Despised People: An Exploration of Marginality in Spanish Culture

FAIN: FA-12102-78

Susan Tax Freeman
Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois (Chicago, IL 60612-4305)

To explore the place(s) in Spanish society of some of Spain's "despised peoples" (pueblos malditos) and of Spanish attitudes which contribute to the marginalization of these groups. The peoples in question have no known non-Iberian origins, though their neighbors have sought to ascribe non-Spanish ethnic status to them. Study will center largely on analysis of the corpus of Spanish proverbs and refrains as well as early legal codes and other literature reflecting Spanish attitudes on marginality and the relative honorability of various callings.