Following Franco. Spanish Culture and Politics in Transition, by Duncan Wheeler
Instituto Cervantes in Manchester welcomes researcher, essayist and Professor of Hispanic Studies at the University of Leeds, Duncan Wheeler, to present his latest book, Following Franco. Spanish culture and politics in Transition (Manchester University Press, 2020).
The Transition to democracy that followed the death of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco in 1975 was shown as a model of political transformation. But since the 2008 financial crisis, it has come under intense scrutiny. Today, there is a growing divide between defenders of the Transition and those who see it as the source of Spain's current socio-political bankruptcy. This book revisits the crucial period from 1962 to 1992, exposing the networks of art, media and power that drove the Transition and continue to underpin Spanish politics in the present, drawing on rare archival materials and over three hundred interviews with politicians, artists, journalists and ordinary Spaniards, including former Prime Minister Felipe González (1982-96), Following Franco unlocks the complex and often contradictory narratives surrounding the founding of contemporary Spain.
Duncan Wheeler (Birmingham, 1981), who holds a BA and PhD from Oxford University, is a Professor of Hispanic Studies at the University of Leeds. He is editor of the journal Modern Language Review, and a member of the Spanish Academy of Performing Arts. He has been a visiting professor at the Universidad Carlos III (Madrid), Oxford and UCLA. His publications include Golden Age Drama in Contemporary Spain: The Comedia on Page, Stage and Screen and Following Franco: Spanish Culture and Politics in Transition. Duncan writes for the media both in Spain and the UK and has published articles on politics and culture in The Economist, The Guardian, JotDown, The London Review of Books, The Times Literary Supplement etc.
