Literatura científica selecionada sobre o tema "Catalonia (Spain) – Civilization"

The main aim of this study is to highlight the deep relationship between Greek and Spanish culture in order to form the basis for the development of future policies that will lead to the further strengthening of relations between the two countries. In the modern era, countries are increasingly focusing on the creation of specialized mechanisms to shape their cultural policies. The development of cultural policy is an area of countries’ foreign policy and is based on one of the pillars supporting their soft power: culture. The aim of this study is to search for traces of Greek civilization in the Iberian Peninsula starting from the 8th century B.C. when the Greeks were found in ancient Iberia for commercial reasons. Our research then led us to Catalonia, a region of Spain that bases its diversity on its Greek roots. One question we must answer is whether the historical past linking Catalonia and Greece has contributed to the formation of its national identity. Finally, the aim is to look at the dissemination of the Greek element in Spain today, focusing on the dynamics of the learning of the Greek language in Spain, mainly in the field of higher education, since language is an important element of a country’s culture. In this context, an analysis is presented based both on bibliographical research on the evolution of the Greek element in the Iberian Peninsula and primary research on the Greek element, especially in the region of Catalonia. The present study aims to capture the traces of Greek culture in Spain and the ties that unite the two countries from antiquity to the present day in order to lead to new initiatives in the future for the further strengthening of relations between the two peoples.

Abstract This article presents a mixed method analysis of the language attitudes held by secondary education students of Romanian origin, which are members of the second largest immigrant population living currently in Catalonia. The relevance of this data is based on the cardinal role played by attitudes in the success of any educational or linguistic policy (Lewis, E. Glyn. 1981. Bilingualism and bilingual education. Oxford, UK: Pergamon.) – a topic of special relevance in contexts with considerable migratory influxes, such as Catalonia, which aims to achieve social cohesiveness in a framework of interculturalism and multilingualism. The various initiatives implemented for this purpose include the heritage language maintenance programs, such as the “Romanian Language, Culture, and Civilization” (RLCC) program. The results showed that the young Romanians had the most favourable attitudes towards Spanish, followed closely by Romanian, and lastly Catalan, which was the least valued language. Furthermore, these attitudinal patterns were not determined by RLCC attendance. The insights provided by the in-depth interviews indicated various components and meanings associated with the attitudes towards the three languages. Namely, attitudes towards Spanish were primed by its international status and ease of learning, while attitudes towards Catalan were build on its integrative value and social status. Although esteemed for its emotional and symbolic bonds, Romanian seemed to be on a path towards invisibilization. Finally, the educational and social implications of these findings are discussed, emphasising the importance of involving and working with both the autochthonous and the Romanian immigrant population.

The article explores potential, resources and strategy of Spain in the United Nations from the moment when the resolution of the socalled Spanish question was adopted and Spain joined this influential intergovernmental international organization in 1955 to the present date. The author focuses on key problems which directly deal with national interests of Spain, including: a dispute with the United Kingdom about the ownership of Gibraltar, perennial problem of the Western (Spanish) Sahara conflict management, the initiative and the UN programme Alliance of Civilizations, co-sponsored by Spain, Kosovo issue and the danger of internationalization of the political and institutional conflict in Catalonia, efforts by the Spanish central government to achieve sustainable development goals. By analyzing foreign policy resources of Spain, initiatives and activities of the country in the United Nations and its various specialized agencies over the years using the UN information materials, the author suggests that successful democratic transition and the country’s accession to the European Economic Community in 1986 strengthened the profile of Spain in the United Nations. However, the political and institutional transformations in the European Union, creation of political union of the Member-States and establishment and development of the EU Common Foreign and Security Policy mean that Spain may carry out its foreign policy in a ‘truncated’ form, taking into account the EU position as a special strategic partner of the UN and its expanded Observer status. The economic and foreign policy potential of this country weakening its competitive advantages under the influence of negative consequences of the global financial and economic crisis do not raise an issue about permanent membership of Spain in the UN Security Council. However, the ‘soft power’ resources based on its postimperial identity allow for a fairly high appreciation of possibilities of Spain with regard to monitoring, prevention and management of conflicts and crisis situations in developing countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America, providing international assistance for development and facilitating intercultural dialogue of the Western and non-Western civilazations.

The article explores potential, resources and strategy of Spain in the United Nations from the moment when the resolution of the socalled Spanish question was adopted and Spain joined this influential intergovernmental international organization in 1955 to the present date. The author focuses on key problems which directly deal with national interests of Spain, including: a dispute with the United Kingdom about the ownership of Gibraltar, perennial problem of the Western (Spanish) Sahara conflict management, the initiative and the UN programme Alliance of Civilizations, co-sponsored by Spain, Kosovo issue and the danger of internationalization of the political and institutional conflict in Catalonia, efforts by the Spanish central government to achieve sustainable development goals. By analyzing foreign policy resources of Spain, initiatives and activities of the country in the United Nations and its various specialized agencies over the years using the UN information materials, the author suggests that successful democratic transition and the country’s accession to the European Economic Community in 1986 strengthened the profile of Spain in the United Nations. However, the political and institutional transformations in the European Union, creation of political union of the Member-States and establishment and development of the EU Common Foreign and Security Policy mean that Spain may carry out its foreign policy in a ‘truncated’ form, taking into account the EU position as a special strategic partner of the UN and its expanded Observer status. The economic and foreign policy potential of this country weakening its competitive advantages under the influence of negative consequences of the global financial and economic crisis do not raise an issue about permanent membership of Spain in the UN Security Council. However, the ‘soft power’ resources based on its postimperial identity allow for a fairly high appreciation of possibilities of Spain with regard to monitoring, prevention and management of conflicts and crisis situations in developing countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America, providing international assistance for development and facilitating intercultural dialogue of the Western and non-Western civilazations.

The article explores potential, resources and strategy of Spain in the United Nations from the moment when the resolution of the socalled Spanish question was adopted and Spain joined this influential intergovernmental international organization in 1955 to the present date. The author focuses on key problems which directly deal with national interests of Spain, including: a dispute with the United Kingdom about the ownership of Gibraltar, perennial problem of the Western (Spanish) Sahara conflict management, the initiative and the UN programme Alliance of Civilizations, co-sponsored by Spain, Kosovo issue and the danger of internationalization of the political and institutional conflict in Catalonia, efforts by the Spanish central government to achieve sustainable development goals. By analyzing foreign policy resources of Spain, initiatives and activities of the country in the United Nations and its various specialized agencies over the years using the UN information materials, the author suggests that successful democratic transition and the country’s accession to the European Economic Community in 1986 strengthened the profile of Spain in the United Nations. However, the political and institutional transformations in the European Union, creation of political union of the Member-States and establishment and development of the EU Common Foreign and Security Policy mean that Spain may carry out its foreign policy in a ‘truncated’ form, taking into account the EU position as a special strategic partner of the UN and its expanded Observer status. The economic and foreign policy potential of this country weakening its competitive advantages under the influence of negative consequences of the global financial and economic crisis do not raise an issue about permanent membership of Spain in the UN Security Council. However, the ‘soft power’ resources based on its postimperial identity allow for a fairly high appreciation of possibilities of Spain with regard to monitoring, prevention and management of conflicts and crisis situations in developing countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America, providing international assistance for development and facilitating intercultural dialogue of the Western and non-Western civilazations.

Considerant la constatada importància de mantenir els trets culturals i lingüístics d’origen de cara a una millor integració social, aquesta recerca ha tingut com a objectiu analitzar els processos d’autoidentificació de 131 joves estudiants romanesos a Catalunya, considerant si assisteixen o no al Programa de Llengua, Cultura i Civilització Romanesa. Com a tendència general, els resultats mostren que els participants s’identifiquen amb el grup romanès, català i espanyol, si bé d’una manera asimètrica. De totes les variables analitzades, les més influents en les autoidentificacions són les actituds lingüístiques, l'ús de les llengües i la intensitat de la identificació dels pares. A més a més, les autoidentificacions tenen un paper diferent a l’hora d’explicar les condicions d’adaptació a Catalunya. Per últim, també es troben clares diferències en funció de l’assistència o no al Programa de Llengua, Cultura i Civilització Romanesa. Els i les joves que hi han assistit tendeixen a manifestar més obertura cap al multiculturalisme i, tot i mantenint la identificació amb el grup romanès, la seva identificació amb el grup català sembla tenir un paper més central en el procés d'integració i adaptació. Les seves implicacions de cara a la construcció d’una societat cohesionada són discutides.
Teniendo en cuenta la constatada importancia de mantener los rasgos culturales y lingüísticos de origen de cara a una satisfactoria integración social, los objetivos de esta investigación han sido analizar los procesos de autoidentificación de 131 jóvenes rumanos escolarizados en Cataluña, considerando su asistencia o no al Programa de Lengua Cultura y Civilización Rumana. Como tendencia general, los resultados muestran que los participantes se autoidentifican con el grupo rumano, catalán y español, si bien de manera asimétrica. De todas las variables investigadas, las más influyentes sobre las autoidentificaciones son las actitudes lingüísticas, el uso de las lenguas y la intensidad de la identificación de los padres. Además, cada autoidentificación posee un diferente papel a la hora de explicar las condiciones de adaptación en Cataluña. Por último, también se encuentran claras diferencias en función de la asistencia o no al Programa de Lengua, Cultura y Civilización Rumana. Los y las jóvenes que han asistido tienden a manifestar una mayor apertura hacia el multiculturalismo y, aun manteniendo la identificación con el grupo rumano, su identificación con el grupo catalán parece tener un papel más central en el proceso de integración y adaptación. Las implicaciones de cara a la construcción de una sociedad cohesionada son discutidas.
Given the proven importance of maintaining the heritage cultural and linguistic traits for a satisfactory social integration, this investigation aimed to analyse self-identification related processes of 131 young Romanian students in Catalonia, also exploring the role of attendance at optional Romanian Language, Culture and Civilization courses. Overall, the results indicated that participants identify with all three groups – Romanian, Catalan, and Spanish, although asymmetrically. The three self-identifications were differently influenced by the variables investigated, the most influential factors being language attitudes, language use, and parental strength of identification. Further, each self-identification played a distinct role in explaining the variables associated with adapting in Catalonia. Additionally, finds varied by attendance at Romanian Language, Culture and Civilization courses. Students who attended these clases appeared to manifest greater openness towards multiculturalism and, while they maintained the Romanian identification, their Catalan self-identification seemed to have a more central role in the process of integration and adaptation. The implications for the construction of a cohesive society are discussed.

L'objectiu de la present Tesi Doctoral és analitzar els usos i actituds lingüístiques dels estudiants romanesos d’Educació Secundària a Catalunya, en funció de la seva assistència o no al programa Llengua, Cultura i Civilització Romanesa. Metodològicament, es combinen tècniques d’investigació social qualitativa i quantitativa per tal d’obtenir uns resultats complementaris que ofereixin una més complerta aproximació a l’objecte d’estudi. Globalment, des d'un punt de vista quantitatiu es va identificar que les actituds cap al castellà i el romanès són força equilibrades, seguit pel català amb les actituds menys positives. Pel que fa a l'ús lingüístic, el castellà és la llengua més utilitzada generalment, però en contextos rurals, és la llengua catalana que predomina, mentre que el romanès queda relegat a l'àmbit privat i en perill de ser substituït per castellà o català. No obstant això, a nivell qualitatiu es detecta el vincle afectiu amb la seva llengua materna, fent un ús elevat dins del seu cercle familiar i mostrant unes actituds lingüístiques positives. El castellà adquireix un valor social i internacional obtenint les actituds més positives i l'ús més elevat. Finalment, el català obté també un valor social i alhora acadèmic i de progrés, emfatitzant la repercussió que té el seu ús en la integració social en aquest context. Finalment es discuteixen les implicacions teòriques i contextuals d’aquests resultats.
El objetivo de la presente Tesis Doctoral es analizar los usos y actitudes lingüísticas de los estudiantes rumanos de Educación Secundaria en Cataluña, en función de su asistencia o no al programa Lengua, Cultura y Civilización Rumana. Metodológicamente, se combinan técnicas de investigación social cualitativa y cuantitativa para obtener unos resultados complementarios que ofrezcan una más completa aproximación al objeto de estudio. Globalmente, desde un punto de vista cuantitativo se identificó que las actitudes hacia el castellano y el rumano son bastante equilibradas, seguido por el catalán con las actitudes menos positivas. En cuanto a los usos lingüísticos, el castellano es la lengua más utilizada generalmente, pero en contextos rurales es la lengua catalana la que predomina, mientras que el rumano queda relegado al ámbito privado y en peligro de ser sustituido por castellano o catalán. Sin embargo, a nivel cualitativo se detecta el vínculo afectivo con su lengua materna, haciendo un uso elevado dentro de su círculo familiar y mostrando unas actitudes lingüísticas positivas. El castellano tiene un valor social e internacional obteniendo las actitudes más positivas y el uso más elevado. Finalmente, el catalán obtiene también un valor social ya la vez académico y de progreso, enfatizando la repercusión que tiene su uso en la integración social en este contexto. Finalmente se discuten las implicaciones teóricas y contextuales de estos resultados.
The main objective in this doctoral thesis is based on the analysis of the use of language and language attitudes of 131 young Romanians who attended the Romanian Language, Culture and Civilization program in Catalonia. The research uses a mixed method to analyse the main variables that influence the use of language and attitudes. Through the four articles presented, it is contemplated how the identity variables, the length of stay in the host country and language competences affect in those uses and attitudes. Based on a global vision of the results, it was quantitatively identified that attitudes towards Spanish and Romanian are fairly balanced, followed by Catalan with less positive attitudes. Regarding language use, Spanish is the language most often used, but in rural contexts, Catalan is the predominant language, whereas the Romanian is relegated to the private sphere and in danger of being replaced by Spanish and Catalan. However, at a qualitative sphere we recognize the emotional bond with their mother tongue, making high use within their family context and demonstrating positive language attitudes. Spanish acquires a social and international value obtaining the most positive attitudes and the highest use. Catalan also obtains social and academic and progress value, emphasizing the impact of its use on social integration in this context. Finally, the theoretical and contextual implications of these results are discussed.