Conflicting nationalist traditions and immigration: the Basque case from 1950 to 1980

Immigration from the different regions in Spain to the Basque Country has traditionally opposed Basque and Spanish nationalism. This article provides an overview of the discourse of both nationalist traditions with respect to the intra‐regional migration movement of the second half of the twentieth century as well as of the resulting controversy. Whereas the Basque nationalist movement claims to have defended the need to integrate immigrants since the middle of the twentieth century, particularly through politics, Spanish nationalism claims that Basque nationalism has helped marginalise these same immigrants. A qualitative analysis is used to contrast this controversy by consulting the opinion of the Spanish immigrants who settled in the Basque Country and did not avail of the political integration proposed by Basque nationalism. The main conclusion is that these immigrants tend to avoid the heart of the matter of discord between both nationalist traditions, granting little importance to political and cultural elements though stressing their social integration in the Basque Country.     

The persistence of the rural idyll: peasant imagery,social change and nationalism in Spain 1939–1978

In this article the authors propose a historical analysis of the role of romantic rural imagery in the Spanish (state and peripheral) re-nationalization processes during the Franco dictatorship through the scope of the political and identity meanings assigned to it. Their goal is to better comprehend twentieth-century Spain by examining the use (and abuse) of the rural imaginary by Spanish, Basque and Galician nationalisms, particularly during the time of the totalitarian regime of General Franco, giving special attention to the cultural loans between the ideological (and national) blocs traditionally interpreted as monolithic and irreconcilable: Francoism (1936–1975) and its political opposition.     

Money talks: banknote iconography and symbolic constructions of Scotland

ABSTRACT. It has become common for scholars of nations and nationalism to use banknotes, coins and postage stamps as passing examples of everyday objects expressive of nationalism. Until recently, however, it has been less common for these objects to form the focus of empirical enquiries that substantiate their contribution to the creation and transmission of national symbolism. This article addresses this lacuna through an empirical investigation of over 300 years of Scottish banknote iconography. In their symbolic content, banknotes are shown to be amenable to the service of both national and non‐national political agendas. To explain this phenomenon, we advance three interrelated arguments. First, we contend that variations in banknote iconography reflect the different political contexts in which notes were produced and the distinctive loyalties and customer constituencies of the banks that issue them. Second, we argue that changes in banknote imagery reflect changes in the scale of their circulation. Third, we argue that Scottish banknotes have always included iconography that constructs the image of the bank and advertises its reliability, often through association with national images. The article concludes by addressing Scotland's place in wider understandings of the iconographic power of banknotes.     

Flows from beyond the Pyrenees. The Rhône River and Catalonia's search for water independence

The mobilization of water has been key for the reconfiguration and modernization of the Spanish state. During the Francoist dictatorship (1939–1975), the hydro-social reengineering of Spain was central to Franco’s political mission but failed to provide for subnational, regionalist aspirations which subsequently pursued their own agendas for water development. In this paper we examine the (failed) project of transferring water from the Rhône River in France to Barcelona promoted by the regional government of Catalonia as an example of using large infrastructures in order to strengthen and consolidate the role of Catalonia as a nation. While we basically concur with Swyngedouw's arguments on the relevance of water for building modern nation states we also attempt to expand the debate in at least three points. First, the implications of the Rhône project in the rescaling of water politics away from the Spanish State and closer to the European Union through the production of a new scale of water supply based not on national but on sub-national cooperation. Second, the view of nationalism that may not be as monolithic as Swyngedouw depicts for Spain but more heterogeneous and fragmented as in Catalonia, with important implications for the acceptance of the Rhône project. And finally, the idea that nation building through water development does not necessitate large scale hydraulic works but that may be achieved through smaller scale socioenvironmental projects. These arguments show that particular society- nature relationships (i.e. different approaches to the mobilization of water resources) are fundamental in the process of building political entities.     

GLAZED CERAMIC MANUFACTURING IN SOUTHERN TUSCANY (ITALY): EVIDENCE OF TECHNOLOGICAL CONTINUITY THROUGHOUT THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD (10TH–14TH CENTURIES)*

Archaeometric investigation allowed the characterization of two important classes of ceramics: ‘vetrina sparsa’ and ‘invetriata grezza’. Their archaeological peculiarity makes them particularly suited for tracing the evolution of glaze manufacturing in southern Tuscany throughout the medieval period (10th–14th centuries). These ceramics were found in different sites of historical importance, and also from a mining perspective. Local copper, lead, zinc and iron mineralizations supported the growth of several settlements in the vicinity of the mines. The many castles and different archaeological finds (ceramics, glazed ceramic, slag etc.) attest to the intense mineral exploitation of the area from at least the first millennium bc up to the modern period. In light of these geological and archaeological characteristics, archaeometric investigation was intended to provide insight into ancient technical knowledge of ceramic glazing and to determine the source area for raw materials in the medieval period (10th–14th centuries). Ceramic bodies were analysed through OM, XRDp, SEM–EDS and XRF, while coatings were investigated through SEM–EDS. Mineralogical, petrographic and chemical analyses revealed slightly different preparation and firing processes for the two classes of ceramics. These data suggest the continuity through the centuries of the ‘vetrina sparsa’ and ‘invetriata grezza’ production technology. The mineralogical phases, such as monazite, xenotime, zircon, barite, Ti oxide, ilmenite, titanite, tourmaline and ilvaite, and the lithic (intrusive and volcanic) fragments detected within the ceramic bodies suggest a source area in the vicinity of the Campiglia mining district. Lastly, the presence of Cu–Zn–Pb (Ag) and Fe sulphide mineralizations (materials used to produce glaze) in the area supports the hypothesis of local manufacture.     

Forging the nation as an imagined community

This article examines the ways in which young Canadians represent the ‘the War on Terror’ in their narratives. I explore how a hegemonic nationalist narrative enters into this representation in different ways and positions itself in a dynamic tension with the USA, at times eliding the difference and at times affirming it. I illustrate that these students do not simply tell the narrative of the war, but use the deixis of ‘we/us/our’ or ‘them/they/their’ in a way that constructs multiple imagined communities. I argue that these presumably benign representations of Canadian involvement in the war produce banal nationalism that excludes ‘others’, and binds human imagination into a framework that works against critical thinking.     

DID NEANDERTHALS PLAY MUSIC? X‐RAY COMPUTED MICRO‐TOMOGRAPHY OF THE DIVJE BABE ‘FLUTE’*

Archaeological evidence for wind musical instruments made by modern humans has been well established from the Upper Palaeolithic in Europe. Musical instruments evidently made by Neanderthals have not been found so far. The most controversial object is a juvenile cave bear femur with two complete holes, found in 1995 in the Middle Palaeolithic layers of the Cave Divje babe I, Slovenia. The bone was interpreted as a possible Neanderthal ‘flute’, but some scholars have firmly rejected this hypothesis on the basis of taphonomic observations, suggesting a carnivore origin for the holes. Here, we show the results of X‐ray computed micro‐tomography (mCT) performed on the Divje babe I ‘flute’. Our analyses demonstrate that there were originally four holes, possibly made with pointed stones and bone tools. Most surface modifications near the holes, previously interpreted as effects of carnivore gnawing, are post‐depositional marks. Furthermore, a thin layer has been removed around one of the complete holes, producing a flat surface, possibly to facilitate perforation. The new data show that a Neanderthal manufacture of the object cannot be ruled out.     

Is the classic diaspora transnational and hybrid? The case of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress

Scholars studying migration processes through the transnational prism have expanded the concept of ‘diaspora’ with a new meaning as a transnational, hybrid identity and condition, which has displaced the classical interpretation constructed around ethnicity and territory. By analyzing the activities of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, which represents the organised Ukrainian community in Canada, an old‐type diaspora, this paper argues that transnationality and hybridity have always been the inner attributes of diaspora identity and experience and stresses the importance of an essential characteristic of diaspora: the conscious effort to maintain a distinctive collective identity. Only if a community succeeds in maintaining its collective identity throughout multigenerational change can it qualify as a diaspora. These two dimensions – the self‐consciousness of diaspora as a distinctive group and the survival of its distinctive identity through multigenerational change – set diasporas apart from transnational communities.     

LOCALIZING HISTORICAL CLUES USING IRT AND PETROGRAPHIC ANALYSES AT VILLA MIRABELLO,MONZA (ITALY)*

The rebuilding of Villa Mirabello started in 1666. Built on designs of Gerolamo Quadrio, the project refurbished and enlarged a smaller 16th century country house (‘casa da nobile e da massaro’). Archival documents report on the remodelling, which consisted of selective demolition of portions of the structure, re‐using most of the masonry as the core of the new building, and the reinforcement of retained masonry by insertion of ‘ceppo’ stone quoins to update new exteriors. The aim of Quadrio was to create an elegant and sumptuous mansion, suitable for noble owners such as Giuseppe Durini and his family. The plan and a small part of original finishing (‘marmorino’ plaster decoration) are recognizable nowadays. Nevertheless, there are many questions in interpretation when one compares the documents and the building. That is, Cardinal Angelo Durini made a major modification in the 18th century, and further minor changes were made in the 19th century. Although these latter modifications did not alter the plan, they changed the distribution of rooms and masked both decoration and finishing. After over 20 years of neglect, Villa Mirabello is now close to being restored. Architects in charge ordered a preliminary set of diagnostics to assess damage and study the historical evolution of the building. Integration of IR thermography (IRT) and endoscopy allowed restorers to detect the structure's texture underneath the plaster, and to detect openings filled with masonry. Moreover, archive documents confirmed these results and, above all, defined a date for the use of specific building techniques. This research constitutes a reference for buildings set in the same time and location that do not have significant archival documentation. Active IRT provided useful information for structural assessment (such as location of arches, chimney stacks, different thickness of wall, wooden elements, voids, beams etc.) and for crack pattern evaluation. This information directs design professionals working on this conservation project, and helps define the costs of intervention.     

Making time for national identity: theoretical concept and empirical glance on the temporal performance of national identity

Despite global, economic, technological and social transformations, nationality has remained an influential identity category. It still forms the basis for collective self‐determination, political sovereignty and sense of belonging. This article puts forward the concept of ‘Chrono‐Work’ to offer a critical approach to national identity. Employing temporal and performative perspectives, the concept addresses the conditions for establishing and constructing national identity. Drawing on Judith Butler's performance theory, it is suggested that performance of national acts loads national identity with meaning through the construction of a chronological narrative. To complete the theoretical picture, a case study of ‘Chrono‐Work’ among the Jewish settlers on the Golan Heights in Israel is offered. It is shown that national identity is constantly performed through temporal strategies that aim at achieving a chronological order. Therefore, it is suggested that national identity is not given, but rather is the result of continuous ‘Chrono‐Work’.     

The Irish question and the concept ‘identity’ in the 1980s1

ABSTRACT. This article critically investigates the social construction of ‘identity talk’ in relation to the Irish Question in the 1980s. Our contention is that the utilisation of ‘identity’ imagined people as bounded groups in a particular way – as the two traditions or communities in Northern Ireland – and that this way of imagining people was deployed against ‘will’‐based conceptions of politics. The first part of the article places the emergence of ‘identity’ as a concept in its historical context and suggests four phases in the use of ‘identity’. The second part focuses on ‘identity’ as a concept and locates its emergence within the meta‐conflict regarding Northern Ireland. The article concludes by reflecting on Brubaker and Cooper's (2000) analysis of ‘identity’ as a category of analysis in light of our case study of ‘identity’ as a category of practice regarding the Irish Question.     

Myths and symbols in the political culture of Catalan nationalism (1880–1914)

Historiography on the phenomenology of nationalisms has often pointed to the importance of myths and symbols in the construction of these political movements, underlining how the past is transfigured and/or particular historical episodes are recast for use in creating a given political discourse in the present. By adopting this viewpoint, the aim of this paper is to analyse the evolution of historiographical thinking on the use of myths and symbols in contemporary politics, giving particular attention to how they were brought to bear in the early days of the Catalan nationalist movement. This initial period, covering the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, is of special interest in the case of Catalan nationalism because it was a phase of politicisation marked – much as it was in other nationalist movements across Europe – by a nationalisation of history, a selection of foundation myths and historical milestones, and a crystallisation of the movement's symbols.