AIMS AND OBJECTIVES:

• To introduce students to a range of historical analyses on the nature of the Francoist state which emerged from the Civil War in 1939 and to explore the contradictions created for the regime by the rapid and dramatic growth of the 1950s, and Spain's increasing links with European culture.
• To enable students to understand the international context within which the Francoist regime established itself after World War Two, and to explore the social and political consequences which ensued from the shift to economic liberalism from 1951.
• To provide a brief history of the anti-Francoist opposition which developed considerably from the 1960s and assess its importance within the context of the profound political crisis of Francoism from 1969.
• To introduce students to various analyses of the political transition to democracy in Spain from 1976 and to discuss the role the Spanish Socialist Party has played in democratic politics from 1982.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

The students will have:

1.       An awareness of a range of political analyses of the Francoist regime and the political transition to democracy and an ability to critically evaluate them;

2.       An understanding of the European context within which industrialization and urbanization took place from the 1960s and to critically assess Francoist economic planning from 1959;

3.       An ability to understand the political consequences attendant on economic growth and to use this ability in assessing the various political strategies adopted by the Francoist state from 1959;

4.       An awareness of the nature of the transition from dictatorship to democracy in Spain and an ability to use this awareness in analyzing political transitions in developing countries of a similar type.

CONTENT:

Through the study of a range of secondary literature we will analyze the rapid and fundamental changes which have taken place in Spain in the last fifty years since the Civil War.

The major objective is to focus on political aspects of change in relation to social and economic realities and examine their concrete political expression within the prevailing international climate. This course will be examined in the context of Spain's increasing integration within Europe and the EEC. The effects of the rapid industrial growth of the 1960s will be studied both in relationship to the changing political strategies of the regime and the emergence of a stronger anti-Francoist opposition. The various Development Plans initiated from 1959 will be studied in relation to the effects both on the economy and the nature of the political transition to democracy in Spain, in relationship both to the level of internal opposition and the European "imperative" - full entry into EEC.

We shall also briefly examine the character of democratic politics in Spain from 1977, within which the Spanish Socialist Party has played a central role.

TEACHING AND LEARNING METHODS:
 
Lectures, seminars, small group work and tutorials.
 
Formal lectures - 12 hours
Lecture related independent learning - 12 hours
Seminars/small group work - 12 hours
Seminar related independent learning - 24 hours
Assessment related independent learning - 75 hours
 

ASSESSMENT:
 
100% coursework:

One 1,500-2,000 word essay
and one analytical exercise (2,000 words)
weighting: 50% each

Both essay and analytical exercise require students to demonstrate their ability to debate, research, organize concepts and develop an argument; they should also show awareness of different ideological and ethical contexts and the different interpretations of Spanish political regimes and the political options chosen by them.