Hispanist still have any special function or fill an important role in Spanish historiography? His most significant contribution probably does not come from being a research scholar. That would have been the case only during the dictatorship, when Spanish historians themselves could not undertake and publish research in certain areas. The most important contribution probably stems from the ability to provide a broader critical and comparative perspective, something that Spanish historians themselves have been learning to do only within the past decade or so, and then only to a limited degree. Current Spanish historiography still has a profound tendency toward self-absorption though, happily, there are some notable exceptions. To that extent, it is important for all countries to have foreign scholars study, analyze, and write their histories, not primarily to add data — although that is occasionally importantbut above all to provide a broader, sometimes more objective, perspective. Research monographs have been important, but the broader and more comparative dimension has probably been the more significant aspect.
It has been a rare and enjoyable privilege to labor in the field of the history of Spain for most of the past fifty years. The history of Spain is one of the greatest and most remarkable histories, exactly as Juan Negrín wrote in 1938, and it never ceases to impress or amaze. One of the most extraordinary things about working in the history of Spain is the generally positive reception of the Spanish themselves. Visitors in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries found them markedly xenophobic. However that may have been, this was not the case in the twentieth century, with the possible exception of the first years of the Franco regime, long past by the time that I arrived in Spain. With rare exceptions, I have found the Spanish courteous and surprisingly welcoming and hospitable. Only a few months ago a journalist asked me to respond to a questionnaire concerning Spanish affairs and my experience in the country. Among the questions was one along the lines of "What has been your most disagreeable experience in Spain?" This required some thought on my part: for more than half a century I have had a certain number of disagreeable experiences, but they have all seemed so insignificant compared with the very many positive experiences that I had trouble responding to the question.
It has been observed that by the twentieth century the Spanish had to a large extent internalized the Black Legend — another Spanish "first," Spain being merely the first of the modern Western countries to undergo a ubiquitous process of massive self-criticism — and had developed a kind of national inferiority complex that often made them overly deferential to the opinions of foreigners. There is some accuracy in this observation, and the tendency developed in Spain long before the rise of political correctness and multicultural deconstruction late in the twentieth century.
The other side of the coin is what may be called the syndrome of the "hysterical Hispanist." Some of the foreign scholars who fall into this category may be characterized as strongly anti-Spanish and others as unreasonably pro-Spanish. Among the former one may find the distinguished American historian Prescott and the less well-known American literature professor John A. Crow. I myself have occasionally been criticized as being overly sympathetic to the Spanish.
As I explained at the outset, one of my principal goals when I first came to Spain in 1958 was to attempt to form an objective evaluation of Spanish society and history, avoiding the extremes of unfair criticism — so common among foreigners — or of romantic patronizing or superficial endorsement, which have also been very common. I leave it to my readers, who for the most part have been quite generous, to judge to what extent I have achieved this goal.
Part II
A Reading of the History of Spain
The
It has been a rare and enjoyable privilege to labor in the field of the history of Spain for most of the past fifty years. The history of Spain is one of the greatest and most remarkable histories, exactly as Juan Negrín wrote in 1938, and it never ceases to impress or amaze. One of the most extraordinary things about working in the history of Spain is the generally positive reception of the Spanish themselves. Visitors in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries found them markedly xenophobic. However that may have been, this was not the case in the twentieth century, with the possible exception of the first years of the Franco regime, long past by the time that I arrived in Spain. With rare exceptions, I have found the Spanish courteous and surprisingly welcoming and hospitable. Only a few months ago a journalist asked me to respond to a questionnaire concerning Spanish affairs and my experience in the country. Among the questions was one along the lines of "What has been your most disagreeable experience in Spain?" This required some thought on my part: for more than half a century I have had a certain number of disagreeable experiences, but they have all seemed so insignificant compared with the very many positive experiences that I had trouble responding to the question.
It has been observed that by the twentieth century the Spanish had to a large extent internalized the Black Legend — another Spanish "first," Spain being merely the first of the modern Western countries to undergo a ubiquitous process of massive self-criticism — and had developed a kind of national inferiority complex that often made them overly deferential to the opinions of foreigners. There is some accuracy in this observation, and the tendency developed in Spain long before the rise of political correctness and multicultural deconstruction late in the twentieth century.
The other side of the coin is what may be called the syndrome of the "hysterical Hispanist." Some of the foreign scholars who fall into this category may be characterized as strongly anti-Spanish and others as unreasonably pro-Spanish. Among the former one may find the distinguished American historian Prescott and the less well-known American literature professor John A. Crow. I myself have occasionally been criticized as being overly sympathetic to the Spanish.
As I explained at the outset, one of my principal goals when I first came to Spain in 1958 was to attempt to form an objective evaluation of Spanish society and history, avoiding the extremes of unfair criticism — so common among foreigners — or of romantic patronizing or superficial endorsement, which have also been very common. I leave it to my readers, who for the most part have been quite generous, to judge to what extent I have achieved this goal.
Part II
A Reading of the History of Spain
The
Similar Books
