Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Spanish catholicism'

The research for this thesis has been confined in space and time in order to facilitate an investigation of the Church at several levels: the study is as concerned with the faith and the faithful as with the official presence of the hierarchy. It examines questions of religious identity in an area of high Catholic practice, conservative politics and, eventually, genuine popular support for the Nationalist rising. The province of Salamanca, in the north west of Spain, is a particularly appropriate focus for such a study. Part of the Castilian heartland of traditional Spain, it was the home province of Jose Maria Gil Robles and a major area of strength for the parliamentary Catholic right, which mobilised here before anywhere else in Spain. This has led to Salamanca receiving some attention from historians. Scholars such as Paul Preston and Juan Jose Castillo use it to provide examples of the Catholic right's techniques and rhetoric, arguing that the innate conservatism of the Castilian smallholders was manipulated by the great landlords. However, perhaps the most interesting feature of the history of the province in the 1930s is how its story differed from that laid out in Madrid. The historiography of the Second Republic has concentrated - perhaps inevitably - on political and parliamentary struggles. While issues such as disestablishment and the fate of the religious orders were of crucial importance at institutional and governmental level, the impact they had outside the professional circles of church and state is far less certain. This study has moved outside the administrative world of the capital to investigate the impact of the Republic on ordinary Catholic citizens. The minutiae of church/ state relations and the undoubted injustice of the treatment of the religious orders may have outraged the Catholic deputies representing Salamanca in the Cortes, but their Catholic constituents had different concerns. By examining these concerns, this thesis throws new light on the process of breakdown of the Second Republic.

This thesis is an examination of the unique conditions for African-descended slaves in St. Augustine, Florida, during the First Spanish Period. St. Augustine was an important garrison at a remote point in the Spanish Empire at the edge of a hostile frontier. As such, economics were less a priority than defense. Slaves, therefore, received different treatment here than in English colonies or even other Spanish colonies. Due to the threat of Protestantism, religious adherence was more important as a test of loyalty than ethnicity and slaves and freed-people were able to integrate better than in other Spanish holdings. In order to explore this integration, the meticulous records of the St. Augustine clergy are used. Infant baptism rates are used to show the influence of Spanish culture as well as at least a semblance of adherence on the part of African-descended people. The baptism of adults, meanwhile, and the role of the godparent are examined to show integration and the complex nature of this unique religious phenomenon.
M.A.
Department of History
Arts and Humanities
History MA

El nacionalcatolicisme franquista, ha sigut substituït per un patriotisme democràtic espanyol? Aquesta tesi explora, mitjançant l'anàlisi del cas espanyol, com els estats establerts promouen i dónen forma a la identitat nacional de llurs ciutadans, i com això es reflecteix al nivell individual. La tesi aprofita la recent transició a la democràcia i les diferències internes del cas com a oportunitats per guanyar possibilitats d'anàlisi de la dinàmica de canvi en la identitat nacional en paral·lel als canvis en el context polític. Al llarg de la tesi s'empra una àmplia varietat de fonts I mètodes de recerca: Anàlisi de fonts documentals i literatura secundària, metodologia Q i anàlisi estadística de dades d'enquesta provinents tant d'enquestes preexistents (ISSP, WVS, CIS) com d'una enquesta pròpia realitzada el gener de 2007. Els resultats mostren com l'evolució dels discursos polítics sobre la nació espanyola han condicionat les actituds dels ciutadans, en un procés de reconstrucció incompleta de la identitat nacional espanyola.

La tesi estudia la repressió a la universitat espanyola duta a terme pel règim encapçalat pel general Francisco Franco. Primer s'analitzen els esforços republicans per consolidar la democràcia a partir de l'educació, amb l'oposició de l'Església catòlica i les classes conservadores que veuen perillar el seu control i privilegis. La guerra civil converteix la violència verbal en física i es desencadena una contundent repressió que en el cas del funcionariat -i el professorat particularment es disfressa com a depuració professional. El mèrit acadèmic dóna pas al mèrit polític i s'inicia una purga política contra tot docent sospitós o no prou compromès. A diferència de la depuració republicana defensiva i respectuosa amb la legalitat, la franquista escapça l'escalafó amb contundents i generalitzades sancions -assassinats, cessaments, empresonaments, trasllats, inhabilitacions i jubilacions forçoses . A més, la ciència queda sotmesa a la ideologia nacional-catòlica i les vacants esdevenen botí de guerra pels addictes.
This work studies the repression suffered by the Spanish university during the first years of Franco's dictatorship. First of all, the efforts of the Republican government to consolidate the democracy from the bases of the education are analyzed, together with the opposition exerted by both the Spanish Catholic Church and the conservative class, who feared about the loss of power and privileges. The civil war transforms the oral violence into physical violence and triggers the burst of a fierce repression, which in the particular case of teachers, is dressed-up as a professional depuration. Political merits and a political purge against any suspicious professor -or even against professors that are not enough engaged with the new regimen substitute the excellence in the academic records. Contrary to the republican depuration, which was defensive and respectful with the legacy effective, the Francoist depuration beheads the university roster with general and merciless punishments -murders, dismisses, imprisonments, transfers and forced retirements . Moreover, science starts to be ruled by the national-catholic ideology and the available positions become booty for those who prove to be followers of the new regimen.

La tesis se centra en uno de los aspectos menos considerados de la escritora hasta ahora: su narrativa breve, escrita en un corto periodo de tiempo, entre 1952 y 1954, y bajo unas condiciones de espíritu que resultan perfectamente aislables del conjunto de su obra. En ella apreciamos la suave ironía con que tiñe sus narraciones, su reacción ante la belleza de la Naturaleza, su amor a la libertad y sobre todo la búsqueda de una bondad y verdad interior vinculada al amor y a la etapa religiosa vivida por la escritora en este periodo. En particular nos hemos centrado en los personajes femeninos de sus novelas cortas, pues al igual que ocurre en la mayor parte de su obra, son ellos los que aportan con mayor profundidad un conocimiento psicológico del ser humano. El análisis de su narrativa breve nos ha proporcionado fundadas bases para una interpretación más ajustada de la Carmen Laforet real, hasta hace poco reducida a su creación más inmortal, la frágil Andrea de Nada. Se ha demostrado cómo Carmen Laforet ha sido no solamente la autora de Nada, sino una valiosa escritora de novelas cortas y de cuentos, menos considerados por la crítica pero altamente representativos de su quehacer. Dicha narrativa breve la sitúa como una mujer de su época que, sin embargo, rehúye el compromiso ideológico o el realismo social, que se impone en los años cincuenta, para sumergirse en la búsqueda de una verdad humana que carece de color político y sí aporta, en cambio, una reflexión sobre la honestidad, la hipocresía, la ambición o la abnegación como hechos fundamentales en las vidas de los seres reales. Laforet es una excelente escritora de relatos breves a los que, sin embargo, ella no concede demasiada importancia. Su periodo de creación en este género es sumamente limitado, como se ha dicho. Nunca más vuelve a escribir narrativa breve, pero la novela corta le sirve para dar forma a sus nuevas creencias y necesidades religiosas. Y de ahí la aportación sutil de Laforet a una narrativa católica que en los años 50 ha tenido en ella y en su narrativa breve a una de sus más importantes representantes. La tesis ha abordado también diversos temas relacionados con la época de la posguerra, que sirven de telón de fondo en las novelas de Laforet como el hambre, las penurias, la miseria, la lucha por la supervivencia, la falta de medios, etc. Sus ideales resultan próximos a los ideales de San Francisco de Asís y que lamentablemente la crítica no valoró en su momento de manera oportuna, según creemos; las siete novelas cortas estudiadas – “El piano”, “La llamada”, “El viaje divertido”, “La niña”, “Los emplazados”, “El último verano” y “Un noviazgo” muestran prioritariamente temas como el desarrollo de la propia identidad, la autonomía personal, los valores cristianos y la represión social; algunas de sus narraciones breves realizan aportaciones importantes al tema del feminismo y de crítica social, presente en mucha de su obra. Aunque muy matizados por temas específicos de la religión católica como la caridad, el amor o el sacrificio, derivados de la propia conversión de la escritora en diciembre de 1951, no es nada difícil detectar la crítica social en los escritos breves de Carmen Laforet, aunque la mayoría de los expertos a menudo no hayan incidido en este particular. ¬La tesis se centra en las siete novelas cortas mencionadas, aunque mantiene correspondencias con su literatura cuentística y hace referencias a su narrativa.
The thesis centres on one of the author’s least recognised areas until now: her short stories, written in the brief period of time between 1952 and 1954, and under the spiritual conditions which appear as entirely distinct from those experienced in her main body of work. In this piece we can appreciate the smooth irony which runs through her narrative, her reaction towards the beauty of nature, her love of freedom and, above all, her search for righteousness and inner truth connected to the love and religious phase experienced by the writer during this period. In particular, we have focussed on the female characters in her short stories as it is those that demonstrate most profoundly the writer’s understanding of the human condition. It is shown that Carmen Laforet isn’t only the author of Nada but a valuable writer of novellas and short stories which are less well-known critically but highly representative of her craft. The thesis also approaches different related themes from the post-war era, that serve as a backdrop to the novels of Laforet alongside famine, scarcity, misery, the fight for survival, lack of means, etc. Her ideals surface as similar to those of St Francis of Assisi but regrettably this remained unnoticed by the critics of the time. The seven short stories studied – El piano, La llamada, El viaje divertido, La nina, Los emplazados, El ultimo verano and Un noviazgo primarily show themes like the development of one’s own identity, personal autonomy, Christian values and social repression; some of her short stories bring out important contributions on the theme of feminism and social criticism, and these are present in much of her work.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2008.
Title from first page of PDF file (viewed December 16, 2008). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 349-366).

Thesis advisor: James Cronin
This paper examines the esoteric and essentially negativist character of international reaction to the Spanish Civil War. While the mass of the foreign public, (specifically in the United States, Britain, and Ireland), remained apathetic, several interest groups became deeply involved in the conflict. Analysis of the reasons why each group became interested, the methods they used to win supporters, and the effectiveness of those methods in shaping the historical legacy of the war constitutes the bulk of the paper. Particular emphasis is placed on the role of the Roman Catholic Church and the Communist Party in Britain and the United States. The inquiry concludes with an analysis of the historical trends which have erased the Spanish Civil War from the popular consciousness even while it remains vital to specific political constituencies
Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2004
Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences
Discipline: History
Discipline: College Honors Program

Depuis plus d’une dizaine d’année, l’on assiste à une résurgence de la mémoire historique en Espagne. Qu’il s’agisse des contemporains ou de leurs héritiers, la mémoire des vaincus de la Guerre Civile, autrefois passée sous silence, est devenue incontournable aussi bien sur le plan historiographique que culturel et même politique (loi dite de « mémoire historique »). Les nombreux succès éditoriaux et cinématographiques relatifs à cette période douloureuse ont contribué à la diffusion d’épisodes méconnus et à la réappropriation d’un passé qui n’avait pas toujours été transmis aux générations successives. Toutefois, l’activisme des uns ne fait pas l’unanimité. Entre ceux qui ne souhaitent pas rouvrir les blessures du passé au nom d’une concorde nationale difficilement obtenue, et ceux qui se sentent mis en accusation par un « triomphe des vaincus » qui tend à ne présenter le conflit civil que sous l’angle de la lutte des « bons » contre les « méchants », l’on a pu observer une crispation partisane des débats au détriment de la science historique. La question mémorielle a atteint de telles proportions que certains commentateurs se sont demandés si la Guerre Civile était ou non terminée. Quoique l’évolution de l’historiographie soit indéniable depuis 1931, elle ne saurait s’expliquer entièrement par la lutte partisane des héritiers des deux camps. En effet, il nous faut nous intéresser également à des causes plus profondes qui en sont à l’origine. Si le cas espagnol s’inscrit dans un contexte européen d’irruption de la mémoire dans l’histoire, il s’explique aussi par des raisons propres qui touchent bien d’autres domaines
Over the past decade, the question of Spanish historical memory has been debated a lot. Whereas the memory of the Spanish Civil War’s defeated had been kept silenced for years, nowadays, the story of direct witnesses – often told by themselves or their heirs – has become inevitable from a historical, cultural and political point of view (see the “historical memory” Act). Many best-selling books and box-office hit films dealing with this painful historical period have contributed to generalise some neglected events which had not always been properly transmitted to the younger generations. However, the memorial activism of various individuals is not unanimously accepted. Indeed, some people consider that such a revival of a painful past might pose a threat to a national harmony which was not easy to obtain. Others, belonging to the national fraction, feel directly accused by the late “triumph” of yesterday’s defeated. The frequent parallel drawn between the Civil War and a would-be fight of the “goods” against the “evils”, has fuelled a partisan debate at the expense of historical truth. The debate on historical memory has become so serious that some analysts do wonder if the Civil War is over or not. The evolution of historiography since 1931 is real, but it should not be explained exclusively by the biased opposition of the heirs of both camps. In fact, we have to take into account deeper reasons at the roots of the problem. The Spanish case cannot be dissociated from a European context, even if it has to be explained by its own particular reasons which affect many other knowledge domains

The report of the apparition of the Virgin of Guadalupe to a humble native peasant in Tepeyac, in the first decades of the sixteenth century, has been considered one of the crucial elements in understanding the Mexican national identity. Unlike other reports of the miraculous presence of the Virgin Mary among the recently converted Indians, the account of the apparition of Guadalupe became intensely popular and widely known among all social levels of the Spanish colony But as early as the middle of the sixteenth century, criticism began to be exerted on the historicity of the origin of the Marian cult in Tepeyac since no contemporary eye-witness reports were found. Many scholars, particularly in modern times, began to consider the account of the apparitions only as pious legends Everything we know about the supernatural presence of the Virgin Mary and her early cult comes from a group of 46 documents. According to several of those sources, the apparitions actually took place in a historically determined space and time. Sometimes the documents give us very detailed information. Such as the case of the famous Hueitlamahuizoltica, the long Nahuatl account now considered the 'official version' of the Mexican Catholic Church Our study of the origin and the content of these 46 documents confirmed that none of them can be considered historical since none of them contains a contemporary eye-witness report. Furthermore, it was found that five sources traditionally considered to be Guadalupan documents have no relation to the apparitions, the image, or the early cult A close examination of the documents leads us to believe that they have their roots in a group of native oral traditions created collectively between 1521 and 1649. The oral traditions served as the basis for what was later recorded by both Indian and Spanish writers. Our hypothesis may explain the incongruities found in the texts. It may also explain why most of the native documents are by unknown authors
acase@tulane.edu