Newcastle University > Undergraduate > Find a Degree > Module

• Inactive for Year: 2022/23

• Module Leader(s): Dr Alejandro Quiroga

• Owning School: History, Classics and Archaeology
• Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus

Semesters

Aims

In April 1931 Spain became a democratic republic; in April 1939, after almost three years of civil war, it succumbed to a vengeful authoritarian dictatorship. The first half of this special subject examines the origins and course of this violent denouement, and whether the republic failed or was made to fail, including the nature of the forces which headed it and hoped to benefit from it, the character of the political and economic context in which it had to operate, the extent of the reforms that it introduced, and the response both of the forces opposed to it and of Spain's traditional institutions. The second half of this special subject begins with the failed anti-Republican military coup of July 1936, exploring the reasons for its failure, and the civil war it unleashed which ended in the overthrow of the Republic by the Nationalists under General Franco in 1939. The second half examines the military, political and social history of the Nationalist and Republican zones during the civil war.

The aims of this module are:
•To enable students to study the period of the Spanish Second Republic and Civil War (1931-1939) in depth and to engage with both primary sources from the period and the major historiographical debates concerning it.
•To give students the opportunity to gain in-depth knowledge of this short period of Spanish history.
•To introduce students to historical research and to guide them in the analysis of primary documents and texts.
•Thereby to enable students to develop their own interpretation of the period.
•To provide an opportunity of investigating in some depth selected problems, including the appraisal of elected source material and the critical examination of current historiography.
•To provide an opportunity to acquire a sound general knowledge of the subject, reading widely and critically in the primary and secondary literature associated with it and to develop the capacity for independent study.

Outline Of Syllabus

The following is a guide only. Actual subjects may differ from those listed.

1. The Republic Implanted: The Reformist Bienio, 1931-33
2. The Bienio Negro, 1933-1935
3. The Left and the Republic
4. Catholicism, Conservatism and the CEDA, 1931-36
5. The Army, Conspiracy, Crisis and Rebellion, 1931-36.
6. The Spanish Revolution
7. Repression, Counter-Revolution and the Rise of Franco
8. The Civil War and the World
9. The Post-Revolutionary period in the Republican Zone, 1937-1939
10. Nationalist Spain, 1937-1939

Teaching Methods

Teaching Activities

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

Seminars encourage independent study and promote improvements in oral communication, problem solving skills and adaptability.

Assessment Methods

The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners

Exams

Other Assessment

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

Essays test students’ ability to conduct independent research, relate primary source documents to broader problem, ability to formulate an interpretation of evidence in response to a question, and academic writing skills.

Exams test students’ general knowledge, as well as their ability to quickly analyse a problem and formulate a clearly written answer, drawing broadly on the material covered by the course

The form of the resit is no different from the above, i.e. no marks are carried over from the sit to the resit. Students are not allowed to submit for the resit any work that they have previously submitted.

Submitted work tests intended knowledge and skills outcomes, develops key skills in research, reading and writing.

This module can be made available to Erasmus students only with the agreement of the Head of Subject and of the Module Leader. This option must be discussed in person at the beginning of your exchange period. No restrictions apply to study-abroad, exchange and Loyola students.
All Erasmus students at Newcastle University are expected to do the same assessment as students registered for a degree.
Study-abroad, non-Erasmus exchange and Loyola students spending semester 1 only are required to finish their assessment while in Newcastle. This will take the form of an alternative assessment, as outlined in the formats below:

Modules assessed by Coursework and Exam:
The normal alternative form of assessment for all semester 1 non-EU study abroad students will be one essay in addition to the other coursework assessment (the length of the essay should be adjusted in order to comply with the assessment tariff); to be submitted no later than 12pm Friday of week 12. The essays should be set so as to assure coverage of the course content to date.

Modules assessed by Exam only:
The normal alternative form of assessment for all semester 1 non-EU study abroad students will be two 2,000 word written exercises; to be submitted no later than 12pm Friday of week 12. The essays should be set so as to assure coverage of the course content to date.

Modules assessed by Coursework only:
All semester 1 non-EU study abroad students will be expected to complete the standard assessment for the module; to be submitted no later than 12pm Friday of week 12. The essays should be set so as to assure coverage of the course content to date.

Study-abroad, non-Erasmus exchange and Loyola students spending the whole academic year or semester 2 are required to complete the standard assessment as set out in the MOF under all circumstances.

Reading Lists

• HIS3229's Reading List

Timetable

• Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
• HIS3229's Timetable