Ghosts of Passion

Martyrdom, Gender, and the Origins of the Spanish Civil War

Autor: Bunk, Brian D.
Editor: Duke University Press
ISBN: 9780822339328
eISBN Pdf: 9780822389569
Lloc de publicació: Durham , Estados Unidos
Any de publicació digital: 2007
Mes: Març
Pàgines: 256
DDC: 946.081/1
Idioma: Anglés

Descripció

The question of what caused the Spanish Civil War (1936–39) is the central focus of modern Spanish historiography. In Ghosts of Passion, Brian D. Bunk argues that propaganda related to the revolution of October 1934 triggered the broader conflict by accentuating existing social tensions surrounding religion and gender. Through careful analysis of the images produced in books, newspapers, posters, rallies, and meetings, Bunk contends that Spain’s civil war was not inevitable. Commemorative imagery produced after October 1934 bridged the gap between rhetoric and action by dehumanizing opponents and encouraging violent action against them.

In commemorating the uprising, revolutionaries and conservatives used the same methods to promote radically different political agendas: they deployed religious imagery to characterize the political situation as a battle between good and evil, with the fate of the nation hanging in the balance, and exploited traditional gender stereotypes to portray themselves as the defenders of social order against chaos. The resulting atmosphere of polarization combined with increasing political violence to plunge the country into civil war.

CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. The Revolution of October 1934
2. Sacred Blood: The Martyrs of Turón and Conservative Politics
3. ‘‘Your Comrades Will Not Forget!’’ Revolutionary Martyrs and Political Unity
4. Grandsons of the Cid: Masculinity, Sexual Violence, and the Destruction of the Family
5. Hyenas, Harpies, and Proletarian Mothers: Commemorating Female Participation
6. The October Revolution in Democratic Spain
Notes
Glossary of Organizations
Bibliography
Index