	THE POLITICAL EVOLUTION OF DEMOCRATIC SPAIN: ALTERNATING POWERS (1996-2014). THE NEW REIGN OF FELIPE VI The second rotation: the Partido Popular (PP) administrations: balance of politics (1996-2004). “Changes in foreign policy” (2003) and Spanish alliance with the USA. The impact of 11-M in 2004. The new government of the PSOE and political change (2004-2011). The new government of the PP and the Spanish economic crisis. Spain’s internationalization. The abdication of King Juan Carlos I and the reign of Felipe VI (June 2014).	Chapter 14 Final Exam

Required readings:

Students are required to use the following textbook for study materials and for work conducted in class (professor’s explanations, comments on the text) in preparation for exams:

CASANOVA, J. - GIL, C.: Historia de España en el siglo XX. Barcelona, Ariel, 2009

The professor will provide students with various articles and historical documents throughout the course, which are also considered mandatory reading.

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