In the 20th century, Spain went through civil war, four decades of Francoism, transition to democracy, and re-emergence onto the international stage. Each lecture in this series focuses on one question, one primary source, and one novel, and is aimed at undergraduate and graduate students of History, Politics, and Spanish at the University of Oxford.
The first lecture in this series focuses on economic development and political dissent in Franco’s Spain. It demonstrates the use of White House meeting minutes in historical research and discusses Juan Marsé’s 1966 novel, Últimas tardes con Teresa.
Lecture two asks whether Spain’s transition from dictatorship to democracy in the mid-1970s was inevitable. In so doing, it presents the use of ambassadorial cables in historical research and examines Carmen Martín Gaite’s 1978 novel, The Back Room.
Lecture three uses Javier Cercas’ 2007 novel The Anatomy of a Moment to discuss Spain’s 23 February 1981 attempted military coup. It questions the origins of Spain’s democratic institutions and employs CIA reports in historical research. To see the secret footage, go to: http://bit.ly/1fsV92D.
The fourth lecture in the Spain 1959–1992 series is in pursuit of an answer to the question, was Spain a European, a Mediterranean, or an American power? It also looks at how to use élite interviewing in historical research and discusses Javier Marías’ 1989 novel, All Souls.