La asignatura combina las exposiciones teóricas por parte del profesor con sesiones prácticas en las que los estudiantes hacen presentaciones orales, se establecen discusiones o se organiza el visionado de materiales de interés. 

Importante: el profesor, al inicio del curso, consulta al alumnado sobre sus intereses; por lo tanto, alguno de estos temas puede variar en la medida que se prefiera abordar otras cuestiones de actualidad.

Important note: time will be allocated in each session for the broadcasting exercise on current important topics in the news.

WEEK 1:

TopicS: Introduction to the course

In this session I will introduce the course, with special reference to evaluation and format of sessions. The contents of the course will be also discussed. A brief historical overview of where we come from will be the starting point for the discussions in the forthcoming sessions.

readings (REMedial)

Graham, Helen (2005). The Spanish Civil War: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. [Chapter  6: pages 115-138].

Carr, Raymond (1980). Modern Spain, 1875-1980. Oxford: Oxford University Press. [Chapters 8 to 10: pages 117-173].

WEEK 2:

Topics:  How are Spanish people like?

The session will set out some defining elements of Spanish society compared with other European societies.

Required readings

This session draws on from different issues of a very good resource: “Focus on Spanish Society”, published by the FUNCAS [available at http://www.funcas.es/Publicaciones/Index.aspx?Id=58&ddg=0. You are very welcome to check online the most recent issues of FoSS, for they are freely available on the internet.

WEEK 3:

Topics: transition towards democracy and democratic quality

Understanding contemporary Spain means understanding how Spain crafted its current democratic regime. The session will discuss the process of transition towards democracy and its consequences, with a focused discussion on the perceived quality of Spanish democracy.

SUGGESTED readings

Report on Democracy in Spain 2012 (English Versión); Fundación Alternativas. [Chapter 3]. http://www.fundacionalternativas.org/laboratorio/libros-e-informes/ide/report-on-democracy-in-spain-2012-english-version

Additional recommendations:

Encarnación, Omar (2008).  Spanish Politics. Cambridge: Polity [Chapter 1: pages 1 to 11].

Hooper, John (2006). The New Spaniards (2nd edition). London: Penguin [Chapters 1 and 2: 11 to 35].

Romero Salvadó, Francisco (1999). Twentieth-Century Spain: Politics and Society in Spain, 1989-1998. London: Palgrave [Chapter 7: 161-177].

Blakeley, Georgina (2005). ‘Digging up Spain’s Past: Consequences or Truth and Reconciliation.’ Democratization 12 (1), 44-59.

David, Madeleine (2005). ‘Is Spain Recovering its Memory? Breaking the Pacto del Olvido.’ Human Rights Quarterly 27: 858-880.

WEEK 4:

Topic: independence

The claims for independence of the Catalonians are becoming a key issue in contemporary Spanish politics, society and culture. This echoes previous attempts by Basques to demand independence. We will discuss the pros and cons of this alternative, and also the reasons motivating the growing national conflict in Spain.

Required readings

Mason, Paul (BBC Journalist; 2012). Unrest drags Spain towards buried unpleasant truths. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-9799572?print=true

Additional reading:

Miley, Thomas J. (2007). ‘Against the thesis of the ‘civic nation’: the case of Catalonia in contemporary Spain’. Nationalism and Ethnic Politics, 13: 1-37.

Hooper, John (2006). The New Spaniards (2nd edition). London: Penguin [Chapter 18: 252 to 265].

Resources:

LSE blog: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2014/09/17/catalonia-could-follow-scotland-in-using-its-independence-movement-as-leverage-to-win-more-devolved-powers/

http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2014/09/11/should-catalonia-hold-an-independence-referendum-four-responses-from-europp-contributors/

WEEK 5:

Topics: independence

We will watch a substantial part of Julio Medem’s [2003] “La Pelota Vasca: La piel contra la piedra” [more on the movie in http://www.filmaffinity.com/es/film914181.html]. Medem’s documentary touched a highly contentious issue at the time; namely the need to make sacrifices to achieve peace. 

Required readings

Hooper, John (2006). The New Spaniards (2nd edition). London: Penguin [Chapter 17]

WEEK 6:

Topic: indignation

Spain has been criticized for having a very inactive civil society. This, however, would not hold if recent developments in the field of protest politics (the so-called 15m movement) are considered.

Required readings

Cristina Flesher Fominaya (2015): Redefining the Crisis/Redefining Democracy: Mobilising for the Right to Housing in Spain's PAH Movement, South European Society and Politics, DOI: 10.1080/13608746.2015.1058216

Additional reading:

Calvo, K (2013). Fighting for a Voice: the 15-M/Indignados Movement.  In Cristina Flesher Fominaya and Laurence Cox, Eds. Understanding European Movements: New Social Movements, Global Justice Struggles, Anti-Austerity Protest. Routledge.

Resources:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/28/world/as-scorn-for-vote-grows-protests-surge-around-globe.html?_r=1&smid=fb-share&pagewanted=print

http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2014/08/22/podemos-and-the-spanish-left-risk-alienating-their-own-support-base-if-they-ally-with-independence-movements-in-catalonia/

http://austerityprotests.wordpress.com/2014/06/05/the-state-strikes-back-the-criminalization-of-15-m-and-social-movements-in-spain/

http://austerityprotests.wordpress.com/2014/08/21/in-conversation-with-cristina-flesher-fominaya-author-of-social-movement-and-globalization-how-protests-occupations-and-uprisings-are-changing-the-world-interview-by-andrea-teti/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seDGcBmlMro

WEEK 7:

Topics: indignation. a new political system after 15-m?

This session will focus on new political parties in Spain. Particular attention will be devoted to Podemos, Ciudadanos and the so-called ‘citizen platforms’. 

Resources

http://elpais.com/elpais/2015/02/02/inenglish/1422900233_612344.html

http://elpais.com/elpais/2015/02/03/inenglish/1422961735_836608.html

There is not much literature in English on this topic (yet). Please contact me if you would like additional readings in Spanish.

Assignments due

There is no assignment for this session.

WEEK 8:

Topics: crisis

Spain, like other southern European countries, succumbed between 2010 and 2014 to an unprecedented financial crisis linked to sovereign public debt. In this section we will trace the economic underpinnings of this crisis, with special attention to the links between mismanagement, corruption, lack of productivity and the housing boom.  We will also explore the consequences of this crisis in terms of social exclusion and inequality.

Required readings

Del Pino, E. 2013."The Spanish Welfare State from Zapatero to Rajoy: Recalibration to Retrenchment." Pp. 197-216 in Politics and Society in Contemporary Spain,edited by B. Field, and A. Botti. Palgrave Macmillan.

WEEK 9:

Topics: gender and sexuality

Spanish women have walked a long way from blatant oppression to formal gender equality. Still, sex and gender are still at the forefront of important debates and conflicts, particularly in relation to reproductive rights and sexual identity.

Required readings

Valiente, Celia (2009). ‘Women in Spain: Many Goals Still to be Reached’, in Women and Politics around the World: A Comparative and Historic Survey, Joyce Gelb and Marian Palley, eds. Santa Barbara, ABC-CLIO.

Additional Reading:

Fouz-Hernández, Santiago (2011). ‘Queer in Spain: Identity Without Limits’, in Queer in Europe, ed Lisa Downing and Robert Gillet. London: Ashgate, 189-203. PEDIR COPIA DEL LIBRO, QUE AHORA SOLO TENGO EL MANUSCRITO.

Guasch, Oscar (2011). ‘Stereotypes and Masculine Homosexualities: The Spanish Case’ Sexualities: Studies in Culture and Society 14(5), (526-544).

Sánchez Perez, Gema (2010). Transnational conversations in migration, queer and transgender Studies. Revista Canadiense de Estudios Hispánicos 35(1): 163-184.

Tobio, Constanza (2001). “Working and Mothering. Women’s strategies in Spain”, European Societies, 3,3, pp. 339-371.

WEEK 10: NOV 23-27

Topics: gender and sexuality (Prostitution)

Prostitution is big in Spain; debates on the legal and societal responses to sex work abound as the country emerges as one of the largest markets Europe for sex trade. To illustrate this issue, we will watch substantial parts of Fernando Leon’s 2005 movie ‘Princesas’ [http://www.filmaffinity.com/es/film716790.html]. We will debate on the topic in class.

resources

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/spain-the-world-capital-of-prostitution-2151581.html

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/03/spanish-prostitution-workship-angers-feminists-spain-economic-crisis

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/07/world/europe/young-men-flock-to-spain-for-sex-with-trafficked-prostitutes.html?_r=0

WEEK 11:

Topics: CRIME

Spain is a safe country; but we hold a large population behind bars. The issue of juvenile street gangs is also becoming a worrisome feature of our urban landscapes.

Required readings

Giliberti, Luca (2014). “Latin Gangs in Spain? Immigrant Youth Groups, Stigma and Symptoms”. Revista Española de Investigaciones Sociológicas, 148: 61-78. Free Access in http://www.reis.cis.es/REIS/PDF/REIS_148_04_ENGLISH1413365505773.pdf

Assignments due

There is no assignment for this session.

WEEK 12:

Topics: tradition, religiosity and culture

Spaniards are stereotypically described as traditional, old-fashioned and religious; their approach towards animal rights does not help.

Required readings

Hooper, John (2006). The New Spaniards (2nd edition). London: Penguin [Chapter 30].

WEEK 13 and 14: evaluacion and students suggested topics

Discussion of research topics for essays. Summary of course. 

Capacidad para la interpretación de los fenómenos sociológicos relativos a la realidad específica española.

Competencias instrumentales

• Capacidad para exponer, presentar y defender proyectos.
• Capacidad para buscar soluciones alternativas a un problema.
• Capacidad para buscar información y adaptarla a casos concretos.

Competencias interpersonales:

• Desarrollar habilidades para el trabajo en grupo
• Razonamiento crítico.

Competencias sistémicas

• Capacidad para organizar el trabajo y gestionar el tiempo
• Desarrollo de la creatividad y la imaginación.

Hoopner, John (2006). The New Spaniards. London: Penguin Books.

Additional Bibliography for the Course (only a selection of books)

- THE NEW SPANIARDS

John Hooper; Publisher: Penguin; 2nd Revised edition edition (26 Oct 2006).

- THE REINVENTION OF SPAIN: NATION AND IDENTITY SINCE DEMOCRACY

Sebastian Balfour, Alejandro Quiroga: Oxford University Press, USA (December 15, 2007).

- THE COMPANION TO HISPANIC STUDIES

Catherine Davies (ed): Hodder Education (31 May 2002).

- SPANISH CULTURE AND SOCIETY: THE ESSENTIAL GLOSSARY

Barry Jordan (ed): Hodder Education (30 Aug 2002).

- THE RETURN OF CIVIL SOCIETY: EMERGENCE OF DEMOCRATIC SPAIN

Víctor Pérez-Díaz: Harvard University Press; New edition edition (5 Mar 1998).

- DEMOCRACY'S VOICES: SOCIAL TIES AND THE QUALITY OF PUBLIC LIFE IN SPAIN

Robert Fishman: Publisher: Cornell University Press (May 2004).

- CONTEMPORARY SPANISH POLITICS

José M. Magone: Publisher: Routledge; 2 edition (20 Oct 2008).

- THE POLITICS OF SPAIN

Richard Gunther, José Ramón Montero: Cambridge University Press; 1 edition (22 Jan 2009).

- UNEARTHING FRANCO'S LEGACY: MASS GRAVES AND THE RECOVERY OF HISTORICAL MEMORY IN SPAIN

Carlos Jerez, Samuel Amago (eds): University of Notre Dame Press; 1 edition (15 April 2010).

- MEMORY AND AMNESIA: THE ROLE OF THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR IN THE TRANSITION TO DEMOCRACY

Paloma Aguilar: Berghahn Books (9 Aug 2002).

- MONOLINGUALISM AND BILINGUALISM: LESSONS FROM CANADA AND SPAIN

Julian Edge, Sue Wright (eds): Multilingual Matters Ltd (15 May 1996).

- THE BASQUES, THE CATALANS, AND SPAIN: ALTERNATIVE ROUTES TO NATIONALIST MOBILISATION

Daniele Conversi: University of Nevada Press (September 2000).

- THE SOCIAL ROOTS OF BASQUE NATIONALISM

Alfonso Pérez-Agote:  University of Nevada Press (March 8, 2006).

- THE MAKING OF THE BASQUE NATION

Marianne Heiberg : Cambridge University Press (September 17, 2007).

- ETHNICITY AND VIOLENCE: THE CASE OF RADICAL BASQUE NATIONALISM

Diego Muro: Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (10 Jan 2008).

- RELIGION AND POLITICS IN SPAIN: THE SPANISH CHURCH IN TRANSITION, 1962-96.

Audrey Brassloff: Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan (November 1998).

- THE POLITICS OF MORAL SIN: ABORTION AND DIVORCE IN SPAIN, CHILE AND ARGENTINA

Merike H. Blofield: Routledge; 1 edition (February 3, 2006).

- WELFARE STATE REFORM IN SOUTHERN EUROPE: FIGHTING POVERTY AND SOCIAL EXCLUSION IN GREECE, ITALY, SPAIN AND PORTUGAL

Maurizio Ferrara (ed): Routledge; 1 edition (April 29, 2009).

- FAMILIES IN CONVERGING EUROPE: A COMPARISON OF FORMS, STRUCTURES AND IDEALS

Eriikka Oinonen: Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan; First Edition edition (July 8, 2008).

- THE FAMILY IN THE MEDITERRANEAN WELFARE STATES

Manuela Naldini: Publisher: Routledge (March 30, 2003).

- GENDERING SPANISH DEMOCRACY

Monica Threlfall; Christine Cousins; Celia Valiente:

Routledge Advances in European Politics.

- BORN ENTREPRENEURS?: IMMIGRANT SELF-EMPLOYMENT IN SPAIN

Nahikari Irastorza: Amsterdam University Press; First edition (1 May 2010).

- CONVERSATIONS ON THE COSTA

Karen O'Reilly: Publisher: Lulu.com (October 2, 2008).

- GYPSIES IN MADRID: SEX, GENDER AND THE PERFORMANCE OF IDENTITY

Paloma Gay y Blasco: Berg Publishers; 1st edition (July 1, 1999).