Spanish: insight4me Spanish – Monarchy & Dictatorship With Dr Stephen Roberts From University of Nottingham & Dr Eamon McCarthy From University of Stirling

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• University of Nottingham: Dr Stephen Roberts will discuss the Franco Dictatorship (1939-1975) and its legacy in contemporary Spain. During the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) and the first years of the ensuing Dictatorship, more than 120,000 men and women were executed by Francoist forces or authorities, and many of the bodies remain buried in unmarked graves around the country. I shall look at the case of one of the most famous victims, the writer Federico García Lorca, in order to shed light both on how the extrajudicial killings were carried out and on how Spain, over the last years and through measures such as the Law of Historical Memory (2007), has attempted to deal with the injustices of its recent past. I shall also discuss how and why issues such as these make their way onto the curriculum of modern languages degrees.
• University of Stirling: Dr Eamon McCarthy will discuss the 1976-83 dictatorship in Argentina. Argentina lived under a military dictatorship from 1976-1983. During this time around 30,000 people were disappeared and many others were tortured. It is also estimated that around 500 babies were taken from their mothers and adopted in secret by other families. The effects of these human rights abuses are still felt in Argentine society today. In this lecture I want to talk a little bit about what happened during the dictatorship and ask why that might still be relevant today. I also want to think about why students of modern languages need to study a dictatorship that ended almost 40 years.

In this insight4me Spanish online event for schools and colleges, two universities, including University of Nottingham and University of Stirling, will each have roughly 30 minutes to deliver a punchy, topic based ‘micro’ talk. Within an overall session theme of Monarchy & Dictatorship, the universities have the freedom to choose their own focus and use the time to convey the key points of the case studies for the students.

insight4me is a series of subject specific webinars for Year 12 & 13 students, and equivalent. The sessions directly support students’ current studies by giving an insight into particular curriculum areas whilst affording an understanding of how these subjects continue beyond A-levels, T-levels, IB, BTEC and equivalent qualifications, and how they vary between universities.

Our events are designed so that a group of students can take part from a classroom or students and teachers can take part as individuals, either from school or from home. This means that sessions will continue irrespective of possible school closures.

As a live, participative event, this session will not be recorded but slides and other resources will be shared after the event, where available.

Suitable for: Year 12 & 13 students (and equivalent) studying, or with a possible interest in studying, Spanish and related disciplines. Student groups, and individual students and teachers are very welcome to join us.

Preparation/Pre-Reading: Students may wish to consider the 2 topics and discuss some of the key elements in advance. Students can also think about questions they have about studying Spanish at university level.

The IT Setup: The event will be run on Bluejeans (similar to Zoom) and participants will be able to join using laptops, tablets, and mobile devices. If you are joining as a school group, we recommend connecting with one device and projecting on to a whiteboard. You will be able to interact with the university via a microphone and/or typed comments and questions. Full details will be sent to those who have registered (see below) prior to the event.

Booking a Place: This is free for schools and colleges. If you would like to take part in this event, please register your interest using the link to the registration form below:

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