Urban Memories
The Second Spanish Republic in Madrid’s Public Space, 1979–1992
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Beschreibung
The book explores the symbolic emergence of the Second Spanish Republic in Madrid’s public space in the aftermath of Francisco Franco’s dictatorship. Despite the constraints of a transition to democracy premised on restoring the Bourbon monarchy and promoting national reconciliation, Madrid provided exceptional conditions for recovering republican memory. The city’s left-wing administration, elected in the first democratic municipal election in 1979, pursued a cautious yet affirmative politics of memory toward Spain’s republican past.
Drawing on empirical research, the study focuses on mnemonic materialisation of the Second Spanish Republic through street nomenclature, monuments and plaques established between 1979 and 1992. Most of these memorials endure to this day, having withstood contestation, theft and vandalism. By reconstructing their emergence and tracing their evolving public presence, the book offers a nuanced account of how democratic memory practices took shape amid the tensions and contradictions of Spain’s negotiated political transition.
Teresa Pinheiro is Professor of Iberian Studies at the Institute for European Studies, Chemnitz University of Technology, Germany. She has extensively published on collective identity and politics of memory in Portugal and Spain. Her recent publications include Cultura en transició and Iberian Studies: Reflections across Borders and Disciplines (with Núria Codina).
The book explores the symbolic emergence of the Second Spanish Republic in Madrid’s public space in the aftermath of Francisco Franco’s dictatorship. Despite the constraints of a transition to democracy premised on restoring the Bourbon monarchy and promoting national reconciliation, Madrid provided exceptional conditions for recovering republican memory. The city’s left-wing administration, elected in the first democratic municipal election in 1979, pursued a cautious yet affirmative politics of memory toward Spain’s republican past.
Drawing on empirical research, the study focuses on mnemonic materialisation of the Second Spanish Republic through street nomenclature, monuments and plaques established between 1979 and 1992. Most of these memorials endure to this day, having withstood contestation, theft and vandalism. By reconstructing their emergence and tracing their evolving public presence, the book offers a nuanced account of how democratic memory practices took shape amid the tensions and contradictions of Spain’s negotiated political transition.
Analyses the symbolic inscription of the Second Spanish Republic in Madrid’s urban landscape after Franco dictatorship Contributes to a nuanced understanding of Spain’s so-called “pact of silence” during the democratic transition Demonstrates that cities were pivotal motors of democratisation following Franco’s dictatorship
Autor*in
Teresa Pinheiro
Themen in »Urban Memories«
Second Spanish Republic Memory of urban spaces Spanish cultural history Urban cultural studies Iberian studies Madrid public space post-Franco Madrid
Stimmen zu »Urban Memories«
“Urban Memories is a meticulously researched and superbly written book that tackles an important subject with impressive depth and clarity. Rich in new details and insights, it skilfully weaves together cultural memory and historical-political analysis to highlight Madrid’s role in Spain’s transition. An outstanding contribution that will surely find a wide audience among scholars of Spanish memory cultures and beyond.” (Walther L. Bernecker, Professor emeritus of Modern Spanish History, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg)
“This rigorously researched study offers an original and insightful analysis of how Madrid’s public space became a site of contested memory during Spain’s transition to democracy. Prof. Pinheiro makes a valuable contribution to both Spanish historiography and the broader field of memory studies.” (Hamilton M. Stapell, Associate Professor of History, State University of New York at New Paltz, USA)
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