Spanish educational policy towards Catalonia during the dictatorship of Francisco Franco – an attempt at an analysis from the perspective of the political theory of Ernesto Laclau

Abstract

The text deals with the problem of the Spanish (Castilian) educational policy imposed on Catalonia during the dictatorship of Francisco Franco. The dictatorship in this text is understood as an imposition of certain meanings and the exclusion which shaped the Catalan identity. The educational policy aimed at Catalonia is analyzed from the perspective of Ernesto Laclau’s theory, in terms of the relations between Spain and Catalonia treated as a constant particular/universal game and the struggle for hegemony. During the dictatorship, Franco imposed the Castilian particularity, by rejecting elements of the Catalan identity, its being a threat to the unity of the Spanish nation. The dictatorship of Francisco Franco via the usage of school policy on the one hand precluded the formation of the Catalan identity and, on the other hand, was the condition of its existence. Thus, the Castilian identity could exist due to the identity of the Catalan and vice versa. Ipso facto, the oppression and the exclusion of Catalans was particularly significant for their emancipation and processes that took place after 1975.

English translation: Anna Moroz-Darska

Modernisation of the journal's operations and translation into the English language of articles published in Ars Educandi in 2012-2017 were financed with funds from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education as a part of the task Science Promotion Activity (pl. DUN).

The task ‘The implementation of the editorial module on the platform of Uniwersyteckie Czasopisma Naukowe – a system facilitating the editing and management of the academic journal Ars Educandi‘ was financed as a part of contract 661/P-DUN/2018 of 12.06.2018 from funds of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education designated for the promotion of science.

The task ‘The creation of a modern online version of the academic journal Ars Educandi through the implementation of the publication module on the platform of Uniwersyteckie Czasopisma Naukowe and the handling of international indexing databases’ was financed as a part of contract 661/P-DUN/2018 of 12.06.2018 from funds of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education designated for the promotion of science.

The task ‘Preparation of the English language version of the last 6 annual issues (2012-2017) of the academic journal Ars Educandi and their publication online’ was financed as a part of contract 661/P-DUN/2018 of 12.06.2018 from funds of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education designated for the promotion of science.