This course examines the vast changes in Spanish life that emerged during the transition to democracy that followed Franco’s death in 1975. We will focus on the new freedom from censorship: cinema, literature—including fiction and theater—educational reforms, the reemergence of movements for regional autonomy, and changes in daily life: gender roles, work, and family that accompanied this transition. Course materials include documentaries, a telenovela, as well as DVDs produced in Spain that chronicle the Transición from dictatorship to democracy. The class uses the Spanish newspaper, El País, to discuss the way contemporary Spaniards view their own and international politics. Each student chooses a topic to research throughout the semester. The topics can include any theme of the course that is of special interest. The final project for the class will be based on that research and will be presented in class and in writing. The class is conducted in Spanish and all the readings, with the exception of Giles Tremlett’s history of the transition, are in Spanish.
