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This study uses parish records to examine the religious practice and belief in early modern Spain and the success of the Catholic Church's attempt to alter those beliefs during the Catholic Reformation. It also describes the local religion that Spanish colonists brought to Latin America. ... Read more

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Examines how recent Mexican and Spanish films act as untroubling distractions from everyday routine. ... Read more

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Creating Spaniards is a cultural and intellectual history that explains the intersection of politics and culture, and the formation of a national identity, during Spain's Second Republic and Civil War. It counters recent scholarship claiming that leaders of the Second Republic had no programs for "inventing traditions" to encourage a Spanish national identity.

Focusing on the Second Republic, 1931-1936, Sandie Holguín illustrates how various intellectuals and politicians of the Republican-Socialist coalition used theater, literature, and film to aid the construction of a unified Spanish culture and history. She uses memoirs, journals, newspapers, parliamentary debates, and archival sources in her examination of the impact that cultural reforms had on the transformation of one of Europe's oldest states. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

If you like 20th century Spain....
...you will like this book. Otherwise, be wary. I had to read it for my Western Civilization class, it wasn't the worst book my teacher could have picked. I did like how it discussed the Misiones Pedagogicas and their libraries and traveling theaters. What really hurt me is the constant use of spanish words. They would only be defined in english once, and there were so many that I couldn't remember them all. There is also a lot of information about the Spainsh Civil War. I liked how the war was put in context of the culture they were trying to create. So, if you like Spain and esp. if you know Spanish, this will be a great book. ... Read more

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Eighteenth-century Spanish women were not idle bystanders during one of Europe's most dynamic eras. As Theresa Ann Smith skillfully demonstrates in this lively and absorbing book, Spanish intellectuals, calling for Spain to modernize its political, social, and economic institutions, brought the question of women's place to the forefront, as did women themselves. In explaining how both discourse and women's actions worked together to define women's roles in the nation, The Emerging Female Citizen not only illustrates the rising visibility of women, but also reveals the complex processes that led to women's relatively swift exit from most public institutions in the early 1800s.
As artists, writers, and reformers, Spanish women took up pens, joined academies and economic societies, formed tertulias--similar to French salons--and became active in the burgeoning public discourse of Enlightenment. In analyzing the meaning of women's presence in diverse centers of Enlightenment, Smith offers a new interpretation of the dynamics among political discourse, social action, and gender ideologies. ... Read more

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This study discusses how a society whose intellectual framework was founded on stasis and regression accommodated innovation. The Spanish church in the 11th century faced this problem when required to abandon the Mozarabic liturgy in favour of Roman texts. This text examines liturgical manuscripts contemporary with this change, and reveals how the new liturgy was introduced and received. The main subjects of this investigation are a group of liturgical manuscripts from the Silos corpus held in the British Library, and three missals from Spanish libraries, including the notable Missal of San Facundo. By analyzing the content, presentation and style of these manuscripts, the author of this study presents a survey of the textual and visual strategies employed in implementing liturgical change. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (5)

MOE'S REVIEW
So far the book is good.Even though it's short plays, I can picture them on stage doing their thang.I've seen some of their work on tv and it brings back alot of memories.

Culture Clash's most memorable work to date.
(Hee, hee, hee.) Psss...t! (Hee, hee, hee.) Wanna hear somethin' funny? Culture Clash. The book presents their most memorable work to date, although the point can be easily argued (e.g., at the Japan AmericaTheatre, their wickedly hilarious, cathartic "S.O.S." followingthe mop-up of the L.A. Riots/Rebellion/African-Korean Turf Wars). "TheMission" (1988), "A Bowl of Beings" (1991), and "RadioMambo: Culture Clash Invades Miami" (1994) are the published plays.Japanese-American playwright Philip Kan Gotanda introduces the Chicanocomedy troupe--Herbert Siguenza, Ric Salinas, Richard Montoya--in a 9-pg.transcribed interview, covering the education and work experience of eachmember, group evolution, collective creation, and comedy group alliances. A4-pg. glossary of bicultural terms/refs. can be found in front. Each playis prefaced by a different member of the group. BW production photos givethe reader the illusion of watching the show in between scriptconsultations.

I haven't seen "The Mission" yet, but I'vecaught other shows and benefits they've done, enough so that I could hearC.C. talking in my head as I read through the script. Weird. LaloGuerrero's song "No Chicanos on TV" pretty much summarizes whatthis play is about and how desperate out-of-work actors can get, in thiscase kidnapping Julio Iglesias for their 15 minutes of fame. There's alsosome irreverent stuff (I didn't say irrelevant) about Father JuniperoSerra.

"A Bowl of Beings" premiered at the Los Angeles TheatreCenter in July 1991; it was the first time I saw them. I watched"Bowl" on PBS the following March and saw it yet again thatOctober at Univ. of Calif., San Diego. My favorite part of the show is"Chicano on the Storm," where Richard is stuck in a straitjacketvomiting his multicultural nightmare.

"Radio Mambo," createdfrom videotaped interviews with Miami residents, made me fall back in lovewith C.C. Their tremendous talents as performers were spotlighted as theyhad to go beyond the parameters of their usual stock characters. I caught"Mambo" at South Coast Rep's Second Stage in July 1996. Theintimate setting worked for the play. It's a show whose power is in theclose up--of the performer and the performed.

hahaha
Culture clash is a collection of 3 plays that analyzes the complexites of race relations in America.Humor is the guise which coats the deeper issues that is brought up by the trio.This book can be enjoyed innumerous levels.

If you like Culture Clash this libro is for you!
This books provides a written guide to the hilarious stage antics and dead serious social commentary of this comedy trio.Richard, Rick and Herbert have that strange ability to make you laugh out loud then make look overyour shoulder wondering whether you should.Those fortunate enough to haveexperienced Culture Clash will recognize where the improv begins and ends. This book gave me the opportunity to revist the many places these guys tookme, at my own paso.

A collection of their first three plays
"Culture Clash: Life, Death..." is not really a novel or biography of the comedy/performance group, but a collection of their first three plays "The Mission," "Bowl of Beings" and"Radio Mambo." The book also includes a relatively shortinterview with the group where they discuss their origins and anintroduction to the three plays each done by one of the members. Thatsaid, the actual plays are great. They are original, political, thoughtprovoking, hilarious. "The Mission" is about a Chicano comedygroups kidnapping of the greatest Latino entertainer Julio Iglesias."Bowl Of Beings" is a collection of sketch pieces which includes"Stand and Deliver Pizza" and "The Return of CheGuevara." "Radio Mambo," is a series of sketches done ininterview form (mostly) commisioned by the City of Miami. It thoughtfullyexamines the social complexities of the Black, Jewish, Cuban, Haitian andWhite communities of Miami The best part of Culture Clash is theirability to blend the Chicano political conciousness with humor and makingit accesible to all without "selling out."If you haven'tseen them live, think about doing so. The three plays are great, but maynot be as entertaining if you haven't seen their manic performance style. ... Read more

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Spain’s colonial rule rested on a judicial system that resolved conflicts and meted out justice. But just how was this legal order imposed throughout the New World? Cutter draws on over 600 civil and criminal cases to re-create the procedural and ethical workings of the law in two of Spain’s remote colonies—New Mexico and Texas in the eighteenth century. By examining colonial legal culture, Cutter reveals the attitudes of settlers, their notions of right and wrong, and how they fixed a boundary between proper and improper actions.

Cutter challenges the traditional view that the legal system was inherently corrupt and irrelevant to the mass of society, and that local judicial officials were uninformed and inept. Instead he found that even in peripheral areas the lowest-level officials—the alcalde or town magistrate—had a greater impact on daily life and a keener understanding of the law than previously acknowledged by historians.

“A superlative work.”—Marc Simmons

“Every student of Spanish colonial administration should read this work.”—Mark A. Burkholder

“Cutter’s study provides a comprehensive view of the system, one with insights for American historians interested in comparative systems of justice.”—David J. Weber

“This work is a splendid achievement. Reader’s will be richly rewarded by paying close attention to Cutter’s well-written study.”—Joseph W. McKnight ... Read more

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Superb overview.
Charles Cutter, professor at Purdue University and all-around nice guy, has written a superb overview of an often overlooked aspect of Spanish frontier history.Son of legendary Borderlands historian Donald Cutter,Charles proves himself a premier historian of the period in his own right.

Superb overview.
Charles Cutter, professor at Purdue University and all-around nice guy, has written a superb overview of an often overlooked aspect of Spanish frontier history.Son of legendary Borderlands historian Donald Cutter,Charles proves himself a premier historian of the period in his own right. ... Read more

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Essays in this volume explore the popular cultural effects of rock culture on high literary production in Spain in the 1990s. ... Read more

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The years 1936-1945 in Spain saw catastrophic civil war followed by fierce repression and economic misery. Families were torn apart and social relations were disrupted by death, exile and defeat. This study attempts to show how the Civil War was understood and absorbed, particularly by those who could claim themselves as "the victors," during and in the immediate aftermath of the conflict, taking as its main focus the repression and violence of the period, and the role of Catholic and Fascist ideology. ... Read more

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A must for the student of Franco Spain.
Richards is a British academic of the highest order and this is an amazing work. This is a work biased against the Franco regime; however, it is pivital in helping understand the extraordinatry lengths that Nationalist Spain went to wrangle control of Spanish popular culture in the Civil War through the end of the Second World War.

My only question is why on earth is this paperback edition so over-priced?It's a shame because it lessens the ability of the casual reader (although this is certainly more of an academic work) to take an interest in this subject.

A brilliant portrait of fascist evil
A reader may be a bit disconcerted on first reading this book.There is much talk about "discourses" and "symbolism" and "ideology" and one might conclude that we are about to read abook of cultural studies on Francoist Spain.It is not so much thatcultural studies are bad as that before we talk about perceptions of anevent it might be a better idea to have a clear idea of what actuallyhappened.As it happens such fears are groundless.What we have here is abrilliant portrait of the cruelty of Franco's regime.It is amazingly welldocumnted, with 95 pages of notes to 174 of text.

Richards argues thatthe ideology of the New State had two basic components.On the one handthe state had to purge Spain of the half of it who were secular, liberal,socialist, or regionalist.In a sense Franco's Spain would have to wage apermanent civil war against half of its own population.The other prong ofthe ideology was that Spain would follow a firm and ruthless policy ofself-sufficiency.It has long been a cliche of much conservative andcentrist discourse that notwithstanding the aid Franco got from the Axis,he should not be viewed as a fascist, but more as a classically"authoritarian" ruler, and therefore setting the stage for theproperly pro-Western democracy that was to follow.Franco's goal werefundamentally traditional, as opposed to the radical ideology of theworld's totalitarian regimes.Indeed, one could say the Nationalists werepreferable to the Loyalists, who were now little more than Communistpuppets.Such a thesis will soon appear next year when a book on thatsubject will be published by professional anti-communist Ronald Radosh. After reading this book, such complacent views will be placed firmly on thedefensive.

For Richards starts with a chapter on the Francoisteliminiation of dissent.On the Loyalist side much of the violence wasspontaneous in the aftermath of the breakdown of establish order in thewake of the coup.Juan Negrin, so often and so falsely dismissed as aCommunist puppet, actually went of his way to patrol with militias in orderto prevent political assasinations.On the nationalist side, by contrast,there was constant talk of extermination, liquidation, of an utterlyuncompromising crusade from politicians who were proud of and not ashamedof the Spanish Inquisition.The Nazi press praised the Nationalists fortheir vigor:"The Marxist parties are being destroyed andexterminated down the very last cell far more dramatically even than herein Germany."Perhaps 6,000 were summarily executed in Seville alonebefore February 1937.(Richards adds "This was not violence which was`necessary' in any military sense:there was no organized armed resistanceto speak of." )In Granada perhaps 8,000 were killed, and perhaps4,000 were killed in the first week at Malaga.A thousand were killed inthe conquest of San Sebastian in the Basque Country, and another thousandat Bilbao.There were fourteen concentration camps in the area of Valenciaalone, while Mussolini's son in law, Count Ciano, believed that there were200 executions daily in conquered Madrid in the summer of 1939.

Thiscruelty was encouraged by an ideology that had a misogynist contempt forindependent woman, and had a morbid support for "chastity" and"purity."But should also read Richard's chapters on autarky. Much of Franco's support came from smallholders, and Franco spoke offreeing Spain from the noxious influence of the cities.But in fact thepeasants would be rendered powerless by Franco.Wheat production was lowerin 1949 than at the end of the war, and what wheat did exist was guaranteedat high prices for rich producers, and subjected to speculation and theBlack Market.Consumption of wheat fell by more than a quarter in thefirst decade of Falangist rule, as officials refused to upset theirautarkic dreams by importing wheat to a country that could not feed itself. Indeed scarce food was shipped to Germany and Italy.While overcrowdingand poverty increased, profits boomed and industrialists strengthened theirprivileges.All in all the first two decades to the New State were a totalloss.A 1991 article by Giovanni Arrighi in the New Left Reviewdemonstrates this.In the thirties Spain per capita wealth was about 40%of the European core.By 1959, Spain's wealth was less than 20%.Onlyafter the economic boom did it rise again to pre civil war levels.Inother words, a total waste. ... Read more

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Contributors: Samuel G. Armistead, Roger Boase, Charles Burnett, Alan Deyermond, John Edwards, Brenda Fish, T.J. Gorton, Richard Hitchcock,David Hook, Francisco Marcos Marín, Ralph Penny, Barry Taylor, Roger M. Walker, Milija Pavlovic ... Read more

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In the rapidly transforming world of thirteenth-century Mediterranean Spain, the all-purpose scribe and contract lawyer known as the notary became a familiar figure. Most legal transactions of the Roman Law Renaissance were framed in this functionary's notoriously hasty shorthand. Notarial archives, then, offer a remarkable window on the daily life of this pluri-ethnic society. Robert I. Burns brings together the testimony of a multitude of documents, and transcribes in full nearly fifty will-related charters prepared by notaries, to give a never-before-seen view of Jewish society in that place and time.Wills can display the religious conscience, ethical institutions, social mobility, and property dynamics of whole groups or regions. Even a single testament allows a glimpse into the testator's family and into the life and times of the living person. Burns devotes special attention to women in wills and to women's wills, extracting rich information on medieval women and gender relationships.While learning much about the role of kings and courts and the dynamics of Christian-Jewish relations, the reader also gains rare insights into a unique Jewish community. ... Read more

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This is the only comparative study of its kind, investigating how women construct their roles within the public sphere and highlighting the ways in which traditional versus modern values impact on female identity in France and Spain. Which female figures are proposed for our admiration? Who proposes them and what values do they represent? This study embarks on an analysis of such cultural icons, going on to address contemporary roles and issues concerning women in the two countries. Finally, Twomey shows how these two strands of discussion inform and interact with each other. The 20th Century - the Century of Women - is celebrated for advancing the cause of women's rights and the contributing authors look to the future and to opportunities presented by the new century. This book, with its emphasis on current trends, has academic application both as an undergraduate textbook and for supplementary research. ... Read more

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Roger Collins deals here with the history of Spain, specifically Christian Spain, in the period from the 6th- to the 10th century - from the Visigoths through the time of the Arab conquest and expansion, up to the era of Carolingian dominance across the Pyrenees. Particular emphasis, indeed, is placed upon the importance of this Pyrenean region, in the lands now known as France as well as those in Spain, with the author for instance calling into question the received notion of an Aquitanian identity in the 5th-9th centuries. Of the themes running through this volume, that of regionalism is evident here and in the articles on the Basques, but appears equally for instance, in the study on the relations between Merida and the Visigothic government. Similarly, legal and cultural themes provide the focus for the articles on the workings of Visigothic law in the 9th-10th centuries, or on the intellectual culture of Navarre, but recur in other parts of the collection. Two of these articles appear for the first time in English, while a third has been re-written for this volume and other supplied with additional notes and illustrations. ... Read more

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It is customary to regard gender roles and representation in nineteenth-century Spain as polarized and predictable. But in this wide-ranging discussion of women's writing and representations of gender, leading scholars from the US and UK not only examine the patriarchal emphasis of Spanish culture, but also demonstrate that this was a period in which relations between men and women were being constantly negotiated, challenged, and redefined as part of an ongoing transformation of political and national identities. The book ranges from the Romantic period to the fin de siecle and all quotations in Spanish are translated. ... Read more

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This book is the first published English-language translation of the significant History of Islamic Spain by Ibn al-Qutiya (d. Cordova 367 / 977). Including extensive notes and comments, a genealogical table and relevant maps, the text is preceded by a study of the author and his work, and is the only serious examination of the unique manuscript since Pascual de Gayangos’ edition in 1868.

Ibn al-Qutiya’s work is one of the significant and earliest histories of Muslim Spain and an important source for scholars. Although like most Muslims of al-Andalus in this period, Ibn al-Qutiya was of European origin, he was a loyal servant of the Iberian Umayyads, and taught Arabic, traditions (hadith) and history in the Great Mosque of Cordova. Written at the height of the Umayyad Caliphate of Muslim Spain and Portugal (al-Andalus), the History describes the first 250 years of Muslim rule in the peninsula. The text, first fully translated into Spanish in 1926, deals with all aspects of life, and includes accounts of Christians, Jews and Muslim converts.

This book will be of great interest to scholars and students of the history of Spain and Portugal, Islamic history, and Mediaeval European history.

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Covering all regions of Spain, from Bilbao's Guggenheim Museum to Granada's Islamic palace of La Alhambra, and all periods of Spanish architecture, from the Roman aqueduct at Segovia to the modernistic German Pavilion in Barcelona, this volume examines 68 of Spain's most important architectural landmarks. Writing in a clear and engaging style, Alejandro Lapunzina, associate professor of architecture at the University of Illinois, describes the features, functions, and historical importance of each structure. Besides identifying location, style, architects, and periods of initial construction and major renovation, the cross-referenced and illustrated entries also highlight architectural and historical terms explained in the Glossary and conclude with a useful listing of further readings. The volume also offers ready reference lists of entries by location and architectural time period, as well as a general bibliography, a subject index, and a detailed introductory overview of Spanish architecture.

Customer Reviews (1)

Recommended for either students of art, Spanish history, or would-be travelers
Joining others in the 'Reference Guides to National Architecture' series is an important survey of Spanish architectural heritage, ARCHITECTURE OF SPAIN. It covers all regions of Spain, examines almost seventy of the country's key landmarks, and includes history as well as appraisal of style, architectures, renovation efforts, and cultural insights. Recommended for either students of art, Spanish history, or would-be travelers to Spain holding a special interest in architectural heritage.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch ... Read more

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This book is for travelers with a taste for history and an interest in how things they see got to be the way they are. What it is about is an exploration of what long tradition calls the Highway to Heaven, El Camino de Santiago - a motor-walking junket guided by that highway across Northern Spain.

The history in this book focuses on the famed pilgrimage road, El Camino de Santiago, the Way of St. James. It is an ancient route that courses through rugged mountains and across often-desolate plains for eight hundred kilometers, from the French border to a few steps from land?s end at the Atlantic Ocean. A thousand years ago that pilgrimage brought all of Europe plodding across Northern Spain in search of salvation at the tomb of an Apostle of Christ.
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The El Camino Experience

A Traveler's Highway to Heaven, by William Bonville

For years, there has been a single book illuminating the art, architecture, history and culture along the Camino Frances. The Pilgrimage Road to Santiago: The Complete Cultural Handbook by David Gitlitz & Linda Kay Davidson stood for years as the sole beacon but now we can add a second. Meet William Bonville and his latest work, A Traveler's Highway to Heaven: Exploring the History and Culture of Northern Spain on El Camino de Santiago.

William's work is a shot in the arm for the Camimophiles everywhere. He brings us an interpretive monologue of the art, architecture, history and culture along the Way of Saint James.... a thinking man's impressions of the scene that lies before you. It also includes a number of landmarks just a few kilometers off the main Path. At 400 pages, it's not exactly light, but the type is large enough to read inside a dimly lit church.

Two things which made (my first Camino) a richer Road experience were the (Gilitz and Davidson) cultural guidebook and my conversations with the locals. This book is in that same league, and yes I would carry it in spite of its weight.

~Grant Spangler

This book has considerable value for those who want to connect history, art, architecture and religion to their experience on the Camino de Santiago. It is intended as a detailed three week guide to driving and walking the Camino de Santiago route from Roncesvalles to Santiago de Compostela. Specific driving directions, including road numbers and significant features, should help the driver to navigate; and walking directions within cities are detailed to give a richly researched highlight tour of important religious and historical sites. Day by day itinerary suggestions attempt to maximize the rich historical, cultural and religious offerings the Camino provides, with a two week modification available. The glossary at the back and references for further reading throughout, make this a wonderful starting point to appreciate the Camino experience.

It is a resource pilgrims will want to read before the pilgrimage in order to better understand the richness of the historical and cultural landscape they will be passing through. Pilgrims who have returned may want to refresh their memory of their Camino by reading about and remembering what they have seen... Reading the book strengthened my resolve to walk the Camino again, but more slowly the next time.

~ Tom Friesen, Canadian Company of Pilgrims,Spring 2008

A narrative motor/walking guide to the cultural record and history encountered between Roncesvalles and Santiago de Compostela. It also involves side trips into Asturias, plus other less distant diversions from the French Road. The author says he wrote the book for those who, for reasons of time, age, disability or children tagging along, are unable to cope with an 800 kilometer hike, but still yearn for the El Camino experience.

~ American Pilgrims on the Camino
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