A New Generation of Memory: The Great Grandchildren of the Spanish Civil War in Cielo abajo

Subject Area

Spanish Peninsular Studies

Abstract

The generation born in Spain during the sixties and seventies was unable to construct a memory of the Spanish Civil War based on lived experience. This demographic, widely known as the grandchildren of the Civil War, has developed its memory of the war through oral accounts from grandparents and with the help of other media such as narrative and film. This presentation argues that the young adult novel Cielo abajo (2005) by Fernando Marías supports the presence of a newer generation of readers that can be referred to as the great grandchildren of the Spanish Civil War. This young group of readers, comprised of the generation born since the nineties, is the target audience of Cielo abajo. The current study addresses the lack of critical analysis of young adult narrative in Civil War historiographic metafiction by demonstrating how the mechanisms of this adult genre are also present in this book. In Cielo abajo the activities of writing and reading lead to the interaction between a character that fought in the Civil War and a character that can only access this time period by reading about it, just as the generation of great grandchildren must do in order to learn about this chapter of the past. Within the novel, main character Joaquín communicates his personal history to new generations in the form of a memoire. Therefore, the act of writing as a method of memory transmission strengthens the dialogue between generations. This presentation explores how Cielo abajo uses reflexive writing to foster a dialogue between young adults and historical memory.

Brief Bio Note

Shelly Hines-Brooks received her PhD in 2014 from the University of Alabama. She is currently a full time instructor of Spanish at Craven Community College in New Bern, North Carolina, and has also taught at East Carolina University, Centre College, and the University of Alabama. Dr. Hines-Brooks' research focuses on the use of historiographic metafiction in twenty-first century Spanish novels to create a dialogue with the historical memory of the Spanish Civil War.

Keywords

Great Grandchildren, Spanish Civil War, Young Adult Fiction, Historical Memory, Historiographic Metafiction

Location

Coastal Georgia Center

Presentation Year

2016

Start Date

4-8-2016 10:30 AM

End Date

4-8-2016 10:50 AM

Embargo

11-9-2015

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS
 
Apr 8th, 10:30 AM Apr 8th, 10:50 AM

A New Generation of Memory: The Great Grandchildren of the Spanish Civil War in Cielo abajo

Coastal Georgia Center

The generation born in Spain during the sixties and seventies was unable to construct a memory of the Spanish Civil War based on lived experience. This demographic, widely known as the grandchildren of the Civil War, has developed its memory of the war through oral accounts from grandparents and with the help of other media such as narrative and film. This presentation argues that the young adult novel Cielo abajo (2005) by Fernando Marías supports the presence of a newer generation of readers that can be referred to as the great grandchildren of the Spanish Civil War. This young group of readers, comprised of the generation born since the nineties, is the target audience of Cielo abajo. The current study addresses the lack of critical analysis of young adult narrative in Civil War historiographic metafiction by demonstrating how the mechanisms of this adult genre are also present in this book. In Cielo abajo the activities of writing and reading lead to the interaction between a character that fought in the Civil War and a character that can only access this time period by reading about it, just as the generation of great grandchildren must do in order to learn about this chapter of the past. Within the novel, main character Joaquín communicates his personal history to new generations in the form of a memoire. Therefore, the act of writing as a method of memory transmission strengthens the dialogue between generations. This presentation explores how Cielo abajo uses reflexive writing to foster a dialogue between young adults and historical memory.