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The CHIR is currently carrying out two research projects: Intercultural Identities in Border Regions. Belgian migration to Northern France (1850-1914) and The 'Nepantla' Generation. Identity discourse in the essays of second-generation Spanish exiles in Mexico.
Intercultural Identities
Belgian Migration to Northern France (1850-1914)
The migration of Belgian people, especially the Flemish, to France stretches out over the 19th century until shortly after the First World War, and reaches its
summit during the second half of the 19th century as a consequence
of the economical crisis in Flanders. The
combined factors of the crisis in the domestic and linen industry and the agricultural crisis in Flanders, led to a veritable
rural exodus towards the North of France, which was at that time experiencing the peak of
its industrial heyday. All in all, about 500,000 Belgians decided to cross the
Franco-Belgian border in search of employment. Away from their familiar environment, language, customs and modes of expression, they formed heterogeneous
relations with their homeland and created new hybrid identities in their new
surroundings.
To date not one thorough investigation has been made of the cultural aspect of the Belgian migration to Northern France. Because of its economical and demographical importance, the region does receive some attention from some historical subdisciplines (demography, economical history) though. However, the assimilation of Belgians in French society is never considered as a problem. The neglect of this subject is a consequence of the supposition that the integration of the Belgens went rather smoothly because of the geographical and cultural proximity of both regions.
This process of identity construction and acculturation of Belgian migrants in Northern France (1850-1914) is being studied from three different angles.
The 'Nepantla' Generation
Identity discourse in the essays of second-generation Spanish exiles in Mexico
This project explores the identity discourse in the essayistic texts written by the children of Republican exiles in Mexico. This so-called 'Nepantla' generation, after the Nahuatl word for "between two worlds", is characterized by its complex and multiple cultural identity. Through a discourse analysis of the essays of a representative sample of authors from this generation will be examined how these 'Hispanic Mexican' writers managed to construct an identity from the tension between the European and the American culture. Special attention will be paid to forms of interaction between the Spanish and Mexican intellectual traditions.
Two main research questions will be adressed in this study. The first one concerns the relation between the essays and their immediate context of origin: How do these authors present themselves and their readership, how do they represent their historical and geographic-cultural frame of reference? The second research question elaborates on the diachronic dimension of the central research question: How do these authors inscribe themselves in the Spanish cultural tradition in general and its essayistic tradition in particular?
Apart from the realization of a doctoral thesis (K.U. Leuven Campus Kortrijk) on identity construction in the essays of Luis Rius, José Pascual Buxó and Federico Patán, the project also encompasses the organization of an international colloquium at the University of Gent (UGent), entitled "Dialogue and Otherness in the Hispanic Essay" under the supervision of Eugenia Houvenaghel (UGent) and in collaboration with Diana Castilleja (FUSL Brussels).
