¿Ideología, educación o propaganda? Promoción y difusión de los Estudios Norteamericanos en Salamanca, 1939-59

Abstract

Nowadays, it is well-known that the teaching and the promotion of the own language and culture overseas has a geo-strategic value. Nevertheless, this issue has been scarcely studied from a historiographical point of view. One of the deepest gap in that sense is that of the maneuvers that the American cultural diplomacy implemented in order to promote American literature, the art, the political science or the history —not to forget the English teaching— abroad in the context of the cultural cold war against Moscow. This paper tries to reveal the key factors of the different American plans executed in order to create a space for American Humanities and Social Sciences —American Studies— in the classrooms of the University of Salamanca. Likewise, we will see how these soft power strategies could have affected —or to be affected— in the political and militar aspectcs of the Spanish-North American relations from 1939 to 1959.