Bernarda Alba & Pereira: A Comparative Study
Bernarda Alba: A House of Mourning
Synopsis
The play unfolds in Bernarda Alba’s house, shortly after her husband’s funeral. Bernarda imposes a strict eight-year mourning period on her five daughters: Angustias, Magdalena, Amelia, Martirio, and Adela. Angustias, the eldest, is betrothed to Pepe el Romano, but their courtship is conducted clandestinely, fueling tensions and rivalries among the sisters, particularly Adela and Martirio, who are both drawn to Pepe. The play culminates in tragedy when
Read MoreCommunicative Language Teaching: Principles and Practices
Communicative Language Teaching (CLT)
CLT is an approach to learning and teaching, developed in reaction to the audiolingual and situational language teaching methods (based on structuralism and behaviorism). CLT emphasizes INTERACTION and sees it as:
- The ultimate goal of language learning.
- The process by which we learn a language.
Four Characteristics of CLT
- We use language to communicate.
- We need meaningful language to communicate effectively.
- The learner is the center of the teaching/learning process.
Understanding Force, Weight, and Motion: A Physics Primer
Understanding Force, Weight, and Motion
Force is anything that can deform a body or change its state of rest or motion.
Force = mass × acceleration
Representation of Forces
Forces are represented by arrows. The line segments indicate the direction, and the pointed end of an arrow indicates the sense.
Types of Forces
- Instantaneous forces: Act only during a very short period (e.g., kicking a ball).
- Constant forces: Act on an ongoing basis (e.g., the Earth’s gravity).
The unit of force is the Newton (N) in
Read MoreThe Poetry of Exile: Voices of Loss and Resilience
The Poetry of Exile
The list of poets who went into exile is long. It’s important to distinguish:
- The case of Antonio Machado, who died just days after leaving Spain.
- Poets of the “Generation of 14” (postmodernist, Novecento) like León Felipe and Juan Ramón Jiménez.
- Poets of the “Group of 27”. Lorca had died, but of the others, all but three were exiled. Along with all of them are poets who just began their work before the war or whose work consists entirely of exile experiences. Let us refer to
Essential Geography and Climatology Terms: A Concise Dictionary
Geography & Climatology Glossary
Aquifer: A combination of groundwater and the rock that stores and circulates the water.
Afluente (Tributary): A watercourse that flows into a larger body of water.
Temperature Range: The difference between the highest and lowest daily, monthly, or yearly temperatures; also known as thermal oscillation.
Anticyclone: A high-pressure zone surrounded by areas of lower pressure.
Anticline: A fold in the ground.
Aridity: A condition resulting from a lack of water due to
Read MoreSecond Spanish Republic: Key Events, Reforms, and Civil War
Key Events Leading to the Second Spanish Republic
- Central Events:
- The government of Canalejas
- The Tragic Week in Madrid
- After the Second Republic
- The municipal elections on April 12, 1931 (Communists)
- During the Spanish Civil War (Zaragoza, Seville)
Questions and Answers About the Republic
Spain’s Interest in Morocco
a) What interest did Spain have in Morocco? Mines.
The Coup of 1923
b) What situation led to the coup in 1923?
Measures Under Primo de Rivera
c) What were the main measures under Primo de Rivera?
Read MoreTransnational Crime: Human, Drug, and Arms Trafficking
Transnational Criminal Organizations
Transnational criminal organizations: size of the problem, rise of, reach, international response.
- Most operate in the shadows
- Linked to:
- States: weak, failed, or corrupt
- Non-state actors: terrorist or rebel movements
- Linked to:
- Increase in power
- Control territory, extract rents, provide public services, wage war
- Penetrate all areas of life
- Target society and economy
- Wealthy
- Drugs and arms most lucrative
- Human trafficking also very lucrative
Trafficking: Human, Drugs, Arms
Illegal trade
Read MoreEssential Travel Vocabulary & Phrases: Airport & Beyond
To weigh: pesar / Weight: peso
To depart: salir / Departure: salida
To arrive: llegar / Arrival: llegada
To board: embarcar / Boarding card: tarjeta de embarque
To refund: devolver, reembolsar / Refund: reembolso, devolución
To unpack: deshacer la maleta
To go abroad: ir al extranjero
To board a plane: subir al avión
To check in: comprobar
To land: aterrizar
To take off: despegar
To go through customs: pasar por la aduana
To make a complaint: hacer/ presentar una queja
To apply for: solicitar
Give up… (ing)
Spain’s Ecclesiastical Confiscations: Mendizabal and Madoz Laws
Mendizabal’s Confiscation (1835-1844)
In 1835, facing a treasury deficit, Mendizabal returned to Spain and implemented several laws between 1835 and 1837 to confiscate church property. Royal decrees in 1836 dissolved and closed convents (secularization) and seized property of religious orders. This led to the nationalization and public auction of rural and urban properties, movable assets, and even libraries and artwork. Initially targeting the regular clergy, the 1837 Ley de Bienes Nacionales extended
Read MoreUnderstanding Bonds, Stocks, and Market Valuation
As time passes, interest rates change in the markets, which affects the present value of a bond. When interest rates increase, the present value of the bond decreases, and when interest rates fall, the bond is worth more. There is an inverse relationship between interest rates and bond prices.
Yield to Maturity (YTM) is the opportunity rate for bonds of similar characteristics, the interest rate required in the market on a bond, and the rate implied by the current bond price. The YTM represents the
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