Going to Barcelona or just want to know more about the
region?
Catalan
Language and Culture (HISP – C105/C491/C494)
Prof. Edgar Illas
Email: eillas@indiana.edu
Office:
Ballantine Hall 875; Phone: 855-8907
Globalization has evidently unified
economies, torn down political barriers, turned local spaces into tourist
attractions, and made English and other major languages the most efficient
communication tools. In this context, Barcelona has become since the Olympic
Games of 1992 a successful global city that offers a balanced combination of
European economic prosperity and Mediterranean lifestyle. Barcelona is one of
the world’s most fashionable cities, with cultural centers and sunny beaches, a
rich architectural heritage and a cool nightlife.
But at the heart of this success
there seems to be an enigmatic element that, given the main tendencies of
globalization, one might not know how to explain: the presence of Catalan
language. In the last decades, Catalan, spoken by approximately 10 million people,
has not only maintained its high cultural prestige but it has also increased
its public presence and remained a key political tool in Catalonia.
This introductory course to Catalan
language and culture has three main goals. First, it aims to provide a basic
knowledge of the Catalan language. The course will be an intensive study of the
language, geared primarily at reading knowledge, but not limited to it.
Secondly, the course will also consist of a cultural overview of Catalunya and
the Catalan linguistic area (País Valencià, Illes Balears, Andorra,
Rosselló-Catalunya Nord, and the city of l’Alguer). We will focus on the
cultural history of this nation in its always conflictive relations to the
Spanish and French states. Finally, the case of Catalonia and its both unique
and exemplary characteristics will be a perfect occasion to undertake more
general reflections on the intricate relations between language, culture, the
modern state, and globalization.
This class may count as an elective
for the Major in Spanish (for the three tracks--Literature, Linguistics, and
Hispanic Studies). The continuation of this course (C450 or C494) may also
count as an elective for the three tracks of the Major.
Knowledge of another Romance
language is not required.
