This volume is designed to further the study of Spanish culture in the broad sense of the network of symbolic systems through which social groups construct and negotiate a sense of identity or identities. The aim is to introduce readers to current theoretical debates in a range of disciplines, as well as to inform them about specific areas of twentieth-century Spanish culture.

Spanish literature has given the world the figures of Don Quixote and Don Juan, and is responsible for the "invention" of the novel in the 16th century. The medieval period produced literature in Castilian, Catalan, Galician, Latin, Arabic, and Hebrew, and today there is a flourishing literature in Catalan, Galician, and Basque as well as in Castilian--the language that has became known as "Spanish." Moreover, a multilayered history of exile has produced a transnational literary output, while writers in Spain have engaged with European cultural trends. This Very Short Introduction explores...