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SUMMARY:“Human Towers for Democracy:” The Use of Cultural Performances
  for Catalan Nation Building and Independence - Mariann Vaczi
DTSTART:20151125T171500Z
DTEND:20151125T190000Z
UID:TALK61595@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Afra Pujol i Campeny
DESCRIPTION:Spain faces the greatest challenge in the post-Franco era to t
 he nation’s constitutional unity as Catalans rally behind the idea of th
 eir independence. This paper argues that\, among the available Catalan cul
 tural performances like the sardana dance and football\, the choice of the
  human towers castells as symbol of the current independence movement refl
 ects Catalans` changing attitudes toward Spain. First\, this paper establi
 shes that the human towers are the dominant emblem of the movement. Then i
 t reviews the sovereignty process\, and shows the ways human towers engage
  its objectives. Finally\, it explores the impact of their instrumentaliza
 tion on politics and on the existing practice and values of castells. This
  paper assesses the efficacy of performance as a model of “making a nati
 on\,” and addresses the dilemmas and limitations of the political use of
  cultural and folk performance genres. This ethnographic study of performa
 nce as nationalist icon yields insight into current political processes in
  Europe\, where the 2014 Scottish independence referendum and Catalan effo
 rts challenge existing concepts of national sovereignty.\n\nMariann Vaczi 
 (University of Nevada\, Reno) is a social anthropologist focusing on moder
 n sports\, indigenous games\, and folk performance genres. She is author o
 f the monograph Soccer\, culture and society in Spain: An ethnography of B
 asque fandom (Routledge\, 2015).\n
LOCATION:Faculty of English\, Room GR-05
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