The People of the Plain: Class and Community in Lower Andalusia.

Abstract

Diverging from previous ethnographic studies of Spain that have limited themselves primarily to tiny mountain villages, Gilmore focuses on class relations and traditional culture in Fuenmayor, an Andalusian farming town of 8,000, to provide a greater understanding of complex societies. Unlike studies focused on homogeneous villages, Gilmore's study depicts a rural life characterized by class antagonism, political polorization, and occasional violence. As an ethnographic study of a single community, The People of the Plain breaks new ground by exploring the relationship between class conflict, political regression, and traditional culture in a modern complex society. At the same time, it provides an engaging view of Andalusian rural life in the twilight of the Franco regime.