What do you know about Catalonia? Is Catalonia a nation? What makes Catalan people so different? This course will provide you with the basic intercultural skills and necessary knowledge to be able to understand and live in the context of contemporary Catalan culture. We will address the main ideological and political difficulties of defining the Catalan culture as separate from other cultures and communities in the Iberian Peninsula. Basic cultural items and components of the Catalan culture (ranging from the Barça club and the ‘92 Olympics to newspaper materials and folk dances and performance) will be introduced to help you investigate this general question. The goal is to respond, through cultural and political investigation, whether Catalonia could be considered a differentiated nation or political community. This cultural and political debate will be presented through a variety of methods and activities designed to enhance cultural awareness and critical thinking. To help students with their research, at the beginning of each class, basic Catalan vocabulary will be introduced in connection to the issues discussed.
Prerequisites:
None. While there is no language or culture prerequisite for this course, knowledge of some Romance language (Catalan, Spanish, French, or Portuguese) may help students in their fieldwork.
Attendance policy:
Attendance is mandatory for all IES classes, including field studies. Any exams, tests, presentations, or other work missed due to student absences can only be rescheduled in cases of documented medical or family emergencies. If a student misses more than three classes in any course half a letter grade will be deducted from the final grade for every additional absence. Seven absences in any course will result in a failing grade.
Learning outcomes:
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
• identify the variety of historical influences which have shaped present-day Catalan Culture;
• analyze the socio-cultural and political aspects –traditions, art, architecture, music, laws and habits- of contemporary Catalan society in the context of Spain and Europe;
• develop cross-cultural awareness and adaptation skills using students own for a new cultural
perspective.
Method of presentation:
• LECTURES: historical Catalan topics to work on signs and vocabulary of Catalan Society.
• FIELD STUDIES: visit real life in Catalonia and Barcelona City to complete basic behaviour discussed or analyzed in class. We will visit museums and parts of the city of Barcelona and Catalonia.
• READER: general Cultural Studies vocabulary will be introduced trough readings as basic tools to
evaluate and classify the Catalan case.
• STUDENTS PRESENTATIONS: personal research carried out on topics of the students own choice.
• DEBATES: cross-cultural debates based on topics from readings and news of Catalan newspapers and real activities of Catalan life while the semester.
• CLASS DISCUSSIONS: open and tolerant acceptance of students´ opinions and experiences to define
and evaluate topics in a progressive learning way.
• CASE STUDIES: work on concrete cultural, political or social events to define and analyze the case of
Catalonia.
LANGUAGE OF PRESENTATION: English
Required work and form of assessment:
Class participation; (15%) oral presentation (10%); field study journal (25%); mid-term exam (25%); final exam (25%)
content:
Session 1: Introduction to the course: What is a cultural object?
Session 2: Tips on how to study Catalan culture on your own: Starting a field study journal: objects, language, persons, places. The Donkey vs. The Bull.
The main historical events in Catalonia. Part I. Basic historic vocabulary. Concepts and chronology.
Required readings:
VVAA. (2000) Catalonia land of contrasts: 15, 20. Generalitat de Catalunya.
Session 3: The main historical events in Catalonia. Part I. Basic historic vocabulary. Concepts and chronology.
Required readings:
VVAA. (2000) Catalonia land of contrasts: 15, 20. Generalitat de Catalunya.
Session 4: Field Trip: Museu d’Història de la Ciutat: The Romans in Catalonia. Activitiy: Words, objects and habits of Barcino and Tarraco inhabitants.
Session 5: The main historical events in Catalonia. Part II. Basic historic vocabulary. Concepts and chronology.
Required readings:
VVAA. (2000) Catalonia land of contrasts: 20, 30. Generalitat de Catalunya.
Session 6: Finding a vocabulary for cultural research. What is culture?
Required readings:
Even Zohar, Itamar, (1998). Culture Repertoire and the Wealth of Collective Entities: (Article 1- 11). http//www.tau.ac.ilitamarez/papers/rep&wea2html
Session 7: Finding a vocabulary for cultural research. What is culture?
Required readings:
Williams, Raymond (1977) Marxism & Literature: 10 –20. Oxford.
Session 8: The meaning of culture in Spanish literature.
Required readings:
Sieburth, Stephanie (1999) Modern Spanish Culture: 11 –20. "What Does it Mean to Study Modern
Spanish Culture?" Cambridge Companion.
Session 9: How do cultures emerge, live and survive?. The case of Catalonia.
Required readings:
Anderson, Benedict (1991) "Cultural Roots": 9 – 34. Imagined Communities.
Session 10: The origins of Catalan economy through the shipyards of Barcelona. From the Mediterranean sea to the Atlantic.
Field Trip: Museu Maritim de Barcelona.
Session 11: Midterm Exam
Session 12: The Nation and the politics. The Catalan Case. The Catalan Language.
Required readings:
McRoberts Kenneth, (2001) The Historical Roots of Nationhood”: (Chapter 1: 7 – 20). Oxford University
Press.
Session 13: The Nation and the politics. The Catalan Case. Economic and Political Power.
Required readings:
McRoberts, Kenneth (2001) The Historical Roots of Nationhood: (Chapter 1: 7 – 20). Oxford University
Press.
Session 14: Field trip: from the Medieval Barcelona to the industrial city: visiting the Born. Activitiy: Words, objects, habits in Catalunya. The End of a Nation. September 11th; 1714.
Session 15: National Identity in Catalonia.
Required readings:
Llobera, Josep R., “The Role of Commemorations in (Etno)Nation-building. The Case of Catalonia”: 191 – 204. Nationalism and The Nation.
Session 16: A Nation without State. The Politics: Catalan Political Institutions within the Structure of the
Spanish state (I). Student presentations. The Catalan political parties, ideology and background.
Session 17: A Nation without State. The Politics: Catalan Political Institutions within the Structure of the
Spanish state (II). Class discussion. Required readings:
Balcells, Albert (1996) "The Development of Catalan Self-Government from 1980 to 1990". Catalan
Nationalism: Past & Present: 177 – 200. New York St. Martin’s Press.
Session 18: Building Identities. A Nation without State. The Language: Catalan Political Institutions within the Structure of the Spanish state.
Required readings:
Vicens i Vives, (1986) The Catalans and the Minotaur. Pgs 97– 105.
Session 19: Building Identities. Urbanism in Barcelona. A Capital without State.
Presentation/ Lecture with PP: Barcelona, an event city: From the Universal Exhibition of 1888 to the
Olympic Games of 1992.
Session 20: Building Identities. Building Identities. Urbanism in Barcelona. A Capital without State. Presentation / Lecture with PP: Barcelona, an event city: From the Universal Exhibition of 1888 to the Olympic Games of 1992, The Forum of the Cultures 2004.
Session 21: Building Identities.
Sobrer, Josep Miquel, (1992) Catalonia, a self portrait pgs 45 – 54. (Article) Amades, Joan; Stones and
The Cult of The Dead.
Session 22: Building Identities. The People: The "typical" Catalan person. Some stereotypes about
Catalonia and the Catalans. Study of jokes and sayings by and about Catalan people. (class discussion and sharing of journal writing).
Session 23: Building Identities. Old & New immigration.
Required readings:
Candel, Francisco (2000) "Immigration in Catalonia": (Article: 48). Catalonia. Session 24: Journals presentations.
Final Exam
Balcells, Albert (1996) "The Development of Catalan Self-Government from 1980 to 1990".Catalan Nationalism: Past & Present.New York St. Martin’s Press.
Candel, " Francisco (2000) Immigration in Catalonia." (article). Catalonia
DiGiacomo, Susan M. (2001) Catalan Is Everyone's Thing': Normalizing a Nation. (Article). Palgrave, New York.
Llobera, Josep R., “The Role of Commemorations in (Etno)Nation-building. The Case of Catalonia”, Nationalism and the Nation.
McRoberts, Kenneth (2001) “The Historical Roots of Nationhood” (Chapter 1). Oxford University Press
Sieburth, Stephanie (1999) Modern Spanish Culture, pgs. 11–20."What Does it Mean to Study Modern Spanish Culture?".Cambridge Companion
VVAA. (2000) Catalonia land of contrasts. Generalitat de Catalunya
Williams, Raymond (1977) Marxism & Literature (pgs. 10–20).Oxford.
Woolard, Kathryb A (1985) Catalonia: The dilemma of Language Rights. Language of Inequality. Mouton Publishers.
Recommended readings:
Cent Anys de Catalanisme. 1993; Barcelona: Generalitat de Catalunya. Candel, Francesc. 1986. Los otros catalanes. Barcelona Plaza y Janés.
Capmany, Maria Aurelia. 1990 ¿Qué diablos es Catalunya? Ediciones Temas de Hoy. Madrid
Díez Medrano, Juan. 1995 Divided Nations: Class Politics and Nationalism in the Basque Country and Catalonia. Ithaca: Cornell UP.
Gies, David T. 1999. The Cambridge Companion to Modern Spanish Culture. Cambridge: Cambridge UP. Giner, Salvador. 1980 The Social Structure of Catalonia. Sheffield: Anglo-Catalan Society.
Grahan, Helen and Labanyi, Jo (eds.) 1995 Spanish Cultural Studies. An Introduction: The Struggle for Modernity. New York: OUP.
George, David and John London (eds.) 1996 Contemporary Catalan Theatre: An Introduction. Sheffield: Anglo-Catalan Society.
Guibernau, M. Montserrat. 1999 Nations without States: Political Communities in a Global Age. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Hansen, Edward C. 1977 Rural Catalonia under the Franco Regime. Cambridge, NY: CUP. Hughes, Robert. 1992 Barcelona. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
Johnston, Hank. 1991. Tales of Nationalism: Catalonia 1939-1979. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers U.
Jordan, Barry and Morgan, Rikki (eds.) 2000 Contemporary Spanish Cultural Studies. London, New York: Arnold and OUP.
Keating, Michael. 1996 Nations against the State: the New Politics of Nationalism in Quebec, Catalonia, and Scotland. New York: St. Martin's Press.
Langdon-Davies, John (1929) Dancing Catalans. London: Jonathan Cape.
Marí Mayans, Isidor. 1993 Conocer la lengua y la cultura catalanas. Palma de Mallorca: Generalitat de Catalunya, Generalitat Valenciana, Govern Balea.
Marzal, Antonio. "Catalonia as a civil society," Catalonia Culture, 8 (1988), pp. 48. "Immigration in Catalonia," Catalonia Culture, 41 (1996), pp. 5-7Masllorens, Alex.
Maxwell, Richard. 1995 The Spectacle of Democracy: Spanish Television, Nationalism, and Political Transition. Minneapolis, MN: U of Minnesota P.
Mercadé, Francesc.Cataluña: 1982 Intelectuales políticos y cuestión nacional: análisis sociológico de las ideologías políticas en la Cataluña democrática. Barcelona: Península.
Molas, Joaquim (1990) Paisatges de Catalunya/Landscapes of Catalonia. Barcelona: G. de Catalunya.
Orwell, George. 1980 Homage to Catalonia. San Diego: Harcourt Brace. Sobrer, Josep Miquel (ed.). 1992 Catalonia: A Self Portrait. Indiana UP.
Subirana, Jaume. 2001 Tota la veritat sobre els catalans. Barcelona: La Magrana.
What do you know about Catalonia? Is Catalonia a nation? What makes Catalan people so different? This course will provide you with the basic intercultural skills and necessary knowledge to be able to understand and live in the context of contemporary Catalan culture. We will address the main ideological and political difficulties of defining the Catalan culture as separate from other cultures and communities in the Iberian Peninsula. Basic cultural items and components of the Catalan culture (ranging from the Barça club and the ‘92 Olympics to newspaper materials and folk dances and performance) will be introduced to help you investigate this general question. The goal is to respond, through cultural and political investigation, whether Catalonia could be considered a differentiated nation or political community. This cultural and political debate will be presented through a variety of methods and activities designed to enhance cultural awareness and critical thinking. To help students with their research, at the beginning of each class, basic Catalan vocabulary will be introduced in connection to the issues discussed.
None. While there is no language or culture prerequisite for this course, knowledge of some Romance language (Catalan, Spanish, French, or Portuguese) may help students in their fieldwork.
Attendance is mandatory for all IES classes, including field studies. Any exams, tests, presentations, or other work missed due to student absences can only be rescheduled in cases of documented medical or family emergencies. If a student misses more than three classes in any course half a letter grade will be deducted from the final grade for every additional absence. Seven absences in any course will result in a failing grade.
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
• identify the variety of historical influences which have shaped present-day Catalan Culture;
• analyze the socio-cultural and political aspects –traditions, art, architecture, music, laws and habits- of contemporary Catalan society in the context of Spain and Europe;
• develop cross-cultural awareness and adaptation skills using students own for a new cultural
perspective.
• LECTURES: historical Catalan topics to work on signs and vocabulary of Catalan Society.
• FIELD STUDIES: visit real life in Catalonia and Barcelona City to complete basic behaviour discussed or analyzed in class. We will visit museums and parts of the city of Barcelona and Catalonia.
• READER: general Cultural Studies vocabulary will be introduced trough readings as basic tools to
evaluate and classify the Catalan case.
• STUDENTS PRESENTATIONS: personal research carried out on topics of the students own choice.
• DEBATES: cross-cultural debates based on topics from readings and news of Catalan newspapers and real activities of Catalan life while the semester.
• CLASS DISCUSSIONS: open and tolerant acceptance of students´ opinions and experiences to define
and evaluate topics in a progressive learning way.
• CASE STUDIES: work on concrete cultural, political or social events to define and analyze the case of
Catalonia.
LANGUAGE OF PRESENTATION: English
Class participation; (15%) oral presentation (10%); field study journal (25%); mid-term exam (25%); final exam (25%)
Session 1: Introduction to the course: What is a cultural object?
Session 2: Tips on how to study Catalan culture on your own: Starting a field study journal: objects, language, persons, places. The Donkey vs. The Bull.
The main historical events in Catalonia. Part I. Basic historic vocabulary. Concepts and chronology.
Required readings:
VVAA. (2000) Catalonia land of contrasts: 15, 20. Generalitat de Catalunya.
Session 3: The main historical events in Catalonia. Part I. Basic historic vocabulary. Concepts and chronology.
Required readings:
VVAA. (2000) Catalonia land of contrasts: 15, 20. Generalitat de Catalunya.
Session 4: Field Trip: Museu d’Història de la Ciutat: The Romans in Catalonia. Activitiy: Words, objects and habits of Barcino and Tarraco inhabitants.
Session 5: The main historical events in Catalonia. Part II. Basic historic vocabulary. Concepts and chronology.
Required readings:
VVAA. (2000) Catalonia land of contrasts: 20, 30. Generalitat de Catalunya.
Session 6: Finding a vocabulary for cultural research. What is culture?
Required readings:
Even Zohar, Itamar, (1998). Culture Repertoire and the Wealth of Collective Entities: (Article 1- 11). http//www.tau.ac.ilitamarez/papers/rep&wea2html
Session 7: Finding a vocabulary for cultural research. What is culture?
Required readings:
Williams, Raymond (1977) Marxism & Literature: 10 –20. Oxford.
Session 8: The meaning of culture in Spanish literature.
Required readings:
Sieburth, Stephanie (1999) Modern Spanish Culture: 11 –20. "What Does it Mean to Study Modern
Spanish Culture?" Cambridge Companion.
Session 9: How do cultures emerge, live and survive?. The case of Catalonia.
Required readings:
Anderson, Benedict (1991) "Cultural Roots": 9 – 34. Imagined Communities.
Session 10: The origins of Catalan economy through the shipyards of Barcelona. From the Mediterranean sea to the Atlantic.
Field Trip: Museu Maritim de Barcelona.
Session 11: Midterm Exam
Session 12: The Nation and the politics. The Catalan Case. The Catalan Language.
Required readings:
McRoberts Kenneth, (2001) The Historical Roots of Nationhood”: (Chapter 1: 7 – 20). Oxford University
Press.
Session 13: The Nation and the politics. The Catalan Case. Economic and Political Power.
Required readings:
McRoberts, Kenneth (2001) The Historical Roots of Nationhood: (Chapter 1: 7 – 20). Oxford University
Press.
Session 14: Field trip: from the Medieval Barcelona to the industrial city: visiting the Born. Activitiy: Words, objects, habits in Catalunya. The End of a Nation. September 11th; 1714.
Session 15: National Identity in Catalonia.
Required readings:
Llobera, Josep R., “The Role of Commemorations in (Etno)Nation-building. The Case of Catalonia”: 191 – 204. Nationalism and The Nation.
Session 16: A Nation without State. The Politics: Catalan Political Institutions within the Structure of the
Spanish state (I). Student presentations. The Catalan political parties, ideology and background.
Session 17: A Nation without State. The Politics: Catalan Political Institutions within the Structure of the
Spanish state (II). Class discussion. Required readings:
Balcells, Albert (1996) "The Development of Catalan Self-Government from 1980 to 1990". Catalan
Nationalism: Past & Present: 177 – 200. New York St. Martin’s Press.
Session 18: Building Identities. A Nation without State. The Language: Catalan Political Institutions within the Structure of the Spanish state.
Required readings:
Vicens i Vives, (1986) The Catalans and the Minotaur. Pgs 97– 105.
Session 19: Building Identities. Urbanism in Barcelona. A Capital without State.
Presentation/ Lecture with PP: Barcelona, an event city: From the Universal Exhibition of 1888 to the
Olympic Games of 1992.
Session 20: Building Identities. Building Identities. Urbanism in Barcelona. A Capital without State. Presentation / Lecture with PP: Barcelona, an event city: From the Universal Exhibition of 1888 to the Olympic Games of 1992, The Forum of the Cultures 2004.
Session 21: Building Identities.
Sobrer, Josep Miquel, (1992) Catalonia, a self portrait pgs 45 – 54. (Article) Amades, Joan; Stones and
The Cult of The Dead.
Session 22: Building Identities. The People: The "typical" Catalan person. Some stereotypes about
Catalonia and the Catalans. Study of jokes and sayings by and about Catalan people. (class discussion and sharing of journal writing).
Session 23: Building Identities. Old & New immigration.
Required readings:
Candel, Francisco (2000) "Immigration in Catalonia": (Article: 48). Catalonia. Session 24: Journals presentations.
Final Exam
Anderson, Benedict (1991) "Cultural Roots". Imagined Communities.
Balcells, Albert (1996) "The Development of Catalan Self-Government from 1980 to 1990".Catalan Nationalism: Past & Present.New York St. Martin’s Press.
Candel, " Francisco (2000) Immigration in Catalonia." (article). Catalonia
DiGiacomo, Susan M. (2001) Catalan Is Everyone's Thing': Normalizing a Nation. (Article). Palgrave, New York.
Even Zohar, Itamar, 1998. Culture Repertoire and the Wealth of Collective Entities. http//www.tau.ac.ilitamarez/papers/rep&wea2html
Llobera, Josep R., “The Role of Commemorations in (Etno)Nation-building. The Case of Catalonia”, Nationalism and the Nation.
McRoberts, Kenneth (2001) “The Historical Roots of Nationhood” (Chapter 1). Oxford University Press
Sieburth, Stephanie (1999) Modern Spanish Culture, pgs. 11–20."What Does it Mean to Study Modern Spanish Culture?".Cambridge Companion
VVAA. (2000) Catalonia land of contrasts. Generalitat de Catalunya
Williams, Raymond (1977) Marxism & Literature (pgs. 10–20).Oxford.
Woolard, Kathryb A (1985) Catalonia: The dilemma of Language Rights. Language of Inequality. Mouton Publishers.
Cent Anys de Catalanisme. 1993; Barcelona: Generalitat de Catalunya. Candel, Francesc. 1986. Los otros catalanes. Barcelona Plaza y Janés.
Capmany, Maria Aurelia. 1990 ¿Qué diablos es Catalunya? Ediciones Temas de Hoy. Madrid
Díez Medrano, Juan. 1995 Divided Nations: Class Politics and Nationalism in the Basque Country and Catalonia. Ithaca: Cornell UP.
Gies, David T. 1999. The Cambridge Companion to Modern Spanish Culture. Cambridge: Cambridge UP. Giner, Salvador. 1980 The Social Structure of Catalonia. Sheffield: Anglo-Catalan Society.
Grahan, Helen and Labanyi, Jo (eds.) 1995 Spanish Cultural Studies. An Introduction: The Struggle for Modernity. New York: OUP.
George, David and John London (eds.) 1996 Contemporary Catalan Theatre: An Introduction. Sheffield: Anglo-Catalan Society.
Guibernau, M. Montserrat. 1999 Nations without States: Political Communities in a Global Age. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Hansen, Edward C. 1977 Rural Catalonia under the Franco Regime. Cambridge, NY: CUP. Hughes, Robert. 1992 Barcelona. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
Johnston, Hank. 1991. Tales of Nationalism: Catalonia 1939-1979. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers U.
Jordan, Barry and Morgan, Rikki (eds.) 2000 Contemporary Spanish Cultural Studies. London, New York: Arnold and OUP.
Keating, Michael. 1996 Nations against the State: the New Politics of Nationalism in Quebec, Catalonia, and Scotland. New York: St. Martin's Press.
Langdon-Davies, John (1929) Dancing Catalans. London: Jonathan Cape.
Marí Mayans, Isidor. 1993 Conocer la lengua y la cultura catalanas. Palma de Mallorca: Generalitat de Catalunya, Generalitat Valenciana, Govern Balea.
Marzal, Antonio. "Catalonia as a civil society," Catalonia Culture, 8 (1988), pp. 48. "Immigration in Catalonia," Catalonia Culture, 41 (1996), pp. 5-7Masllorens, Alex.
Maxwell, Richard. 1995 The Spectacle of Democracy: Spanish Television, Nationalism, and Political Transition. Minneapolis, MN: U of Minnesota P.
Mercadé, Francesc.Cataluña: 1982 Intelectuales políticos y cuestión nacional: análisis sociológico de las ideologías políticas en la Cataluña democrática. Barcelona: Península.
Molas, Joaquim (1990) Paisatges de Catalunya/Landscapes of Catalonia. Barcelona: G. de Catalunya.
Orwell, George. 1980 Homage to Catalonia. San Diego: Harcourt Brace. Sobrer, Josep Miquel (ed.). 1992 Catalonia: A Self Portrait. Indiana UP.
Subirana, Jaume. 2001 Tota la veritat sobre els catalans. Barcelona: La Magrana.