Investigando el laberinto español en el Reino Unido

Abstract

With its longstanding tradition of academic excellence, the United Kingdom, in particular the Iberian Centre headed by Raymond Carr at the University of Oxford, headed research on the Spanish Civil War during the dark years of the dictatorship. The transition to democracy and subsequent free access to archives naturally returned Spanish universities to a position of prominence in the study of this crucial subject. Nevertheless, the contribution of the British school remains important. With its constant methodological renovations, emphasis on intradisciplinary collaboration and close relationship between teaching and research, the United Kingdom attracts academics from all over the world. This includes rising numbers of academics visiting from Spain. In the particular field of hispanism, Professor Paul Preston, who took on the baton from Raymond Carr, has not only written a large number of ground-breaking monographs but has also nurtured several generations of scholars, most of them specialising in the Civil War. Preston has also set up the Cañada Blanch Centre at the London School of Economics, an outstanding hub for study, debate and research.