Iberian Political Cultures: Multilingual Approaches to 20th and 21st Century Spain (Level 5)

In this Iberian Political Cultures: Multilingual Approaches to 20th and 21st Century Spain short course we focus on the relation between culture and politics in Spain in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The 'Iberian' category in the title recognises that, in the period under study, the country developed cultures in four languages: Spanish, Catalan, Galician and Basque, which we will study relationally, rather than separately. Within that framework, we will look at zones where political activity and cultural creation meet, exploring forms of relation between society, political power and artistic creation.

We will discuss a wide range of works, including political discourses, essays, novels, poetry, film, music and TV programmes. We plan to cover:

• Modern Spain, a multilingual state
• Nationalism in the minoritarian nations of Spain: multiple imaginary communities
• The rural/urban divide in comparative perspective and from the twentieth to the twenty-first century
• Beyond centre and periphery: circuits of cultural exchange, transcontinental mobility and colonial entanglements in comparative perspective
• Art and political commitment: plurilingual cultural responses to the Spanish Civil War, anti-francoism and Basque and Catalan independence
• The politics of memory in comparative perspective: responses to remembering a past of conflict and violence in Basque, Catalan, Galician and Spanish contexts
• Redefining inside and outside: exile and migrant voices in comparative perspective across the twentieth and twenty-first centuries

All mandatory readings and texts will be available in English translation.

Assessment is via a 2000-word essay (40%) and two-hour in-class test (60%).

As a student on this course, you will study alongside Birkbeck students enrolled on one of our undergraduate or postgraduate courses, giving you the opportunity to network with a range of Birkbeck current students whilst you learn.

• Culture and Language (French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Spanish) (Certificate of Higher Education)