Thesis--Santiago de Compostela, 1975. / Limited ed. of 300 copies. No. 300. Includes bibliographical references (p. [346-358] (2d group)).

While late nineteenth century Galicia has been the subject of attention of many writers, past literature about East Galicia has generally given a limited and at times distorted picture of this region. It has rarely been treated separately, and generalizations about its society have been made, and perpetuated, on the basis of erroneous data or inadequate and/or unsystematic study of the sources. The picture which has emerged has been of a people living in extremes of political and socio-economic deprivation; particularly pervasive has been the view that material poverty was a general feature of that society. This dissertation challenged the accepted interpretations through an examination of some aspects of East Galicia, specifically focussing on the Ukrainian peasantry in five Southern Podillian counties. Contrary to the received version of its history there were evident signs of change and improvement. In the area of education, there were more elementary schools, more teachers, and the teaching of a more varied and modern curriculum; greater activities of the Ukrainian enlightenment societies; a growing popular didactic press and a large increase in the number of reading clubs. All of these contributed to substantial improvements in literacy and an expanded knowledge base for that society. The effect was most evident in the agricultural sector, the main source of income for the population. Average sizes of landholdings were not in any case as small as has been supposed. Significant improvements in yields of cereal grains and other field crops were achieved. Also there was a movement towards production of other commercial crops. Particularly significant was the increased attention devoted to animal husbandry by the smallholding peasants. Expansion of agricultural education contributed to the general improvement in agricultural productivity; particularly notable is the fact that larger numbers and better quality animals were being raised by the peasantry of the region. Better marketing opportunities were made available to the population of the region due to advances in communications, particularly railways. A wider network of maintained roads provided greater and easier access to both the major road and rail connections to other regions of Galicia and Europe. Dissemination of more health information and better nutrition contributed to increased quality and length of life. Mortality rates dropped, and major diseases, specifically cholera and smallpox, were more effectively contained. Along with adaptations to material changes in their environment, there came a perceptible change in attitudes on the part of the people of Southern Podillia. Even while traditional attachment to the Greek Catholic church and to communal self-reliance remained, there was a growing acceptance of innovative activities such as the establishment of consumer and producer cooperatives, fire insurance and communal credit associations. Especially proninent was the appearance of political awareness, particularly in respect of local political affairs. With increased knowledge and awareness came greater self-confidence and risk-taking, and an increased sense of control on the part of the peasantry over their own lives - in short, attributes of a modernizing population. Taken together, these developments show that Southern Podillian society was undergoing a transition from a static, subsistence-based society motivated by traditional behavior patterns, to a more mobile, forward-looking society. Many problems remained, but the legacy of the past historical interpretations of this society can no longer be sustained.

While late nineteenth century Galicia has been the subject of attention of many writers, past literature about East Galicia has generally given a limited and at times distorted picture of this region. It has rarely been treated separately, and generalizations about its society have been made, and perpetuated, on the basis of erroneous data or inadequate and/or unsystematic study of the sources. The picture which has emerged has been of a people living in extremes of political and socio-economic deprivation; particularly pervasive has been the view that material poverty was a general feature of that society. This dissertation challenged the accepted interpretations through an examination of some aspects of East Galicia, specifically focussing on the Ukrainian peasantry in five Southern Podillian counties. Contrary to the received version of its history there were evident signs of change and improvement. In the area of education, there were more elementary schools, more teachers, and the teaching of a more varied and modern curriculum; greater activities of the Ukrainian enlightenment societies; a growing popular didactic press and a large increase in the number of reading clubs. All of these contributed to substantial improvements in literacy and an expanded knowledge base for that society. The effect was most evident in the agricultural sector, the main source of income for the population. Average sizes of landholdings were not in any case as small as has been supposed. Significant improvements in yields of cereal grains and other field crops were achieved. Also there was a movement towards production of other commercial crops. Particularly significant was the increased attention devoted to animal husbandry by the smallholding peasants. Expansion of agricultural education contributed to the general improvement in agricultural productivity; particularly notable is the fact that larger numbers and better quality animals were being raised by the peasantry of the region. Better marketing opportunities were made available to the population of the region due to advances in communications, particularly railways. A wider network of maintained roads provided greater and easier access to both the major road and rail connections to other regions of Galicia and Europe. Dissemination of more health information and better nutrition contributed to increased quality and length of life. Mortality rates dropped, and major diseases, specifically cholera and smallpox, were more effectively contained. Along with adaptations to material changes in their environment, there came a perceptible change in attitudes on the part of the people of Southern Podillia. Even while traditional attachment to the Greek Catholic church and to communal self-reliance remained, there was a growing acceptance of innovative activities such as the establishment of consumer and producer cooperatives, fire insurance and communal credit associations. Especially proninent was the appearance of political awareness, particularly in respect of local political affairs. With increased knowledge and awareness came greater self-confidence and risk-taking, and an increased sense of control on the part of the peasantry over their own lives - in short, attributes of a modernizing population. Taken together, these developments show that Southern Podillian society was undergoing a transition from a static, subsistence-based society motivated by traditional behavior patterns, to a more mobile, forward-looking society. Many problems remained, but the legacy of the past historical interpretations of this society can no longer be sustained.

In the 1920's, the grouping of Galician intellectuals known as the Xeración Nós began, through their wide-ranging literary output and more specifically political activities, to articulate and reinterpret essential notions of Galician cultural identity after several centuries of cultural repression and centralisation. This thesis examines both the nexus of inherited positions informing this cultural recovery, and its original reformulation, through the works of the most prominent intellectual of the Xeración Nós, Ramón Otero Pedrayo (1888 1976). Otero was an important figure in Galician intellectual and cultural life over the larger part of the twentieth century, especially when expression of Galician distinctiveness, whether political or cultural, was severely limited and largely discouraged by the Franco regime. He is particularly deserving of an in-depth study, especially since this theme so intrinsically associated with him has not yet been written upon from a perspective of cultural history. In order to provide as accurate an analysis as possible of Otero's conception of Galician reality and the developmental nature of his ideas, I have consulted a large number of texts, ranging from brief journalistic sketches to dense biographical tomes. In particular, I focus on the large body of essays written by Otero such as the Ensaio histórico sobre a cultura galega (1932) and the more imaginative configuration of Galician identity contained in the trilogy of novels Os camiños da vida (1928), Arredor de si (1930) and Devalar (1935). This allows for an analysis of the writer's perspective on the essential bases of Galician culture via the recuperation through literature (most notably the influence of the broad cultural revival initiated in the 1860's, or Rexurdimento, and the influence of historical and cultural co-ordinates ultimately derived from Romantic thought). Crucial in shaping Otero's definitive vision is an eclectic array of references from cultural history both ancient and modern, ideological import through the Celtic ideal, and contemporary social issues (such as the political climate of the Second Republic). To be seen firmly within the parameters of an intellectual history, this thesis has as its objective an explanation how these intrinsic and extrinsic sources of influence condition Otero's evaluation of Galician distinctiveness, and what that quality actually embodies, within the context of the cultural activity prevalent in Galicia from 1918 to 1936 and beyond.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Die ersten gedruckten Notenhefte erscheinen in den ostslawischen Gebieten im 16. Jahrhundert.

The Galician hórreo is a traditional rural building of Northern Spain used for desiccation and conservation of cereal grains. This detached building provides natural ventilation, an unfavourable environment for biotic agents such as fungi and insects, and prevents the access of other animals, such as rodents. The essential typology of the Galician hórreo emerged historically as a result of many different cultures interacting with changing harvesting techniques related to growing cycles. Types are those persistent architectural elements that give form to the collective life of the city. This thesis examines the significance of the ‘hórreo’ typology in the context of Aldo Rossi’s advocacy of ‘type’ as a persistent architectural element that gives form to the collective life of a city or region and raising the issue of permanence in architecture within the fluid tides of history. The hórreo is perceived as an irreducible element encoded within the historical permanence of the regions of Galicia and Asturias. The thesis proposes an architecture that embodies time and memory in a world where space and time become increasingly compressed. In recognizing the limitations of typology in an era of accelerated experience, the thesis argues for its relevance by creating an architecture that bridges different eras and time periods for a culture like Galicia, that still remembers.

The Galician hórreo is a traditional rural building of Northern Spain used for desiccation and conservation of cereal grains. This detached building provides natural ventilation, an unfavourable environment for biotic agents such as fungi and insects, and prevents the access of other animals, such as rodents. The essential typology of the Galician hórreo emerged historically as a result of many different cultures interacting with changing harvesting techniques related to growing cycles. Types are those persistent architectural elements that give form to the collective life of the city. This thesis examines the significance of the ‘hórreo’ typology in the context of Aldo Rossi’s advocacy of ‘type’ as a persistent architectural element that gives form to the collective life of a city or region and raising the issue of permanence in architecture within the fluid tides of history. The hórreo is perceived as an irreducible element encoded within the historical permanence of the regions of Galicia and Asturias. The thesis proposes an architecture that embodies time and memory in a world where space and time become increasingly compressed. In recognizing the limitations of typology in an era of accelerated experience, the thesis argues for its relevance by creating an architecture that bridges different eras and time periods for a culture like Galicia, that still remembers.

Thesis (doctoral)--Universidad de Santiago, 1987. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [23]-42).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2004. / Advisor: Dr. Brenda L. Cappuccio, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Modern Languages and Linguistics. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Oct. 4,2004). Includes bibliographical references.