Thursdays, September 27-November 8
Instructor: Stan Markotich
A Brock House Society member asked this question of Stan. His reply: There is no simple answer. This class examines the origins of an ideology that has as its aim the adoption by the individual of values that transcend loyalty to a group based on kinship. Or, that is what many believe that nationalism espouses and advocates. There are arguments to be made that suggest the idea is little more than a modernized 'us-them' paradigm.
Over 6 weeks, we shall aim to answer: What is nationalism?
If it is merely the attachment to a piece of territory, we must explain how earlier societies made a home to individuals and groups who identified with and defended multi-ethnic, multi-confessional
Empires.
If it is loyalty to more than a clan or group, then why do populations, through arguments that aim to restrict immigration, often strive to purify or redefine some mythical group attachments while doing so in the name of protecting the nation and nationalism?
If it is merely an association based on loyalty to some geographic entity, why are some who stand proudly in defense of nationalism never satisfied with the borders of the state they laud?
We explore nationalism as a concept and as a political force. We'll trace its roots in liberal philosophy
and examine how 18th-19th century intellectuals, influenced by the Enlightenment, saw it as a potent means for both energizing ethnic groups and a means for bridging paths to other peoples. Perhaps from these origins in Liberalism we find nationalism representing both ethnic elements and possibilities for integrating and welcoming others (multinationalism, multiculturalism, civil society). We'll take up critics of the idea, including Karl Marx himself, who saw nationalism as a tool of repression and a means for personal liberty to be erased. We'll study how political elites by the 20th century came to rely, at least through rhetoric, on nationalism to gain both public support and, in some cases, absolute power. Finally, we'll examine the ideology's prospects. How likely is nationalism to survive past the 21st century?
No class October 18