Cultural History of Spain: From Dictatorship to Globalization (1940s - 2000s)

This course beings with an exploration of Francisco Franco's impact on Spanish culture from his fascist dictatorship (1939-75) to the consolidation of democracy (1980-92). As part of your work in this course, you will be challenged to both consider and question the significance of Spain's history within the so-called postmodern and globalization era (1992-2000s). Throughout the term, we will examine issues of gender, identity, body, tradition, nation, tourism, sports, violence, media, and technology.

This course is approached in an interdisciplinary fashion where historic and cultural materials (films, music, paintings, art exhibits, and TV) will be examined to understand the latest shifts in Spanish culture. In order to strengthen your experience abroad, this course also includes an intercultural component - the cultural history of Spain will therefore be complemented with historic materials from the United States. This component will add a cross-cultural insight to your knowledge of course topics and a new understanding of home values and traditions.

A significant portion of this course will be devoted to understanding Barcelona's key role from the 1940s to present. For this reason, several historic materials discussed in class will be from local artists. While much of this course will be dedicated to in-class lecture and discussion, you should also expect learning to take place outside the classroom as your explore the historical impacts on modern day Spanish culture.

**Due to the interdisciplinary nature of the content, this course is cross-listed with History (HIS336BCN) and Cultural Studies (CUL336BCN).