European Studies 311 - #SeAcabó: Spanish Women’s Voices

(Offered as SPAN 310, EUST 311 and SWAG 320) Spain’s reckoning with misogyny and machismo came to a boiling point over a non-consensual kiss on live television after the Spanish national soccer team won the Women’s World Cup in 2023. The #SeAcabó movement, like #MeToo in the United States and #NiUnaMenos in Latin America, represents a reckoning with decades of patriarchy, abuse and the underestimation of women. But how did we get to this moment? From the early twentieth century through today, the status of Spanish women has experienced dramatic reversals. From militia fighters to housewives to trans activists, Spanish women’s lives have been determined by laws, politics, education, the Catholic Church, and societal expectations. In this class, we will listen to Spanish women as they tell their stories of sexism, racism, and classism in historical accounts, film, television, graphic novels, narrative, and poetry. We will examine how women’s public and private lives have been transformed through decades of social and political upheaval, arriving at a present moment when a multicultural community of women in Spain is making its voices heard while they stand up against gender-based violence, xenophobia, homophobia, and other forms of exclusion. Conducted in Spanish.

Prerequisite: Spanish 301 or permission of instructor. Spring semester. Professor Brenneis.

How to handle overenrollment: Priority to SPAN majors, then SWAG and EUST majors. Then by seniority (seniors, juniors, sophomores)

Students who enroll in this course will likely encounter and be expected to engage in the following intellectual skills, modes of learning, and assessment: Emphasis on written work, group discussions, oral presentations, close reading, and visual analysis. Instruction, readings, films, and discussions in Spanish. Assessments include short written responses, graded essays, and a final digital anthology project.