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Syllabus European Nationalism-Myth Race and - 58829
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Last update 26-09-2023
HU Credits: 2

Degree/Cycle: 2nd degree (Master)

Responsible Department: International Relations

Semester: 2nd Semester

Teaching Languages: Hebrew

Campus: Mt. Scopus

Course/Module Coordinator: Dr. Oded Steinberg

Coordinator Email: oded.steinberg@mail.huji.ac.il

Coordinator Office Hours: Monday:16:00-17:00

Teaching Staff:
Dr. Oded Steinberg

Course/Module description:
In this course we will delve into the study of European nationalism. The primary focus will be on the three European ‘Giants’: Germany, Great Britain and France. The discussion will commence with the late 18th and nineteenth century Romantic movement and conclude with contemporary Europe, where nationalistic movements, especially in the light of recent events, show signs of great revival. Throughout the course we will examine core concept such as'language,''race,' 'ethnicity' and of course the'nation.' The course will explore the main intellectual developments in the study of European nationalism through several canonical events and texts. We will trace the major tendencies and shifts and deal with subjects such as the main theories in the study of nationalism, the national ‘myth,' 'memory' and whether and how nationalism should be perceived in our own times.

Course/Module aims:

Learning outcomes - On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
Identifying the main modern
intellectual roots of the national phenomena. Defining pivotal events of European nationalism. Classifying the major theories among scholars of Nationalism. Describing key terms in the study of Nationalism such as ethnicity, myth, and community.
Exemplifying in depth one particular case -study in the research of European nationalism.
Comparing between major study-cases of European nationalism.

Attendance requirements(%):

Teaching arrangement and method of instruction:

Course/Module Content:
Introduction and Definitions- Is the Nation Modern?
2. Early Romanticism and the Myth of the German ‘Savage’.
3. Modernity, the ‘Invention’ of Nationalism and the French Revolution.
4. Ethnicity before Nationalism?
5. Britishness and Anglo-Saxonism
6. ‘How about those Celtics?’- Celticism and Irishness
7. The Clash of Myths: Franks, Gauls and the Third Estate

8. The Failure and Success of German Nationalism
9. 1871 and the ‘eternal’ dispute over Alsace – Lorraine
10. The Convergence of Nationalism, Race and Historical Periodization
11. Could Germany be a Nation Again? An Aftermath of WWII.
12.After the ‘Fall’- The Berlin Wall and the "End of Nationalism"

13. Brexit and the Reemergence of Nationalism


14. Conclusion, Contemporary Reality and Views

Required Reading:
Lecture 1: Gellner, Ernest. Nations and Nationalism. Ithaca: Cornell Univeסמית, א. ד., ברויר, א., & החברה ההיסטורית הישראלית.. האומה בהיסטוריה. ירושלים: ירושלים : החברה ההיסטורית הישראלית, תשס"ג, 2003.
rsity Press, 1983;
Lecture 2 :
Benario, Herbert W. "Arminius into Hermann: History into Legend." Greece & Rome 51, no. 1 (2004): 83-94.
Fichte, J. G. Addresses to the German Nation, 1995[1806].
Lecture 3: Bell, D. The Cult of the Nation in France: Inventing Nationalism, 1680-1800 (1st Harvard University Press paperback ed.). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2003
Hobsbawm, E. J. Nations and Nationalism since 1780 : Programme, Myth, Reality. 2nd ed. Canto (Cambridge University Press).
Lecture 4: Hastings, A. The Construction of Nationhood : Ethnicity, Religion and Nationalism (Wiles lectures. Y). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997.
Hutchinson, John, and Anthony D Smith. Ethnicity: Anthropological Constructions. Oxford: Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1996.
Lecture 5: Colley, Linda. Britons : Forging the Nation, 1707-1837. New Haven ; London: Yale University Pres Leerssen, Joseph Th. National Thought in Europe : A Cultural History. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2006.s, 1992.
Lecture 6:
Hutchinson, J. The Dynamics of Cultural Nationalism : The Gaelic Revival and the Creation of the Irish Nation State. London: Allen & Unwin, 1987.
Joep Leerssen (2006) ‘Englishness, ethnicity and Matthew Arnold’, European Journal of English Studies, 10:01, pp. 63-79.
Lecture 7: Dietler, Michael. "Our Ancestors the Gauls": Archaeology, Ethnic Nationalisim, and the Manipulation of Celtic Identity in Modern France", American Anthropologist 96 (1994), pp. 584-605.
Krzysztof Pomian, “Franks and Gauls,” in Realms of Memory : Rethinking the French Past, ed. Pierre Nora and Lawrence D. Kritzman (New York, 1996), pp. 27-76
Lecture 8: Confino, Alon. The Nation as a Local Metaphor : Württemberg, Imperial Germany, and National Memory, 1871-1918. Chapel Hill ; London: University of North Carolina Press, 1997.
Lecture 9: Renan, Ernst. (1881) “What is a Nation?” in Woolf, S., & Ebrary, Inc. (1996). Nationalism in Europe, 1815 to the present: A reader. London ; New York: Routledge.
Lecture 10: Mosse, George L. “Racism and Nationalism.” Nations and Nationalism 1, no. 2 (1995): pp. 163-173.
Schöttler, Peter. “After de Deluge: The Impact of the Two World Wars on the Historical Work of Henri Pirenne and Marc Bloch”. In: Stefan Berger / Chris Lorenz (Hg.), Nationalizing the Past. Historians as Nation Builders in Modern Europe. Houndmills 2010, pp. 404–424.
Lecture 11: Evans, Richard J. “The New Nationalism and the Old History: Perspectives on the West German Historikerstreit (Review Essay).” Journal of Modern History 59, no. 4 (1987): pp. 761-797.
Lecture 12: Hobsbawm, E. Interesting Times : A Twentieth-Century Life. London: Abacus, 2003.
Lecture 13: Habermas, Jürgen. "Citizenship and national identity: some reflections on the future of Europe." Praxis international 12, no. 1 (1992): 1-19.
Lecture 14: Zimmer, Oliver. "Boundary Mechanisms and Symbolic Resources: Towards a Process-Oriented Approach to National Identity." Nations and Nationalism 9, no. 2 (2003): pp. 173-194.

Additional Reading Material:

Grading Scheme :
Essay / Project / Final Assignment / Home Exam / Referat 60 %
Presentation / Poster Presentation / Lecture/ Seminar / Pro-seminar / Research proposal 20 %
Active Participation / Team Assignment 10 %
Attendance / Participation in Field Excursion 10 %

Additional information:
 
Students needing academic accommodations based on a disability should contact the Center for Diagnosis and Support of Students with Learning Disabilities, or the Office for Students with Disabilities, as early as possible, to discuss and coordinate accommodations, based on relevant documentation.
For further information, please visit the site of the Dean of Students Office.
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