University, ideologies and power. The university community of discourse in the first francoist period

The article offers a critical reading of the debate concerning the definition of the role of the University that took place within the Spanish academia during the early years of the Franco regime (1939-1943). By analyzing several primary sources, it reconstructs the life cycle of the community of discourse that contributed to build the national ideology. In particular, it shows its different souls, its attempts of unification, and its continuous struggles for hegemony. Accordingly, the article demonstrates the existence of a strict relation between the university and the socio-political reality. Moreover, it proves that this close connection, where the two spheres overlap one another, leads to a perversion of the university's own mission