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The Spanish Civil War: Sources

Module description

Focusing on the period 1931-1939, in this module you will investigate the sources available for the study of the Spanish Civil War and its background. Dating from the development of the democratic Republic to the defeat of the Republic, you will look at a range of materials, including oral testimony, memoirs, diaries, newspaper reports, political manifestos and party documents, official records and diplomatic correspondence. You will be asked to critique the sources according to their reliability and value to the historian.

In conjunction with the co-requisite module – HIH3181 The Spanish Civil War: Context – you will be able to place them within the broader context of the time.

Module aims - intentions of the module

This module will investigate the sources available for the study of the Spanish Civil War and its background, focussing on the period 1931-39. It will look at a range of materials, including oral testimony, memoirs, diaries, newspaper reports, political manifestos and party documents, official records and diplomatic correspondence. You will be asked to focus on the reliability and value to the historian of these different types of sources and to place them within the broader context in which they were produced.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Evaluate the different and complex types of source available for the study of the Spanish Civil War, together with ability to analyse very closely those sources which you focus upon in your seminar presentations and written work
• 2. Analyse the complex diversity of the sources studied

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 3. Analyse closely complex original sources and to assess their reliability as historical evidence. Ability to focus on and comprehend complex texts
• 4. Understand and deploy historical terminology in a comprehensible manner
• 5. Follow the often complex reasoning of political discourse in the period

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 6. Carry out independent and autonomous study and group work, including presentation of material for group discussion
• 7. Digest, select and organise material to produce, to a deadline, a coherent and cogent argument, developed through the mode of assessment
• 8. Present complex arguments orally

Syllabus plan

Whilst the content may vary from year to year, it is envisioned that it will cover some or all of the following topics:

The module will focus on primary sources related to the nature of Spanish society in the 1930s, the development of the democratic Republic 1931-36, the social and political polarisation that took place before 1936, and the developments of the war from the initial military uprising to the defeat of the Republic by General Franco's Nationalist forces in 1939.

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

The re-assessment consists of a 6,000 word portfolio of source work, as in the original assessment, but replaces the individual presentation with a written script that could be delivered in such a presentation and which is the equivalent of 20 minutes of speech.

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• Arturo Barea, The Forging of a Rebel: Part 3 The Clash (Walker and Co. 2001).
• Ronald. Fraser, The Blood of Spain (Penguin, 1979).
• Laurie Lee, A Moment of War (Penguin, 1993).
• George. Orwell, Homage to Catalonia 1st Ed. (Secker & Warburg, 1937).

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• ELE – https://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=2141