HIST 3905A: Topics in International History: Spanish Civil War
Summer 2017
Instructor: Michael Petrou
Description:
“Venceréis… Pero no convenceréis.”
“You will win… But you will not convince.”
The Spanish philosopher Miguel de Unamuno y Jugo uttered those words in October 1936 at the University of Salamanca to an enraged audience of supporters of a military rebellion against the left-leaning Spanish government in the early days of that country’s civil war. Unamuno was fired from his position at the university, placed under house arrest, and died two months later — too soon to learn how accurate his prediction would prove to be.
The Spanish nationalists, led by Francisco Franco and backed by Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, won the war, but they did not convince Spaniards, the rest of the world, or later generations, of the rightness of their cause. But then, neither did their republican opponents. Eighty years later, the Spanish Civil War remains one of the most controversial and disputed conflicts in history. Was the Spanish Republic fighting for democracy against a tide of fascism that would soon swamp Europe? Did Franco save Spain from Stalinist terror and communism? Why did a war that was fought exclusively in one country matter so much to the rest of the world? Why does it still?
This class will tackle these and other questions about Spain’s civil war. We will explore the origins of the war, the course of the conflict, the war’s aftermath, and some of its major themes and dynamics, including: republican and nationalist ideals and ideologies; atrocities; new forms of warfare; revolution and the civil war within the civil war; propaganda; and memory.
A major part of the class will examine the war’s international dimensions, including the roles of Germany, Italy, the Soviet Union, and international volunteers. Special attention will be paid to Canada and the Spanish Civil War, particularly the more than 1,600 Canadians who fought in it.
Format:
This class will be a combination of lectures, class discussions and student presentations. Active participation from all students is required.
Grading Criteria:
Two written assignments and class participation, including a presentation. There will not be a final exam.
Course Material:
Thomas, Hugh. The Spanish Civil War: Revised Edition. New York: Modern Library, 2001.
Petrou, Michael. Renegades: Canadians in the Spanish Civil War. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 2008.
Additional readings, including primary source documents, to be assigned in class.