Course overview

In this introductory two-hour face to face workshop session we follow Spanish history in the 19th and 20th centuries through the medium of ten historical documents. In this time Spain lost an empire, struggled to establish constitutional government and underwent dictatorship, revolution and war. The documents range from historical analysis, contemporary observations to literature, art, cartoons and photography that illuminate the events, personalities, challenges and culture of the time. Each document will be introduced by a short analysis of its context, provenance and importance. There will be much opportunity for discussion, analysis, questions and speculation.

Course description

This one-off introduction to modern Spanish History focuses on ten important and very different documents from the 19th and 20th centuries. Each document has much to tell us about events, personalities, challenges and changes in Spain in these years. We will use them to guide us through Napoleon and the Peninsular War, through various attempts at liberal constitutional government, questions of church, military, state and empire as well as the era of mass politics. The documents will allow us to trace the huge events of the 20th century including two dictatorships, the impacts of two world wars and the return of Spain to centre stage in world history with the Spanish Civil War of the late 1930s. In addition, we will reflect on Spain’s experience of the Second World War and the rule of Franco stretching into the 1970s. Finally, we consider how Spain made the transition to democracy up to the election of the socialist government in 1982. The documents range from historical analysis to photographs, fine art to satirical cartoons. Each will be placed in its context and then analysed to reach conclusions – substantiated and tentative alike. Throughout there will be opportunity for reflection, questions and discussion.

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All of our digital content, teaching and learning activities and assessments are designed to be accessible so if you need any additional support you can discuss this with the education experts during your enrolment journey and we will do all we can to make sure you have optimal access.

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