A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE ARTS FACULTY OF
THE UNIVERSITY OF VALLADOLID
Even though the General Study of Valladolid probably dates back from the
beginning of the 13th century, its establishment is documented on the
second half of the century. Its origins are completely integrated in the
creation of Universities or General Studies which took
place in western Europe from the 12th through the 14th
centuries. There are three theories about its origins: either it originated in
the transfer of the Study of Palencia- considered the first Hispanic
University- or it is linked with the Collegiate Church founded by Count
Ansúrez, or it is related to a royal foundation under the supervision of the
Town Council. We know in any case that in the 13th century the
General Study of Valladolid was one of the first teaching institutions of Spain
where Latin, Philosophy, Medicine, Law, and Theology where taught at a
university level. Throughout the modern period, these studies were consolidated:
the Faculties of Law and Medicine became institutions, assisted respectively by
two teaching centres dedicated to studying Philosophy and Science. At the
beginning of the contemporary period, these teaching centres became the Arts
Faculty and the Medicine Faculty.
Therefore, the Arts Faculty of the University of Valladolid is more than
150 years old, period of time which can be divided
into three major stages. First of all, in the 19th century it was
defined as an institution which still provided foundation instruction for Law;
then, in the first decades of the 20th century, it underwent a
process of academic and scientific identification: it took shape as an
autonomous centre dedicated to History and to its auxiliary sciences; and
finally, during the rest of the 20th century, it diversified and
expanded: Geography and Modern and Classical Philological Studies were widened
and consolidated.
At the first stage, during the second half of the 19th
century, it went on functioning as a teaching centre of Philosophy and of Law
auxiliary sciences. However, it soon acquired the rank of Faculty as in 1845,
by reason of he reforms carried out by Pidal, the University of Valladolid was
given a Faculty of Philosophy where minor and instrumental studies were available
and where the Leaving Certificate could be obtained. A few years later, as
provided by the Law of Claudio Moyano, it definitively became an autonomous
centre called Arts Faculty. After a two-year temporary stay (1866-1868) caused
by some troubles with the student body and with finance, it was recovered
thanks to the efforts of the County Council and of the Town Council. Thus, from
1847 on, it kept on functioning as a Free
Faculty, that is to say, as a non-official teaching institution where
foundation instruction for the Faculty of Law was provided. After these
difficulties, from 1896 on the Arts Faculty legally came to be an official
teaching centre of the University of Valladolid. However, it still provided
foundation courses for Law, activity which would
continue during the first two decades of the following century.
In the 20’s and 30’s, at the second stage of its development, the Arts
Faculty mainly focused on History and on the sciences which were considered
related to it at the moment: Art, Archaeology, and Palaeography. The beginning
of this stage occurs when the Historical Studies were renewed in Spain. Because
of the regionalist movement which was trying to
preserve the history of Castile, the University of Valladolid transformed the
Arts Faculty from a centre providing instruction for Law into a Faculty of
History. In this way, it became one of the first faculties which was
specifically dedicated to the study of Spanish history and which offered
degrees in Modern
History, Archival Studies, Library Science, and Archaeology. The establishment
of the Faculty of History was related to the rich history of Castile and to the
internationally recognised documentary material kept in two archival centres:
the Archive of the Royal Chancery of Valladolid and the General Archive of
Simancas, where researchers are provided with the most important documentary
material about the history of Europe from the 15th to the 18th
centuries. This dedication to the study of history was completed with the
creation of the American Studies Section in 1924, originally dependent on the
Faculty of Law. Thanks to all these institutions, since the 20’s Valladolid has
a prestigious and important history teaching and research centre. This centre
has had a long and high-quality course, as shown by such praiseworthy
publications as Revista Histórica, published
since 1918, and the Boletín del Seminario
de Arte y Arqueología, published since 1932. In addition to the publication
of these reviews the Arts Faculty promoted the expansion of the University: in
1928 the Summer Courses were inaugurated in co-operation with the authorities
of Santander. This would precede Menéndez Pelayo International School. Ever
since the Arts Faculty has paid special attention to foreign students from Europe,
America, and Asia, anticipating present exchange programmes: the Courses for Foreign Students were
inaugurated in 1933 and consolidated in 1948; the Course on Hispanic Studies began in 1962, the Course for Students from West Virginia, in 1986, and the Intensive Course for Japanese Students, in 1985.
Since the 20’s, throughout the third stage, the teaching
centre underwent an extraordinary development: the study of Geography and
Philology began through the creation in 1924 of a Language Centre dedicated to
the study of modern and classical languages. The review Castilla, published by the Seminar of Literary and Philological Studies shows this new scientific
dedication. In 1966 the degree in Hispanic Philology is offered. The study of
Geography was consolidated: the Fieldwork
Course has been highly recognised for thirty years and is a training centre
for nation-wide Geography lecturers and researchers.
In this way, the Arts Faculty of the University of Valladolid
has had a long dedication to the study of Philosophy, History, Art,
Archaeology, and Palaeography. It soon incorporated the study of Geography and
Philology, and it has given special importance to the expansion of the
University and to foreign students. Thanks to its 150-year history and to the
continuous renewal of
the teaching and the investigation, it is one of today’s most
prestigious Human Sciences Centres of Spain, having more than 3500 students and
offering eleven degrees. Recently, in the academic year 1998-99, two important
renewals have been planned in order to begin the new millennium: on the one
hand, it has been given a new building in order to face the challenges of the
future; on the other hand, it has adapted its study plans to the demand of the
market and to the students’ needs, and it has applied the latest scientific and
didactic innovations to the degrees offered.
P.C.