Barcelona the City and its History

Course focus and approach:  

This is a course that emphasizes the historical development of Barcelona from Pre-Roman times until nowadays. Although this course has a dominant historical approximation, other disciplines will be also considered, such as art, literature, architecture and urbanism.

Course description:  

Once labeled by Newsweek magazine as the “coolest city in Europe”, Barcelona enjoys the reputation of a cosmopolitan city with a great international projection. Like all places, however, it is not void of peculiarities and contradictions. Behind a glossy and tourist-friendly façade, the city has a complex history. This course introduces the student to the city of Barcelona by studying its past and analyzing its present. This interdisciplinary course covers subject in history, geography, art, architecture, and urban planning. Material includes images, maps, academic and literary texts, videos, field studies, and documentaries. We will also discuss issues relevant to people living within the city of Barcelona today.

Learning objectives:  

By the end of the course, the student:  

● Will have acquired a survey knowledge of the history of Barcelona from pre-Roman times to the present.  

● Will have received an introduction to the basic elements of urban history with an emphasis on the transformation of the physical environment.  

● Will be versed in the historical origins of the challenges facing city residents in Barcelona today.  

 

Weekly schedule:

WEEK 1

0. Introduction to the course

0.1. Introduction to the syllabus, course requirements and method of assessment

0.2. Geography of Barcelona and Catalonia.  

1. The Barcelona Model: Urban Renaissance and Multiculturalism

1.1. The Olympic Games, the Forum and 22@ Project

1.2. Linguistic Normalization and diversity

1.3. Immigration

Reading:  Rossi, M. 2004. “The Barcelona Model”. Newsweek International.  Blanco, I. 2012. “Does Barcelona Model Really Exist? Periods, Territories and Actors in the Process of Urban Transformation”. Local Government Studies 35 (2): 187-210.  

WEEK 2

2. From Barcino to Basiluna: The Roman and Medieval origins  

2.1. Before Barcino: Iberians, Greeks and Phoenicians  

2.2. Barcino: The Roman City

2.3. Barsiluna: Visigoths, Muslims and Franks  

Reading:  Sanmartí, J. 2009. “From the Archaic States to Romanization: a Historical and Evolutionary Perspective on the Iberians”, Catalan Historical Review: 9-32.

WEEK 3

3. The Medieval City

3.1. Barchinona: The Capital of Catalonia  

3.2. Society, Politics and Trade in a Mediterranean Empire

3.3. The Crisis in the 14th and 15th Centuries: Famines, Plagues and Civil War

Reading:  Freedman, P. 1988. “Cowardice, Heroism, and the Legendary Origins of Catalonia”, Past and Present 121: 3-28. 

WEEK 4   

4. ¿Decadency or Transformation? Barcelona under the Habsburg

4.1. Barcelona rules by Castilla: Political Institutions  

4.2. The Influence of Castilla: Language, Culture and Society

Reading:  MONTER, W. 1990. “The Castilian Inquisition in the Crown of Aragon”, Frontiers of Heresy, 3-28.

WEEK 5.  

5. ¿Repression or Renaissance? Barcelona under the Borbons  

5.1. Wars with Castilla: From Harvesters’ War (1640-1659) to the Succession War (1702-1714)

5.2. A New Political Order: The Nueva Planta Decree (1716)

Reading:  ALCOBERRO, A. 2010. “The War of the Spanish Succession in the Catalan-Speaking Lands”, Catalan Historical Review: 69-86.

WEEK 6.  

5.3. The Construction of the Citadel and the Transformation of the City

● Midterm exam

WEEK 7

6. The Industrial City: The Mediterranean Manchester  

6.1. Barcelona in America

6.2. Agrarian, Economical and Political Revolution

6.3. “¡Abajo las murallas!”

Reading:  FERRER, LL. 2012. “The diverse growth of 18th century Catalonia: Proto-industrialization?”, Catalan Historical Review: 67-84.

WEEK 8.  

7. A Cosmopolitan City: The Mediterranean Paris  

7.1. Urban renovation: The Eixample  

7.2. Cultural Renovation: The Renaixença and the Modernisme

7.3. Universal Renovation: 1888 and 1929 Exhibitions  

Reading:  JACOBSEN, S. 2011. “Interpreting Municipal Celebrations of Nation and Empire: The Barcelona Universal Exhibition of 1888”, in Nationalism and the Reshaping of Urban Communities in Europe, 74-109.

WEEK 9.  

8. The Revolution of the Workers: Second Republic and Civil War

8.1. The Emergence of Anarchism

8.2. The War at Home  

8.3. Exile, Censorship, and Immigration

Reading:   ABELLÓ, T. 2010.“Anarchism in the Catalan-speaking countries: between syndicalism and propaganda (1868-1931)”, Catalan Historical Review: 87-102.

WEEK 10.  

9. ¿An Occupied City? Barcelona and Francoism

9.1. A New Urban Growth

10. The Democratic City

10.1. From the Transition to the Democracy

10.2. Current Politics, Society and Economy

Reading:  MIR, C. 2008. “The Francoist Repression in the Catalan Countries”, Catalan Historical Review: 133-147.