Dr. Daniel Jordan, Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Toronto Faculty of Music, presents “Divide and Conquer: Music, Gender, and Cultural Diplomacy during the Early Franco Regime, 1939-1953.”
Room 130, Edward Johnson Building, 80 Queen's Park, Toronto
FREE
Abstract
This paper explores how women of the early Franco regime (1939–1953) adapted rural music traditions and ideas of Spanish nationalism according to different political circumstances. The Sección Femenina (Women’s Section) of the fascist Falange party represented the regime’s views and policies on female gender roles. Through their Department of Music, these women shaped traditional Spanish songs and dances to promote ideas of Catholic morality throughout the nation’s culturally diverse regions, helped legitimize colonial involvement in Spain’s African territories, and formed political ties with the Allied powers after the Second World War. Focusing on the Sección Femenina’s missions of cultural diplomacy in the United States, France, and Belgium, this paper reveals how Spanish diplomats used music to fuel anti-communist sentiments and gain Western support for the Franco regime during the first years of the Cold War (1947–1953). This paper is related to Dr. Jordan's forthcoming book with Oxford University Press, Coros y Danzas: Folk Music and Spanish Nationalism in the Early Franco Regime, 1939-1953.
All colloquia take place from 3:30 to 5 pm, unless otherwise noted, with a reception to follow from 5 to 6 pm.