FIELDWORK: A Day in the Life of a Field Researcher
Sample Field Work Day:
Parc Güell: Industrialization, social and political change, and a new architectural style (Modernism). This exemplifies the first and the second level of connections outlined on the Program Details section of the home page. Imagine an outing to Parc Güell, originally a subdivision, later donated by the Güell family to the city. In the Art History class, following a lecture/discussion format, students read art history texts on Gaudí’s work with a focus on the techniques, the innovations, the shapes, the colors, the motives. In the Politics of National Identity, students are exposed to newspaper clippings, including photographs, and history texts focusing on La Semana Trágica (Tragic Week), a week of riots , which prompted Güell, a textile tycoon of the time, to get Gaudí to design the subdivision, a return to nature and order surrounded by a tall wall. Once at the Park, students receive a task that they complete in pairs (so as to induce practice of the language). The tasks prompts them to pay attention to the Park site (up above on the hills in contrast with working class neighborhoods clustered around the harbor); to note the airy clean atmosphere (in contrast with coal burning steam engines near the port); to find religious symbols, Saint George, the dragon, and other medieval motifs in the buildings in the park; to find the presence of nature in the design: the flowers of the tiles, the palm-tree-like columnata. The task includes a list of key words in Spanish (colors, architectural terms, nature) as well as a list of useful expressions (looks like, pretends to be, in the shape of, reminds you of, …).
Before dismissal, students get together in groups and share/compare their findings. For homework that evening, students are asked to write a short essay in the past tense (difficult in Spanish, needs extensive practice) comparing the reality of life, work, hygiene, schooling, social advance for people in Barcelona in early 1900s on the one hand, and the World that Güell envisioned when he commissioned Gaudí to design the Parc Güell, on the other. Students turn in their compositions the following day, but first, they are asked to brainstorm on what were their most vivid memories of the visit, as the instructor writes them all down on the blackboard and to make graphic contrasts, while generously providing positive feedback on efforts to incorporate ideas and language presented in the lecture and readings the previous day. Also, the journal entry for that day should show indications of awareness of learning, or areas of their knowledge that need more attention, as well as intimate reflections on the impact of some of the experiences, academic or otherwise, from the previous day. Feedback and grading of the compositions will be given both on content, grammar and style. (Photo of Parc Güell vista courtesy of Richard Ishida).
Fieldwork: All information provided here is for general reference only and is subject to change. Current students, please check with your Director, your instructors and on Blackboard for up-to-date itineraries.
Experience conducting fieldwork is a basic component of the Barcelona Program. All Fieldwork activities are required regardless of course choice. All expenses associated with fieldwork are covered, including transportation, lodging, meals, and fees. Fieldwork activities are organized into five different sets:
- I. Orientation Tour
- II. Day Trips Outside Barcelona (5)
- III. Cultural and Technical Visits in Barcelona (5)
- IV. Cultural Overnight Trips (1)
- V. Evening Trips (1)
- VI. El Grec: Barcelona Summer Festival
I. Orientation Tour: Orientation Day (required)
BARCELONA, POLITICAL AND ARTISTIC CAPITAL OF
CATALONIA
This first activity is a discovery tour of Barcelona that focuses on
the
artistic and monumental heritage of the city, and on its role as the
capital of Catalonia. During the tour, the history of Barcelona is
discussed. There is a special emphasis made on the events that have
contributed to generate a collective national conscience, and we will
visit the symbolic areas of the city’s landscape.
The tour consists of a walk around downtown Barcelona
that allows
students to orient themselves and see some of the most significant
places in the historical neighborhoods of the city.
Starting in the Gothic Quarter, students become
familiar with the characteristics of Catalan gothic architecture, the
historic evolution of the city, and the formation of a center of
political and ecclesiastic power around Plaça Sant Jaume.
Later on, the tour moves to the Eixample neighborhood,
which
reflects the economic situation of Barcelona in the 19th century. We
cover the historic context of the Industrial Revolution, American trade,
and the cultural revival of la Renaixença, and we visit some
of the
most important landmarks of modernist Barcelona.
II. Cultural and Academic Day Trips Outside Barcelona (required)
First Thursday (actually a Friday) : Return to Fieldwork
TARRAGONA: FROM A ROMAN PROVINCE TO THE CATALAN
NATIONAL EXPANSION
Morning: Santes Creus: The New Catalonia (15,30-17,30h approx.)
In the Cistercian monastery of Santes Creus, students identify the
characteristics that have shaped the monastic Catalan gothic
architecture, the role of monasteries in the process of populating New
Catalonia (that had been under Muslim control), and the expansion of
the Christian culture.
Lunch at Bauhaus (included)
Afternoon: Tarragona, World Heritage City (9-13,30 h approx.)
In Tarragona, students analyze the characteristics of Roman art and urban planning, the Roman conception of public spaces, and the political and territorial organization of the Roman Empire.
Witnessing these characteristics first hand, they are encouraged to deduce the town planning models of actual cities in Europe, their advantages and disadvantages, and the roots of the occidental conception of state and urban politics.
In the National Archaeological Museum of Tarragona, art students see important Roman mosaics, tiles, and paintings. They walk by the Roman walls, the circus, the amphitheater, and the aqueduct of this city, declared a World Heritage City by UNESCO.
Second Thursday: NORTHERN OLD CATALONIA AND SURREALISM
This trip will be a journey through the various physical and symbolic
limits of the region. Students learn about both Southern Europe gothic art and surrealism. Students visit the Dalí
Museum in Figueres to infer the keys of surrealism and to know and
recall some of the most emblematic works of Salvador Dalí. This is
also be a good opportunity to reflect about the creativity of Catalan
artists, and their international projection.
Lunch at Can Duran’ Dali’s favourite (included)
Later on, the bus takes us across the border to northern Catalonia
in France, where students witness how the geographical and political borders do not always correspond to cultural frontiers. Since
the two sides of the Pyrenees have the same art styles, traditions,
customs, gastronomy, and, above all, the minority language, students are
encouraged to reflect about the concept of a cultural border and about
the will of nations to create an identity that distinguishes people from
the state in which they live.
Perpignan, la ville Catalanne, Montpellier, and Bèziers are some of the places on the French side where students are able to do field work on the use of aname to define a territory (Septimània), and on the use of the Catalan language in northern Catalonia (southern France).
Third Thursday: GIRONA AND THE SPLENDOR OF MEDIEVAL JEWISH CATALONIA
Morning (10,30-14h)
We offer you a guided tour of Old Town Girona, with walks around the medieval walls, the cathedral and the Arab Baths. Afterwards, the tour focuses on the history of the Jew in Medieval Catalonia. There is a walking tour of the Call (Jewish neighborhood) of Girona to see the recent efforts made to recover the Jewish heritage in Girona. The tour emphasizes the creation of an urban identity around the Jewish legacy, and the economic and social consequences of it.
Lunch at Cau del Call or Blanc Restaurant (included)
Afternoon (16-20h)
The Cathedral of Girona is a unique example of Catalan gothic architecture because of its single nave. Also, the Treasure of the Cathedral, which preserves the Creation Tapestry, a masterpiece of Romanesque textile art. The students examine its iconography, symbolism, and style, and write something about it or about the activities in the evening.
Fourth Thursday: THE HEART OF CATALONIA: CAVA and MONTSERRAT
Morning: (9,30-13,30 approx.)
One way to label and identify a people is by means of their typical
products. Visiting Cava let students analyze the method of production of cava—Catalan sparkling wine—and taste it. We talk
about the wine as a basis of the Mediterranean diet, and debate the
nationalization of Catalan sparkling wine in contrast to French
champagne in the context of EU law system.
Lunch at Laury’s restaurant (Sitges' marina) or at Monserrat (included)
Later, students go to Montserrat, which is the heart of the Catalan nation. This is a very special mountain, with a unique shape and a magnetic, telluric strength that has made possible the birth of a symbolism that makes Montserrat the center of the Terra Catalana or Catalan Land.
The mountain is also a perfect watchtower for viewing most of the geographical borders of the Catalan territory, from the Pyrenees to the Mediterranean. The visit to the Holy Cave and Monastery is the background for explaining the legends about Montserrat, which were born around the time of the creation of the Catalan nation and at the time of birth of Catalan nationalism.
Students listen to the Virolai, the anthem of the Virgin of Montserrat. Time is allowed for worship at this, the very heart of Catalan religiosity.
Fifth Thursday: WINE MAKING, WINE TASTING, AND COOKING LESSONS
Alella is the second smallest “Denominacion de Origen’ wine making region in Spain. Alella’s Cooperativa Vinicola is only 14 Kms from Barcelona and surrounded by some of the most expensive real estate in Spain. In its Modernist building, students will be taught the art of making and tasting wine and will be introduced to Catalan cooking, specifically cold tapas.
Lunch at Cooperativa Vinicola (included)
Morning through late afternoon: (6 pm maximum)
III. Cultural and Technical Visits in Barcelona (required)
Thursdays: historic and artistic walking tours of the city. Thursdays will be devoted to studying the city’s rich history, from its Roman origins through the golden days of Mediterranean power and its decadence after 1492, which culminated in 1714, the year Catalonia lost its independence and became part of the Spanish state. The Industrial Revolution and the birth of the Catalan burgeoisie brought with them a revival of Catalan identity which has, with more or less fortune, survived until present days. Barcelona has been the undisputed witness of glory and misery, and students will learn in its streets, neighborhoods, museums, archives and libraries not only about Catalan identity and its history as a nation within a state, but about how Barcelona uses its resources to present Catalonia to the world while attracting millions of tourists.
Roman Barcelona
This is a tour about the origins of Barcelona, the Roman foundation of
the city, and the uses of public and private space. Some of the most
important traditions of the western culture are rooted on the Roman
classical heritage. We talk about language, law, customs, politics,
and also about the everyday life of people in Roman Barcelona. The
itinerary includes a visit to the archaeological site at the Museum of
the History of the City so that students learn how to interpret
archaeological remains.
Medieval Barcelona and Gothic Quarter
Visit to the collections of Romanesque and Gothic art at the National
Art Museum of Catalonia
Analysis of the characteristics of medievalart, and contextualization
of the paintings in the culture and society
of the Middle Ages in Catalonia.
A walking tour of Old Town Barcelona allows the students to learn about
some of the most splendorous periods of Barcelona’s history. The
urban
planning of the streets, the foundations of Catalan gothic art, the
reinvention of an artistic heritage during the 19th century, and the
“invention of the Gothic Quarter” are some of the highlights of
the
tour, which includes a visit to the Cathedral of Barcelona, its
cloister, choir, museum, and terraces.
The tour continues around the neighborhood of La Ribera and then
head to Santa Maria del Mar so that students can see the characteristics
of austere Catalan art, and analyze the causes and consequences of the
Mediterranean maritime expansion of the Catalans in the Middle Ages.
Political History of Barcelona: From Glory to Decadence
The archaeological site of Born Market
Monographic study of the facts on September 11th, 1714 and
analysis of the citizen’s influence on the creation of a symbolic
and
nationalistic urban landscape. Working with press sources and witnesses
of the excavation processes, we discuss the first display of the artifacts.
This tour is a reflection on the political evolution of Barcelona,
from the Roman Barcino structures to the actual and recent Statute of Autonomy.
Where are the political decisions made in Barcelona? What are the contradictions
of our
political history? In the Fossar de les Moreres (Mulberries Graveyard),
This tour is a reflection on the political evolution of Barcelona,
from the Roman Barcino structures to the actual and recent Statute of Autonomy.
Where are the political decisions made in Barcelona? What are the contradictions
of our
political history? In the Fossar de les Moreres (Mulberries Graveyard)
students witness the creation of a symbolic landscape on public
spaces to recall the Catalan defeat on September 11th, 1714. The tour
includes a private visit to the City Council of Barcelona or to the
Catalan Parliament (depending on the availability of these institutions).
Guided Tour of a Historic Archive
Students visit a historical archive (the Historic Archive of the City,
the Notaries Archive, the Diocesan Archive of Barcelona, or the Archive
of the Crown of Aragon)
to get used to their medieval sources, preservation criteria, and analysis
techniques. Students learn about conducting research with primary
sources, the way they are preserved, the conditions for their use and
study, and so on.
The Construction of a National
Identity with Modernisme and Renaixença
Walking tour of modernist Barcelona that explains the legends and
histories related to it, and discusses the historic and social context
of 19th century Barcelona. The tour includes a visit to some of the
private houses of the “agents” of these crucial changes:
casa Batlló,
Casa Amatller and La Pedrera.
Twentieth Century Barcelona
Visit to the Picasso Museum
Visit to the Museum of Contemporary Art of Barcelona.
Visit to the Tàpies Foundation
The Scenes of the Spanish Civil War in Barcelona
This tour uses primary sources, both visual and literary, to analyze
the events of the
Civil War in Barcelona. Photographs, documentaries, witness reports
(Catalan, American, and British) and especially Georges Orwell’s
memories of his stay in Barcelona will be the guidelines of a tour that
follows their steps. From the burned convents to the May Days and the
construction of anti-air-raid shelters, students critically assess
one of the most controversial parts of our recent history, during which
Barcelona surprisingly became a communist paradise. The tour includes
a
visit to an anti-air-raid shelter from the Spanish Civil War, and
encourages reflection on the preservation and display of the
“politicized” heritage of nations.
The New Barcelona
Under Construction: the Raval of Barcelona and the CCCB
We take a tour around one of the oldest neighborhoods of the city
that has always been a marginal area, but that is currently undergoing
a
process of gentrification. This neighborhood is now a cool zone of
Barcelona, permanently under construction.
This process has been possible thanks to the installation
of
contemporary cultural services in that area, such as the Museum of
Contemporary Art and the Center of Contemporary Culture of Barcelona.
We visit the Center of Contemporary Culture of Barcelona to analyze
it as a new sort of cultural space conceived for the 21st century that
combines exhibition areas and a library with conferences, courses, and
a
leisure space. Beyond the architectonic recovery of the building that
contains it, the CCCB is useful for the students to inspect and infer
the needs of the cultural centers of the future, which have to produce
culture as much as to preserve it.
We take a walking tour of the 22@Barcelona project to analyze the
changes and the evolution of the industrial neighborhood of Barcelona.
This is an itinerary that witnesses the transformation of a city by
means of the reuse of old industrial factories and warehouses for new
21st century projects: communication, high tech and design.
The activity includes a visit to the Forum Barcelona 2004 area, and to
an art designer’s workshop. Public transportation used during activity.
IV. Cultural Overnight Trips (required)
July, Friday 3rd-Sunday 5th: ROMAN AND NEW CATALONIA. MUSLIMS, CHRISTIANS AND JEWS. TERRES DE L’EBRE: WHERE NATURE AND HISTORY MEET.
Friday July 3rd
Morning: Santes Creus: The New Catalonia (15,30-17,30h approx.)
In the Cistercian monastery of Santes Creus, students identify the
characteristics that have shaped the monastic Catalan gothic
architecture, the role of monasteries in the process of populating New
Catalonia (that had been under Muslim control), and the expansion of
the Christian culture.
Lunch at Bauhaus, Tarragona (included)
Afternoon: Tarragona, World Heritage City (9-13,30 h approx.)
In Tarragona, students analyze the characteristics of
Roman art and urban planning, the Roman conception of public spaces, and the political and territorial organization of the Roman Empire.
Witnessing these characteristics first hand, students are encouraged to
deduce the town planning models of actual cities in Europe, their
advantages and disadvantages, and the roots of the occidental conceptionof state and urban politics.In the National Archaeological Museum of Tarragona, art students see important Roman mosaics, tiles, and paintings. They walk by the Roman walls, the circus, the amphitheater, and the aqueduct of this city, declared a World Heritage City by UNESCO.
Evening: Tortosa, the city of three cultures (7 pm h approx.)
Tortosa, capital of Terres de l’Ebre Region, is a city in Southern Catalunya where Christians, Jews and Muslims coexisted for centuries:.While there is not much evidence of the Muslim heritage in Barcelona or even Girona, Tortosa, a city in the New Catalunya, is an interesting example of how different cultures may coexist in peace and develop rich civilizations and societies.
Stay overnight in Sant Carles de la Rapita, Terres de l’Ebre. (hotel stay and meals included)
Saturday July 4th-Sunday July 5th (arrival in Barcelona early evening): Terres de l'Ebre. Nature, agriculture, gastronomy.
Terres de l’Ebre: The Ebro Delta covers 320 square kilometres and is the second largest wetland area in the western Mediterranean, after the French Camargue. It has many natural habitats not common to the rest of Catalonia: large lakes of salt water (such as La Tancada) or fresh water (such as L'Encanyissada), kilometres of beaches with sand dunes (El Fangar) and salt wastelands (Erms de la Tancada, Punta de la Banya), places where underground fresh water comes to the surface (Els Ullals), shallow bays (El Fangar or Els Alfacs), riverbank woods and fluvial islands that, together with the ecosystems created by man - rice fields and salt pans - constitute a unique landscape of great natural wealth.This diversity of ecosystems and flora and fauna has led to the protection of a large part of the Delta and in 1983 it was declared a "natural park". It is in fact an ornithological paradise where you can see more than 300 species of birds.
Another dimension of Terres de l'Ebre is the mountain and plain. We can observe here traditional economic linked to agriculture, with vineyards, fruit trees and olive trees, some more than a thorusand years old. Different civilizations that established themselves in the Iberic peninsula arrived to this area guided by the river Ebre, they have left many remarkable cultural elements such as rock paintings of Ulldecona and the Perelló, declared World Heritage by UNESCO.
Finally, you could not leave these lands without tasting its gastronomy, based on quality products as the rice with D.O. Montsià, the oil D. O. Baix Ebre - Montsià, the wine D.O. Terra Alta or the clementines of Alcanar considered IGP (Protected Geographic Indication). Gastronomy here is a great reflexion of the land: Students will have a chnace to try eels and duck, prawns and mussels, fish, artichokes and citrics.
At the Terres de l’Ebre we will catch a private boat to The Buda Isle, the Delta's ecologic reserve. A little paradise where live 300 species of aquatic birds. A part of the isle can be visited if the rules are followed. At the Montsià Museum will find the complete Delta's History and about the popular Art from the Delta del Ebro region. We’ll visit Poble Nou del Delta, a little town was created in the 20th Century to make the farmers meet here to develop the agriculture in the deserted land. You will see white houses in rods full of palm trees, more like Africa than Europe. Weather permitting, we will plant rice, ride bicycles, swim, and ‘perxar’: a form of rowing or pushing with extremely long poles.
V. Evening
Cultural Activities (required)
Time: to be decided by Georgetown University.
Suggested: A Friday evening.
Thematic night: BARCELONA FACES THE SEA
No one can understand Barcelona without understanding its Mediterranean
context. From its origins, the city was a natural port with many
geological and geographical problems, but a port. This tour reviews
the history of Barcelona’s relationship
with the sea.
From the Medieval Shipyards, a masterpiece of Catalan
civil gothic architecture, we
walk through the sailors and fishermen neighborhood of Barceloneta and
Barcelona’s Old Port warehouses and witness how it was remodeled
for the
1992 Olympic Games.
We finish the tour watching Barcelona from the sea,
on board a
boat, which allows students to see the recovery of the beaches that
had physically disappeared by 1992, and the changes in Barcelona’s
skyline.
A 'cena de hermandad' (brotherhood dinner) is served to officially
close the program.
VI. Cultural activities available through EL GREC (attending festival activities is not a program requirement).
The Barcelona Summer Festival, popularly known as the Grec Festival,
is the cultural highlight on the summer calendar, and one of the most
important arts festivals in the world. Every summer the city is filled
with some of the finest national and international theatre, dance and
music performances aimed at promoting different types of contemporary
music and performance arts, as well as classical and ancient music
and traditional acts. It is famed for its creativity and attracts a
wide variety of visitors and locals alike. More information is available
at the Official
Barcelona Festival site,
although English is not an option there, and the Barcelona
Canal Cultura page,
which does provide an English version.
Attendance to El GREC Festival activities is not obligatory. However, students are greatly encouraged to take advantage of this internationally acclaimed festival of the arts. It runs from May into September.
Academic Policies
Throughout the entire Barcelona Summer Program, all students are expected to adhere to Georgetown's university-wide Academic Integrity policies:
Meet the Instructors: Coming Soon!
Please contact either Mr. Graham Hettlinger or Dr. Cristina Sanz with any further questions:
Mr.
Graham Hettlinger
Associate Director of Summer Study Abroad Programs
Office of International Programs
Poulton Hall, 2nd Floor
oipsummerabroad@georgetown.edu
(202) 687-5867
Dr.
Cristina Sanz
Director, Georgetown-at-Barcelona Summer Program
Department of Spanish & Portuguese, ICC 412
Phone: (202) 687-7213
barcelonasummerprogram@georgetown.edu
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