The Construction of National Identity As a Developmental Process from Childhood to Adolescence in Catalonia
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THE CONSTRUCTION OF NATIONAL IDENTITY AS A DEVELOPMENTAL PROCESS FROM CHILDHOOD TO ADOLESCENCE IN CATALONIA Arantza del VALLE GÓMEZ ISBN: 84-8458-111-X Dipòsit legal: GI-1331-2001 http://hdl.handle.net/10803/7993 THE CONSTRUCTION OF NATIONAL IDENTITY AS A DEVELOPMENTAL PROCESS FROM CHILDHOOD TO ADOLESCENCE IN CATALONIA Tesi doctoral presentada per Arantza del Valle Gómez Dirigida per: Ignasi Vila Mendiburu Departament de Psicologia Facultat de Ciències de l’Educació Universitat de Girona Girona, setembre de 1998 To Martyn, “…walk softly baby, because you walk through my dreams…” AGRAÏMENTS Ja hem arribat, ja som en aquest moment del camí que fa imprescindible mirar enrera. Mirar enrera i agrair a tothom que ens ha ajudat a emplenar les maletes amb el valuós equipatge de l’amistat i l’experiència. Que ens ha ajudat a continuar quan el camí feia pujada i fins i tot quan desapareixia sota els nostres peus. Ha sigut llarg i de vegades enrevessat però sempre compartit. Decidir on comença aquest camí es difícil perquè és la continuació del camí ja fet i el començament del futur. A la meva família per donar-me l’empenta necessària per endinsar-me en aquest projecte. A la Mònica Sanz i la Mònica Thomas per la seva dedicació, el seu treball i esforç. A tu Marga, perquè juntes hem explorat el plaer del secret, de l’indesxifrable, de mirar per la finestra i emocionar-nos amb lo nou. A l’Ana Novella perquè ens vam atrevir a mirar al llop als ulls, vam tenir por i encara i així, seguim endavant. A l’Elisabet i en Josep Maria per tantes converses al despatx i per la seva paciència. To Rachel Royle, for her friendship and to make it possible for me to arrive at this point with more friends than when I started. To Hannah Wilson for the time spent in the correction of the original draft. Al Ramon i la Pili per iniciar-me en aquest procés i per animar-me durant tant de temps. Al Santi per tantes i tantes estones de discussió, d’ànim i de conversa entre amics. Al Dr. Ignasi Vila sense el qual no hauria ni pogut veure el camí pel qual caminar. Per la seva demostració d’amistat continuada, per la seva guia i per la seva humanitat. To Dr Martyn Barrett for his dedication, his counselling and his ideas to improve my understanding. To Dr Evanthia Lyons to give me the opportunity to learn from her. To the European Communities Commission, under the Human Capital and Mobility program (CHRX-CT94-0687) to finance the project. To all the members of the teams in Padova, Rome, Dundee, Guildford, Girona and Málaga, especially to Almudena Giménez de la Peña. AL Comissionat de Recerca de la Generalitat per finançar l’estada al Departament de Psicologia de la Universitat de Surrey Als meus amics, Anna, Jordi, Marta i molts altres per entendre tantes i tantes vegades que m’oblidés dels compromisos per “…la tesi…”, i per fer-me gaudir dels moments de temps lliure. Al departaments de Psicologia de la Universitat de Girona i de Surrey per la oportunitat d’aprendre. And, at the end but not the last, to Martyn Key for his friendship, his support and his love, without him the last part of this way would not be possible. A tots vosaltres gràcies. Girona, setembre de 1998. CONTENTS 1. A PERSPECTIVE ON THE NATION AND NATIONAL IDENTITY……………………….3 1.1 Why national identity is important in Europe today .............................................3 1.2 Nation and national belonging ................................................................................5 1.3 National Identity .....................................................................................................7 1.4 Individual and collective rights...............................................................................8 1.5 Individual freedom and culture...............................................................................9 2. HISTORY OF CATALONIA AND ITS INSTITUTIONS.........................................................15 2.1 Catalonia as a community.....................................................................................15 2.2 The birth of Catalan Political Institutions ...........................................................16 2.3 The Demise of the Catalan Dynasty and the Trastámara and Hapsburg Houses.......17 2.4 The War of Succession; the Bourbon house........................................................20 2.5 Philip V and the Abolition of the Generalitat......................................................22 2.5 Recovering of self-government............................................................................26 2.7 The re-emergence of the Generalitat de Catalunya ..........................................27 2.8 The Generalitat de Catalunya in Exile ................................................................30 2.8 Democracy arrives to Spain; the Re-established Generalitat ...........................31 3. CONTEMPORARY CONTEXT OF THE RESEARCH...........................................................33 3.1 Political organisation.............................................................................................33 3.2 Demographic structure .........................................................................................34 3.3 The Catalan-speaking world ................................................................................34 3.3.1. The legal framework for the Catalan language.................................................35 3.3.2 The social-linguistic situation in Catalonia ......................................................35 3.3.3 The progress of the Catalan language ...............................................................37 3.3.4 The presence of the Catalan language in the mass media..................................38 3.4. Educational system..............................................................................................39 3.4.1. The school language ........................................................................................39 3.4.2. Organisation of the educational system............................................................40 3.5. The current political attitudes.............................................................................42 4. THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF NATIONAL IDENTITY ....................................................43 4.1 Which one is my group? ........................................................................................44 4.2. “Us” versus “them” .............................................................................................45 4.3. How does the child construct the world around them? ......................................46 4.4. Giving meaning to “us”........................................................................................50 4.5. Why is my group the best? ..................................................................................55 4.6. Is my group always the best? ..............................................................................57 4.7 Are bilingual children different? ..........................................................................60 4.8. Integrating knowledge, culture and social practices..........................................62 4.9. What can be the contribution of developmental psychology?...........................67 5. THE STUDY...................................................................................................................71 5.1. Presentation of the study.....................................................................................71 5.2. Procedure and Materials .....................................................................................71 5.2.1. Schools contact and interviewing time ............................................................71 5.2.2. Interview Presentation. ....................................................................................72 5.2.2.1. Subjective identification and national identification..............................74 5.2.2.2. Knowledge of countries............................................................................75 5.2.2.3. National stereotypes, evaluation and feelings.........................................77 5.2.2.4. Social background....................................................................................78 5.3. The Sample ...........................................................................................................78 5.3.1. Age and sex .....................................................................................................79 5.3.2. Age, and linguistic home situation...................................................................79 5.3.3. Parents’ origin and linguistic situation at home ...............................................80 6. RESULTS CONCERNING SUBJECTIVE AND NATIONAL IDENTIFICATION.......................81 6.1. Subjective identification...................................................................................81 6.1.1. Developmental differences in Subjective Identification for each linguistic home situation..................................................................................................................83 6.1.2. Linguistic differences for the Subjective Identification for each age group..87 6.2. National Identification......................................................................................92 6.2.1. Spanish identification...................................................................................92 6.2.2. Catalan Identification...................................................................................93