Category Archives: Spain

The Thirteen Roses and Spanish Cinema’s Celebration of Motherhood

Posted on July 31, 2015 by Dr. Rebecca Bender

This summer I was once again able to spend a few weeks in Spain, for both work and fun. I presented a paper on the 2007 Spanish film, Las 13 Rosas (The 13 Roses) at a conference on Spanish and Portuguese … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism, Spain, Spanish Civil War, Women | Tagged film, history, las 13 rosas, maternity, motherhood, politics, spanish civil war, spanish literature, women | 5 Comments

Women of the Second Republic (Spain 1931-39)

Posted on June 26, 2015 by Dr. Rebecca Bender

While I was in Spain last summer (2014), I was able to attend the “Feria del libro” (Book Fair) that takes place annually in Madrid’s central park, El Retiro. According to the Feria del Libro’s (FLM) website, its goals are … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Feminism, First-wave spanish feminism, History, Spain, Women | Tagged 1930s, books, Dalí, feria del libro, gender, las 13 rosas, madrid, mallo, Second Republic, spanish civil war, women | 6 Comments

Miguel de Cervantes: An internet sensation?

Posted on February 27, 2015 by Dr. Rebecca Bender

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (1547-1616) has been in the news a lot lately… considering he lived over four centuries ago! First, in late January, Spanish researches reported unearthing a coffin in the Madrid convent where Cervantes was purportedly buried in … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Literature, Spain | Tagged Cervantes, digital humanities, Don Quijote de la Mancha, Golden Age, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, novel, Quijote, Salvador Dali, Spain, spanish literature | 2 Comments

The Memory of War in Madrid

Posted on December 10, 2014 by Dr. Rebecca Bender

I recently came across the Spanish blog and online magazine Yorokobu, a Madrid-based publication that discusses historical events and narratives not typically featured in traditional media. According to their “About” page, the writers at Yorokubu aim to inspire their audience by … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, History, Spain, Spanish Civil War | Tagged 1930s, Franco, Historical Memory Law, madrid, memory, photography, Spain, spanish civil war, war | 4 Comments

Posters and Propaganda from the Spanish Civil War (1936-39)

Posted on October 28, 2014 by Dr. Rebecca Bender

A few weeks ago one of my friends passed on a link to these Spanish Civil War posters, which were published over at Retronaut, “The Photographic Time Machine.” I had just finished teaching a unit on representations of the war … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, History, Spain, Spanish Civil War | Tagged 1930s, children, gender, madrid, masculinity, propaganda, spanish civil war, war | 4 Comments

Maternity and Madrid: Gendered Spaces in La rampa (1917)

Posted on September 30, 2014 by Dr. Rebecca Bender

I have officially decided that September is the fastest-moving, shortest month of the (academic) year. It flies by quicker than winter break. One day you are rather calmly introducing the course syllabus and getting to know new students… the next … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Literature, Modernity, Science and Medicine, Spain, Women | Tagged 1920s, Carmen de Burgos, gender, literature, madrid, maternity, motherhood, Spain, urban studies | 10 Comments

“Fun” with Academic Publishing: Wordle, Coffee, and Pedagogy

Posted on August 12, 2014 by Dr. Rebecca Bender

As any professor, graduate student, or postdoc knows, publishing an article in an academic journal is not a particularly enjoyable process… and it can take months, if not years, to see your article in print once accepted and revised. Knowing … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism, First-wave spanish feminism, Literature, Pedagogy, Spain, Women | Tagged 1920s, academia, Feminism, first-wave spanish feminism, gender, language, literature, Margarita Nelken, maternity, motherhood, pedagogy, spanish literature, teaching, women, Word Cloud | Leave a comment

Highlights from Spain… as summer vacation comes to an end :(

Posted on July 30, 2014 by Dr. Rebecca Bender

I realized I haven’t yet written a post for the month of July, and the fact that August is only days away is a bit terrifying! I must say, however, that I have had a nice balance of “work” and … Continue reading →

Posted in Spain | Tagged asturias, food, galicia, madrid, oviedo, photography, Santiago de Compostela, segovia, Spain, spanish, travel | 5 Comments

Pedro Almodovar’s “La piel que habito”: Science and Technology as Postmodern Mediums

Posted on June 30, 2014 by Dr. Rebecca Bender

I feel very lucky to have been able to spend the month of June in Spain, first in Madrid for nearly 3 weeks (with a day trip to Segovia), then in Santiago de Compostela for a few days during a … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Science and Medicine, Spain, Women | Tagged art, femininity, film, gender, La piel que habito, madrid, medicine, Pedro Almodovar, postmodernism, prado, pseudoscience, Santiago de Compostela, science, technology, Titian, velazquez, Venus | 4 Comments

Breastfeeding in the Prado: Religious, Mythological, and Pagan Roots

Posted on June 24, 2014 by Dr. Rebecca Bender

Don’t worry! This isn’t a too-much-information personal anecdote… just some observations I made regarding the very frequent and detailed depictions of breastfeeding in the artwork gracing the Prado’s walls. Having initially visited Madrid’s Museo del Prado in 2001 for my … Continue reading →