Elisabet Liminyana Vico
Instructor of Catalan and Graduate Student, Journalism
Ana de Prada Pérez
Assistant Professor of Spanish
2013-2014 Library Enhancement Grant
A Library Enhancement Grant was awarded to Ms. Liminyana Vico and Dr. de Prada Pérez to acquire additional holdings in Catalan linguistics and cultural studies. These acquisitions will build on current collection strengths in 20th-century Catalan literature and reference works by making available new materials spanning from the 12th through 21st centuries.
Catalan first emerged as a unique Romance language in the 12th century and currently has over ten million native speakers worldwide. It is the national language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, Valencia, and the Balearic Islands. It is also spoken in other areas of Spain, southern France, Sardinia, and in other areas of Italy. Since the restoration of democracy in Spain during the 1970s, Catalan has gained wide currency in politics, business, education, and media, including several Catalan-language newspapers and television channels.
Catalan studies began at the University of Florida in the 1990s and continues to receive support from the Government of Catalonia. In the last four years, student interest in Catalan culture and language has significantly expanded, allowing an increase from two to six offered courses per year. The Florida Department of Education recognized this emerging trend by mandating a content course to establish a Catalan program at UF. The Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies responded by regularly inviting speakers and making available an interdisciplinary course in Catalan culture, history, literature, and language.
The acquisitions made possible by this grant will increase the resources available for students taking this course and better prepare those interested in pursuing the opportunity to study abroad at the University of Vic, Barcelona. These acquisitions will also support a broad community of faculty and graduate scholars at UF who conduct research in Catalan, including scholars of Architecture, Latin American Studies, European Studies, History, Journalism, Linguistics, and Literature.