Thesis (M.A. in National Security Affairs)--Naval Postgraduate School, June 2004. / Thesis advisor(s): Donald Abenheim. Includes bibliographical references (p. 85-90). Also available online.

Texte remanié de: Th. 3e cycle--Histoire--Paris 1, 1988. / Bibliogr. p. 497-510. Index.

The thesis proposes a marketing strategy for the Czech Centre Madrid based on the assumptions from the Strategy of Czech Centres 2012--2015. The thesis suggests new ways in which the Czech Centre Madrid can engage Czech companies in foreign presentation, new ways of external project funding, and new ways to improve the marketing communication and to strengthen the public relations of the Czech Centre Madrid.

Thesis (Doctoral)--Universitaria Española, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 403-412).

Thesis (Doctoral)--Universitaria Española, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 403-412).

This study serves as an introduction to three recent narratives in Spanish Science Fiction. While this literary genre has long been read in Spain in translation, it is only recently that Sci-Fi has been successful as a popular literature produced by native authors. Álex de la Iglesia, Gabriela Bustelo and Rafael Reig have worked in realist and genre fiction through their careers but chose to use Science Fiction to speak of the rapidly changing space of Madrid. Their criticism is centered on the changes to the physical, social, economic and political landscape of Madrid post-1992. My analysis is based on the works of the geographer David Harvey, among others, which helps to underline the importance of the urbanization of capital and consciousness that the three narratives disentangle. While being three very different texts - one film and two novels -, they all manipulate concerns of time and space to come to a similar conclusion. Their narratives serve as a warning about how the good intentions of humanist theories like feminism or scientific advancement can easily turn into a nightmare by instead serving the needs of capitalism rather than those of social justice.

In the present effort, the philosopher Henri Bergson’s (1859-1941) seminal philosophical work functions as a revitalizing force and even an implicit point of departure for the more urban-oriented critique of Henri Lefebvre’s (1901-1991) watershed text L’Producción de l’espace/The Production of Space (1974). Both Lefebvre and Bergson in fact share a common perception of space—it is neither a static ground, nor an apriori condition of experience as Kant argued, but is instead a process inseparable from time and implicated in thought itself. Grounded in this resulting novel understanding of space, time and difference, I use an interdisciplinary approach to analyze Madrid’s cultural imaginary through novels by Belén Gopegui (1992), Pío Baroja (1911) and Luis Martín-Santos (1961); films by Carlos Saura (1996), Alejandro Amenábar (1997), and American Jim Jarmusch (1992); and the urban space of Madrid’s Retiro Park. The purpose of this work is twofold. On the one hand it is an attempt to reconcile the spatial issues of concern to cultural or human geography with an approach to social life grounded in the humanities. On the other it is a call for a deeper understanding of methodology taken in its widest sense. The former seeks not only to introduce spatial questions to the analysis of literature and film but also to articulate the intimate relation of cultural products to the urban processes in which they are formed, interpreted and sold. The latter requires an investigation of the philosophical preconceptions that structure our spatial practice and interpretation, as well as an awareness of the consequences these preconceptions hold—not only for understanding our common world, but also for producing it and finally for the possibility of changing it through action. These twin purposes—bringing geographical concerns into the humanities and assessing the philosophical bases of our spatial production and interpretation—are not so far removed. Through a careful reading of the above key literary, filmic and urban texts from twentieth century Madrid, this work explores the important consequences of conceiving of space as simultaneously mental and physical. In the Bergsonian fashion, these explorations seek to dispense with the stagnant and irreconcilable philosophical tropes of both pure materialism and pure idealism in order to yield a more precise understanding of cultural forms as living processes.

Memoria para optar al título de Arquitecto

The New Madrid Seismic Zone is well known for its historical seismicity, most notably the 1811-12 New Madrid, MO earthquakes and to a lesser extent the 1895 Charlston, MO earthquake. It has been 124 years since an earthquake larger than M 5.1 occurred in the area. The debate of whether the New Madrid Seismic Zone is an active system or a system in decline has remained a contentious topic when interpreting the intricacies and challenges of an intraplate seismic system. This thesis focuses on an overlooked parameter in the already complex issue regarding the seismic hazard of the New Madrid Seismic Zone. In the early part of the 20th century the Little River Drainage District excavated 9.7 x 109 metric tons of overburden and drained approximately 5000 km2 from within the New Madrid Seismic Zone. Our model demonstrates that the Little River Drainage District resulted in a likely perturbation of the seismic system. The overburden removal, coupled with a reduction of the water column has moved the system away from failure when interpreted in the context of regional stress orientation in relation to the geographic orientation of the Little River Drainage District. This potentially explains the apparent lack of moderate to large events over the past century in the New Madrid Seismic Zone.

The aim of this thesis is to investigate ideas of empire and imperialism in the architecture, urbanism and culture of the Iberian Peninsula during the sixteenth century. At this time, the Monarchia Hispanica ruled by Philip II of Spain was Europe’s most powerful composite monarchy, with an empire that stretched from Europe to the Americas and South-East Asia. One of the ways in which the Castilian monarch displayed his power and authority was through architecture and artistic display. The way the empire saw itself, and the manner in which it wished to be seen, was thus projected in a number of buildings in Iberian cities. Therefore, the basic premise of the thesis is to consider how the idea of ‘empire’ affected the way the Castilian monarch saw himself as ‘ruler’ of a ‘global empire’. This thesis explores these ideas of empowerment through a number of case studies that reflect the way the ‘centre’ of the empire was affected by Universal Monarchy. With Madrid as the capital of this empire from 1561, the Castilian monarchy designed new spaces in the old city that were intended to echo imperial glory. Philip II regulated the building fabric in the city to conform to a universal and homogeneous imperial city model that had been implemented in the Indies in previous decades. This is precisely the focus of the first case study, with a new approach to understanding the debated decade of the 1560s in the urban history of Madrid. I propose a novel perspective on the utopian planning of Madrid, through comparison with urban legislation enforced in other domains of the empire. Philip II’s empire was ruled through the written word, with a highly specialised and sophisticated bureaucracy. This bureaucratic character was mirrored in the architectural reforms of Simancas fortress to adapt it for archival needs. The archive in Simancas is the second case study: this is a multi-layered examination of cultural and political history and how this was reflected in the spatial configuration of the new archival chambers. I identify a hitherto unknown European vernacular tradition in the architecture of the incipient sixteenth-century regal archives. The architectural expansion in the fortress contextualises the crucial role that the archives played in the expansion and cohesion of the composite monarchies under Philip II’s rule. As the supremacy of Philip as ruler of a global empire was emphasised both through the arts and propaganda during the union of 1580, the celebration of the union of Portugal with the Monarchia Hispanica is the focus of chapter three: the joyous entry of the ruler into Lisbon in 1581. I demonstrate how sections of this entry were clearly designed to evoke the imperial vision defined at Philip II’s court, while other ephemeral displays were the result of local traditions. The interaction of both realities is critical for comprehension of how the monarch wished to be seen in his new realm, and of the difficult relationships between the ruler and the ruled. This imperial dominion was also displayed architecturally in significant regal buildings, such as the Monastery of El Escorial, the most paradigmatic example of the Austriaco style created under Phillip II’s rule. The final part of this thesis examines a chamber in this building: the Hall of Battles. This chamber is ornamented with impressive frescoes representing victorious battles. I explore the themes emerging from the Hall of Battles, such as the war against heresy and infidels, the propagation of faith and the Spanish hegemony in Europe, amongst others. These themes were treated in many of the chronicles, sermons, and eulogies printed in Madrid and throughout the empire. By examining how these are narrated in the funeral chronicles, I consider how the ruler wished himself to be portrayed in his kingdom upon death. In short, all these case studies explore from diverse perspectives and locations how Spain’s imperial expansion during the sixteenth century allowed Philip to project and communicate an image of himself as the monarch of a worldwide empire through art and architecture.