This week students in Michael Kennedy’s course Communication and Global Competence attended a talk by guest speaker Dr. María Sabaté entitled ‘A Historical Perspective on the Values, Use and Role of Catalan in Catalonia’.
Dr. Sabaté, a member of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona’s CIEN (Intercultural Communication and Negotiation Strategies) research group, spoke at length about the impact of the Franco dictatorship and successive waves of immigration on the status of Catalan in Catalonia.
The goal of this talk was to give students an insight into the bilingual nature of Catalan society and how the perception of language communities may be altered over time, in large part due to the proactive role of the government in promoting an integrated, diverse society.
We wish to thank Dr. Sabaté for giving generously of her time as well as Professor Kennedy and his students for their enthusiastic participation.
