EUS 301 • Intro to Hist and Cul of Spain
1:00 PM-2:00 PM
This one-semester course will explore the long history of Spain from its beginnings in the stone age through the great social and economic upheavals of the twentieth century. Beginning with an introduction to its geography and language, we shall touch on such topics as paleolithic settlement and art, the arrival of new groups (Celts, Greeks, Phoenicians), the Roman imperium, the Visigothic domination, the Islamic conquest and Christian reconquest (Reconquista), medieval kingdoms and their unification, the separate way of Portugal, the birth and death of religious toleration, the rise and fall of Spain in the European state system, Hapsburg and Bourbon kings, the troubled nineteenth century and even more troubled twentieth, and finally, the emergence of one of Europe's most democratic societies. Wherever possible, the course will attempt to place Spain into the larger context of European and Mediterranean society. Basic information will be conferred primarily through lectures by the professor.
A series of short quizzes A portfolio on Spain
Texts Olivia Remie Constable, Medieval Iberia: Readings from Christian, Muslim, & Jewish Sources J. H. Elliott, Imperial Spain: 1469-1716 Richard Herr, An Historical Essay on Modern Spain Lecture Notes (posted on the web)