The Presence of the English Culture in Andalusia

 

 

In order to celebrate the day of Andalusia, we suggested investigating the presence of the British culture in the Andalusian autonomous community. As we belong to the bilingual program, with this activity our main purpose was to make our students aware of the fact that the different cultures have historically been influencing each other, and the British one and the Andalusian one are no exception.

 In Physics and Chemistry they dealt with the exploitation of Riotinto mines and the minerals extracted, which were developed by British Mining Companies. They studied the main minerals extracted, their composition, the methods used to extract them and the influence of the British People in the area.

 

In Physical Education the students were introduced the Gaelic Football, which is a national sport in Ireland and Scotland and which is played in Seville. All our students know about football, soccer, and its British origin so we thought that it could be interesting to work with a different sport from the British scope.

 

In English Language we studied the influence that the English language has historically had on the areas where there has been contact between British and Spanish people. Basically they found out that there are many words in Malaga (sailors), Cadiz (wineries and sailors), Huelva (mines), ... used by Spanish people derived from English words such as manguara, aliquindoi o guachisnai.

  

 In Music they learnt about Andalusian musicians known internationally, their main works and some biographical details. They learnt also about the most important contribution of the Andalusian artists to the global music.

 In Philosophy students searched for Andalusian philosophers in their bilingual classes which have made relevant philosophical contributions to the world: Séneca, Avicebrón (Ibn Gabirol), Averroes, Maimónides, María Zambrano, creating a series of posters with their most relevant information.

 In History the students work with texts dealing with the historical links that there has been between Castilian and English aristocracy and monarchs through marriages and alliances. They also learnt about the American writer Washington Irving and the vision he presented of the Andalusia in the early 19th century in his Tales of the Alhambra.