"America’s 'Spanish Craze': Some Further Thoughts" with Richard L. Kagan
In memory of Jonathan Brown (1939-2022)
April 28th, 2022 (4:00-5:30pm Boston / 22:00-23:30 Madrid)
At the close of the 19th century, Spain and the United States went to war. Paradoxically, that same era ushered in new interest in Spanish and, more broadly, Hispanic cultures throughout the U.S. This ‘craze’ for Spain manifested itself in U.S. art, architecture, and literature, as well as in fashion and design. This illustrated presentation reflects on the relationship between the guest lecturer’s 2019 book The Spanish Craze: America’s Fascination with the Arts and Cultures of the Hispanic World, 1779-1939, and recent Spanish publications centered on the “Black Legend”––the negative image of Spain whose origins date back to the 16th century.
Richard L. Kagan is Arthur O. Lovejoy Professor Emeritus of History and Academy Professor of History at Johns Hopkins University. Well-known for his many contributions to the art, culture, and history of Spain and the broader Hispanic World, his many books include Urban Images of the Hispanic World, 1493-1793 (2000), Spain in America: The Origins of Hispanism in the United States (2002), Clio and the Crown: The Politics of History in Medieval and Early Modern Spain (2009), and The Spanish Craze: America’s Fascination with the Arts and Cultures of the Hispanic World, 1779-1939 (2019), as well as a forthcoming biography on historian Henry Charles Lea. Professor Kagan is currently preparing a book tentatively entitled ‘La Famosa Filadelfia’: Hispanic Revolutionaries in the City of Brotherly Love.
A finales del siglo XIX, España y los Estados Unidos entraron en guerra. Paradójicamente, esa misma época marcó el inicio de un nuevo interés por la cultura española, y el mundo hispánico en general, en el país norteamericano. Este furor por lo español se manifestó en el arte, la arquitectura y la literatura estadounidenses, así como en su moda y diseño. Esta conferencia ilustrada aborda la relación entre el libro The Spanish Craze: America’s Discovery of the Arts & Cultures of the Hispanic World, 1779-1939, publicado por el conferenciante en 2019, y estudios españoles recientes en torno a la llamada “Leyenda negra española”, imagen negativa de España cuyos orígenes se remontan al siglo XVI.
Richard L. Kagan es Arthur O. Lovejoy Professor Emeritus of History y Academy Professor of History en Johns Hopkins University. Es reconocido por sus múltiples aportaciones al arte, la cultura y la historia de España y del mundo hispánico. Entre sus numerosos libros, cabe destacar Urban Images of the Hispanic World, 1493-1793 (2000), Spain in America: The Origins of Hispanism in the United States (2002), Clio and the Crown: The Politics of History in Medieval and Early Modern Spain (2009) y The Spanish Craze: America’s Fascination with the Arts and Cultures of the Hispanic World, 1779-1939 (2019), además de una próxima biografía del historiador Henry Charles Lea. En la actualidad prepara un nuevo libro que con el título provisional ‘La Famosa Filadelfia:’ Hispanic Revolutionaries in the City of Brotherly Love.
