Nineteenth-century French writers and artists were fascinated by the image of Spain — as a setting for their works, a destination for their travels, and a subject for creative invention. A space of the exotic, of the mixing of cultures and religions (Muslims, Jews, and Christians), of “primitive” values of honor, hospitality, and justice, of mystery and otherness, the representation of Spain played a major role in French writers’ explorations of new forms of art, social relations (gender, race, religion), and political structures. In this class, we will explore the cultural meaning with which the idea of “Spain” was endowed in the French national imaginary and the historical, political, and aesthetic implications of this. We will examine the manifestations and implications of this theme in selected texts by Chateaubriand, Gautier, Nodier, Hugo, Balzac, and Mérimée, as well as in one of the most popular and oft-performed French operas ever written — Bizet’s Carmen.