"Lazy, Improvident People": Myth and Reality in the Writing of Spanish History

Author: MacKay, RuthBrand: Cornell University PressEdition: 1Number Of Pages: 312EAN: 9780801444623Release Date: 19-04-2006Languages: EnglishBinding: HardcoverPackage Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.0 inchesDetails: Review Ruth MacKay's 'Lazy, Improvident People' is a critical examination of the common notion that Spaniards in general have historically preferred to do anything rather than dishonor themselves through manual labor.... To MacKay, the myth of the 'lazy, improvident' Spaniards amounts to a series of discourses in which intellectuals, Spanish and foreign alike, have for centuries been responding largely to each other in ways that reflect the specific political contingencies of their own moments rather than the social and economic realities that characterized the lives of the overwhelming majority of ordinary Spaniards.... The strength of this rich and thought-provoking monograph lies above all in the synthetic range achieved by the author via her thoughtful engagement with an inc