Memories of War and Dictatorship in Contemporary Spain

Over the last century, Spain has experienced civil war, dictatorship, and a vertiginous transition to democracy. The magnitude and pace of change have fuelled a national preoccupation with identity as Spaniards struggle to make sense of their country’s recent past. Diverse interpretations of the tumultuous events that have shaped Spain since the 1930s have proliferated under the banner of memory, which has catapulted this contested past to the centre of public life. This module traces how the concern with memory emerged in Spanish literature in the aftermath of the civil war, initially as a counterpoint to the Franco regime’s endeavour to control public perceptions of the country’s social realities and recent past. Students will read a series of influential literary works published at key moments in the development of Spain’s memory culture, while exploring the socio-political context of a memory movement whose recent controversies show no signs of abating.