Desert Hawk Books

 

The bullring as a microcosm of Spain

Bulls, Bullfighting, and Spanish Identities

Carrie B. Douglass

 

 

Paperback
245 pages
10 photos, 3 maps
6^.125" x 9.25"

Quantity: $17.95 & S/H

 

"Readers who enjoy festival will not be disappointed - Douglass takes them by the hand and never loses her lucidity amidst the merrymaking." - Journal of Anthropological Research

The matador flourishes his cape, the bull charges, the crowd cheers: this is the image of Spain best known to the world. But while the bull has long been a symbol of Spanish culture, it carries more meaning than has previously been recognized.

Carrie Douglass views bulls and bullfighting as a means of discussing fundamental oppositions in Spanish society and explains the political significance of those issues for one of Europe's most regionalized countries. In talking about bulls and bullfighting, she observes, one ends up talking not only about differences in region, class, and politics in Spain but also about that country's ongoing struggle between modernity and tradition.

"An important study, one which promises to be widely discussed as Spain continues its uneven movement toward modernity." - Virginia Quarterly Review

"As a detailed explanation of the workings - symbolic and practical - of the bullfighting system and of how these lucid events are reconfigured in different parts of Spain, the book is authoritative and demonstrates careful archival research, excellent control of the theme literature, and solid fieldwork." - Choice

Carrie B. Douglass is Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Spanish at Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, Virginia.