Pedagogical methodology for applying a gender perspective to the study of twentieth-century totalitarian regimes.

Session 1. Fascism vs. democracy: women under the Francoist dictatorship

Session 2. The punishment of dissidence: mental health and violence against women.
Session 3. Women as subjects of resistance to authoritarian regimes.

General Objective:

To develop students’ understanding of how totalitarian regimes shape the lives, bodies and roles of women, fostering critical thinking, empathy and active citizenship.

Specific Objectives 

• To raise awareness of the fragility of freedom and democracy under
  fascist regimes.
• To explore the impact of fascism on women’s bodies (physical, symbolic
  and psychological).
• To identify patterns of violence in different historical contexts (Spain, Italy
  and beyond).
• To connect historical experiences with students’ current interests (mental
  health, sexuality, sense of belonging).
• To promote empathy through biographies, testimonies and local women’s
  memories.
• To introduce students to the use and interpretation of historical sources
  (primary and secondary).

This session begins with an introduction to fascism and democracy, analysing authoritarianism as a recurring global pattern rather than a historical exception. It then explores the case of Spain, from the Civil War to Francoism, focusing on the culture of fear and institutional violence through comparative examples from Italy and Spain

The central block details the situation of women under fascism, analysing how they were controlled through imposed social roles —housewife, submissive and Catholic wife— and tools of repression such as the Sección Femenina, censorship and, above all, the Patronato de Protección a la Mujer. To humanise this reality, life stories such as that of Consuelo García del Cid are studied, in order to understand how the Patronato actually worked before moving on to the final production phase.

Student Response

I was probably not as aware before of all the harm that era caused, and now I am.