Catalunya, One Nation, Two States : An Ethnographic Study of Nonviolent Resistance to Assimilation

This book deals with the culture of Catalan resistance to assimilation, through the maintenance of the Catalan language as an expression of identity. This book argues that the Catalans also developed a series of cultural mechanisms to foster identity through intellectual and recreational pursuits, as well as through an emphasis on language. Few Historians And Fewer Lay People Know That The First Feudal Constitution To Recognize Equality Between The Burghers And Nobles Was Established In 1150 In Catalunya, Sixty-five Years Before The Signing Of The Magna Carta In England. In The Fifteenth Century The Corts Of Barcelona (a Legislative Body) Established The Principle Of A 'limited' Monarchy Obliged To Govern According To Laws, While Guarding A Degree Of Royal Power. These Facts Lie At The Foundation Of A Culture Of Nonviolent Resistance To Assimilation That Has Been Used To Combat State Power In France And Spain Ever Since. The How And Why Of This Book -- Framing The Study -- The People Of Cerbere Speak -- The People Of Portbou Speak -- A New Direction -- The State Of Culture In Roussillon -- Northern Catalans Speak -- Language And Identity On The Horns Of A Dilemma. Alexander Alland, Jr. With Sonia Alland. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [197]-201) And Index. Front Matter....Pages i-ix Introduction....Pages 1-5 The How and Why of This Book....Pages 7-35 Framing the Study: The Origin and Meaning of Nationalism....Pages 37-64 The People of Cerbère Speak....Pages 65-92 The People of Portbou Speak....Pages 93-114 A New Direction....Pages 115-132 The State of Catalan in Rosselló (Roussillon)....Pages 133-148 Northern Catalans Speak....Pages 149-173 Language and Identity on the Horns of a Dilemma....Pages 175-189 Back Matter....Pages 191-209 Deals with the culture of Catalan resistance to assimilation. This book shows how the major feature of this resistance is based on the maintenance of the Catalan language which has always been the Catalan's expression of identity rather than distinctions between 'pure' Catalans and immigrants