CIEE in Barcelona, Spain

Transcription

1 CIEE in Barcelona, Spain Course name: Spain Today: Politics and Society Course number: POLI 3002 BASP (SPAN) Programs offering course: Barcelona Summer Language and Culture Language of instruction: English U.S. Semester Credits: 3 Contact Hours: 45 Term: Summer 2019 Course Description This course examines some of the major political, social and economic changes that took place in Spain since the end of Francisco Franco s dictatorship in 1975 until today. Hence, students will study Spain from an all-inclusive perspective, mixing different disciplines and theories with the aim of understanding Spain and its major characteristics, understanding the actual situation in its historical context. Learning Objectives At the end of the course students will be fully prepared to understand the actual Spanish political context and to face any document written on contemporary Spain. Students will be provided with a solid background in order to establish comparisons to the USA and other modern countries and to understand similarities and differences. Course Prerequisites There are no prerequisites to enroll this course. Methods of Instruction The course is organized in 15 sessions of 3 hours each, in which the teacher will combine classic teaching with dynamic learning activities. The course will follow an interactive methodology, so the student is asked to be fully participative and debates will be daily proposed. Different materials will be used: readings (essays, monographs, newspaper and academic articles), films, videos and music. Some field-trips have been arranged as complementary activities, and students will be asked to use Tweeter and to write a brief blog entry with their reflections and opinions during/after the field-trip. Assessment and Final Grade 1. Research Paper 30%

2 2. Oral Presentation 20% 3. Final Exam 30% 4. Homework Papers 10% 5. Class Activities and Participation 10% Course Requirements Research Paper Students will research on class-related topics and present their findings to professor and classmates. The topic of this paper is your choice but must be approved by the teacher, and once approved cannot be changed. Specific guidelines will be provided on the first day of class. The extension of the research paper will be 5-7 pages. Oral Presentations Students will prepare an oral presentation to show the results of the research paper. Presentations will last from 15 to 20 minutes, and the use of Power Point, Prezi or other presentation programs is required. Presentations will be held on the last two days of the course. Final Exam Students will take a final exam at the end of the course. The exam (multiple choice test and a short essay) will include all topics analyzed in class. Homework Papers Students will prepare two short essays about the topics analyzed in class, as indicated in the weekly schedule. In the essays students must assume a critical approach, raising questions, or arguing a thesis or a conclusion. Personal opinions as well as comparisons between the Spanish context and other countries are more than welcomed. Class Activities and Participation At each session students will be engaged in learning activities, such as discussing the readings related to the session or debating on the subjects analyzed in class. Further material (i.e. newspapers articles, blog entries or videos) could be provided during the session to be discussed in class. Participation is valued as meaningful contribution in the classroom, utilizing the resources and materials presented to students as part of the course. Meaningful contribution requires students to be prepared in advance of each class session and to have regular attendance. Students must clearly demonstrate they have engaged with the materials as directed, for example, taking an active part in classroom discussions, class activities, as well as in the field trip and on-site classes.

3 CIEE Barcelona Attendance Policy Students are expected to attend all scheduled class sessions on time and prepared for the day s class activities. CIEE does not distinguish between justified or unjustified absences, whether due to sickness, personal emergency, inevitable transport delay and/or other impediments. You are considered responsible of managing your own absences. Please keep in mind that exams, paper submission dates, presentations and any other course work deadlines cannot be changed. No academic penalty will be applied if students miss up to 1 class session. If students miss up to 3 class sessions, students final course grade will drop 5 points out of 100 on the CIEE grade scale for each additional absence beyond 3 (for example a 95 will become a 90 if they reach the 2nd absence, and an 85 if they reach the 3rd absence). Students will automatically fail the course if they miss more than 20% of total class hours (i.e. if they exceed 3 absences). For students who miss up to 20% of the total course hours due to extenuating circumstances, the Academic Director may allow for exceptions to the local attendance policy based on documentation such as proof of bereavement, religious observances, hospitalization etc. Students arriving more than 10 minutes late to the class will be considered absent for a day. Weekly Schedule Session 1 society? Introduction to class What do you know about Spain s contemporary politics and Introduction to Contemporary Spain: From the birth of Modern Spain (1808) to the I Republic (1931) History of Spain, pp Session 2 The II Republic and Civil War ( ) This session will be dedicated to a period of great importance to understand the Spanish political context from 1975 until today. History of Spain, pp Schatz, Sara (2001). Democracy breakdown and the rise of Fascism: The case of the Spanish Second Republic,

4 Session 3 The Franco Regime ( ) In this session we will deal with politics, society and culture during the dictatorship of Francisco Franco. How was Spanish society under Francoism? Was Spain a Fascist regime? Why a dictator who was supported by Hitler and Mussolini lasted in power after 1945? History of Spain, pp Session 4 The Spanish Transition (1): a model of democratization? Transition to democracy is a key moment to understand actual Spain. In this session we will analyze the period between the death of Franco (1975) and the proclamation of Spanish Constitution (1978). History of Spain, pp Colom, Francisco (2017). The Spanish Transition Forty years Later. Homework Paper 1: students are requested to reflect about one of the subjects analyzed in the first three sessions, comparing Spain with USA or any other country. Students must comment at least one of the compulsory readings, but they are also invited to use complementary readings or any other material they find useful. Extension: words. Session 5 The Spanish Transition (2): a model of democratization? Transition to democracy is a key moment to understand current Spain. In this session we will analyze the period between the first elected government after the approval of the Constitution and the victory of PSOE at 1982 elections. Conversi, Daniele (2002). The Smooth Transition Powell, Charles (2014). Revisiting Spain s Transition to Democracy Session 6 Modernization The Socialist governments ( ): Democratization and Between 1982 and 1996 Spain was governed by Socialists, who had to face the challenge of stabilizing the young Spanish democracy,

5 while economic crisis and political violence in the Basque Country represented a serious risk for this task. History of Spain, pp Session 7 Nation and Nationalism in Spain: a country of many nations? From the Transition to the present day, the question of nation and nationalism has been a key factor in Spanish politics and society. The purpose of this session is to discuss the subject focusing on the Catalan context, trying to answer the question proposed in the title. Tremlett, Giles (2006). Ghosts of Spain, pp Homework Paper 2: Students are requested to reflect about the subjects discussed during the last three sessions, citing at least one of the compulsory readings. Students are also invited to use complementary readings as well as any other material they found interesting. Extension: words. Session 8 The evolution of Catalan nationalism (2012-today) Since 2012, Catalan nationalism has experienced spectacular growth, moving from being a political option supported by a radical minority to a mass movement supported by almost half of the Catalan population. How this could happen is the subject of this session. Ucelay-Da Cal, Enric (2015). Catalonia Dreaming: The Rise of Catalan Mass Secessionism ( ) Field trip: the clash of Nationalisms through signs and symbols in Barcelona (walking tour). Session 9 Spain after the Socialist Era: through a two parties system? The subject of this session is the period , during which the PP and the PSOE alternated in power, while Spain adopted the Euro, broke its isolationism by participating in the II War in Iraq and began to face the question of the historical memory of the Civil War and of the dictatorship. History of Spain, pp

6 Tremlett, Gilles (2007). Ghosts of Spain, pp Session 10 Geopolitics of Spain Spain was the first global empire, from the 16th to the 18th century, but from that century onwards it began to lose pieces, until it lost all its colonies between 1898 and In this session the geopolitics will be analyzed. of Spain, with an emphasis in the period from the Spanish-American war to the present day. Roy, Joaquín (2012). Spain: Foreign Relations and Policy. Session 11 a Southern An overview on actual Spain: Economic and political crisis of European Democracy Spain entered in a period of economic crisis since 2008, and as a consequences Socialist were driven out from the government by center-right. The crisis hit hard the Spanish society, and it created the background of the nowadays politics. In this session, without entering in a full scale economic debate, we will adress the main causes of the 2008 crisis, and its consequences on Spanish society. C. Poswell & F. Steinberg (2012). The Pain in Spain. Deadline for Research Papers Session 12 metropolis Modernizing Spain: Barcelona from industrial city to global Barcelona is one of the most important Spanish cities, from the point of view of economy, politics and culture. Taking a walk through one of its less touristic parts, once an industrial suburb and now an hi-tech district, we can understand better the changes that had taken place in Spain. On-site class: Poble Nou Session 13 Session 14 Session 15 Oral presentations Oral presentations and open debate Final exam Readings Compulsory readings:

7 All texts are available in Canvas, and students must read the texts indicated in weekly schedule before each session. As a part of the class activities, short texts, such as newspaper articles or blog entries, will be provided to be read and discussed in class. Colom, Francisco (2017). The Spanish Transition Forty Years Later. Democracy, Devolutionand Pluralism. Accounting for Change in Diverse Societies Series. Global Centre for Pluralism. Conversi, Daniele (2002). The Smooth Transition: Spain's 1978 Constitution and the Nationalities Question. National Identities. Vol. 4, Issue 3, pp Phillips, William D and Rahn Phillips, Carla (2017). A concise History of Spain. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge (selected pages). Powell, Charles (2014). Revisiting Spain s Transition to Democracy, in Florensa, S (ed.). The Arab transitions in a changing world. Building democracies in light of international experiences. Barcelona: IEMed, pp Powell Charels & Steinberg Federico (2012). The Pain in Spain: Light at the End of the Tunnel. The International Spectator. vol. 47, no. 4, pp Roy, Joaquín (2012). Spain: Foreign Relations and Policy. The Jean Monnet/Robert Schuman Papers Series, Special Issue 2. Schatz, Sara (2001). Democracy breakdown and the rise of Fascism: The case of the Spanish Second Republic, Social History. Vol 26, No. 2, pp Tremlett, Gilles (2007). Ghosts of Spain: Travels Through Spain and Its Silent Past. London: Faber & Faber (selected pages) Ucelay Da Cal, Enric (2015). Catalonia Dreaming. The Rise of Catalan Mass Secessionism ( ). Tiempo Devorado. No. 3, pp Complementary readings: The following readings are recommended to deepen some topics explained during the course. Further complementary readings will be indicated during the course and, when possible, they will be available on Canvas. These readings are not mandatory; students are not expected to know the texts in the following reading list. Conversi, Daniele (2000). The Basques, the Catalans and Spain: Alternative Routes to Natiomal Mobilization. Reno, Las Vegas: University of Nevada Press. González Enríquez, Carmen (2007). Ceuta and Melilla: clouds over the African Spanish towns. Muslim minorities, Spaniard s fears and Morocco-Spain mutual dependence. The Journal of North African Studies. 12 (2), Graham, Helen (2005).The Spanish Civil War: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Hooper, John (2006). The New Spaniards. London: Penguin. Kurlansky, Mark (2001). The Basque History of the World. London: Penguin. Orwell, George (first UK edition: 1938). Homage to Catolonia. Pinder, J., Usherwood, S. (2013). The European Union: a very short introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Radcliff, Pamela (2017). Modern Spain: 1808 to the Present. John Wiley & Sons.

8 Treglown, Jermy (2013). Franco s Crypt: Spanish Culture and Memory since New York: Farrar, Starus and Giroux.