Spain in the New Millenium

Catalog description

After several years of unprecedented economic expansion between 1995 and 2007, in which Spain became the seventh largest economy in the world, the 2008 economic crisis eroded that prosperity and changed the social structure of the country. While the economic growth and historic low unemployment drew a wave of immigrants who transformed Spain into a more multicultural society, the crisis truncated the future of an entire generation and initiated the rise of populism. Some questions that articulate the topics discussed are: What does it mean to be a Spaniard? Is there more than one Spanish identity? These questions will guide us to deepen our understanding of political and sociological issues in Spain during the last twenty years. Some of the topics discussed will deal with how soccer can construct a national identity; "peripheral" nationalism as in the case of Catalonia and the Basque Country bids for independence; the issue of immigration and how it has influenced Spanish society; and the rise of populism. These topics may change as the issues that affect Spain evolve.