Nationalism has become normal in contemporary Europe. Despite changes in international relations and notions of sovereignty, more and more nation-states have mushroomed over the past two centuries. However, nationalism is not static; it differs from place to place, time to time, and person to person. The interactions between personal, group and national identities can be well explored through the study of individual lives. Scholars from a range of disciplines will discuss how (auto)biographies are reflected in concepts of nationhood. They will juxtapose the nationalisms of different protagonists and link them to theoretical discourses in the field of Nationalism Studies.
Keynote address:
Jonathan Hearn (University of Edinburgh), ‘Nationalism, biography, and the ecology of identity’
The program includes presentations by:
- Paul James (RMIT), ‘Nationalism, Biography, and the Relation between Theory and Practice: The Curious Case of Tom Nairn’
- Stephanie Lawson (Macquarie University), ‘Nationalism and Biographical Transformation: The Case of Boudica’
- Stefan Auer (La Trobe University), ‘Richard Sulik: a Provincial, or a European Slovak Politician?’
- Alastair MacLachlan (ANU), ‘G.M. Trevelyan: The Dilemmas of A Liberal (Inter)nationalist c.1900-1940’
- Ben Wellings (ANU), ‘The Lonesome Leader: Enoch Powell, Elite Manipulation and Popular Mobilisation in English Nationalism’
- Christian Wicke (ANU), ‘The Personal Nationalism of Helmut Kohl: A Paragon of Germany’s New Normality?’
Participation in this symposium event is by invitation only.
For more information about the event, please contact : Christian.Wicke@anu.edu.au
To view the flyer for this event please see: European Nationalism and Biography