Course Description

Instructor: Isidra Mencos

The personal is Political: The Evolution of Spain and its Citizens from Dictatorship to Democracy (1936-1992)

When a country is sick, the population shows the symptoms. In this presentation Isidra Mencos examines the intersection between politics and private lives at a pivotal time in the history of Spain. Dr. Mencos grew up under the Franco dictatorship. She was 17 when Franco died in 1975. The transition to democracy took some years, but the cultural and sexual revolution happened fast. It was a time of hope, but also of political and social conflict. With democracy under threat around the world, Mencos reflects on the impact that authoritarianism has in every aspect of a person’s life, and the decades-long shadow it casts.

Isidra Mencos holds a PhD in Spanish Contemporary Literature from the University of California, Berkeley, where she taught Spanish language, literature, and creative writing for 12 years. In 2022 she published "Promenade of Desire—A Barcelona Memoir." Her essays and articles have appeared in Diálogo, WIRED, Chicago Quarterly Review, and Stirring Literary Journal, among others. Her piece "My Books and I" was listed as Notable in The Best American Essays 2019. Originally from Spain, Isidra lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.