Universitat Internacional de Catalunya
Spanish Contemporary History
Teaching staff
By appointment or per email to rdelaprida@uic.es.
Introduction
Knowledge of the past is essential to understanding the present. From this perspective, the Contemporary History of Spain course aims to give students an understanding of the recent history of Spain through the study of the political, social, and cultural events that have shaped its development from the 19th century to the present day. Given the degree program in which it is taught, the main sources used in the course—along with the essential history textbooks—will be films set in the various periods under study, as well as newspaper articles, radio recordings, and documentary videos that provide an approach to historical events and a reflection on the construction of history in the social imagination through fiction and the mass media.
Pre-course requirements
You need Spanish C2 level.
Objectives
The course has two main objectives. On the one hand, it aims to provide students with a detailed understanding of the fundamental historical events that have taken place in Spain from the early 19th century to the present day. On the other hand, it seeks to familiarize students with the expression of these events through various manifestations of mass culture, in order to enable them to critically and reflectively discern between historical facts and their representation in the collective imaginary.
Competences/Learning outcomes of the degree programme
- 02 CG - The ability to learn and act an autonomously and responsibly
- 04 CG - The ability to organise time and workspace
- 05 CG - The ability to develop an ethical attitude
- 08 CG - The ability to reflect and memorize.
- 10 CG - Knowledge and mastery of bibliographic repertoires
- 11 CG - Knowledge and mastery of different research resources
- 12 CG - The ability to listen
- 16 CE - The ability to make judgments and well-argued critical assessments
- 18 CE - Ability to detect newsworthy events
- 21 CE - The ability to contextualize historical facts and critically analyze the current situation
- 38 CE - Knowledge and mastery of concepts, data, statistics and economic graphs
- 42 CE - The ability to integrate the contributions of the environment
Learning outcomes of the subject
- Knowledge and assimilation of the main historical events that have shaped contemporary Spain.
- Understanding of how the historical development of the last two centuries has led to the virtues, defects, and tensions of today's Spain.
- Reflection on the manifestation of certain historical periods through the mass media and their representation in popular culture.
- Exercise of critical judgment regarding the construction, dissemination, and impact of historical narratives.
Syllabus
BLOCK I: The origins of liberal Spain
1. The 19th century: The Construction of Liberal Spain
1.1. The War of Independence and the Political Rev.
1.2. The double tension of the state (the return of F.VII and the reign of Isabel II).
1.3. The democratic six-year period: new formulas for a liberal state.
2. The Bourbon Restoration (1875-1931)
2.1: The Restoration system: the reign of Alfonso XII and the Regency of María Cristina.
2.2 The reign of Alfonso XIII: crisis and regenerationism.
BLOCK II: The long Spanish 20th century
3. The Second Republic (1931-1936).
5. The Civil War (1936-1939).
6. Franco's Dictatorship (1939-1975).
7. Late Francoism and the Origins of the Transition (1973-1975).
8. The Spanish Transition to Democracy (1975-1982).
9. The 1978 Constitution.
10. The Calvo Sotelo Government and the International Dimension of the Transition.
11. Consolidation and modernisation: Between Felipe González and Aznar.
BLOCK III: Spain today
12. Economic crisis and political radicalisation: from Zapatero to Rajoy.
13. The end of the two-party system and the crisis of the state model (2015-2022).
Teaching and learning activities
In person
| TRAINING ACTIVITY | ECTS CREDITS |
| Lectures. In lectures, lecturers/professors not only transmit content or knowledge, but also, and above all else, attitudes, motivation, skills and values, etc. They also ensure that participants can express their opinions and arguments to the other students. | 4,0 |
| Focused Praxis. Handing in occasional exercises to learn theory through practice. | 2,0 |
Evaluation systems and criteria
In person
The assessment of the course will be divided into two distinct parts. On the one hand, students will have to complete a compulsory individual assignment. Only those students who have submitted the assignment will be allowed to take the final exam. It will be essential to pass this final exam with a minimum grade of 5.0 in order to calculate the course average, which will be weighted as follows:
- Final written exam: 75%.
- Individual assignment: 25%.
If a student fails the individual assignment, they may take the regular exam, but their course average will be based on the grade obtained in the assignment. It could therefore be the case that the student passes the final exam but fails the course due to a poor grade on the assignment. In this case, the student must take the special exam session, just as if they had failed the regular final exam. The grade for the assignment will be retained in any case until the special exam session. If the student fails this exam, they must repeat the entire course, including the assignment.
ADVICE ON PLAGIARISM
Plagiarism is the use of material appropriated from another source or from other sources with the intention of passing it off as one’s own work. Plagiarism may take the form of unacknowledged quotation or substantial paraphrase. Sources of material include all printed and electronically available publications in English or other languages, or unpublished materials, including theses, written by others.
To avoid plagiarism, you must cite the source whenever ideas written by another person are used and although the quotation is not literal and paraphrase or summarise someone else's ideas. In the literal or direct quotations one must use quotation marks and cite the source. In an academic work, it is not sufficient to state generally the literature used, but to explicitly mention the source where there ideas written by someone else come from
Plagiarism in written work of this subject is unacceptable and, therefore, any work in which plagiarism is committed will be graded with a zero.
SPELLING / WRITTEN EXPRESSION
In this subject, it is very important to use Spanish correctly in written tests, assignments, and oral presentations, both in terms of grammar and spelling, as well as punctuation and writing style. Likewise, the proper use of specific terminology related to the discipline is particularly important.
The criterion that will be followed for any of these errors is to deduct 0.5 points for each mistake in exams and 1 point in written assignments. For clarification purposes, it should be noted that incorrect accentuation of a word constitutes a spelling mistake and will be penalized as indicated.
Bibliography and resources
Fusi, Juan Pablo (2012). Historia mínima de España. Octava edición. Madrid: Turner.
Rubio, Ramón (2007). La Historia de España a través del cine. Madrid: Polifemo.
Valero, Tomás (2010). Historia contemporánea de España vista por el cine. Barcelona: Publicacions i Edicions de la Universitat de Barcelona.