DOCSLIB.ORG

The Minor Transnationalism of Christopher Isherwood

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Minor Transnationalism of Christopher Isherwood CENTRAL EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY A SINGULAR NOMAD: THE MINOR TRANSNATIONALISM OF CHRISTOPHER ISHERWOOD by CALVIN W. KEOGH Doctoral Dissertation Submitted to Central European University Gender Studies Department In partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Comparative Gender Studies CEU eTD Collection Supervisor: Jasmina Lukić Budapest, Hungary August, 2018 CEU eTD Collection Declaration I hereby declare that this dissertation contains no materials previously accepted for any other degrees in any other institutions, and contains no materials previously written and/or published by any other persons, except where appropriate acknowledgement is made in the form of bibliographic reference. Calvin W. Keogh CEU eTD Collection CEU eTD Collection Abstract This project brings a transnational perspective to the work of Christopher Isherwood (1904-86), a writer who began his career in the UK in the 1920s, established his reputation in mainland Europe in the 1930s, and published most of his writing in the US from the 1940s-80s. Transnationalism in literary studies is presented as a critical methodology of selection and analysis, which calls attention to the work of migrant writers and involves a sophisticated approach to related issues of identity, selfhood, and subject positioning. A selection of novels and novellas from the three main periods of Isherwood’s career is made according to his concept of Wanderjahren, or years of wandering, which refers to a time from before he left London in the 1920s to when he felt settled in the US in the 1960s. For the purposes of analysis, ‘minor transnationalism’ is presented as a theoretical framework on the basis of the philosophy of nomadism and the related concept of minor literature as devised by Gilles Deleuze (1925-95) and Félix Guattari (1930-92). This project has a general aim of advancing research in transnational literary studies. As a case study, Isherwood is significant because of the timescale and locations of his migrations, which include the UK, the US, and Germany at pivotal moments in the history of the twentieth century, and for the reflections in his work of several factors of identity and their relationship to social privilege and marginalization. This project also aims to contribute to a growing body of scholarship on Isherwood, while offering an alternative to it. Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, several scholars have endeavored to make the writer visible, to restore his reputation, and to present his writing as relevant to new generations of readers. A focus on his life and work in the US has culminated in the production of an ‘American Isherwood’, who is linked to a ‘Vedantist Isherwood’ and to an increasingly outspoken ‘gay Isherwood’, whose life writing, history, and example are as important as his novels and novellas. Rather than reterritorializing Isherwood in such terms, this project contends that it is important both to recognize and to account for his development as a transnational writer across each of the three main periods of his career. Refocusing on the novels and novellas which were his life’s work from the 1920s-60s, it considers his religious and sexual minority CEU eTD Collection among several factors of identity, such as age, class, race, gender, and ethnicity, which fall within a range of major to minor and can be adequately addressed only in the context of his transnational migrations. i CEU eTD Collection ii Table of Contents General Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1 Research Objectives .................................................................................................................. 1 Isherwood Scholarship .............................................................................................................. 5 Outline of Sections ................................................................................................................... 14 Section I: Critical Methodology and Theoretical Framework ............................................... 21 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 21 I.1. Critical Methodology: Transnationalism ....................................................................... 24 I.2. Theoretical Framework: Minor Transnationalism ....................................................... 37 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 50 Section II: Isherwood in the UK (1920s) ................................................................................... 51 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 51 II.1. Oedipal Maneuvers: Lions and Shadows (1938) & All the Conspirators (1928) ......... 54 II.2. War and Peace: The Memorial (1932) ........................................................................... 73 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 92 Section III: Isherwood in Germany (1930s) ............................................................................. 93 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 93 III.1. Expatriate Minority: The Berlin Stories (1935-39) ..................................................... 96 III.2. Minor Sympathies: The Berlin Stories (1935-39) ...................................................... 116 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 136 Section IV: Isherwood in the US (1940s-60s) ......................................................................... 137 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 137 IV.1. Minority Report: The World in the Evening (1954) .................................................. 140 IV.2. Minor Regrets: A Single Man (1964) .......................................................................... 160 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 179 General Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 181 Bibliography .............................................................................................................................. 187 CEU eTD Collection iii CEU eTD Collection iv General Introduction Research Objectives This project brings a transnational perspective to the work of Christopher Isherwood (1904-86), a writer who began his career in England, established his reputation in mainland Europe, and published most of his writing in the United States. What has been referred to as a transnational ‘turn’ in literary studies occurred toward the close of the twentieth century, when scholars who were interested in issues of minority, post-imperialism, and postcolonialism began to respond to the conditions and pervasive effects of accelerating globalization (Jay, Lukić). It may be an exaggeration to claim that the principle of ‘national’ literatures, on the basis of which literary markets, criticism, and departments continue to be organized, has been displaced or even decentered. The transnational turn is nonetheless significant in regard to selection, in that it brings attention to writing which cannot be conveniently contained within the limited boundaries of ‘national’ literatures and is therefore often overlooked in processes of selection and canonization. This is especially true in the case of migrant writers, prominent throughout the twentieth century, who are becoming more and more prevalent in English. The transnational turn is also significant in regard to analysis, in that it addresses issues of nation, nationality, and nationalism in a much broader context and focuses, in particular, on such issues as “migration, multiculturalism, and the problematization of the concept of identity on very different levels” (Lukić, 36). In this respect, it involves a sophisticated approach to issues of identity, selfhood, and subject positioning and is attentive to a variety of factors which include, but are not limited to, age, class, race, sex, gender, ethnicity, and sexuality, as well as citizenship and national origin. Isherwood provides an ideal case study for a critical methodology of transnationalism. During his lifetime, as Victor Marsh explains, the writer passed through a “series of dislocations – geographical, psychological, and ontological”, which enabled him not only to “reposition his subjectivity, but give free rein to an inquiring intelligence to seek out tools for transformation wherever he found them” (2008, 82-83). CEU eTD Collection Christopher Isherwood was born into a family of prominent landowners at Wyberslegh Hall in Cheshire, England, and became the “Orphan of a Dead Hero” when his father went missing in action during the Great War (K&F, 356). From 1923-25, he availed of a prestigious scholarship to read History at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, but withdrew after deliberately failing his 1 second year exams.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Glass Case Modern Literature Published After 1900
    The Glass Case Modern Literature Published After 1900 On-Line Only: Catalogue # 209 Second Life Books Inc. ABAA- ILAB P.O. Box 242, 55 Quarry Road Lanesborough, MA 01237 413-447-8010 fax: 413-499-1540 Email: [email protected] The Glass Case: Modern Literature Terms : All books are fully guaranteed and returnable within 7 days of receipt. Massachusetts residents please add 5% sales tax. Postage is additional. Libraries will be billed to their requirements. Deferred billing available upon request. We accept MasterCard, Visa and American Express. ALL ITEMS ARE IN VERY GOOD OR BETTER CONDITION , EXCEPT AS NOTED . Orders may be made by mail, email, phone or fax to: Second Life Books, Inc. P. O. Box 242, 55 Quarry Road Lanesborough, MA. 01237 Phone (413) 447-8010 Fax (413) 499-1540 Email:[email protected] Search all our books at our web site: www.secondlifebooks.com or www.ABAA.org . 1. ABBEY, Edward. DESERT SOLITAIRE, A season in the wilderness. NY: McGraw-Hill, (1968). First Edition. 8vo, pp. 269. Drawings by Peter Parnall. A nice copy in little nicked dj. Scarce. [38528] $1,500.00 A moving tribute to the desert, the personal vision of a desert rat. The author's fourth book and his first work of nonfiction. This collection of meditations by then park ranger Abbey in what was Arches National Monument of the 1950s was quietly published in a first edition of 5,000 copies ONE OF 10 COPIES, AUTHOR'S FIRST BOOK 2. ADAMS, Leonie. THOSE NOT ELECT. NY: Robert M. McBride, 1925. First Edition.
    [Show full text]
  • Christopher Isherwood Papers
    http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8pk0gr7 No online items Christopher Isherwood Papers Finding aid prepared by Sara S. Hodson with April Cunningham, Alison Dinicola, Gayle M. Richardson, Natalie Russell, Rebecca Tuttle, and Diann Benti. The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens Manuscripts Department The Huntington Library 1151 Oxford Road San Marino, California 91108 Phone: (626) 405-2191 Email: [email protected] URL: http://www.huntington.org © October 2, 2000. Updated: January 12, 2007, April 14, 2010 and March 10, 2017 The Huntington Library. All rights reserved. Christopher Isherwood Papers CI 1-4758; FAC 1346-1397 1 Overview of the Collection Title: Christopher Isherwood Papers Dates (inclusive): 1864-2004 Bulk dates: 1925-1986 Collection Number: CI 1-4758; FAC 1346-1397 Creator: Isherwood, Christopher, 1904-1986. Extent: 6,261 pieces, plus ephemera. Repository: The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. Manuscripts Department 1151 Oxford Road San Marino, California 91108 Phone: (626) 405-2191 Email: [email protected] URL: http://www.huntington.org Abstract: This collection contains the papers of British-American writer Christopher Isherwood (1904-1986), chiefly dating from the 1920s to the 1980s. Consisting of scripts, literary manuscripts, correspondence, diaries, photographs, ephemera, audiovisual material, and Isherwood’s library, the archive is an exceptionally rich resource for research on Isherwood, as well as W.H. Auden, Stephen Spender and others. Subjects documented in the collection include homosexuality and gay rights, pacifism, and Vedanta. Language: English. Access The collection is open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department, with two exceptions: • The series of Isherwood’s daily diaries, which are closed until January 1, 2030.
    [Show full text]
  • UK's TRADE DEALS ARE BANANAS CAMEROON PALESTINE
    2021 no. 4 June - £6.50 (free to members) UK’s TRADE DEALS ARE BANANAS CAMEROON PALESTINE Belarus Hijack Sakharov EVENTS CONTENTS 7th June LIBG Forum on Afghanistan – see page 3 Afghanistan Forum page 3 21st June Chesham & Amersham by-election. Selling Our Souls for Bananas: Global Britain’s Trade Deals, and Reasons to be Fearful, by 30th June Lib Dems Overseas Zoom Webinar Focus Rebecca Tinsley pages 4-5 on Hong Kong. 12.00-01.30pm – see pages 17-18 Rebuild Samir Mansour’s Bookshop. page 5 1st July Batley & Spen by-election 21st July Paddy Ashdown Forum – What makes a A tribute to Jonathan Fryer, by John good COP? (UN Climate Change Conference). Alderdice pages 6-8 Conversation with LI President Hakima El Haité & Tony Greaves, by David Scott page 8 the UK Liberal Democrats Leader Ed Davey. NLC 6.30-8.00pm – see page 19 Cameroon Forum Report pages 9-10 17th - 20th September – Liberal Democrats Autumn Yabloko host conference and exhibition to Conference. mark centenary of human rights defender Andrei Sakharov. pages 10-11 October 63rd LI Congress will be held online. Details to follow International Abstracts pages 11 & 16 For bookings & other information please contact From the Conference Fringe – Liberal the Treasurer below. Democrat Friends of Palestine report. page 12 NLC= National Liberal Club, Whitehall Place, London SW1A 2HE Belarus Banditry page 13 Underground: Embankment Reviews pages 14-17 Focus on Hong Kong Webinar pages 18-19 Liberal International (British Group) Treasurer: Wendy Kyrle-Pope, 1 Brook Gardens, What makes a good COP (Paddy Ashdown Barnes, Forum) page 20 London SW13 0LY email [email protected] Photographs: Stewart Rayment, Jonathan Fryer, Rebecca Tinsley, Yabloko, Samir Mansour InterLib is published by the Liberal International (British Group).
    [Show full text]
  • Edward Upward and the Novel of Politics
    Edward Upward and the Novel of Politics ANTHONY ARBLASTER Edward Upward, novelist, has enjoyed a second, fictional or semi- fictional life in the writings of his contemporaries for half a century. Under the pseudonym of “Allen Chalmers”, given to him by Christo- pher Isherwood, he appears in the autobiographies of Isherwood (Lions and Shadows) and Stephen Spender (World Within World). But Chalmers’ first appearance is as a character in Isherwood’s very first novel, All the Conspirators, published in 1928. Did Upward himself really exist? In the 1930’s some stories and a short novel, Journey to the Border, were published under his name. But for twenty years between 1942 and 1962 Upward published nothing except for one early story, The Railway Accident, which he partly disowned, and which therefore appeared under the familiar pseudonym, with an introduc- tion, appropriately, by Isherwood, the inventor of “Allen Chalmers”. Like another writer of the ’thirties, Jean Rhys, Upward disappeared from public view for many years. He has since explained the relation between this long silence and his engagement with and painful dis- engagement from the Communist Party. This relationship is itself one main theme of the trilogy of novels published since 1962 under the overall title of The Spiral Ascent (Onward and Upward?). Even now that Upward can be perceived as a novelist in his own right, the relationship between Upward and Chalmers still flourishes in the material of the trilogy, as will be seen. Isherwood and Upward have enjoyed a kind of literary partnership, the most enduring among those writers who formed a recognisable group or generation in the 1930’s.
    [Show full text]
  • Goodbye to Berlin: Erich Kästner and Christopher Isherwood
    Journal of the Australasian Universities Language and Literature Association ISSN: 0001-2793 (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/yjli19 GOODBYE TO BERLIN: ERICH KÄSTNER AND CHRISTOPHER ISHERWOOD YVONNE HOLBECHE To cite this article: YVONNE HOLBECHE (2000) GOODBYE TO BERLIN: ERICH KÄSTNER AND CHRISTOPHER ISHERWOOD, Journal of the Australasian Universities Language and Literature Association, 94:1, 35-54, DOI: 10.1179/aulla.2000.94.1.004 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1179/aulla.2000.94.1.004 Published online: 31 Mar 2014. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 33 Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=yjli20 GOODBYE TO BERLIN: ERICH KASTNER AND CHRISTOPHER ISHERWOOD YVONNE HOLBECHE University of Sydney In their novels Fabian (1931) and Goodbye to Berlin (1939), two writers from different European cultures, Erich Mstner and Christopher Isherwood, present fictional models of the Berlin of the final years of the Weimar Republic and, in Isherwood's case, the beginning of the Nazi era as wel1. 1 The insider Kastner—the Dresden-born, left-liberal intellectual who, before the publication ofFabian, had made his name as the author not only of a highly successful children's novel but also of acute satiric verse—had a keen insight into the symptoms of the collapse of the republic. The Englishman Isherwood, on the other hand, who had come to Berlin in 1929 principally because of the sexual freedom it offered him as a homosexual, remained an outsider in Germany,2 despite living in Berlin for over three years and enjoying a wide range of contacts with various social groups.' At first sight the authorial positions could hardly be more different.
    [Show full text]
  • Re-Branding a Nation Online: Discourses on Polish Nationalism and Patriotism
    Re-Branding a Nation Online Re-Branding a Nation Online Discourses on Polish Nationalism and Patriotism Magdalena Kania-Lundholm Dissertation presented at Uppsala University to be publicly examined in Sal IX, Universitets- huset, Uppsala, Friday, October 26, 2012 at 10:15 for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. The examination will be conducted in English. Abstract Kania-Lundholm, M. 2012. Re-Branding A Nation Online: Discourses on Polish Nationalism and Patriotism. Sociologiska institutionen. 258 pp. Uppsala. ISBN 978-91-506-2302-4. The aim of this dissertation is two-fold. First, the discussion seeks to understand the concepts of nationalism and patriotism and how they relate to one another. In respect to the more criti- cal literature concerning nationalism, it asks whether these two concepts are as different as is sometimes assumed. Furthermore, by problematizing nation-branding as an “updated” form of nationalism, it seeks to understand whether we are facing the possible emergence of a new type of nationalism. Second, the study endeavors to discursively analyze the ”bottom-up” processes of national reproduction and re-definition in an online, post-socialist context through an empirical examination of the online debate and polemic about the new Polish patriotism. The dissertation argues that approaching nationalism as a broad phenomenon and ideology which operates discursively is helpful for understanding patriotism as an element of the na- tionalist rhetoric that can be employed to study national unity, sameness, and difference. Emphasizing patriotism within the Central European context as neither an alternative to nor as a type of nationalism may make it possible to explain the popularity and continuous endur- ance of nationalism and of practices of national identification in different and changing con- texts.
    [Show full text]
  • Varieties of American Popular Nationalism.” American Sociological Review 81(5):949-980
    Bonikowski, Bart, and Paul DiMaggio. 2016. “Varieties of American Popular Nationalism.” American Sociological Review 81(5):949-980. Publisher’s version: http://asr.sagepub.com/content/81/5/949 Varieties of American Popular Nationalism Bart Bonikowski Harvard University Paul DiMaggio New York University Abstract Despite the relevance of nationalism for politics and intergroup relations, sociologists have devoted surprisingly little attention to the phenomenon in the United States, and historians and political psychologists who do study the United States have limited their focus to specific forms of nationalist sentiment: ethnocultural or civic nationalism, patriotism, or national pride. This article innovates, first, by examining an unusually broad set of measures (from the 2004 GSS) tapping national identification, ethnocultural and civic criteria for national membership, domain- specific national pride, and invidious comparisons to other nations, thus providing a fuller depiction of Americans’ national self-understanding. Second, we use latent class analysis to explore heterogeneity, partitioning the sample into classes characterized by distinctive patterns of attitudes. Conventional distinctions between ethnocultural and civic nationalism describe just about half of the U.S. population and do not account for the unexpectedly low levels of national pride found among respondents who hold restrictive definitions of American nationhood. A subset of primarily younger and well-educated Americans lacks any strong form of patriotic sentiment; a larger class, primarily older and less well educated, embraces every form of nationalist sentiment. Controlling for sociodemographic characteristics and partisan identification, these classes vary significantly in attitudes toward ethnic minorities, immigration, and national sovereignty. Finally, using comparable data from 1996 and 2012, we find structural continuity and distributional change in national sentiments over a period marked by terrorist attacks, war, economic crisis, and political contention.
    [Show full text]
  • AARP (American Association of Re- Age Tired Persons), 13–14 Categories Of, 133–135, 347 (See Also Abrams V
    Index AARP (American Association of Re- Age tired Persons), 13–14 categories of, 133–135, 347 (see also Abrams v. Lightolier, 182 Categorization, age-based) Acquaintances, communication with, differential treatment and, 201 224–225 differentiation Active mastery, vs. passive acceptance, face, 78–79 346 height cues for, 78 Activities of daily living (ADLs), age- voice cues, 79 related changes, 202–203 effects on children’s age attitudes, ADEA. See Age Discrimination in Em- 88–90 ployment Act of retirement, 174 ADLs (activities of daily living), age- Age-differentiated behavior related changes, 202–203 actual vs. hypothetical, 233–234 Adults ageist, 229 middle-aged causes of, 230–233, 234 ageist attitudes of, 149–150 in community settings, 221–227 social creativity of, 149–150 cross-cultural issues, 235–236 older (see also Elderly) definition of, 201–202 ageism, similarities with younger in entertainment, 219–221 adults, 340 familiarity and, 235 ageist attitudes of, 145–146 in health settings, 205–210 workers (see Workers, older) helpfulness of, 229–230 young in legal settings, 214–217 ageism, similarities with older in mass media, 219–221 adults, 340 negative, 229 ageist attitudes of, 145–146, 150 in nursing homes, 210–214 communication with elderly, 225–226 of physicians, 232 positive distinctiveness of, 149 positive, 229 Advertising, research on ageism and, of psychiatrists, 232 343–345 research Affect, age attitudes of children and, evidence, gaps in, 233–236 98–99, 113 expanded scope of, 234–235 African Americans, negative stereo- speech accommodation theory and, type threat and, 266–267 230–231 360 Index Age-differentiated behavior (cont.) perceptual mechanisms, 111–112 target characteristics, 233 potential consequences of, 264 types of, 228–230 reduction of (see Reduction of ageism) vs.
    [Show full text]
  • Grotesque Drag Queens and Toxic Matriarchs
    University of Connecticut OpenCommons@UConn Master's Theses University of Connecticut Graduate School 5-11-2013 Grotesque Drag Queens and Toxic Matriarchs: Motherhood and The ubS versive Female Body in Disney Animated Films Allison Footit University of Connecticut - Storrs, [email protected] Recommended Citation Footit, Allison, "Grotesque Drag Queens and Toxic Matriarchs: Motherhood and The ubS versive Female Body in Disney Animated Films" (2013). Master's Theses. 419. https://opencommons.uconn.edu/gs_theses/419 This work is brought to you for free and open access by the University of Connecticut Graduate School at OpenCommons@UConn. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of OpenCommons@UConn. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Grotesque Drag Queens and Toxic Matriarchs: Motherhood and The Subversive Female Body in Disney Animated Films Allison K. Footit B.A., University of Connecticut, Storrs, 2011. M.A., University of Connecticut, Storrs, 2013. A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts At the University of Connecticut 2013 1 APPROVAL PAGE Masters of Arts Thesis Grotesque Drag Queens and Toxic Matriarchs: Motherhood and The Subversive Female Body in Disney Animated Films Presented by Allison K. Footit, M.A. Major Advisor________________________________________________________________ Alexis Boylan Associate Advisor_____________________________________________________________ Margo Machida Associate Advisor_____________________________________________________________ Anna-Mae Duane University of Connecticut 2013 2 Dedication First and foremost, this thesis is dedicated to my mentor and major advisor, Dr. Alexis Boylan, for her unending advice, support, time and energy throughout every step of the writing process. I would also like to thank the other essential members of my thesis committee: Dr.
    [Show full text]
  • 44-Christopher Isherwood's a Single
    548 / RumeliDE Journal of Language and Literature Studies 2020.S8 (November) Christopher Isherwood’s A Single Man: A work of art produced in the afternoon of an author’s life / G. Güçlü (pp. 548-562) 44-Christopher Isherwood’s A Single Man: A work of art produced in the afternoon of an author’s life Gökben GÜÇLÜ1 APA: Güçlü, G. (2020). Christopher Isherwood’s A Single Man: A work of art produced in the afternoon of an author’s life. RumeliDE Dil ve Edebiyat Araştırmaları Dergisi, (Ö8), 548-562. DOI: 10.29000/rumelide.816962. Abstract Beginning his early literary career as an author who nurtured his fiction with personal facts and experiences, many of Christopher Isherwood’s novels focus on constructing an identity and discovering himself not only as an adult but also as an author. He is one of those unique authors whose gradual transformation from late adolescence to young and middle adulthood can be clearly observed since he portrays different stages of his life in fiction. His critically acclaimed novel A Single Man, which reflects “the afternoon of his life;” is a poetic portrayal of Isherwood’s confrontation with ageing and death anxiety. Written during the early 1960s, stormy relationship with his partner Don Bachardy, the fight against cancer of two of his close friends’ (Charles Laughton and Aldous Huxley) and his own health problems surely contributed the formation of A Single Man. The purpose of this study is to unveil how Isherwood’s midlife crisis nurtured his creativity in producing this work of fiction. From a theoretical point of view, this paper, draws from literary gerontology and ‘the Lifecourse Perspective’ which is a theoretical framework in social gerontology.
    [Show full text]
  • Politics and International Studies Newsletter
    Politics & International Studies Newsletter, no. 5 February 2012 Politics and International Studies Newsletter Middle East? The conference, organised for 25 February, in the 50 Years of Politics at SOAS Introductions Khalili Lecture Theatre, is set to examine the revolutionary uprisings that have taken place across the Middle East in the past year. These uprisings have thus far produced dynamic societal developments that include new governments, transformed socio- political discussions, military intervention, and constitutional changes. This one-day conference seeks to address these issue areas, as well as others, in the hopes of better A Note of introduction from Alex understanding the hopeful Craven: opportunities and significant challenges that lie ahead for the “Hi everyone - my name is Alex Mark Friday and Saturday 24 & region and its peoples. Craven and I have just joined 25 February in your diaries! SOAS as the academic support The Department of Politics and This student-organized conference officer for the Politics Department. International Studies will celebrate will feature academics, activists, and I studied History at Oxford its fiftieth birthday on 24 February, journalists. Panels will include: University, and after graduating starting at 18.30 in the Brunei spent three years working at Gallery Lecture Theatre. The Geopolitical Challenges to Wadham College in Oxford, before event will include a panel followed Political Change moving to London last September. Away from work I am a keen film by a party in the Brunei Suite from Justice, Intervention, and the buff (I volunteer at a cinema 8pm onwards. Students, colleagues, Rule of Law in Transition and alumni are especially welcome.
    [Show full text]
  • Two Types of Nationalism in Europe?
    Russian and Euro-Asian Bulletin Vol.7 No.12 December 1997 Published by the Contemporary Europe Research Centre University of Melbourne Two Types of Nationalism in Europe? Stefan Auer Dec 1997 While intellectuals and some politicians in a radical change in the relationship between the West have seen Europe approaching the polity and culture, and that this in turn pro- ‘postmodern’ age, in which the conception duced nationalism. The salient feature of the of a national state would become outdated preceding agrarian societies was, according and would be replaced by a new multina- to Gellner, cultural diversity and fragmenta- tional and multicultural entity, the ‘back- tion in small autonomous sub-communities, ward’ neighbours in the East have been said each of which lived in its own specific id- to be prone to succumb to a resurgence of iom. A peasant had no need to communicate nationalism. Thus, analysts like Schöpflin1 with the elite of high culture who existed saw confirmed the old concept2 of two es- beyond his/her experience (which was usu- sentially different forms of nationalism: the ally limited to the size of his/her valley). The enlightened Western, that is supportive of modern industrial and predominantly urban democracy, and the backward Eastern, that society required mass literacy and a high de- is an obstacle to any genuinely democratic gree of social mobility, which could only be society. The differences are, however, not achieved by nearly universal access to a well described by this reference to geogra- state-sponsored ‘national’ educational sys- phy. Rather, two (or more) different concep- tem.
    [Show full text]