Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems for Social sciences

Understanding Socialism and Social Movements

Socialism is a social movement, both theoretical and practical, aimed at combating economic inequalities faced as a result of economic liberalism. It consists of three main streams:

The Three Main Streams of Socialism

• Anarchism: Characterized not only by struggling against economic inequalities but also against the state and all forms of centralized power. There are two large currents:
  • Individualist Anarchism: Its objective is to seek maximum individual freedom against any type of restriction, whether political, religious, or moral.
  • Collective Anarchism: Considers man an eminently social being, whose release cannot come except through collective struggle.
• Utopian Socialism: This stream is featured by its

The Enlightenment: Core Ideas and Global Diffusion

Description: The Enlightenment was a new school of thought characterized by the use of reason for understanding natural and social reality. It emerged in England and the Dutch Republic, with France becoming the central diffuser of this philosophy, which subsequently spread throughout Europe and America.

Enlightenment thought lacked a systematic theory. Its ideas were derived from the sum of contributions from various influential authors, including Locke, Montesquieu, Rousseau, and Voltaire.

Key Characteristics of Enlightenment Thought

• The predominance of reason as the instrument for obtaining truth, in relation to other forms of knowledge (e.g., revelation and tradition). This led to the use of

The Welfare State

This term refers to the democracies of industrialized countries, which were not significantly developed until the 1970s. The state intervenes decisively in economic and social life, seeking to unite economic growth and respect for capitalist market rules with social justice and wealth redistribution.

In 1942, the theoretical political framework received a major boost in Britain with the Social Security Report and related services, known as the Beveridge Report. This report presented a broad program of social insurance policies aimed at ensuring a minimum standard of comfort and protection for all citizens, especially the most humble workers.

The Welfare Democracies: Features

• Imitation of the U.S. and Britain.
• Parliamentary traditions

Scientific & Technical Language: Key Concepts

Understanding Terminologies

Terminologies are sets of voices characteristic of certain specialized scientific or technical disciplines. They are characterized by objectivity, accuracy, and stability, characteristic of their own voices, called technicalities.

Defining Technicalities

Technicalities are formed through referral procedures, the composition of Greco-Latin root words, abbreviations, acronyms, shortenings, lexical and semantic loans, changes in word meaning through metaphor or metonymy, and the invention of new words.

Elements of Scientific Discourse

The scientific discourse schema is an explanatory model for problem-solving. It often includes descriptive, narrative, sequential, prescriptive... Continue reading "Characteristics of Scientific Language and Poetic Expression" »

Post-War Catalan Culture

The Spanish Civil War was a crisis for Catalan culture, initiating a process of 'espanyolitzacio' (Spanish assimilation). Culture developed in three main areas:

• Public culture: Aimed at reaching people within the allowed framework.
• Underground culture: Practiced privately, often at home.
• Culture of exile: Developed by Catalans living abroad.

The goals were to preserve the language and institutions, restore social and cultural prestige, revive cultural contacts, group disoriented individuals, and avoid ideological and linguistic capitulation.

The Writers' Dilemma

The disorientation of Catalan intellectuals after the war and the disappearance of significant figures, coupled with a decrease in readership due to repression, led... Continue reading "Catalan Culture and Literature After the Spanish Civil War" »

Imperialism, particularly in the last third of the nineteenth century during the Second Industrial Revolution, saw major European powers leverage their superior technical and economic capabilities to create vast colonial empires. These empires were established by colonizing territories such as Africa and Asia, which often had very weak economic and political structures.

Causes of Imperialism

• Economic Causes

  European nations sought new markets to invest capital and to extract raw materials as cheaply as possible.

• Demographic Causes

  Growing populations in Europe had trouble finding work. Colonialism offered Europeans the possibility to emigrate and improve their life and work prospects.

• Political Causes

  The Great Powers entered a competition to control

The Restoration Regime (1874–1902)

The dominant classes (landowners, industrial bourgeoisie, and the Church) had the experience of the Sexenio Democrático and feared a revolutionary workers' movement. This led them to create a system that was apparently democratic but, in practice, prevented the participation of the popular classes in political life.

Foundations of the System

• Alternation in Power: The two dynastic parties alternated power (Conservative Party – Cánovas; Liberal Party – Sagasta).
• Monarchy: The King acted as a moderator and referee.
• Army: Granted autonomy in exchange for non-interference in politics.
• Constitution: Established in 1876.

The Conservative Party

The most resistant to change (immobilists); defenders of traditional Catholic... Continue reading "Spain's Restoration Era (1874-1902): Politics and the 1876 Constitution" »

The Context of Literary Change

In the late eighteenth century, the French Revolution (1789) introduced a new political framework. Society was divided into absolutists and liberals. This coincided with the Industrial Revolution, which spread throughout Europe in the nineteenth century. In Spain, the situation was exacerbated by the Napoleonic invasion and the War of Independence. Subsequently, Ferdinand VII restored absolutism.

Romantic Literature Characteristics

• Freedom, originality, individualism.
• Vibrant expression and rhetoric.
• Rebellion, evasion, projection onto nature, and nationalism.

Romantic Literature Sources

Influences include Goethe (Faust) and the Romantic poet Lord Byron.

Romantic Poetry

Characterized by polimetría (mixed verse and stanza... Continue reading "19th Century Spanish Literature: Romanticism to Naturalism" »

Quality Principles of a Project (PDS Aragonesa)

Model of shared education and participation of individuals and groups involved. Development of an interdisciplinary team. Training of agents for context analysis, planning, methodology, evaluation, and education.

Stages of Intervention Planning (Community Program for PDS)

1. Identification of priority problems.
2. Setting general and specific objectives.
3. Identification of activities to achieve objectives.
4. Forecasting resource requirements.
5. Setting operational objectives.
6. Commissioning.
7. Evaluation of program progress.

Pineaut

Current Community Situation

Community Activities

Traditionally directed to schools, workplaces, and identified population groups (elderly, youth, women). New challenges in Europe include aging,... Continue reading "Quality Principles & Community Programs: PDS Aragonesa Model" »

Historical Context

Historical Context: After the Civil War ended, General Franco established a dictatorship that abolished basic freedoms and suppressed workers' demands, autonomy, etc. Franco's dictatorship was supported by the Army, the Falange, and the Church, who provided its legitimacy. The internal transformation of Spanish society and international circumstances forced him to go through different phases:

• Autarky (1940-1955, approximately): During these years, the Franco regime was isolated from the outside and was absent from international institutions. The interior policy was harshly repressive. During the war, Spain remained outside the economic, social, cultural, and technological development of previous decades.
• Opening (1955-1970,