The Great War & Its Legacy: Spain from the Great War to the Civil War

What Does “Neutrality” Mean? Spain from the Great War to the Spanish Civil War
On August 7, 1914, the government of King Alfonso XIII of Spain proclaimed: “Existing, unfortunately, a state of war between Austria, Hungary and Serbia, the Government of His Majesty believes its duty to command the strictest neutrality to Spanish subjects”. The country remained officially neutral for the whole duration of the Great War. However, Spain’s position has been called a “false neutrality,” and it is at least a nuanced one. This talk will explore Spain’s diplomatic and strategic role during the Great War and the effects that neutrality had on Spanish culture from 1914 to 1936, the beginning of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939).

Dr. Alvarez-Sancho is an Assistant Professor of Spanish in the Department of Languages and Literatures at Oklahoma State University, where she teaches and researches on 20th-and 21st-century Spanish Cultural Studies.  She is completing a monograph that analyzes literature written in exile after the Spanish Civil War. Her second book project studies formulations of the future in 21st century Spanish film. Dr. Alvarez-Sancho has a PhD in Hispanic Cultural Studies from Michigan State University. Originally from Spain, she taught Spanish for refugees in Spain and worked for the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) in Bosnia and Herzegovina before beginning her doctoral studies.