Abstract:

A Walk Through the Scenes of the Civil War in Madrid (1936-1939) is an activity organised by the Spanish National Research Council in collaboration with the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía that has taken place during the Ministry of Science and Innovation’s Week of Science and Technology, since 2008. Its aim is to transfer the knowledge from research to society. The activity is framed in the research project entitled Spanish Art and Artists Inside and Outside Franco’s Dictatorship (MICINN, ref. HAR08-00744), which is developed at the Centre of Human and Social Sciences.

This activity is focused on a guided itinerary through the most relevant locations that had an important role during the Spanish Civil War in Madrid, between 1936 and 1939. The main objective is to lean the audience to the recent history in a direct and innovative way. Thus, the public approaches the present urban space using a teaching material that shows different kinds of sources (historical photographs, press cuts, testimonies, novels extracts, poems, etc.). Therefore, monuments, buildings, artistic heritage and urban layout help to evoke the past and connect it to the present. Moreover, the physical urban space where participants walk, serves as an introspective link that make people feel as part of history.

During the three editions of this activity, the range of the public has varied considerably. The first and second ones were aimed at general public, so that the groups were principally formed by adults. However, the third one was expanded to scholar and university groups, as well as to schools of adult education. Each visit adapted its contents and discourse to the age and education level of its members.

To sum up, this experience looks for approaching research to the public, as well as enriching research with individual testimonies, memories, personal and collective experiences, provided by the audience. Besides, it promotes the dialogue between the researcher and the public, but also among the audience, helping to get over the taboos and traumas that could still remain since that difficult period and its consequences.

Keywords:

Itinerary, Spanish Civil War, History, Art, Madrid, Heritage, Memory.