Brighton lecturer picks up Catalan literary award

Language Attitudes, National Identity and Migration in Catalonia: What the Women Have to Say (Sussex Academic Press, 2019) examines language, nation and identity from a gendered perspective and investigates to what extent women use Catalan in their everyday social practices to construct gendered and national identities.

The English Language and Linguistics lecturer’s monograph was honoured in the Catalan Studies section of the awards, which are organised by Serra d’Or, a cultural publication platform that was originally used to air political and cultural views by Catalan intellects during the Franco dictatorship. Since Spain transitioned to democracy, the magazine has featured a wide range of political views.

Dr Iveson’s research typically focuses on nationalism, language ideologies, gender and identity. Her book, ‘What Women Have to Say’, analyses the preservation of the Catalan language during General Franco’s regime, how the feminist movement and changes in migration transformed the relationship between gender and nation and the role of Catalan in defining women’s identities in Catalonia today.

She said: “I am really proud to receive this award, especially as it is the endorsement of the Catalan people where I carried out my research. This research was the culmination of two decades of ‘ethnography’ where I endeavoured to understand the complexity of Catalonia’s relationship with language, nation and identity through a gendered lens and uncover women’s experiences which may have been hidden or silenced.”

The award ceremony was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, with winners announced online on March 31, 2020.

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