THE UNIVERSITAT AUTÒNOMA DE BARCELONA GOES TO SEA
In the summer of 1933, the Faculty of Philosophy and Literature of the University of Madrid organized the first university cruise around the Mediterranean. In addition to in-house students, the cruise gathered students from different places, among them a group of students from Barcelona. The impact was huge: the local press of the time as well as the publication of journey diaries strengthened its importance.
Due to the Spanish Civil War, the exile, and the repression of the General Franco’s regime, the memories of the Cruise of 1933 faded with time (even though always sparked a memory). However, since 1995, multiple publications and monographic exhibitions have renewed interest in the trip. In this way the Cruise of 1933 has become an obligatory reference in many exhibitions about the organizers or members of the cruise, or even in literary works.
Encouraged by the success of the Cruise of 1933, the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona organized its own cruise for the summer of 1934, under the direction of Dr. Ángel Ferrer i Cagigal, Dean of the School of Medicine, and with the collaboration of two young professors of the Faculty of Philosophy and Literature: Guillermo Díaz-Plaja and Jaume Vicens Vives. Destination: America. The Count of Güell, the Chairman of Compañía Trasatlántica, responded enthusiastically to the project and put the ship "Marqués de Comillas" at the students' disposal. The expedition had a marked interdisciplinary nature, and was characterized by what is now called "transfer to society": students from different areas and from different parts of Spain engaged in the Cruise, and the university put forth their best efforts in responding to advertising and organizational tasks through press releases.
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