Mauricio Tenorio and Josep M. Fradera

Monuments, statues or street names, often invisible or insignificant to citizens, are part of the historical legacy of a society. In recent years, anti-racist movements around the world have highlighted the historical burden of many of these symbols, linked to the old European empires. As a consequence, surely today we can no longer look at the statue of Columbus in front of the Port of Barcelona without seeing a colonial stain. However, behind the symbol, as many historians point out, lies an underlying question that is fundamental to any society: how do we relate to the past and its material and immaterial legacy?

In this session, conducted by cultural journalist Justo Barranco, historian Mauricio Tenorio, an expert in social and cultural history and author of La historia en ruinas (Alianza, 2023), and historian Josep M. Fradera, who specializes in peninsular nationalisms, colonies and empires around the world and author of Antes del antiimperialismo (Anagrama, 2022), talk about how to open up the history of European empires to contemporary perspectives.