Workshop on 13. and 16. of Martie at 17.30 Organizer: Ágnes Patakfalvi-Czirják, Cultural Studies PhD Program, University of Pécs, Hungary
Background
The nation is often seen as being constructed in antiquity, as a totality and as a singular form of the state. But how does the nation become a used meaningful frame in every day? We have innumerable series of associations between things, forms of representations, habits, images, sensual experiences, feelings, symbols and signs, sacred spaces, shared history.
The term “nationalism” usually evoke violence, conflicts, bloody actions screened on TV, xenophobic and racist – sometimes anti-Semitic or anti-Roma – aggressions, in which the dominant ethnic group enslaves or conquers those perceived others, which are defined enemies of the nation. But in the same time the term summarizes those processes in which the modern, western nations were constructed and reconstructed in the 19, 20th century, those processes in which the modern nations defines themselves nowadays and how culturally constructs the collective belonging.
One of the key achievements of contemporary studies of nationalism is inspired by the everyday world, by the mundane, banal life. The focus is on the ways in which the nation is redefined, “flagged”, relived in routines of social life, in which the key points of analysis are the social practices, the everyday stereotypes, spacial, temporal limits, institutions and the taken-for-granted everyday social life. So this is a theoretical shift from a conflictual point of view to a more common, everyday perspective what should be studied deeper.
Structure of the workshop
The workshop will include the following topics:
– Researching the everyday culture
– Nationalism and everyday culture
– Nationalism and popular culture: “consuming the nation” (gastronomy, movies, youth culture, music, sport etc.)
– Some examples from previous researches
The workshop is designed for interactive sessions, the organizers aim is to have a vivid conversation during the sessions.
Target group
The workshop is aimed at NGO workers, undergraduate students as well as Master and PhD students in respective areas.
Application Procedure
Applicants are required to send the following document to patakfalvi.agnes@gmail.com by Martie 6, 2015:
– Short letter of motivation (in English or Romanian) explaining their interest to participate in the workshop.
The workshop will be in English and will be interpreted in Romanian.
