Author Archives: Vesselina Ratcheva

Scotland and Secessionist Movements: The Political Process

We have some great content lined up in this series including an interview with Professor David McCrone , co-director of the Institute of Governance at Edinburgh University, and a piece from Professor Daniele Conversi , Research Professor at the University of the Basque Country and the Ikerbasque Foundation for Science. The pieces will take us from the particular topic that is Scottish nationalism to the wider question of secessionist politics.

In the meantime, we have prepared a short infographic which will guide you through the political history of Scotland’s entry into the United Kingdom and the contentious status of that Union.

Scotland and Secessionist Movemements

You can read more about the events listed above in the following links:

King James VI and I	The Act of Union
Scotland’s referendums	The Scotland Act 1998
A National Conversation	A National Conversation
The Edinburgh Agreement	José Manuel Barroso’s letter
UK Government’s legal opinion on Barroso’s claim	The Referendum Bill Committee

Featured Preview: The Role of Ukrainian Museums in the United States Diaspora in Nationalising Ukrainian Identity

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As part of its call for contributions on art and ethnicity, the SEN web team is delighted to present a selection of articles related to the topic from SEN’s print issues.

We are pleased to present a preview of Adrienne Kochman’s “The Role of Ukrainian Museums in the United States Diaspora in Nationalising Ukrainian Identity” published in volume 8 issue 2 of SEN.

Article Abstract

Ukrainian museums in the United States diaspora have attempted to construct a culturally authentic history outside Ukraine itself where, for the better part of the twentieth century, Ukrainian artistic endeavors were defined within a russified Soviet framework. Established largely by third wave post-World War II Ukrainian immigrants interested in seeing an independent Ukraine, these museums have been a symbolic testament to democratic self-definition. A separate Ukraine pavilion at the Century of Progress Exposition in Chicago of 1933 set an earlier precedent in its representation of Ukraine as an autonomous nation. This affirmed later permanent museums which collected indigenous Ukrainian folk art and artifacts as well as modern art – created by native Ukrainians and those of the diaspora – in opposition to the official Soviet Socialist Realist canon. Ukrainian independence in 1991 and increased national awareness after 2004 elections realigned these museums’ mission from a cultural refuge to active participants in the new nation-building process.

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Art and Nationalism in London Museums: Representing Britain

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This series examines how pieces of art in London museums speak to or about nationalism by representing or commenting on ‘the nation’. It presents an opportunity for the reader to not only consider the topic in relation to established artists and paintings, but also to plan a visit to the galleries in question in order to experience the pieces of art directly.

The galleries reviewed were The National Gallery, The National Portrait Gallery, Tate Britain and Tate Modern. Visits to the four couldn’t but lead to a reflection on their different purposes and ethos. Unlike the National Gallery and Tate Modern, references to “the nation” are particularly prominent in Tate Britain and the National Portrait Gallery. We are reminded of this for instance by the engraving (Image 1) when entering Tate Britain “These galleries were presented to the nation”.

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