The
Estudi General Lul-lià is an educational and research institution
founded in Palma in 1951 to promote culture in Majorca and to bring
back the possibility of university studies to the island. For several
years courses in law and arts and letters were given in the Estudi until
they were discontinued due to economic reasons. In 1959 the "Catédra"
Ramon Llull, a professorship associated with the Department of Arts
and Letters of the University of Barcelona, was created to offer courses
for doctorate programs and summer courses focusing mainly on the area
of philology. These programs were later amplified to include other scientific
branches.
From
1967 to 1973 the Department of Arts and Letters of the University of
Barcelona had a branch at the Estudi, and from 1975 to 1982 it was the
centre for UNED, the Spanish University Correspondence System. It has
also been home to the Balearic School of Tourism (1965-1983), the Social
Assistance School (1959-1994) and the University School of Social Work
(1994-1998). Over the years many cultural societies of a broad range
have also been housed at the Estudi, such as the Young Musicians, the
Nautical School, the Music Conservatory, the Mallorcan Astronomy Society,
the Academy of Fine Arts of San Sebastian, the Society of Friends of
the Country, Friends of the Windmills, Friends of the Maritime Museum
and the Natural History Society, among others.
The
Estudi General Lul-lia has systematically organized Spanish Courses
for Foreigners since its foundation in 1951. It has also sponsored many
other cultural activities such as the XVI International Congress of
Linguistics and Romance Philology, the XXVI Symposium of the Spanish
Linguistic Society, the II Conference on Latin Syntax, the Symposium
in Commemoration of the Birth of Georges Bernanos, the Saint Exupéry
Conference and others. The Estudi General Lul-lià is located
in a building constructed in 1951---later remodeled between 1963 and
1967--- which was designed by Gabriel Alomar in the traditional style
of a Majorcan palace. |
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