Why do some Latin American countries refer to all Spanish people as gallegos (Galicians)? What makes contemporary Galicia one of Spain’s most global communities? How has Galicia’s uniquely outward-looking culture been represented by Galician writers, artists and musicians?

This course takes a relational approach to the cultural history of the small Atlantic country of Galicia, in Spain’s north west, from the perspective of Galicia’s situation as a crossroads between land and sea, the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, Europe and America, and the Hispanic and Lusophone worlds. We will consider how Galician and foreign writers and artists have articulated Galicia’s distinct linguistic, cultural and historical identity across time, asking how the foundations of modern Galician cultural identity are both consolidated and transformed in a relational context.

The course is taught through a combination of weekly lectures and intensive reading seminars. Both lectures and seminars will extend students’ knowledge of Galician cultural history from the 19th century to the present, studying canonical authors such as Rosalía de Castro (1837-1885) alongside contemporary writers and artists based in Galicia and abroad. The intensive reading seminars will focus on a carefully chosen selection of literary and cultural texts, giving students the opportunity to develop a reading knowledge of Galician, one of Spain’s five co-official languages. Eligible students will be encouraged to apply for the Galician government’s competitive Galician summer school bursaries.