F1515 Identity, Heritage and Globalization (Global Challenges core)

Avanza Martina

The wide-ranging theme of identity and globalisation will be tackled through the issues of the resurgence of nationalisms and ethno-nationalism in a globalized world. In fact, far from erasing local peculiarities as one might have expected, globalisation seems to have revitalized differences and in particular their political assertion, to the point of virulence. This is an ideal theme to make the most of the international composition of the class. It is current (Ukrainian crisis, Israel/Palestine conflict…) and should therefore stimulate the students' interest. It also allows us to familiarise the students with an important aspect of local politics, such as claims for autonomy, or separatism, which are quite present in the Veneto region today. We will do this by using the Northern League as a case study, as, having completed my PhD on this topic, I have a thorough knowledge of the subject matter.

Teaching methods
The sessions will be structured around the discussion of essays and will privilege interactivity. The selection of the articles to be discussed will be based, as much as possible, on the students' countries of origin.
Scientific articles (essentially on anthropology, sociology, political philosophy and sciences), will be supplemented with other tools, usually fictional works (films) or museographic objects (paintings). The students will try to analyse these sources with the help of the theoretical texts read during class. 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 in familiarising themselves with the analysis of first-hand documentation. It also aims to sharpen their critical sense and their ability to interpret.

Learning outcomes of the course
•   To gain knowledge about nationalism, both as a theoretical issue, and more particularly as a current political phenomenon.
•   To learn to read and discuss theoretical texts on the subject-matter of the course.
•   To link a theoretical issue (e.g. the constructivist approach to national identities) to some real-life cases.
•   To learn to analyse first-hand material (a movie, a painting, a mobilisation campaign that has been witnessed), by applying the knowledge acquired during the lessons.
•   To be introduced to direct observation as an investigative methodology, as well as to the analysis of documentation.

Co-curricular activities
- One guest lecture about the Northern League, with a special focus on the Venetian area and its autonomist-secessionist tensions.
- Field Trip-1: Museo Nazionale del Risorgimento Italiano in Torino. This museum retraces the Italian process of unification. It will allow us to view objects from that era (19th century) and to think about the process of rewriting history, typical of European nationalisms at that time.
- Field-trip-2 : we will be taking part in a Northern League demonstration, in order to observe how local identity is mobilized here. The two main demonstrations organized by the party, which attract thousands of participants, take place around mid-September in Venice and mid-June in Bergamo. Should these dates turn out to be irreconcilable with the program, other minor demonstrations would be an option, especially those organised by the Venetian section. Clearly, we will not participate as activists, but engage in participant observation in order to discuss later on in class what has been witnessed. Once the level of knowledge of the Italian language has been assessed, the students might be able to engage in more advanced types of fieldwork (e.g. interviews with some local party representatives).

Syllabus and Readings

The course will be divided into three parts:

   1) Four sessions of theoretical introduction, using 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 Al 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.
•   Ernest Gellner, Nation and Nationalism, New York, Cornell University Press, 1983 (extract).
•   Eric Hobsbawm 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) Six sessions with articles selected taking account of the students' 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. E.g.: The Québec issue in Canada, for the session about separatist tensions. In order not to become too tedious, reading will be coupled with the use of other media, such as:
- nationalistic films (propaganda films) or films that discuss nationalism in the different national contexts of the students. E.g.: The movie Kippur, by Amos Gitaï (2000), about the relationship between citizens and the army in Israel, for the sessions about nationalism and the army.
- paintings or other nationalistic art-work (in reproduction), which we will analyse together in order to understand how the nations are portrayed. E.g.: paintings depicting national history.

3) Two sessions dedicated to the Northern League, an Italian autonomist-separatist party, well established in Venice, which was the subject of my PhD. We will be reading articles (my own amongst others) about its objectives; we will use first-hand material for exercises during class (analysis of material such as election posters in which it will be shown how the League recycles the past of the Venetian Republic for biased purposes). This issue is extremely current, in view of the independence "referendum" which is likely to be organised in 2015.

Evaluation
Readings

EU e-Privacy Directive

This is an archived site of Venice International University.

F1515 Identity, Heritage and Globalization (Global Challenges core)

Avanza Martina

Quick Links

From VIUblogs

VIU

About VIU

Courses and programs

Research and training

Art @ VIU

VIU Publications