Call for Papers
Nationalism, Identity and Belief Symposium
First joint symposium of Society, Religion and Belief and Identity, Culture and Representation Research Centres University of Derby 25 March 2013
Keynote speaker: Daniel Trilling author of Bloody Nasty People: The Rise of Britain's Far Right (London: Verso, 2012), assistant editor The New Statesman, columnist for The Guardian.
The complexities and contradictions of globalized modes of identity have caused a reassessment of what constitutes national identity and how it is experienced. In late modernity there is a tendency for nationalism to be characterised as a reactive and reactionary response to the increasing cultural diversity evident in many Western societies. The British National Party and, latterly, the English Defence League typify this tendency. In continental Europe there are comparable groupings but many continental equivalents have demonstrated a greater capacity for organisation and have enjoyed a modicum of success in terms of parliamentary elections at national and European level: in France, the Front National; the Belgian/Flemish Vlaams Balang; the Danish Danske Folkparti;
Jobbik in Hungary, ‘The Golden Dawn’ in Greece and so on. The fortunes of these parties wax and wane but their social and media presence is constant. This symposium is a call to academics and activists to consider the ongoing appeal of nationalism, its cultural role, its strategies, localities and nature. We seek to explore the lure and repulsion of nationalism to its friends and critics and the many and varied cultural contexts through which it is reproduced.
Papers are invited to be considered for presentation in one of two parallel panels:
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Panel One: Nationalism, Identity and Conflict |
Panel Two: Nationalism, Religion and Belief |
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Typical themes for the panels will include but are not limited to: |
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The organisation and activities of nationalist groups
The appeal of nationalism
Nationalism in crisis
Banal nationalism
Rethinking national identity
The cultures of nationalism |
Nationalist rhetoric and the world faiths
'The chosen people' and globalization
Spiritual nationalisms
Subcultures and nationalist discourse
Considering nationalism as a faith |
There is a conference fee waiver for postgraduates