S1615 Nationalism in a Globalized World

Avanza Martina

The course will be about nationalism in a globalized world. In fact, far from erasing local peculiarities as one would have thought, globalisation seems to be revitalizing differences and in particular their political affirmation, to the point of virulence. This is the ideal theme to make the most of the international composition of the class. It is current (Ukrainian crisis, Israel/Palestine conflict, the immigration issue…) and should therefore stimulate the students' interest.

Teaching methods:
The sessions will be structured around the discussion of essays and will privilege interactivity. The selection of the essays to be discussed will be based, as much as possible, on the students' countries of origin.
Essays (essentially on anthropology, sociology, political science) will be associated with other tools, such as films. The students will try to analyse these sources with the help of the theoretic texts read during class. In some cases, the sessions will be in part dedicated to associating scientific literature to the first-hand material gathered with the help of the students, during classroom workshops (class exercises). This process will enable the students to add to the discussion their own knowledge of their countries of origin. This approach aims to diversify the sessions (as reading the theoretical texts can prove monotonous in the long run), but also to help the students familiarising themselves with the analysis of first-hand documentation. It also intends to sharpen their critical sense.

Learning outcomes of the course
•   To gain knowledge about nationalism, both as theoretical concept, and more especially as a current political phenomenon.
•   To learn to read and discuss theoretical texts on the course’s subject.
•   To link a theoretical issue (e.g. the constructivist approach to national identities) to some very real cases.
•   To learn to analyse first-hand material by applying the knowledge acquired during the lessons.

Syllabus and Readings

The course will be divided in two parts:

1) Introductive theoretical sessions: we will read the fundamental texts about the subject, in order to acquire the tools necessary to discuss the case studies.

The authors and classical texts to be examined will be the following:
• Arjun Appadurai, Modernity At Large‬: Cultural Dimensions of Globalization‬, Minneapolis, University of Minnesota Press, 1996 (extract). ‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬
• Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism, London-New York, Verso 1983 (extract).
• Brubaker, Rogers, « Myths and Misconceptions in the Study of Nationalism », in John Hall (ed.), The State of the Nation: Ernest Gellner and the Theory of Nationalism, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998. 272-305.‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬
• Brubaker, Rogers - Cooper, Fredrich, «  Beyond "Identity" », Theory and Society, n. 29, 2000, pp. 1-47.
• Craig Calhoun, « Nationalism and Ethnicity », Annual Review of Sociology, vol. 19, pp. 211-239, 1993.
• Ernst Gellner, Nation and Nationalism, New York, Cornell University Press, 1983 (extract).
• Eric Hobswan and Terence Ranger, The Invention of Tradition, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1992 (extract).
• Eric Hobsbawm, Nations and Nationalism Since 1780‬: Programme, Myth, Reality‬, Cambridge University Press, ‬ 1992 (extract).‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬
• Anne-Marie Thiesse « The Formation of National Identities ». In : The European Puzzle, The Political Structuring Of Cultural Identities At A Time Of Transition, Marion Demossier (ed.). New York-Oxford : Berghan Books, 2007, p. 15-28.

2) Case studies sessions: we will read articles selected in view of the student's countries of origin. The sessions will each follow one theme: Ethno-nationalism and separatism, nationalism and the army, gender and nationalism, language and nationalism, nationalism and re-writing history, nationalism and xenophobia. The students have to find data about their own country (class exercises) in order to enrich the discussion.

Evaluation
Readings

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S1615 Nationalism in a Globalized World

Avanza Martina

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