Serrano Buezo, Josefa. Nacional Sindicalismo [title from cover]. Barcelona, ca. 1940s. Oblong 8vo, [36] pp. of handwritten notes on national syndicalism (anti-democratic socialism), with tipped in b/w reproductions of photos and drawings, each page stamped with the Sección Femenina emblem of the Barcelona district in purple ink, in stiff stab-bound wrappers, pages toned as expected but very good, wrappers brittle with several chips and closed tears.
The Sección Femenina defined women’s roles in the public and private spheres for most of Franco’s rule. Indoctrinating curricula on domestic responsibilities, religion, physical exercise, and the philosophy and history of the Falange national union system were designed by the Sección and were a required part of most women’s education from 1939-1977. Lessons were given in a specific series depending on a woman’s class and career expectations. This notebook was assembled by the student Josefa Serrano Buezo and includes pasted-in cut outs of Franco and other Falangist propaganda images. The continuity of the script (and its lack of errors) suggests it may have been an exam booklet or a final project.
The Sección had the contradictory task of inspiring a political awakening and understanding in women who it then expected to stay in the most traditional and conservative domestic roles, always in service to fathers, husbands, and sons. This unusual artifact of that period is evidence of how these lessons were taught and absorbed at the local level.
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