Two Roads Diverged: Catalan and Basque Nationalism

In 2004, while studying literature, history, and language in Spain,

my March 11th train ticket to Madrid put me in the midst of national violence: the bombing at Atocha Station, originally pinned to the separatist group ETA. Since that day,

I have been uniquely interested in the concept of nationalism in Spain’s contemporary landscape,

which is dominated by two ethnic nationalist movements:

Catalan and Basque.

The possession of different languages is one factor distinguishing these regions, but—as I observed this fall during two weeks of Basque Country exploration—the cultural consequences of nationalism are equally discernable in tradition and politics. In short, experiences in Catalonia and the Basque Country pose challenges to broadly held convictions concerning the nature of national
consciousness.

Now, as a traveled young person, published author, and student of Spanish society, I am poised to consider why Catalan and Basque ethnicity have taken such different routes. Using culture as a lens, I seek to identify the trends that have shaped inclusive Catalan and exclusive Basque nationalism. In particular, I would like to contribute to an understanding of how Basque culture inspires nationalist views…

[Avila, Spain]

.MGW.

~ by meagangwhite on January 19, 2008.