Prensa jurídica y estudios de derechoEspaña 1836-1883

Resumen

This thesis examines the Spanish legal press between 1836 and 1883 in order to identify and analyse material of relevance for legal studies. Data on the education of the jurist – or legal practitioner – and his areas of learning are of particular interest in this regard. The central research question of this investigation is: what do Spanish legal journals tell us about the education of jurists between 1836 and 1883? In order to try to answer this question, which requires an examination of discussions on legal studies, the following secondary queries arise. How did the contents of legal journals reflect the increasing specialisation of knowledge and the formation of legal disciplines as discrete areas of study? How were discussions around the ‘ideal jurist’ and his ‘knowledge framework’ reflected in the press? Should the jurist be a practical professional, a scientist, a speaker, a statesman, or a scholar? What trends and other information can be mined from these periodicals? The thesis consists of five chapters. The first chapter presents the theoretical and methodological framework used; provides an overview of the current historiography and specialised literature; and offers a justification of the methodological and interpretative approach of the dissertation. The next four chapters develop diachronically the interaction between three evolving arenas or fields of knowledge (journals, the university and legal disciplines) as they evolve due to changes in the university curricula over half a century, that encompasses the hemerographic production of two generations of Spanish jurists. Thus, the historical study of the intersections and correlations between journals, studies and legal disciplines between 1836 and 1883 makes it possible to observe the changes and continuities within three evolving arenas, intellectual movements or spheres of knowledge that were relevant in the reconfiguration of the legal-academic field during the nineteenth century.