OBJECTIVES AND METHODOLOGY
The aim of the Course is to explore the cultural plurality of the Mediterranean, the evolution of its North-South relations, as well as the present-day problems affecting the territories on both of its shores.
The Course sessions will be theoretical in character, while there will also be space for class discussion and debate with regard to key subject areas within the syllabus. At relevant moments, documentaries and movies related to Course content will be projected which, in turn, will give rise to further debate and a deepening of the awareness of the issues raised by them. Likewise, a list of monographs will be provided so that each student may carry out an individual assignment involving one of the titles taken from the available list.
ASSESSMENT
Final grades will be based on an exam at the close of the semester, together with the other assignments carried out during the period of class sessions.
SYLLABUS
1. THE MEDITERRANEAN: THE CONSOLIDATION OF A MYTH.
• The Mediterranean from the Perspective of the North and Europe from the Perspective of the Mediterranean. Romantic Travellers: the Birth of a Myth. Tourism as a Generator of Commonplaces. Being Left to Its Own Devices. Institutional Investment in the Mediterranean.
2. FROM MYTH TO REALITY.
• Paradise Degraded. The Transformation of Ideological and Territorial Frontiers. From a Focus of Radial Influences to a Fragmented Macrocosm.
3. A WORLD OF CONTRASTS (PHENOMENA IN OPPOSITION).
• North and South. The Metamorphosis of the Region’s Three Great Blocks: the Latin, Eastern, and Islamic Worlds. The Plurality of Religious Systems. Ethnicity and Nationalisms.
4. THE URBAN AND THE RURAL IN A MARITIME ENVIRONMENT.
• The Complementarity of Coastal and Mountainous Areas. Cities and Towns, Markets and Festive Occasions.
5. MAJOR ROUTES AND SMALL-SCALE MARKETS.
• Betwixt East and West. From Nodal Center to Crossing Place: from Gibraltar to Suez. The Vertebration of Market Networks. The Impact of Globalization.
6. MIGRATIONS: ‘TO RETURN OR NOT TO RETURN’.
• Short-haul Migration and the Agricultural Labor Sector. Returning after the Summer Break. Long-Haul Migrations: Europe and America.
7. FROM FISHERMEN TO WAITERS.
• The Fishing Sector: Scarcity as a Constant. Seamen and their Work Culture. The Sea and its Degradation. Tourism.
8. FAMILY ROLES AND GENDER SYSTEMS.
• Processes of Modernization and their Degrees of Impact. The Sense of Honor and the Sense of Shame. Groupings and Gender.
9. THE MEDITERRANEAN AND FOOD.
• The Great Larder of the Mediterranean. Eating Habits and Identity. The Mediterranean Diet: Ideal and Reality.
BASIC BIBLIOGRAPHY
• BRAUDEL, F.: El Mediterráneo. Colección Austral, Madrid, 1988.
• DAVIS, J.: Antroploogía de las sociedades mediterráneas.
• GARCÍA MERCADEL, F.: La casa mediterránea. Ministerio de Culltura, 1984.
• GONZÁLEZ TURMO, I. and RMERO DE SOLIS, P.: Antropología de la alimentación. Ensayos sobre la dieta Mediterránea. Junta de Andalucía, Consejería de Cultura y Medio ambiente, Sevilla, 1983.
• HERVÁS AVILS, R.M.: Comercio marítimo en el Mediterráneo. Universidades y Academias, 1991.
• MAIER, F.G.: Transformaciones del mundo mediterráneo, siglo XXI. 1990.
• MARÍN, M., and WAINES, D.: La alimentación en las culturas islámicas, Mundo árabe e Islam. Madrid, 1994.
• MIRA, E.: El Mediterráneo. Entre Europa y el Islam. Club Diario Levante, 1991.
• PERISTIANY: Dote y Matrimonio en los países mediterráneos. CIS, Madrid, 1987.
• PERISTIANY: El concepto de honor en las sociedad mediterránea. Labor, Barcelona, 1968.
• PITT RIVERS, J.: Tres ensayos de antropología structural: contexto y modelo. Anagrama, Barcelona, 1973.
• PUECH and others: Historia de las Religiones, Siglo XXI. 1979-1984.
• ROQUE, M.A.: Movimientos humanos en el Mediterráneo. Occidental, Barcelona, 1989.
• SEVERAL AUTHORS: Estudio gestión integrada zonas húmedas y costeras tipo mediterráneo. Agencia Medio Ambiente.
• SEVERAL AUTHORS: Mujer, creadora y transmisora de cultura en el área del Mediterráneo. Generalitat Valenciana, 1992.
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