Meet the Series Advisor: Dr. Andrew Dowling, series editor of ‘Anthem Catalan Studies’

Dr. Andrew Dowling is a contemporary historian in the Hispanic Studies Department at Cardiff University, where he] has taught since 2002. His research focuses on 20th-century Catalan history and nationalism, including studies on pro-independence movements in democratic Spain. Dr. Andrew Dowling is the author of Catalonia: A New History (Routledge, 2022), winner of the Serra d’Or Prize in 2024 and editor of the Routledge Handbook of Spanish History (2023). He also serves as series editor for the Anthem Catalan Studies series at Anthem Press and frequently contributes expert commentary to international media.

• What inspired the creation of this series and what motivated you to take on the role of series editor?
  The idea for Anthem Catalan Studies grew from the sense that Catalan studies had reached international maturity but lacked a coherent English-language platform connecting disciplines such as history, anthropology and the social sciences. Much excellent work remained fragmented or linguistically siloed. Catalonia and the other regions within the series, their complex modernisation, multilingual culture and debates about identity and sovereignty, deserved dialogue with wider European and global questions. Anthem, with its strong lists in history, nationalism and cultural studies, offered the ideal framework. Having researched modern Spain and Catalonia throughout my career, I also wanted to create a space for both established and emerging scholars to publish ambitious, interdisciplinary work and situate Catalan studies within global debates about nationhood, culture and modernity.
• What key themes or questions does the series aim to explore, and why do they matter today?
  The series examines how Catalan culture and history intersect with the broader processes of modernity, urbanisation, nationalism, industrialisation and migration. These are not regional curiosities but prisms through which to understand the making of modern Europe. The series seeks to move Catalan studies beyond the “exceptional” and into the ‘comparative’, connecting its specificity with shared global dynamics.
• How do you identify and shape the titles that become part of the series?
  A strong proposal is both rooted and outward-looking: it must draw on Catalan materials, archives or fieldwork, while engaging broader theoretical or cultural debates. Proposals stand out when they combine empirical depth with conceptual ambition, linking Catalonia’s experience to wider questions about identity, mobility and the state.
• How do you see the series contributing to scholarship or public debate?
  The 2017 independence referendum and ongoing resistance to mass tourism across the regions covered by the series have raised their visibility. By widening the lens, we hope to foster nuanced debate about identity, autonomy and belonging, situating Catalonia within Europe’s modern history rather than apart from it.
• Are there any forthcoming titles or new directions that particularly excite you?
  Upcoming books examine Catalonia’s cultural diplomacy and internationalisation since the 1980s; another explores the republican tradition across the Catalan-speaking lands, tracing how popular and national identities evolved from the nineteenth century to 1939. Looking ahead, the series will also move into areas of migration, ecology, gender and urban/rural tensions, areas that reflect the next generation’s questions. If the series can capture the energy of the three main areas of interest: Catalonia, Valencia and the Balearics, it will make a lasting contribution to Catalan studies and to the humanities more broadly.