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Catalonia's Human Towers: Castells, Cultural Politics, and the Struggle toward
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Catalonia's Human Towers: Castells, Cultural Politics, and the Struggle toward the Heights Paperback - 2023

by Mariann Vaczi


From the publisher

The building of human towers (castells) is a centuries-old traditional sport where hundreds of men, women, and children gather in Catalan squares to create breathtaking edifices through a feat of collective athleticism. The result is a great spectacle of effort and overcoming, tension and release.

Catalonia's Human Towers is an ethnographic look at the thriving castells practice-a symbol of Catalan cultural heritage and identity amid debates around national autonomy and secession from Spain. While the main function of building castells is to grow community through a low-cost, intergenerational, and inclusive leisure activity, Mariann Vaczi reveals how this unique sport also provides a social base, image, and vocabulary for the independence movement.

Highlighting the intersection of folklore, performance, and sport, Catalonia's Human Towers captures the subtle processes by which the body becomes politicized and ideology becomes embodied, with all the desires, risks and precarities of collective constructions.

Details

  • Title Catalonia's Human Towers: Castells, Cultural Politics, and the Struggle toward the Heights
  • Author Mariann Vaczi
  • Binding Paperback
  • Pages 282
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Indiana University Press
  • Date 2023-07-18
  • Illustrated Yes
  • Features Bibliography, Glossary, Illustrated, Index
  • ISBN 9780253067166 / 0253067162
  • Weight 0.92 lbs (0.42 kg)
  • Dimensions 9 x 6 x 0.64 in (22.86 x 15.24 x 1.63 cm)
  • Themes
    • Cultural Region: Spanish
  • Library of Congress subjects Catalonia (Spain) - Civilization, Pyramids (Gymnastics) - Spain - Catalonia -
  • Library of Congress Catalog Number 2023026491
  • Dewey Decimal Code 790.094

About the author

Mariann Vaczi is Assistant Professor and Director of Graduate Studies at the Center for Basque Studies at the University of Nevada, Reno. She is author of Soccer, Culture and Society in Spain: An Ethnography of Basque Fandom and editor (with Alan Bairner) of Sport and Secessionism.

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Catalonia's Human Towers: Castells, Cultural Politics, and the Struggle toward the Heights
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Catalonia's Human Towers: Castells, Cultural Politics, and the Struggle toward the Heights

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Catalonia's Human Towers: Castells, Cultural Politics, and the Struggle toward the Heights
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Catalonia's Human Towers: Castells, Cultural Politics, and the Struggle toward the Heights

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Paperback / softback. New. <p><b>The building of human towers (</b><b><i>castells</i></b><b>) is a centuries-old competitive practice where hundreds of men, women, and children gather in Catalan squares to create breathtaking edifices through a feat of collective athleticism. The result is a great spectacle of suffering and overcoming, tension and release.</b></p><p><b><i>Catalonia's Human Towers</i> is an ethnographic look at the thriving castells practice—a symbol of Catalan cultural heritage and identity amid debates around autonomy versus subsummation by the Spanish state. While the main function of building castells is to grow community through a low-cost, intergenerational, and inclusive leisure activity, Mariann Vaczi reveals that this unique sport also provides a social base, image, and vocabulary for the pro-independence movement.</b></p><p><b>Highlighting the… Read More
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€35.76
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Catalonia`s Human Towers – Castells, Cultural Politics, and the Struggle toward the Heights
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Catalonia`s Human Towers – Castells, Cultural Politics, and the Struggle toward the Heights

by Vaczi, Mariann

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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
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Catalonia's Human Towers: Castells, Cultural Politics, and the Struggle toward the Heights
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

Catalonia's Human Towers: Castells, Cultural Politics, and the Struggle toward the Heights

by Mariann Vaczi

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Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780253067166 / 0253067162
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Paperback / softback. New. <p><b>The building of human towers (</b><b><i>castells</i></b><b>) is a centuries-old competitive practice where hundreds of men, women, and children gather in Catalan squares to create breathtaking edifices through a feat of collective athleticism. The result is a great spectacle of suffering and overcoming, tension and release.</b></p><p><b><i>Catalonia's Human Towers</i> is an ethnographic look at the thriving castells practice—a symbol of Catalan cultural heritage and identity amid debates around autonomy versus subsummation by the Spanish state. While the main function of building castells is to grow community through a low-cost, intergenerational, and inclusive leisure activity, Mariann Vaczi reveals that this unique sport also provides a social base, image, and vocabulary for the pro-independence movement.</b></p><p><b>Highlighting the… Read More
Item Price
€41.76
€11.84 shipping to USA
Catalonia`s Human Towers – Castells, Cultural Politics, and the Struggle toward the Heights
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

Catalonia`s Human Towers – Castells, Cultural Politics, and the Struggle toward the Heights

by Vaczi, Mariann

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  • Paperback
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Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780253067166 / 0253067162
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Indiana Univ Pr, 2023. Paperback. New. 263 pages. 8.75x5.75x1.00 inches.
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Catalonia's Human Towers: Castells, Cultural Politics, and the Struggle toward the Heights
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Catalonia's Human Towers: Castells, Cultural Politics, and the Struggle toward the Heights

by Vaczi, Mariann

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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
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