Bar lecture: “Catalonia and Spain: A Complicated Relationship”

​Why does a flag on a balcony in Barcelona mean so much? Dr Andrew Dowling, historian at Cardiff University and author of “Catalonia: A New History” (Routledge, winner of the Premi Crítica Serra d’Or 2024), is the person the BBC, The New York Times and The Washington Post call when Catalonia is in the news. In December he’s in Barcelona for Deep Dive. One night only, don’t wait to book your seat.

​🏛️ Lecture: “Catalonia and Spain: A Complicated Relationship”
🎤 Speaker: Dr Andrew Dowling, historian of Catalonia and Catalan nationalism, Cardiff University (UK)
📍 Location: venue announced soon (central Barcelona)
📅 Thursday, 10 December, doors open at 6:30 PM

​Why has Catalonia’s relationship with Spain been so complicated? Why do questions of identity, language and independence provoke such strong feelings? And how did the independence movement become such a major force in Catalan politics?

​For anyone living in Barcelona, these questions are never far away. But to understand the debates and divisions of today, you need to look at the history behind them. From the rise of Catalan nationalism and the years of Franco’s dictatorship to the return of democracy and the dramatic independence movement of recent years, Andrew explores how the past has shaped the Catalonia we know today.

​Andrew has spent over twenty years researching and writing about Catalonia, in English and Catalan, including “The Rise of Catalan Independence: Spain’s Territorial Crisis” and “Catalonia since the Spanish Civil War”. He’s a historian, not a campaigner: this is the night you finally understand what your Catalan friends, your Spanish friends and the news are all arguing about.

​Agenda
6:30 PM - Doors open: find a seat (open seating!), order food & drinks, and expect a bar line, arriving early is key.
6:55 PM - Host introduction
7:00 PM - Lecture begins
7:30 PM - Short break
7:40 PM - Lecture continues
8:00 PM - Q&A
8:10 PM - Have 1:1 time with the speaker, mingle with fellow guests, and order another round

​See you there 🍷 IG: @deepdive.bcn

​This lecture will be held in English.