ECS: lecture 1 - Unity & Diversity in Europe PDF

ECS: lecture 1 Unity & diversity in Europe European Union's motto : **unity & diversity** What does it mean for cultural aspect ? Europe proud of its culture, of its diversity  One democracy, one political society in the future? Unity of European heritage, rules, background very often discusse...

ECS: lecture 1 Unity & diversity in Europe European Union's motto : **unity & diversity** What does it mean for cultural aspect ? Europe proud of its culture, of its diversity  One democracy, one political society in the future? Unity of European heritage, rules, background very often discussed: some elements. - Greek phyilosophy - Roman law - Christianity - Renaissance - Enlightnment National idenitiy & European identity different! Building THE European nation is NOT realistic because will never happen, nations attached to their identities, when nations built, idea of homogeneity, of one culture, in the spirit of modernity, national cultural society should be homogeneous diversity evil 19th century countries, seen as homogenous. Minorities: seen as not positive Since then, views of society changed: diversity is positive and generates good energy, plurality is good, people have the right to be different, any attempt to enforce homogeneity is unjustified. - Celebrate diversity! United but celebrate diversity. Greek philosophy: Accepted w/o controversy as our common root. - The questions asked by great Greek philosophers will become foundation of European's philosophy; European philosophers try to answer these questions  - nature of reality, epistemological questions (how learn), aesthetics-beauty, ethical questions, anthropology (men), society-politics-governance (state) - Greece (Athens) is the cradle of democracy. Plato against democracy because demagogues might change people's pov Right decisions = people with wisdom & knowledge governance to philosophers - Principles : - Knowledge is good for its own sake (curiosity) Today debate: invest in research in science not only for useful but also for interesting - Knowledge should be public, belongs to society not only for those who make discoveries - Aesthetics: - Symmetry, harmony, moderation, particular creations architecture (columns, porticals,...), realistic art (art= reality) Roman law : Concepts, norms or elements of our legal philosophy : - **One is presumed innocent until proven guilty :** - when principle not respected, as part of revolutionary ideology, law obstacle of change , revolutionary mind : eliminate suspicious persons opposite - Power of the media undermines this principle, people may be accused of something and are not proven guilty but public opinion is informed, deprives the person of chances in life, prestige,... even if proven innocent Acceptable ? Problems with this principle today - **Law does not apply retrospectively :** - If legal norm introduced that make person that made deeds in the past, person not guilty, because done before the law was introduced - Applying view of good & evil retrospectively: - **Law doesn't protect unignorant:** - Can't say I did smh but didn't know it was legal - Greek & roman principles : our common background, valuable essential foundation of European way of life, tradition, culture Christianity : - Controversial : often mentioned that Christianity should be considered the essence of European identity & unity but also boundary : Europe is Christian, only Christians, whoever is in Europe should consider Christianity as core of our identity - Different perspective : Heritage Christian, safely say, in order to understand European history, art, culture, you must be familiar with Christianity (like Greek mythology), if ignorant difficult/impossible : references everywhere - ought to know Christianity in this sense - Different from saying Europeans should be christian - Saying that Europe is Christian : destructive, exclusivist pov - ~~Must be Christian to be European~~ Renaissance : - Great achievement : middle ages dark period, renaissance positive change - Radical change : very important transition - Return to ancient heritage - Humanism - Art & litterature - Individual creativity : Middle Ages : not important, individuals member of community, for the glory of God, pride negative value - **Individual creativity**, orignality : one of the most important foundations of european unity (one of the most important givens of Renaissance) Enlightment : - Controversial period : rationality, liberal ideas, rejection of religion became ideas amongst the elites - For the 1st time, rejecting the church was socially accepted - Liberalism: one of the most revolutionary idea of freedom & equality, one of the most important way to modernity with movements such as emanciption of women, abolition of slavery,... all based on liberal ideas - Most revolutionary idea in history of europe - Idea of progress: key concept of modernity - Separation of Church & State : religion as private concern of individuals : **state & law : secular** - Religion : believing in God as the great architect in Universe, not as in churches rev. Idea - Seen by traditionalists, conservatives, the begin of European fall down because liberty - Liberals see it as beginning of Europe of free Very important question, at the bottom of differences in Europe : Distinction between the pair of concepts individualisms & collectivism ? **Collectivism** very much present in European Society: concepts of family, nation, minorities - Community is more important than individuals Traditional view, individualism as value/right is not recognized **Individualism** became gradually the key value with society consisting of individuals having the right to choose (political, cultural,...) belonging to the group is an individual choice Societal identity isn't inherited but individually built Two different visions of society: - Collectivistic: community most important, individuals subordend to it, exclusive-close regarding who belongs - Individualistic : freedom of belonging, identity creations, choice more inclusive-open (relevant in open Europe ) A lot of debates, controversy are based on this : traditionalists: collectivity \>\< liberals : individualism *Ex: gender, family (well being of family or of individuals in the family)* Philosophical but also norms, laws, Declaration of human rights,.. Criticized by collectivists because church, nation, family not represented speaks of individual rights Shows that the European Union has already chosen individualism, liberalism as core value but shows also the differences of interpretation **Unity & diversity ex of particular cultural processes or components of european hertiage across Europe :** - Gothic style : gothic cathedrals, great achievements of European architects, builders, set of great ideas: construction, decoration, ornaments - Jesuits: monastic order of the monk school, education in politics with intention to protect against reformism. - Modernity & post-modernity: unity is in the general appreciation of the importance of human individuals, their choice & right to be different - Common principle of freedom of choice, interpretation and deliberation - Democracy, rule of majority yes but also liberal values (individuals, minorities, participation, deliberation) constitutes EU - Protection of individuals , minority brings democracy not supposed to be homogenized, unified - Within these principles, the right to be different is our European unity - Individualistic democracy: everyone participates build cohesion Respect for other people's choice, freedom of choice, democracy, rule of law are at the bottom of the liberal society and constitute the unity Reading Inventing Europe -- Delanay - **European identity is a construction, not a natural given.** It has been shaped by a variety of factors, including intellectual movements, political developments, and social interactions - **Europe is an ambivalent concept** - Simultaneously serve as a source of progress and exclusion, of unity and division - **The formation of European identity is an ongoing process** - No clear starting or endpoint Europe is constantly evolving and redefining itself - **European identity is often defined in opposition to the Other** - Leads to exclusion and marginalization of those perceived as different - **The formation of European identity has been influenced by various historical factors,** such as the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, and the two World Wars - **Culture plays a significant role in the formation of European identity** - Shared ideas and values, such as democracy, human rights, and the rule of law common sense of belonging - **Politics is also a key factor in the formation of European identity** - Political and economic integration has fostered greater cooperation and a sense of unity among European states - **Europe faces new challenges in the future** - Globalization - Immigration - rise of populism - These challenges will impact how European identity continues to evfolve ECS : lecture 2 : Heritage Introduction : Heritage is more & more diverse 1. **Time** : Main function of heritage is to establish continuity between past, present & future 2. **Inheritance**: Do we have to accept everything from the past? Or heritage is a matter of choosing what gets included & excluded from heritage 3. **Monument & attraction:** what makes heritage so attractive 4. **Representation** : limits of storytelling 5. **Identity**: Grand Narratives and heritage of proximity 6. **Heritage, identiy and the sense of belonging.** Us and Them 7. **Museums** as significant spaces and institution 8. **Story of Europe **: what is included/excluded? How is it narrated ? Heritage is a social construct. Heritage is a discourse. - Heritage is an interpretation, it creates a discourse, stace where things are discussed, opporutinities for public debates - People have to decide if smth is inherited or not - About how past is rememembered *Ex: pic 1980 Poland, people wanted to keep place as if nothing had changed, supposed to look exactlys. One of the most significant places in Poland* *Heritage ? yes* - Social construct, people take part in its construction Past is vulnerable, can be manipulated, not a safe place but we need past in order to identify who we are today as nations, civilizations, need to be able to tell the story - Heritage a way to connect the dots, causality [Progress] : do we have progress? Pic: Auschiwtz : naivety makes us think that progress is natural, undisputable how are we as europeans **[To create the universe means to establish the time\ ]** - (Once upon a time...)\ - It all started when...\ - Linearity and recurrence\ - The notion of progress\ - „Heritage is the use of the past for the sake of the present." - How to adopt the problematic, difficult elements of the past ? - Within European éléments, heritage diversity - Talk within European framework of time, many heritages - Heritage is reappoprieted uses, abuses & reabuses - Different uses of heritage : cultural process dynamic, relative, changing \- Unity and diversity with the framework of time\ - Holocaust and the suspension of progress To Inherit : - To accept/reject - choose - transfer values & informations to the next generations - remember & commemorate - discuss (most of all) *pics auwschitz :* 1. *suitcases left on the railway track present a unique personal value objects of people who'll never see them again* - *border & negociation between what's private & public* *someone needs to take responisiblity of these objects* 2. *kept away from visitors* - *we deal with death, ashes, corpses* - *Heritage is not always proud &admritation: not about being someone but making things, remembering* How do we want to remember as a group of an event - Relation with the past - *Pic: commemoration of a plane crash in 2010 (around 200 people including president died) so important: people wanted to make their own monument* - Different practices of memory: What happened in between the past & now therefore how do we want to commemorate the event? - *Pic: commemoration of the european civilization : civilizing processing not often in monuments : founding father on column with guns (power & violence)* In a way problematic - Universal patterns of storytelling - Universal way - Relevant: identity, who we are - Very often simplification of the past - History becomes sacrilized, external element of God is included *Ex: Brave women defending territory, white people colonizing: should we tell both stories*? **Who decides about storytelling in heritage?** Element of POWER Representation & the limits of storytelling : *Pic: difficult to represent the past, feelings and émotions, impossible to tell story of the past 1 to 1 needs to be simplified and therefore must be represtend* Heritage between representation & interpretation - Representation: tangible object and its story ! - *Ex : photo right : only object given by parents, with her initials* *only testimony of her surname and name (never got to see her parents)* - Not evidence from the past but tangible object with a story (story makes it important, heritage) - Importance of storytelling ! Heritage speaks about identity but also misused (evidence from the past not) Identity : Grand narratives & heritage of proximity **Grand narratives** : stories that legitimize power, tell nation's stories - Very difficult in terms of relevance **Proximity**: don't refer closely to stories told for nation but meanfingfull - Heritage is all about meaning making, signifing these objects are intermediate in transfer of identity, stories,... *ex: pic 1: fall of Icarus, where's he falling from ? difficut to judge time of the day no sun, no stars: example of timelessness, all the myths are suspended, something's happening somewhere a long time ago* *The important part : everyone minds their own business where just a small splash show us icarus is falling* *Narrativity here: all the great historical events are interqualled within the rythm of seasons, agriculture ,... they're « not important »* - Stories very distant/close from us : the splash won't be noticed but the story will remain Heritage, identity & the sense of belonging, us & them : - Sense of continuity but also about defending who is us & who is them, belonging - Heritage needs to be relevant, unless produces sense of belonging disappears - Celebrate lives of people before us - But we don't want the sense of guilt - How to keep sense of responsibility w/o the sense of guilt?? (colonialism) - Can we negotiate things ? responsibility? Museums: significant spaces & institutions : - Narratives become intense - *Ex: pics represent broken relationships & love stories* - Museums significant spaces: meaningful but also enhance & provoke stories - Even if tangible objects, they are interpretable What is the story of Europe? What is included/excluded? How is it narrated? - Always in the domain of power - Heritage is constructed from a perspective, specific pov - Tool to legitimize power Story of europe based on conviction... How do we tell the story? Represent the diversity of the past? **Dominant narratives**: promoted, seen & produced as official frameworks *Ex : when we are told abt narratives* **Marginalized Narratives**: people who didn't have enough power to speak out *Ex: castle, story of queen , king,... \>\< different story if told by cook, child, gardener* *Women, LGBTQ+, migrants, workers,...* **Heritage is the domeign of diversity** - Heritage of Europe? Conclusion : 1. **Time in europe**: linear, myths linearly told \>\ - How to create a European consciousness and keep it diverse without falling into Rüsens postmodern "anything goes" quagmire. ***National differences and cultural models*** - National mistakes of the past need to be addressed - Such as in a post-Nazi Germany 11 - During the European Historical Consciousness project a Dutch scholar did not want to accept the role of the Dutch as collaborators - A German scholar said that is the project a way to find refuge from the past and distract from German crimes? - Some prefer to distance themselves from crimes of their ancestors by "generationalizm" -- "we are another generation" ***Other histories*** - Since the 1980s there has been a push to find other histories. Finding less mainstream history to present the diverseness of European history. - Other histories have provided revisionism and political outrage as it presents an alternative perspective to history and nature - One prime subject of this has been Greece - Seen as a "ancestor to European culture" - Its history has been corroded by years of occupation and civil war - Strong nationalism as a reaction to occupation ***Nationalist narratives and hidden histories*** - Greece - There has always been a clear distinction between "clear-cut" - Greeks and "refugees" (Slavic speakers) - Anastasia Karakasidou's work had found that Slavic speakers had always lived in Greece and had just hidden their identity. - Her research showed that at a national level there has been a revision of histories when the question of - Macedonia was politically contested. - She also had seen in central Greece, most Greeks remember the ottoman period as if they've lived through it and call it traumatic, while ignoring more recent German occupation ***Other historical consciousness*** - Social time: - Examples: Daily rituals, work schedules, cultural festivals, and societal expectations that influence how people structure their time in everyday life. - Monumental time: - Focus: It emphasizes significant and enduring events or developments in history. - Nature: Monumental time is associated with pivotal moments, achievements, or turning points that leave a lasting impact on a society or culture. - Examples: Historical events like wars, revolutions, discoveries, and other milestones that shape the course of human history. - When people believe the past is alive and can be seen in everyday life in the present it can be dangerous - Exception, when it is commodified as a tourist attraction. ECS T1L3 ======== European heritage and national heritages ======================================== **Heritage = identities** How is the story told? Who has the power to interpret it? - **Fall of grand narratives: what defines you? Traditionnaly: epic (religion, nation) not sufficient nowadays to define who we are** - **Concept of identity: suggests that people & community are not wanting a concept but becoming : identity of becoming** - **Find for identity in commemoration** - **Rituals : people gather to one place to communicate their identity** ***Ex: wedding*** - **Mix and match model: no guidelines to tell us who we should be, who we are** - **Construct, process, the meaning of culture** - **Reference framework and we are the ones reinventing ourselves** ***Ex: Tito and symbolic performance (leader of all this people, in order to celebrate yougoslavia,...) how de wo remember that (authoritarian country), refer to the problematic moments of the past ?*** Rise of nation-state populism **Some principles of populism in perspective of the processes of identity creation :** 1. **The people: promise to people that being average, normal is okay (evil=elites)** 2. **Mobilization against the enemy (LGBTQ+, immigrates)** 3. **Clear division between "us" and "them" (us: normal people -- them: elite)** 4. **Homogeneity vs. diversity (no in-between, no nuance)** 5. **Notion of truth** 6. **Neo traditionalism as a response to ontological insecurity (important)traditionalism: in good old days, it was better bring back traditional rules, values** - **How can it be done? Why popular? Identity - Populism uses concept of common sense** - **Common sense: only truth** - **We will provide you with security; promise real-life** - ***Ex: idea, reference point: populism needs simplified stories,*** 7. **?** 8. **?** **Heritage is about who we are and who we want to be !** How is the story told? From "then" to...? **Progress: faith in progress in Europe future will be brighter** - **Type of storytelling in heritage: time motto & sense of individualism: each of us can have impact on the History** - **Progress process directly to the future** - **Foundational myths:** **Ex: ?** - **Ref to linearity** How is the story told? What is heritage for? **Utility for something : needs to be rationalised and it's not self-explanatory** - **Gives us social competences** - **Museums: proper ways of behaviour are being presented, institutions of public service, should serve their communities** Why is dignity so important ? **Dignity:** - **Fundamental European value** - **Fundamental because we believe our ancestors cannot defend themselves : we have a responsibility to show story some way** - **Museums present evidence from the past** - **Every person should be seen as an integrated entity, though their identity is a patchwork kind, heavily mediatized what we do, individually, matters** - **A person is a central category in historiography** - **Lifetime is everyone's....** Whose stories are chosen to be represented ? **Thematic diversity : diff exhibitions, diff aspects of human life (food, fashion, pop culture)** **Diversity of representation (object, intangible, minority, voices,... )** **Interpretation // outreach strategies : to whom the history is told?** Who gets included in the discourse of heritage? **European construct of heritage: different perspectives for the same event** **(\\< populist way) include them into official heritage** **Does it mean lie? No, diversity of different approaches** **Peripherical stories, everyday heritage , vernacular heritage** **Minority narratives, private objects** **Inclusion of diverse perspectives** ***ex: clash of different elements of different realities*** Is it truth or " just a story"? **Mythical storytelling or dispersed, network organized storytelling** **Linearity of story complimenting the dominant model of time** **Supports history as a narrative (\>\< experiences)** - **Accept the fact that history is a story, different stories** - **Calls to a multimedia analyses** Democracy: deliberation, checks & balances, responsibility,... **Democratic governance as the main set of practices and code of conduct for heritage** **Is there a way of strengthening locality by** - **Cooperation supporting local communities** - **Staring and giving access to local symbolic resources** **Democracy shows us the richness of contexts presented** **Democratization of heritage : main function (continuity between past & present) way of empowering people** - **Examen :** **Procedures in democracy the way in which democracy works is transparent** - **Sense of responsibility & deliveration** European heritage: local, regional, universal, inclusive, processual, multivocal - **Tourism = natural environment of heritage** - **During travels : change our approach, teach us** - **Objects and people are so important when we travel** **6 adjectives:** - **Local (happens here), regional, universal, inclusive, processual, multivocal** - **National heritage one of the version of Europeans history** - **Universal: heritage very important provides meanings, symbols, reference framework** - **Multivocal: different stories wait to be included** - **Processual: it changes** **Heritage so much more than just "what happened" matter of identity, responsibility, participation** Short summary: **Lecture 3 - Dissonant Heritage** - Top down heritage - Memory as produced and negotiated by institutional and political discourses (Huis p4) - Example -- International institutions -- UNESCO, Council of Europe - Used to strengthen cultural integration between the citizens. - Bottom up heritage - Memory as an intersubjective and embodied practice (Huis p.4) - Example -- Citizens, local associations, museums) - The Faro convention -- principles and criteria, civic initiatives to enable institutions and communities to develop decision-making capacities and to manage their development processes. - Shared heritage - Celebrating common heritage between states - Example -- celebrating European ideals, values, history and integration. - Dissonant Heritage - "This uncomfortable sense of disharmony or conflict" (Huis p13) - An intrinsic quality of all heritage that includes a tension and quality which testifies to the play among different discourses (Huis p8.) - Example -- Slavery ships sailed from Liverpool today there is an international slavery museum - Friction between present values and past uses Reading Uses of Heritage -- Laura Jane Smith - "After fishing the author realized that **heritage is not just the past, but it's a process of engagement**, an act of communication and act of meaning in and for the present" - Wyaani women fishing - Is heritage just visiting and sightseeing world heritage sites, or is it the social and cultural process at work at those heritage sites? - Monuments on their own, like the Stonehenge, do not carry any value they need the history and processes behind them to actually give they value - Heritage doesn't find these places and make them special, it's a natural process. - Heritage is not about the statis of cultural values and meanings - Its about the cultural change and reworking the meanings of the past - Heritage is a discourse -- social meanings reproduced via language - Heritage became an active discourse in the 20th century - 1960s and 70s as a attempt to preserve and conserve. - Tourism is not just an economic and leisure activity ECS : T1L4 A European heritage of conflict and trauma, dissonant heritage Heritage and memory: - Shape individual and collective identities - Important in the context of Europe's history of conflict and trauma - Political challenges: migration, nationalism and European integration - Tension between competing visions of European integration **Heritage:** - collective choice; what we want to preserve from the past **Memory:** - memory different because that is smth often forgotten or manipulated - selective, subject to political choice/manipulation - how contemporaries look at the past Different ways to do that: - something we don't want to remember, regret - give more importance, glorious - how do we handle the trauma? Heritage dissonance: understanding conflicts in memory: - Conflicting interpretations of the past by different groups - Reflects deeper social and political divisions - Tensions between local, national, and European identities *Colonial history* Institutional vs Lived Memory: Top-Down vs Botton-Up perspectives **Institutional memory "above":** - Shaped by powerful institutions like the EU and UNESCO - Promotes official narratives that may exclude complex histories **Lived memory "below":** - Arises from individual and community experiences - Reflects trauma and identity struggles, particularly among marginalized groups Borders, Mobility, and Memory: Migration's Role in Reshaping European Heritage **Borders and Belonging:** - Physical and symbolic borders shape European identity - Create spaces of exclusion and cultural exchange **Migration and Memory:** - Migrants introduce new narratives that challenge established identities - *Ex: Memories of displacement and colonialism complicate dominant narratives* Populism and Nationalism: Heritage hijacked by Political Movements **Heritage in Nationalism**: - Populist movements appropriate heritage for exclusionary agendas - Foster narratives of purity and authenticity - Results in emotional conflicts over ownership of heritage Colonial Legacies and Postcolonial Critiques: Addressing the Silenced Past **Colonialism in European Heritage**: - Colonial past is often marginalized in official narratives - Shapes contemporary identity and heritage representation **Postcolonial Critiques:** - Challenge dominant narratives by highlighting power dynamics - Movements advocate for decolonization of museums and curricula Emotional and Collective Memories: Memory as a Social and Cultural Practice **Emotional Geography**: - Memory is emotional, tied to places and experiences - Collective memories shaped by trauma and belonging - Resist mainstream narratives, create new identities *Ex: memories of migrants challenge idyllic visions of Europe* Conclusion: Future Directions for European Heritage and Memory Studies **Heritage as a dynamic**: - Heritage evolves and is shaped by social and political forces - Importance of negotiating diverse narratives **Looking ahead**: - Ongoing struggle between official narratives and grassroots memories - Ethical responsibilities in preserving a diverse history Reading Europe, Heritage and Memory -- dissonant Encounters and Explorations. -- Huis et al - We can observe heritage critically as both experiences of individuals born in Europe and those who migrated across borders ***Encouters at the corrsroads of research agendas*** - Two research projcets on European heritage- EUROHERIT -- POV of institutional actors and discourses shaped by institutional practices. (guidence, control, regulation) - BABE -- subjective narrations - Difference between memory and heritage - Memory -- Individal and collective dimensions mingle -- elastic concept - Memories are "trans-individual" - Often materialized and objectified -- museums, libraries, anniversaries, landscapes. ***Dissonant heritages in Europe*** - Dissonance -- examine how the past is used in present situations, thereby indicating a lack of agreement in the meaning and content of heritage. - Failure to recognize the colonial past as these constructions. - European hertiage label and UNESCO -- Labeling heritage monuments as "authentic" - Activist protest the way european colonial past is not represented in heritage sites, such as museums. ECS : T2L1 Europe of nations : introduction to the study of nationalism Nations **What is a nation?** 1. Nation is a soul, a spiritual principle. Two things (...) constitute this soul or spiritual\ principle. One lies in the past, one in the present. One is the possession in common of a rich legacy of memories; the other is present- day consent, the desire to live together **Renan** 2. nations: imagined as a community **Anderson** 3. nation composed of objective elements (language) & more so of subjective ones (sentiments) **Weber** 4. nation community living within territory of a state every nation to be recognized as a nation has a state or trying to be formed within its own state **Giddens** 5. nation not about the state, in order to exist must be based on self-definition of its members self-consciousness **Connor** [The importance of context: ] - Which definition should we choose? - Definitions are marked with the nationality of their author - *Ex: polish sociology most dominated view purely culturalistic view polish history* - Definitions are created in certain historical and political context - Voluntarism (Renan) vs Organicism (van Treitische) [Nation or ethnic group? ] Une image contenant texte, capture d'écran, Police Description générée automatiquement [Why does the definition matter?] 1. The Right of self-determination of nations (and concerns about separatist activities) 2. Affective character: nation is something more than an ethnic group - Nation is a self-conscious ethnic group - Nation is an ethnic group that seeks statehood [Nation: Universal definition? ] - Typically seeks to obtain self-realization at the political level - Existence of social ties & sense of belonging , identifying with nation - Constituted around key cultural values (language, religion, traditions and customs), as well as a common historical memory (memory of historical events, ancestors, myths&legends about nation's past **How old are nations?** [Perennialism]: (historians) - Nation: - cultural community - Rooted in history (before modernization) - Has developed over centuries (longue durée perspective) - Created by the people - Has perpetuated through history [Modernism]: Nation : - Political community - Modern, were created in the age of modernity - Key role in the nation-building process was played by the elites - Reproduced through social communication National identity **National identity as a collective identity** - Collective identities are also not given or ascribed but always negotiated in a particular social context **contextual** - **Changes over time** - Idea of sameness (same components) and distinctiveness - Distinction between us and them, discovered through intercultural encounters (criteria of inclusion !) **defined in relation to the other** - Collective identities may coexist at different levels of individual's identification **it's not exclusive** [How to analyse? ] Approach 1: - **Assumption**: national identity is a reflection of the self-awareness of members of the nation - **Consequence**: it's encoded in the attitudes, opinions and judgements of a typical representative of such community - **Method**: qualitative studies of various communities, behaviours, events/acts; as well as quantitative tools Approach 2: - **Assumption**: Essence national identity is written in symbolic culture, which acts as a carrier of values that are internalized as fundamental by the members of the nation - **Method**: National identity is studied through the analysis of national symbols (and their use) **National symbols** - Books Examples of flags: - Each flag says something else - Waved: tell us a story (manifestation of Catalunya) - Not waved, just there: there for a reason, telling you that you are in a particular place (American house and flags) - Making statement of national belonging not being conscious they are doing it [Language: ] - Language as a symbolic system that carries culture - Language influences people's perception of the reality (Sapir-Whorf hypothesis) Nationalism **What is nationalism?** - Process of shaping and developing nations - National sentiment of consciousness of belonging to a nation - Language and symbols of a nation - Social and political movements - Doctrine and ideology Nationalism as a political principle, which holds that political entities should coincide with cultural units (Gellner) **Nationalism or patriotism** - Nationalism: comes from "nation", center of occupations - Patriotism: comes from " patria ", homeland center of occupations - Pattern: - Patriotism actions done within our country - Nationalism same actions/movement if they refer to someone else Reading Nationalism: Theories and Cases -- Harris **Historical Mission: From Ethnie to Modern Nation?** **Primordialist approach**, championed by Anthony Smith, which posits that modern nations are rooted in pre-existing cultural identities, called **ethnies** - **Ethnie** = group characterized by shared myths of ancestry, common histories, cultures, ties to a specific territory, and a sense of solidarity - Smith emphasizes the enduring power of ethnic affiliations, which shape feelings of unity and continuity beyond other forms of identity like class or region - **Ethno-history** and its symbolic arsenal (flags, anthems, monuments) play a vital role in mobilizing people for political action by fostering a sense of shared destiny - Smith identifies **three paths for an ethnie to become a nation**: - bureaucratic incorporation - vernacular mobilization - nation-formation by immigrants - He distinguishes between **\"Western\" and \"Eastern\" nationalisms**, often categorized as \"civic\" and \"ethnic,\" but argues these are products of different historical sequences **A Constructed Nation? The Modernist Approach** The modernist approach, represented by Ernest Gellner, views **nationalism as a modern phenomenon** that essentially \"invents\" nations - Gellner links nationalism to the **erosion of traditional social structures** and the rise of **industrialization** and **political modernization** - He highlights the importance of **language and mass education** in creating a unified national culture, which is critical for industrial societies - However, nationalism often draws upon **pre-existing markers of distinction**, even if these are purely symbolic or negative - Criticisms of Gellner's **functionalist theory** - inability to explain why some linguistic groups do not form nations - role of nationalism in pre-industrial societies **Other Theories** This subchapter examines alternative theories that complement or challenge primordialist and modernist perspectives: 1. **Economic Transformation**: - Tom Nairn\'s **\"uneven development\" theory** links nationalism to anti-colonial movements and the socio-economic struggles of peripheral nations 2. **Political Transformation**: - John Breuilly defines nationalism as a **political movement seeking or exercising state power**, emphasizing its ties to the state and the pursuit of political goals 3. **Invention of Traditions**: - Eric Hobsbawm explores the **deliberate creation of traditions, symbols, and myths** to legitimize nations and foster collective cohesion. 4. **Imagined Communities**: - Benedict Anderson argues that nations are **imagined political communities** made possible by the spread of print capitalism and standardized languages **A Movement for Unity: Case Study on Arab Nationalism** The case study of **Arab nationalism** illustrates how European ideas of nationalism diffused into a non-Western context - **phases of Arab nationalism**, from its roots in the Ottoman Empire to its peak under Nasser and its decline after 1967 - It explores both **intellectual and political dimensions**, highlighting the role of Western-educated elites, urbanization, modernization, and key events like the creation of Israel - A central theme is the **tension between secular nationalism** and the Islamic notion of the **umma** (the universal community of believers) - The study underscores the **complex interplay of historical, cultural, social, and political factors** shaping Arab nationalism ECS : T2L2 Nationalism in East and West Europe Is there a West -- East divide ? - Two-way process of nationalism, it can create or divide nations - Tool to construct nation-states but states can also create nationalism - Origins of nationalism (19^th^ century & the empires) - Different trajectories of development - Nationalism: different roles & functions: - Stimulate state building - Preserver of identity - Kohn: researching and proving division West -- East exists - End 19^th^ century: nationalism = state building (industrial revolution, modernization) - Top ideology at that time Emphasise nation's rights for self-determination **Definition Nationalism:** - Historical background, every individual important but loyalty towards nation is more : community \> individual being - National interest, self-governance, ability to be important - Nation, community should be allowed to build the state/political entity representing the group - Revolution back then: big empires Nationalism studies: books - Eric Hobsbawm : Invention of tradition - Nationalism as political and ideological construction - 19^th^ century state-building and 'invented' traditions - Ernest Gellner: Nations and nationalism - Nationalism primarly as a political principle which holds that the political and the national unit should be congruent - Benedict Anderson: Imagined Communities - Nationalism as created as a tool of unification by imagined communities - Nation as a socially constructed community, imagined by the people who perceive themselves as part of the group) Civic vs Ethnic Nationalism **West:** - **Civic**/political nationalism - Long lasting state tradition (England, France, Portugal) - Commitment to public institutions (parliament, government,...) civil society can develop: engaged in the state - Individualism (West oriented: aftermath of French Revolution) - State-to-nation model of the "old continuous nations" (top-down model umbrella of state and then state pushing citizens to identify in nation,...) - Membership is voluntary if fulfill certain criteria (language, etc) can become part of the nation *Ex: France, UK, Portugal* **East**: - **Ethnic** nationalism - States appearing, disappearing and reappearing (not necessarily in the same places) - Strong bonds based on culture (language/religion/glorious past) - Development in the opposition to the state (anti-imperialism, state = oppression) *Ex: + 20 nations in Austro-Hungary but 1 political system oppression* - Nation-to-state model of cultural nations, stateless nations (community based view "from below") - Not voluntary can't become part of the nation But what about a nation? Civic vs ethnic understanding: - Ethnic: nation is defined in terms of ethnicity, blood ties - Civic: nation as an association of people who identify themselves as belonging to the nation The way one understands the nation determines the way one interprets nationalism - Good nationalism West - bad nationalism East Diverse contemporary nationalist movements in Eastern and Western Europe: Driving Forces?  - Lie in historical and contemporary events - R. Wodak: anger and fear main driving factors for current nationalism in Europe (both West and East) - Anger because of different factors: - Loss of power - Fear because of: - Fear of newcomers, invasion nation under threat because of someone - Nationalism: defend country, culture rights to our tradition, territory,... - *Ex: Globalization (nationalism last decades answer to global world)* - Nationalism opposition to transnational and cosmopolitan trends (on Right and Left side of political spectrum) - New trends : populism, euroscepticism go hand in hand with current nationalism - *Populists: pure people thinking about the nation should be empowered \>\< elites coming "outside" the nation* - Third-centred ideologies that are strengthened by nationalism - Populism + eurosc + nationalism = any aspect to life - Should not think about nationalism about single fletch ideology/ separated - New form of nationalism using in a pragmatic way of the concept of nation - Can become oasis of stability (in a globalized world) - Nationalism : new followers Example: Leaders of radical right nationalist parties Map: nationalist parties in Europe although taking care about national communities, do have plenty things in common build international community of nationalists Nationalists bring issues: - Populist rhetoric: **Us** (nation) **vs Them** (enemies of nation: elite, outside, EU,...) - Conspiracy theories - Inventing of an enemy very useful (and dangerous) **in face of a danger, we unify** - Rule of scapegoats: know **who to blame** for things that don't go right (others, *ex: Europe migrants, institutions,...)* - Future of EU? In a Europe + and + integrated Nationalism? Decompose or cement? Both sides possible *EU elections: 3 groups that would be happy as ideology* Different nationalisms in Europe: East (more known): - Poland : ethnic, culturally oriented nation: ethnic community endangered by different culture influences, EU traditionalism (role of family, society, church,...) - Slovakia: strong relation to the past (interbellum, WWII: embrace fascism) Politicians in uniforms (replicas by Slovak Nazis state, interbellum,...) - Hungary: Orban, Hungarian guard, ethnic Hungarians vs Migrants, greater Hungary West: - Germany: 2-in1 picture: Pegida (patriotic europeans vs islamization EU)+ demonstration stop for Islamization of Europe - Netherlands - Civic nationalism in West interesting rhetorical way of justification - Nationalism as a driving force of separatism - *Ex: Catalan, Champagne, Scottish national part,...* *autonomy to some extent but not fully* Main takeaways: Difference Civic vs Ethnic and background (historical issues) Different ways to understand the nation West vs East to the historical legacies and regional context Contemporary nationalism interacting with Euroscepticism & Populism Reading History of the dichotomy of Civic Western and Ethnic Easter Nationalism - Introduction: - Concept of Dichotomy: Distinction between "civic" (Western) and "ethnic" (Eastern) nationalism was introduced by Hans Kohn - Ongoing influence: despite numerous critiques, remains a common framework in nationalism studies - Colonial context: framework reinforces Western superiority and orientalises Eastern Europe, presenting it as the inferior "Other" **[Contemporary critiques of the Kohn Dichotomy:]** - Heuristic utility questioned: Scholars like Aviel Roshwald argue that the distinction can still be useful if viewed as "ideal types" rather than concrete realities - Many criticisms: - Binary of West-East: All nationalisms contain both civil and ethnic elements - Static determinism: idea that Eastern Europe is inherently ethnic and backward is unfounded - Problematic comparison: use of this dichotomy is compared to racial classification due to its normative nature The making of Eastern Europe as the home of ethnic nationalism - Historical evolution of the concept : idea of Eastern Europe as home of ethnic nationalism emerged after WWI especially during post-war peace settlements - Role of western powers: - imposing minority protection systems - interventions based on the assumption that Eastern European nations were too politically immature to manage their own internal affairs - West viewed Eastern Europe as a region comparable to its colonies justifying Western supervision and intervention Hans Kohn's World of Nationalisms - Distinction "western world", liberal and civic nationalism (ex: England, France, USA), and Eastern Europe, ethic and illiberal - Critique of Germany: first example of "Eastern" nationalism due to rejection of Western rationalism - Flexible approach: Kohn acknowledged that some Eastern Nation (ex: Czechs) managed to adopt Western liberal traits despite their "natural" Eastern belonging Cold war divisions at work: John Plamenatz and Ernest Gellner - Plamenatz reinforced the dichotomy between liberal Western nationalism and ethnic Easter nationalism, aligning it with Cold War geopolitical divisions - Claimed that Slavic peoples, as well as Africans and Asians, were culturally backward compared to Germans and Italians, who were better equipped for modernity - Gellner: critical of Plamenatz's ideas, but continued to portray Eastern nationalism as "less developed" and thus + dangerous than Western one Post-Cold War panis: Barbarians at the gate - Post-Cold War crisis: after collapse of Iron Curtain and the Yugoslav wars, Weastern fears about Eastern European ethnic nationalism resurfaced - EU Enlargement: EU adopted paternalistic policies to control nationalism in Eastern Europe, imposing minority protection standards that Western Nations didn't always follow themselves - Double Standard: as in 1919, Western narratvies portrayed Eastern Europe as in need of Western tutelage reinforcing paternastic view of the East Conclusion : - Persistence of this dichotomy is not just a theoretical issue but also a means of maintaining Western moral and political dominance over the East - **\"Agnopolitics\"**: He calls the continuation of this framework a deliberate choice to ignore complexities and perpetuate prejudice against Eastern Europe, allowing the West to justify its intervention and superiority ECS: T2 L3 Nationalisms in Europe : Past and present What have we established so far? 1. Definitions matter : important how we define nations 2. Nation is not an ethnic group it is more (more? Some say political aspirations And nation is not a state 3. Nation can be defined as a community that is based on social bond, social and cultural elements, political aspirations 4. Definitions are contextual 5. There is a (historically based) distinction between ethnic and political nation (none of them are purely ethnic or political) 6. Nationalism and nation are inextricably linked **Nationalism as :** 1. The process of shaping and developing nations : 2. National sentiment or consciousness of belonging to a nation Nationalism is an exclusive ideology // can see yourself as part of the community - Nationalism can have not bad or bad connotation (depending on country) 3. The language and symbols of a nation: transmit a certain image of a nation based on selection of elements from the past 4. Doctrine and ideology 5. Social and political movement: always a political organization - Nationalism as a political principle, which holds that political entities should coincide with cultural units Nationalism and nation: Nationalism and nation-buliding process - Nationalism = ideological movement that places the nation at the center of its concerns and assumes that people\'s loyalty and devotion to the nation should surpass their individual or group interests. Three goals are of key importance for nationalism: national autonomy, national unity and national identity - Nationalism exclusive (*central europe*) or inclusive - Nationalism and chauvinism (superiority group against the other) - Nationalism and xenofobia (not same concepts, xenophobia adresses issues of dislike) - Nationalism and patriotism (not same but used to descrive same things one about community the other about homeland) Modern Europe: different big empires Political and social structure didn't change much : - European countries: monarchies (absolut) - Nearly constant wars (not in name of people but in name of king with aim to expand territory dominance) - Ruled by dynasties (power through marriage) : nobility, elites most of political power  2 events change European Status Quo: - **French Revolution** - Liberty, equality, fraternity (Society divided into states : clergy and nobility (common language)) - End of absolutism - **Napoleon Bonaparte**: - Everyone knows who he was but way he was portrayed (liberator, great emperor nations didn't had a state) vs (invader, with big dream of France expanding in Europe) - Sense of common enemy unites people - Facilitated spread of ideas Attempt to restitute Europe after Napoleon and return to Status quo Didn't spread of ideas penetrated European society Modernity didn't come to all European states at the same time) Modernity: = „complex of social, political, economic, cultural and mental transformations" (Piotr Sztompka) **Modernity: industrialization** - **Industrial revolution :** process of deep social and economic change, in which agrarian and handicraft economies transformed into economies based on industry and machine manufacturing - It was made possible by the **invention** of power-driven machinery which revolutionized manufacturing and transportation *(ex: textile industry: spinning jenny in 1764, mining: safety lamp in 1815, transportation and production: steam engine in 1712)* - It involved transformation in the modes of production, organization of work, life and family, and society as a whole - It was a rapid process originated in the United Kingdom, to spread over other parts of Europe **Modernity : industralization** - **Industrial revolution. Technological advances:** - use of new key materials (iron and steel) - use of new energy sources (coal, steam engine, electricity, petroleum) -  invention of new machines (increased production at smaller use of human Energy) - new organization of work (factory) leading to (and depending on) **division of labour** and specialization - new modes of transportation and communication (rail, steamship) - the increasing application of science to industry - industrialization was very fast changes landscape of Europe - based on uneven development : key to understand birth and spread of nationalism **Modernity: social life** - **Increased migration** (from rural areas to newly developing industrial centres) - **Urbanisation** and the development of urban and industrial areas (nationalism starts in the city) people dependent on ownership - states classes (Marx) new social groups forged through relations of production - **Specialization of work** - **Changes regarding the organization of societies** - state society class society and the life chances of the individual (not defined birth any more but by ownership and work) - Formation of **new classes**: owners of capital and the new middle class... and new conflicts - proletarianization and pauperization of large social groups - new social movements (socialism and **nationalism**) **Modernity: politics** 2 processes: 1. **Centralization of state power** and the growing role of the state accompanied by the process of bureaucratization 2. **Homogenization of culture** (the development of universal education, introduction of compulsory military service "agents of nation-building process") **Philosophical** currents: - 'common will' as an attribute of the people - Sovereignty (associated with the one who had power not a king/prince but the People) - Will and freedom Doctrinal dispute: **Conservativism** vs **Liberalism** **Modernity: literature** - **Romanticism**: - Mysthicism - Emotions - Beauty of nature - Folk life - Nostalgia - Tradition Modernity and nationalism: **What was brought by modernization?** **Innovation** - new conditions: communication and universal education, industrialism and migration - new problems - new form of community: the nation **Nation created in the era of modernism as a completely new type of community** - nation as a political community (contemporary, created by elites, social communication and citizenship) - recall: perennialism (community evolving over time) versus modernism - *Nations as a natural, God-given way of classifying men, as an inherent though long-delayed political destiny, are a myth; nationalism, which sometimes takes pre-existing cultures and turns them into nations, sometimes invents them, and often obliterates pre-existing cultures: that is a reality, for better or worse, and in general an inescapable one.* (Ernest Gellner) - industrial uneven development of capitalism, regional inequality and class conflict - nationalism derives from unequal encounter between centre and peripheries, and the class consequences of uneven diffusion of capitalism (Tom Nairn) - industrialization - absence of nations in nationalism in the pre-modern societies and its universal presence in modern societies - specialisation and division of labour (Ernest Gellner) *(**not** know each theory and author EXAM)* **Sociocultural changes** \- compulsory educational system (Ernest Gellner) - **modernizing nature** (differentiation between agrarian society and modern society) - \"Universality of education and the right to education\" as elements of the \"pantheon of contemporary values\" - Reduction of the socio-cultural gap (communication, social mobility and egalitarianism) - **nationalisation** - A common language instructions and uniform program - The creation of a national cultural base (one language instruction), while promoting one vision of a common geography and history of the nation (uniform curriculum) - Nations are expressions of literate, school-transmitted high culture **Political transformation:** - Nations and nationalism are forged in modern professionalized state (Anthony Giddens) **Ideological developments:** - Tracing the roots of nationalism in Enlightment and Kantian ideas on self-determination (Elie Kedourie) **Constructionist ideas:** - Nations as imagined communities (Benedict Anderson) - The role of newspaper which provided its customers with \"technical measures\" of representation \"of this kind of imagined community that is the nation" - *It is nationalism which engenders nations, and not the other way round. Admittedly, nationalism uses the pre-existing, historically inherited proliferation of cultures or cultural wealth, though it uses them very selectively, and it most often transforms them radically. Dead languages can be revived, traditions invented, quite fictitious pristine purities restored. But this culturally creative, fanciful, positively inventive aspect of nationalist ardour ought not to allow anyone to conclude, erroneously, that nationalism is a contingent, artificial, ideological invention.... The cultural shreds and patches used by nationalism are often arbitrary historical inventions. Any old shred and patch would have served as well. But in no way does it follow that the principle of nationalism, as opposed to the avatars it happens to pick up for its incarnations, is itself in the least contingent and accidental. Nationalism is not what it seems, and above all it is not what it seems to itself. The cultures it claims to defend and revive are often its own inventions, or are modified out of all recognition.* (Ernest Gellner) Reading Nations and Nationalism -- Gellner **Chapter 4: The Transition to an Age of Nationalism** - **The rise of nationalism is linked to the emergence of industrial society.** - Social and economic changes brought about by industrialization created the necessary conditions for the emergence of nations and nationalism - **One such condition is the need for a literate and mobile workforce** - Industrial society requires increased communication and cooperation among individuals, which is only possible when people share a common language and culture - **Another condition is the decline of old social structures**, such as multinational empires and isolated rural communities **Chapter 5: What is a Nation?** - **There are many definitions of the term "nation," but none are universally accepted.**\ Some definitions emphasize objective characteristics such as language, culture, or common ancestry, while others focus on subjective characteristics such as a sense of belonging or a shared desire to live together - **Gellner nation = "political community" characterized by shared culture and education**\ Nations: products of modernity and arise in response to the needs of industrial society **Chapter 6: Social Entropy and Equality in Industrial Society** - **Industrial societies** are **characterized by** a **high degree of social mobility** & **equality**\ because industrial production requires a mobile and interchangeable workforce - This **process leads to** a **decline** in the **importance of traditional social bonds**, such as kinship and religion, and an increase in the prominence of the individual **Chapter 7: Wild and Gardened Cultures** - Two types of cultures**:** - **Wild cultures** : evolved organically over time - **Gardened cultures** : deliberately cultivated and maintained - Nations **are like "gardened cultures"**, as they are created and sustained through conscious effort **Other Key Points** - **Nationalism is not an inevitable or natural force**\ modern phenomenon that emerged in response to specific social and economic conditions - **There are many forms of nationalism**, which can be either benign or malignant - **Nationalism is often associated with conflicts**, but it can also be a force for social and political progress - **The future of nationalism is uncertain.**\ possible that nation-states may eventually be replaced by other forms of political organization ECS : T2L4 Sovereignism, Security and Nationalism Nationalism: Nation and state {#nationalism-nation-and-state.Style20} ============================= - Sovereignty - **3 goals** of nationalism: national autonomy, national unity and national identity - Narratives about the nation Why sovereignty and not independence? {#why-sovereignty-and-not-independence.Style20} ===================================== **Independence:** - Feature of a state that assumes that this state is not politically dependent on another state - Interlinked with the modern concept of statehood - **4 features**/capacities of **statehood**: - externalize its power - institutionalize (within its borders) its authority - establish control through legitimate institutions - promote a collective identity through symbols - right to independence is not given requires internal and external recognition - related to the right to self-determination **Independence as goal to nationalism:** - **Peripheral nationalism**: - nationalism that seeks national self-determination by separating the nation from its host state - *ex: Scottish nationalism (some scotts would claim independence is goal to be achieved)* - *ex: basque, Catalans, flemish nationalists (seen as a goal by some of them)* - **Irredentism nationalism**: - nationalism that aims at uniting national segments of a population in neighborhood countries within a common polity - *ex: Russia's goal in the East (incorporate Crimea and Ukraine*) - **Unification nationalism**: - Nationalism that seeks to create an overarching state that would include a number of smaller sovereign units that are in a (relatively) culturally homogeneous territory - *Ex: Italian, German cases* - Different as state-building process (pol community and process of creating nation top-down process) **Is independence an ultimate goal of nationalism?** (problems) - Charles Tilly: - **state-seeking** nationalism (pro-indepedentisit) vs **state-led-**nationalism (within the state) - Michael Billig: - **peripheral** nationalism vs **banal** nationalism (nationalism: peripheral for a long time but not true wide spread phenomen banal nationalism culture within state (*france, polish, us,...)* - Is non-state seeking nationalism still nationalism? Montserat Guibernau - No one really wants independence want more self-governance - *Ex: Catalunya (pol consequences recognized internationally? No)* - Should disappear once state created but doesn't **Sovereignty as supreme authority within a territory** - Authority = "right to command and correlatively the right to be obeyed" (Wolff 1990) mutually recognized source of legitimacy - Supremacy = holder of sovereignty is superior to all authorities under its purview - Territoriality = modern sovereigns are supremely authoritative within given territory **Who holds sovereignty?** - Individuals - Jean Bodin: sovereignty resides in individual - Hobbes : sovereign above the law - The people: - Locke and Rousseau: social contract = state based upon a formal or informal compact of its citizens **Is sovereignty absolute?** - Sovereignty either present or absent (Alan James) - Refers to the scope of the matters over which a holder of authority is sovereign - EU challenge **Where does sovereignty lie? External or internal?** - Sovereign authority is exercised within the borders - Peace of **Westphalia** (1648) - principle of non-intervention external sovereignty of the state - international recognition (restrtictions) **What is sovereignty?** - **Post-sovereignty** - **Shared sovereignty** - Sovereignty cannot be shared for nationalists - **Westphalian sovereignty** - Sovereignty as absolute power no longer globalization, non-interefernce, exclusion of powers, EU membership,... - Ex: *EU member can't decide on agricultural policy, trade-policy* - *Does it mean sovereign country? Independent YES but sovereign? Some say yes some no* How does nationalism forge national narratives {#how-does-nationalism-forge-national-narratives.Style20} =================================================================== **Subject:** talk abt someone, particular nation describe a collective, how is it described? **Content:** what do they put in their messages means, heroes, events **Actor**: who the audience is made towards someone supposed to receive the message *Ex: Poland rarely call nationalism to describe pol authors different names* **Link between past and present -- the dual orientation of nationalism** - **Present**: - aim of nationalism is to bring change to the present and to resolve timely concerns (migration, security or climate) - **Past**: - as a source of reference, repertoire of symbols, source of moral principles, reference of established order - is always mythologized - choice of events is always selective - linked to another doctrine (conservatism, populism today) **Key questions:** - **Which symbols do nationalist use**? Which symbols don't they use? - National symbols are symbols that represent a national community - They are verbal, visual or iconic representations of a nation, pointing to its values and history - They are intended to unite people and create a feeling on belonging - Typically among the most popular national symbols are: - The flag - The coat of arms - The anthem - The seal or stamp - The national colors - Examples : - *Prime-minister Poland : symbolism flags (EU flags do not notice them, banal)* - *Prime-minister Poland 2: symbolism difference (no EU flags)* - *Basque flags on the streets, and no Spanish flags (only in buildings of government, info banners for certain roads,...)* - *Cross symbol in Poland: catholic,* - **Which events from the past are celebrated? How are those events interpreted**? - Xxxx? - **Who are the national heroes**? - Why those and not the others? - Do old national heroes evaporate and new appear? - What do we know about them? - What is the story? - Ex : *polish heroes* - *Polish statesman, the first Chief of State (1918-- 1922) and the first Marshall (since 1920) of the newly re-established independent Poland. Customarily he is recognized as a "father" of the Second Polish Republic. After a coup d'état in 1926, he became a de facto leader (1926--1935) of Poland* - *But !! dictator (not seen as one because became national heroe)* - *Christmas nativity scene: customary Juzofski* - *Polish king, Sobieski : chirsitianity* - **What are the constitutive motives**? 1. We were the first (once big power, leader) - *Ex: Poland: 2 events : constitution (1^st^ in Europe), freedom of religion thus very tolerant, limits to nobility thus why would tell us about democracy?* 2. Victorious past (Polish commonwealth) 3. Past suffering (martyrdom in Polish nationalism) Reading Sovereignty\'s Shifting Sands: From Westphalia to Food Sovereignty -- Conversi - **Sovereignty has undergone multiple transformations.** - From the sovereignty of monarchs to popular sovereignty, and later to the sovereignty of nation-states, the concept has continuously adapted to political and social contexts - **Neoliberal globalization** has **challenged traditional notions of sovereignty** - Outsourcing, international trade agreements, and the power of multinational corporations have weakened the authority of states - **The concept of \"liquid sovereignty\"** has been introduced to describe the fluid and ever-changing nature of sovereignty in the era of globalization - **Climate change** poses an **existential threat to sovereignty** - Rising sea levels, extreme weather events, and resource scarcity threaten the very survival of some states - **Food sovereignty : alternative to traditional models of sovereignty** - It emphasizes the right of people to control their own food systems, from production to consumption - **The food sovereignty movement** is a **transnational movement** that brings together peasant organizations, Indigenous peoples, and social movements from around the world - **Food sovereignty is both local and global** - It is rooted in local cultures and traditions while engaging in global struggles against corporate dominance and neoliberal policies - **Ecuador and Bolivia** : **examples of states** that have enshrined **food sovereignty in their constitutions,** thereby recognizing their citizens' right to healthy and culturally appropriate food **In conclusion, food sovereignty represents** a **new form of sovereignty---more democratic and sustainable---that addresses the challenges of the 21st century.** It offers an alternative to both the traditional nation-state model and the dominant neoliberal framework ECS T3L1 Colonialism and colonial discourses Part 1: Introduction - European colonial presence in the world Age of discovery -- preconceptions: - Medieval Europeans: earth flat and at its edges, monsters - Knowledge abt other parts of the world limited - Cristopher Columbus was the 1^st^ to set foot - Many earlier attempts - Term "age of discovery" - "new lands" neither discovered nor new: entire populations living there - Only discovered to the European mind Age of European Explorations: - 15^th^ century: development navigation, sea travel, + wealth - Search for new trade routes (land routes unsafe) - Renaissance, enlightenment : quest for knowledge, curiosity - Famous explorers: Magellan, Da Gama à representative of new, powerful sea empires - Beginning new, European "planetary" consciousness - Colonial conquest + scientific exploration - European knowledge abt world mediated through travellers' and explorers' accounts Beginnings European Colonialism: - Colonialism = conquest and control of other people's lands & goods - Established alongside capitalism in Western Europe - Surplus capital in Europe, need to invest it somewhere - In colonies: no capital but labour and human resources - New flow of human and natural resources between colonised and colonial countries à profit to "mother-country" - Relation between colonisers and local people : highly exploitative - Led to: - Rise of huge European colonial empires - Unprecedented concentration of wealth, prosperity and power in Europe - Rise of Eurocentric model of the world - Huge global shifts of population (slavery, indentured labour) - By 1930s: European colonies covered 84,6% of the globe European legitimisation of colonialism: - Economy: trade, new resources, new markets - IR: expansion, new lands, + power, rivalries between empires - Science: quest new knowledge, exploration, categorisation natural phenomena and species - Culture: civilising mission - Religion: religious missions, evangelisation, spreading Christianity **[Science in service of colonialism]**: - New knowledge-building project of natural history à Carl Linnaeus, System of Nature - Ambition to classify and categorise all plants on Earth - Idea of making order out of chaos - "Linnaeus' system alone launched a European knowledge-building enterprise of unprecedented scale and appeal" Pratt - Idea of knowing, naming, building taxonomies, naming and labelling à core of European understanding of the world - Was it innocent? - Europe's authority established globally - Science still uses Latin terms - Led to categorisations that were much + problematic à categorisation of races - Categorisation of humans into types/races à myth of European superiority - Science as subservient to power -- naming, categorising, building hierarchies Civilising mission: - Civilization vs Barbarity/Savagery - Evolutionist anthropology - belief that all cultures develop in the same way à native cultures are backwards, underdeveloped, inferiority, racism - Binary opposites: developed \>\< backward, order\>\\