Catalan Studies encompasses a wide variety of fields of intellectual inquiry and production, including history, linguistics, literature, cultural studies, anthropology, sociology, political science, the history of art and architecture, and philosophy, with a focus on the Catalan-speaking areas.
Since Catalan-speaking areas encompass different nation-states (specifically, Spain, Andorra, France, and Italy), Catalan Studies comprise an especially exciting field of research into phenomena such as cultural identity, linguistic policy, multilingualism, language acquisition, nationalism, immigration, globalization, and so-called minor or minoritized cultural, linguistic, and political formations.
With a richly complex literary, artistic, and political tradition stretching from the Middle Ages to present day, the Catalan-speaking areas, and more particularly Barcelona, have been at the center of innovative projects in areas as diverse as architecture (Domènech i Montaner, Puig i Cadafalch, Gaudí, Demetri Ribes, Sert, Bohigas, Bofill, Tusquets, Miralles, Calatrava), painting (Ribera, Fortuny, Dalí, Miró, Tàpies, Sorolla, Barceló) music (Granados, Casals, Iturbi, Mompou), literature (Llull, March, Martorell, Fontanella, Verdaguer, Oller, Maragall, Víctor Català, Villalonga, Rodoreda, Pla, Calders, Blai Bonet, Gimferrer, Fuster, Estellés, Riera, Monzó, Porcel, Moncada, and Torrent; or, writing in Spanish, Blasco Ibáñez, Vázquez Montalbán, Marsé, Mendoza, Vila-Matas, Chirbes), theater (la Festa o Misteri d’Elx, la Sibil·la, Guimerà, Rusiñol, Teixidor, Belbel, Benet i Jornet, Els Joglars, Els Comediants, and La Fura dels Baus), film (Pere Portabella, Ventura Pons, Isabel Coixet, Albert Serra, J.A. Bayona, Agustí Vilallonga, Mar Coll), cuisine (Ferran Adrià, Carme Ruscalleda, Santi Taura, Germans Roca), design, fashion, popular culture, or sports.