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Sociocultural and Historical Perspectives on Diversity in Spain
117-132Views:20The image of Spain in the 21st century is defined by the coexistence of the descendants of different peoples who have arrived in the region over the past centuries and decades. Since prehistoric times, the history of the Iberian Peninsula has been marked by interactions between the groups that settled there; sometimes these relationships have involved a certain type of subordination and domination (for example, conqueror versus conquered), and at other times they have been characterised by the peaceful or conflictual coexistence of different societies. Thus, immigration, coexistence and assimilation have always been fundamental to the social and cultural life of Spain. To this day, cultural historians and philosophers have not been able to agree on whether the diversity of society has been an advantage or a disadvantage for the development of Spain. In this article, I will examine the approaches to this social and cultural diversity in different historical periods and the basic arguments used by scholars and scientists to support their beliefs. In analysing the issue, we look at prominent works and authors in Spanish cultural history, searching for and comparing possible arguments. We try to answer the question to what extent the search for homogeneity or diversity has been part of the Spanish self-definition in a given historical period.
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The Recommendation of Ethnic Diversity in Late Habsburgian State and some Parallels in the Cultural Conception of the EU after 2004
253-282Views:69First of all, the article discusses that the ancient Habsburgian state (end of 19th – early 20th century), which had explicitly recommended and fostered ethnic diversity, gains a benevolent interpretation in some important academic presentations nowadays. This seems remarkable because the late Habsburgian monarchy after 1919 until ca. 2000 was examined as a failed state. The article analyses, based on the famous and popular-written applied geography „Die österreichisch-ungarische Monarchie in Wort und Bild“ (called „Kronprinzenwerk“, 1981–1902), how the recommendation of ethnic diversity was framed and expressed in that time. The article especially wants to show the arguments in which the strength of the pluriethnic and pluricultural Habsburgian empire generally had to be reasoned. Furthermore, the paper chooses 3 specific cases of an affirmative regional and ethnic description of the „Kronprinzenwerk“: Ruthens in Galicia, Serbs and Germans („svabians“) in Southern Hungary of that time. Nowadays, we see a strikingly similar argument in the European Union to recommend ethnic and cultural diversity to achieve a consolidated socio-economic grouping. An outstanding and prominent example is the speech of French President Emmanuel Macron in 2017 at Sorbonne University.
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Preserving Traditions as a Perspective for the Future? The Integration History of German Expellees in the Context of Current Discourses on Diversity
7-31Views:172Diversity is a central keyword of our time that has found its way into the academic discussion of (historical) migration phenomena and their consequences. This also applies to the history of the forced migration of the German-speaking population from Eastern Europe as a result of the Second World War, which confronted both the refugees and expellees as well as the “host societies” with major challenges including those concerning “integration”. Based on a critical reading of a historically informed contribution to the debate on the evaluation of the integration history of the German expellees in the Federal Republic of Germany, the article reflects on the question of the extent to which orientation points for current debates on a social self-understanding under the guise of diversity can be derived from this history.
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The Diversity of Knowledge Concerning Geographical Areas Based on Surveys Conducted in Institutions of Primary Education in Hungary
217-251Views:99My study will discuss the Hungarian public education system, more specifically, the knowledge about and the measurement of the concept of geographical areas as they appear in the subject Hon- és népismeret [approximately: Our Homeland and Its People(s)] in the Hungarian primary education system. The cultural landscape formed by human activity is an important part of Hon- és népismeret education, which also includes knowledge of spatiality, ethnographic geographical areas and maps.
In my research, I was interested what students taking Hon- és népismeret courses think and know about geographical areas; moreover, if they can use maps and place major Hungarian and ethnographic geographical areas (provinces) on blind maps. In my search, I have conducted a survey among students learning Hon- és népismeret in primary schools in Debrecen with the aim of measuring their knowledge of geographical areas and ethnographic geographical areas, especially related to the use of maps. So, in my study, I present all the tasks of the survey and the students’ answers. Furthermore, I describe the method used during the survey and the data processing.
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Legends of a Transylvanian Shrine to the Virgin Mary
43-68Views:101My paper presents a legend tradition related to a well-known Hungarian (Transylvanian) place of pilgrimage. Csíksomlyó (Miercurea–Ciuc/Sumuleu) – currently part of Romania ‒ has become a significant place of pilgrimage in the 20th century, similarly to Austria’s Mariazell, Spain’s Santiago de Compostela, the Orthodox Church’s Athos, or the main international shrines to the Virgin Mary (Lourdes, Fatima, Medjugorje). Around this famous pilgrimage place known from the 15th century a thematically rich legend circle has developed over the centuries, typical of Hungarian folklore, which abounds in historical and narrative traditions. At the centre of the group of legends stands the statue of the Virgin Mary, of gothic origin, the miraculous reputation of which is complemented by several historical legend themes (foundational traditions, wars, heroes and saints, crime and punishment and other legend motifs inspired by the sacred place). I highlight the most important historical perspectives, the chronological characteristics, the geographical distribution and, above all, the typological diversity of these legends. The legend circle of the shrine of Csíksomlyó in Romania is the totality of the related narrative traditions, that is to say, both the hundred-year-old miracle stories found in written form in different historical sources, and the recent folklore texts collected from oral tradition. Although the time and the circumstances of the records differ significantly, the aim of the narration and the topic of the legends are the same. The legends about the shrine – separated into the given thematic groups – are an organic part of the Catalogue of Hungarian Historical Legends.
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Imaginary and Real Bridges as Connecting Elements in Communal Relations?
209-232Views:14The meaning of bridges is often mentioned in town twinning and other international contacts. In general, this word has positive connotations, as bridges enable interaction and communication and ideally create close relationships. Bridges are usually referred to in a metaphorical sense, but in sometimes they are real structures, such as those dedicated to a specific partner or between two partner communities from different countries. While the significance of the former is symbolic, the latter also fulfill a function in the real sense. In a figurative sense, common elements of everyday life can also form a bridge and bring people together, such as customs, origins, sources of economic income, geographical location and historical experiences. Real bridges can not only connect people and cities, but also act as monuments that remind us of a relationship again and again. By describing selected examples of imaginary and real bridges, the article also addresses the following questions: Is the bridge metaphor mostly just an empty phrase? How are imaginary and real bridges perceived by the public? Are imaginary bridges (e.g. relevant activities, everyday cultural similarities) and physical bridges really connecting elements in European diversity? To what extent are they helpful in understanding the foreign? The article draws primarily on the author's many years of research into town twinning but also on a number of other bilateral relationships in the Central European context. Observations, surveys, media analyses and other research tools serve as sources.
