Topics include imperial expansion in the New World, defense of Christendom against Islam, Spain's participation in religious conflicts and national rivalries throughout Europe, cultural achievements during the Siglo de Oro, political and economic decline under the lesser Habsburgs of the seventeenth century and the national sense of purpose inherited from the Reconquest. Analysis of documents from Renaissance and Baroque periods. History of Bourbon Spain. A study of Spanish history during the two hundred and thirty years of Bourbon rule, from 1700 to 1931. Includes discussion of the loss of Spain's Empire in Europe, the administrative and economic reforms of the Enlightenment, the great international conflicts of the eighteenth century, the Peninsular War against Napoleon, the loss of Spain' s Empire in America, the fall of the Old Regime, the political instability of the nineteenth century, and the conflicts that led to the Spanish Civil War of the 1930's.
Students analyze short primary sources and readings from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
The project must be presented in its final form before the Comprehensive Examination, which, for these majors, is conducted orally. Special Topic in Spanish. Three-credit courses offered as needed, focusing on particular authors, periods or genres. A mini-thesis researched and written on a topic approved by the department and supervised by a faculty member.