Ramón Flecha

Ramón Flecha is a professor of sociology at the University of Barcelona, Doctor Honoris Causa from West University of Timişoara,[1] and a renowned researcher in social sciences in Europe. Alain Touraine commented about Flecha's contribution:[2]

At times, as Ramón Flecha demonstrates, knowledge goes from bottom to top, when individuals without degrees produce and invent cultural analyses based on their own experience.

Ulrich Beck has said that Flecha's book Contemporary Sociological Theory[3]

combines rigorous research with facts, including the intention for a dialogical utopia. But this broad intention is presented in the book, joining theory with critique and empirical research with praxis, in such a charming way that it grabs its readers and captures them under its spell.

Flecha’s investigations stand out for their joint impact in the scientific, political and social domains. The main conclusion of the first project that he directed in the European Union’s Framework Program of research WORKALO,[4] The creation of new occupational patterns for cultural minorities: The gypsy case, was passed by unanimous vote by the European Parliament,[5] leading to different European and member states’ policies.[6] The second project directed by him (INCLUD-ED[7] Strategies for inclusion and social cohesion from education in Europe) was the only one from the Social Sciences and Humanities included in the list that the European Commission published with 10 successful scientific investigations.[8] Ramon Flecha is currently directing the project IMPACT-EV[9] Evaluating the impact and outcomes of European SSH research, which is the research project that the European Commission’s 7th Framework Programme of research has funded in order to develop indicators and standards that will serve to evaluate not only the scientific impact of the research in the Social Sciences and the Humanities but particularly its political and social impacts. To the recognised experience of Flecha in achieving outstanding scientific, political and especially social impact demonstrated—among other projects—in the former EC-funded research he has led, the IMPACT-EV consortium, adds the expertise of highly known experts in the analysis and assessment of research impact from eight other institutions in Europe.

His sociological contributions cover different areas: research methodology (communicative methodology), culture (dialogic literary gatherings), economy (successful cooperative actions), education (learning communities), cultural groups (dialogic societal community), new masculinities (alternative masculinities), sociology of science (scientific, political and social impact) and social theory (dialogic societies). His work has been published in twelve different languages including German, Catalan, Korean, Chinese, Spanish, Basque, Galician, Finnish, French, English, Portuguese, Romanian.

A doctoral thesis published as a book presents large evidence of the coherence in both his personal and his social life through with the values and feelings that he has promoted through his intellectual work. This thesis, entitled "Aportaciones de Jesús Gómez y Ramón Flecha a las teorías y prácticas dialógicas (1965-2006)" [Contributions of Jesús Gómez and Ramon Flecha a to dialogic theories and practices][10] was defended by Elisenda Giner and directed by Donaldo Macedo (University of Massachusetts), Floro Sanz (UNED) and LuisTorrego (Universidad de Valladolid). The hall was full of people coming from very different places. It ended with the proven conclusion: we can teach boys and girls that their friendships, if they take care of them, cannot only make their lives extraordinary, but also improve the lives of all humanity.[11]

Biography

Ramon Flecha was born in 1952. In 1967 he collaborated in the creation of a center of cultural activities in the poorest area of his hometown, Bilbao. From 1969, and until the dawn of democracy in Spain, he was a member of the clandestine movement against Franco’s dictatorship (Giner, 2010).[11] He played a relevant role as a leader of the democratic movement in all the places where he studied, worked or lived, managing to combine this role with his open opposition to those who within these clandestine movements were in favor of other sort of dictatorships and to those who exerted or justified sexual harassment within organizations. As proven by the many and diverse evidence collected by Dr. Giner (2010), he was always consistent in his personal and social life with the ideas bof democracy, equality and freedom which he defended in his work.

In 1978 he moved to live in a neighborhood with shaks in Barcelona and he founded the Popular Centre La Verneda-Sant Martí, which cultural democratic task has been highlighted by an article in the Harvard Educational Review,[12] being the first Spanish educational experience published in this journal. The theory and practice of Dialogic learning[13] elaborated in that first experience has been the basis of the transformation of schools in Learning Communities.[14] His book Sharing Words (published in Spain, USA and China) narrates the personal and social transformation of the participants in the dialogic literary gatherings[15] which is a cultural activity created by Flecha in 1981. In the first scientific studies that he directed, he elaborated the communicative methodology of research which is currently acknowledged, published and taught by some of the most relevant scientific research programs, the best universities and the most relevant journals.[16] His theory of the dialogic societies has guided the foundation and the activities mof a research centre (CREA) which is being presented as a model of sociological work in the 21st century. In 2007, he started, together with Erik Olin Wright an International research network about successful companies with solidarity, and therefore his concept of successful cooperative actions.[17] In 1977, he started a work around the new masculinities that has been opening up a path against the flow until recently when the concept of alternative masculinities is being investigated and published.

In 1991 Flecha founded CREA,[18] centre of research that has had a great impact improving both forms of work as well the personal relations within the Spanish universities. The research of SAFO, CREA women’s group, led to the legislation of the obligation for Spanish universities to have commissions of equality and protocols against gender violence in the Equality Law of 2007. In January 2004 they broke the silence in Spanish universities[19] and Flecha supported them as the director of the centre.[20] The hard prosecution of the university lobby of harassers against the members of the centre did not stop the fact that, from then on, Spanish university professors were more free to develop their intellectual tasks and also freely decide their personal relationships, with the strength of the harassments to prevent this decreasing slowly. In 2016, the article "Breaking the Silence in Spanish Universities: Findings From the First Study of Violence Against Women on Campuses in Spain" was published in the journal Violence Against Women (first of this topic in the JCR ranking), where recognizes Ramón Flecha for initiating the fight against gender violence in Spanish universities and not give up despite the attacks and harassment received since then.[21] CREA has also been distinguished for maintaining an internal atmosphere of scientific and coexistence excellence among people from very diverse options as regards culture, gender, ideology, religion, types of life and social origins.

In 2007, he received the Doctorate Honoris Causa by the University of West Timisoara. In the year 2010 the FAGIC (Federation of Roma Associations of Catalonia) awarded him with the FAGIC prize for his contribution to the recognition of the Roma people. In June 2013, he received the Gold Medal for the Merit in Education 2012 awarded by the Government of Andalusia.[22][23]

Throughout his career, Flecha has given lectures around the world, in universities such as Harvard, Columbia, Montpellier, Aachen, Glasgow, Porto Alegre, Seoul, and UNAM.

Publications

References

  1. ↑ In 2007, Flecha was sworn in Doctor Honoris Causa by West University of Timişoara by a unanimous vote, due to his trajectory and scientific contribution to the social sciences. http://www.ri.uvt.ro/old/dri/index.php?lang=ro&pagina=dhc, retrieved 5 June 2011.
  2. ↑ Words of commentary from Alain Touraine about the book: Flecha, R. (2000): Sharing Words. Lanham, M.D: Rowman & Littlefield.
  3. ↑ Words of Ulrich Beck in the prologue of the book: Flecha, R.; Gómez, J. & Puigvert, L. (2003): Contemporary Sociological Theory. New York : Peter Lang.
  4. ↑ "WORKALO, a RTD of The European Commission". Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  5. ↑ EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT. European Parliament resolution on the Situation of Roma in Europe and Marking the International Roma Day, PE 357.314v01-00, P6_TA-PROV (2005) 0151, 20 April 2005
  6. ↑ CONGRESO DE LOS DIPUTADOS. Proposición no de ley relativa al reconocimiento de los derechos del pueblo gitano (Proposal not of Law regarding the Recognition of the rights of the Romà). Diario de sesiones del Congreso de los Diputados. Legislatura VIII, 27 de Septiembre, 2005, nº114, 5761–5768
  7. ↑ "- INCLUD-ED". Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  8. ↑ Internetredaktion, Redaktion: net4society. "net4society - Success Stories: Impact of Socio-economic Sciences and Humanities". Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  9. ↑ "IMPACT-EV". Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  10. ↑ Giner, E. (2010). Aportaciones de Jesús Gómez y Ramón Flecha a las teorías y prácticas dialógicas (1965-2006). Tesis doctoral.
  11. 1 2 Giner, E. (2010). Aportaciones de Jesús Gómez y Ramón Flecha a las teorías y prácticas dialógicas (1965-2006). Dissertation.
  12. ↑ Sánchez, M. (1999): La Verneda-Sant Martí: A school where people dare to dream. Harvard Educational Review, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University. n. 3, v. 69, pp. 320-357. Available in: http://www.hepg.org/her/abstract/157, retrieved 26th of October, 2008
  13. ↑ Valls, R. & Padros, M. (2011). Using Dialogic Research to Overcome Poverty: from principles to action. European Journal of Education. 46(2), 173-183. doi: 10.1111/j.1465-3435.2011.01473.x
  14. ↑ Brown, M., Goméz, A., & Munté, A. (2013). Procesos dialógicos de planificación de los servicios sociales: el proceso de cambio en los barrios de La Milagrosa y La Estrella (Albacete). SCRIPTA NOVA-Revista Electronica de Geografia y Ciencias Sociales, 17(427), 6. Retrieved from: http://www.ub.edu/geocrit/sn/sn-427/sn-427-6.htm
  15. ↑ Pulido, C., & Zepa, B. (2010). La interpretación interactiva de los textos a través de las tertulias literarias dialógicas. Special Issue: Communicative acts for social inclusion, Signos, 43(2),295-309.
  16. ↑ Munté, A., Serradell, O. & Sordé, T.(2011). From research to policy: Roma participation through communicative organization. Qualitative Inquiry, 17(3), 256-266. doi: 10.1177/1077800410397804
  17. ↑ Redondo, G., Santa Cruz, I. & Rotger, J. (2011). Why Mondragon? Analyzing what works in overcoming inequalities. Qualitative Inquiry, 17(3), 277-283.doi: 10.1177/1077800410397806
  18. ↑ Entrevista Escuela, retrieved 28th of February, 2009
  19. ↑ "SAFO, (CREA's Women Group) has broken the silence about the gender violence in Spanish universities". 28 September 2009. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  20. ↑ Carta de Agradecimiento a Ramón Flecha por el trabajo llevado a cabo como Director de CREA
  21. ↑ Valls, R., Puigvert, L., Melgar, P. and Garcia-Yeste, C., 2016. Breaking the Silence at Spanish Universities Findings From the First Study of Violence Against Women on Campuses in Spain. Violence against women,p.1077801215627511.
  22. ↑ "Inicio - Consejería de Educación". Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  23. ↑ Video on YouTube


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