The first chronicle of Miguel Hernandez: The New Journalism (1936-1939)

This paper presents and analyzes the first literary-journalistic chronicle writen and published by Miguel Hernández: “Defensa de Madrid. Madrid y las ciudades de Retaguardia”, during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). This chronicle is the first one of a series establishing a new and personal type of journalism: literary chronicles –poetical and political-. Miguel Hernandez published his masterpieces in different newspapers as a war reporter, with his own name and with a pen-name, playing roles of director and political commissar in different newspapers in the war-trenches. Thematically, this first article shows his personal and political engagement, as well as his desire and strategy to protect the capital city of Spain: Madrid. Methodologically, the analysis is an approached to linguistics in social sciences, which presents some of the personal characteristics and style of the chronist Miguel Hernández. Thus, it becomes patent that the so-called New Journalism (narrative and literary), which flourished in the 70s, had already been deeply and efficiently practiced by Miguel Hernández 40 years before. That is the reason why Miguel Hernández deserves to be added to the well-known collective of chronicle writers that have already been rescued to this moment. His literary style and quality are installing him in a outstanding position as well as pioneer of the genre nowadays known as New Journalism that in his case, it is politically engaged

Public religions and civil society: the case of London Methodism

Amendments to secularization theory have brought the issue of public religions to the fore in recent years. In particular, the work of Casanova and Beyer has maintained the importance of functional differentiation whilst pointing to the flow of religious discourses across social boundaries. These issues, however, have received little ethnographic attention, such that many of the problems associated with theories of differentiation and globalization have not been engaged in a sustained manner. Research within black majority London Methodist congregations is drawn upon to suggest ways in which these theories can be reconsidered. Three related issues are focused upon: the continued importance of the nation-state (including national stratifications); the importance of a practical approach to religion, such that discourses are understood as ‘practical discourses’; and the importance of not privileging religion by reifying it in functional terms. These considerations have ramifications not only for secularization theory, but the general field of the sociological study of religion.

Spanish Sociology and Anti-Semitism Between passed prejudice and key to civilization

There is a significant lack of sociological research in Spain about anti-Semitism. At the same time there are alarming anti-Semitic tendencies and anti-Jewish stereotypes which are above the European average. This article aims to explain this lack of sociological research about anti-Semitism in Spain. Therefore two types of explications are offered: on the one hand side some structural problems will be shown which sociology in general had since its beginnings and which complicate the understanding of anti-Semitism. Furthermore explications regarding the specific social and historic situation in Spain and of Spanish sociology in particular will be exposed. It will be shown that for its rationalistic character and with the exception of very few authors – who are considered marginalized for practical research – sociology in general has had enormous problems in understanding anti-Semitism. The specific historic situation, Francoism, the dispute about the historic memory and the delayed institutionalisation of sociology could also explain the lack of sociological interest in the topic especially in Spain. The article shows that the study of anti-Semitism is not only relevant for struggling against this burden of society in many of its variants. Furthermore, thinking about anti-Semitism can help sociology to recognise its own epistemological problems. It can serve to criticise and improve instruments of sociological research by showing the limitations of the sociological approach and to uncover the importance of interdisciplinary research for understanding specific social phenomena. In that sense, anti-Semitism, far from being a marginal subject, can be considered a key topic in the process of civilisation and it can help us to decipher the contemporary Spanish society.