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Call For Papers

Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism, a tri-annual, fully refereed journal published jointly by the Association for the Study of Ethnicity and Nationalism (ASEN) and Wiley-Blackwell, invites the submission of high-quality interdisciplinary articles on issues pertaining to nationalism, ethnicity and related themes. The editors are particularly interested in submissions for a special issue on Ethnicity, Nationalism and Education. Examples of relevant themes include:

Hegemonic education and ethnic minorities
Cultural autonomy and education
Disciplining citizens through education
Schools and nationalist education
Educational attainment and xenophobia
Education and nation-building in developing countries

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Call for Contributions: Banal Xenophobia in 21st Century Europe

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SEN Journal: Online Exclusives is currently calling for contributions on the theme of Banal Xenophobia in 21st Century Europe. Since the publication of Michael Billig’s Banal Nationalism in 1995, the field of ethnicity and nationalism has seen a growth in scholarship on the manner in which national and ethnic identities manifest themselves in everyday life. We seek to develop upon this research by shifting the focus from everyday nationalism to ‘banal xenophobia’.

Possible topics to be covered under this theme include, for instance, the banality of xenophobia both in terms of its presence in everyday life (in language, the media, legislation and the built environment), factors that facilitate banal xenophobia (such as institutions, public and popular culture, elites or masses) and its acceptability (to governments or civil society groups) in Europe today.

In keeping with SEN’s editorial policy, SEN Journal: Online Exclusives encourages submissions from a broad range of disciplines with particular attention to up-and-coming scholars, postdoctoral fellows and graduate students working in the field. Submissions should comply with the website’s submission guidelines and not exceed 1,000 words.

All submissions and enquiries should be sent to sen@lse.ac.uk.

Ethnicity, Nationalism and the Politics of Gender: ASEN Seminar Series 2012

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By Durukan Kuzu, ASEN and ASEN Seminars Co-chair

The theme of ASEN’s 2012 seminar series is “Ethnicity, Nationalism and the Politics of Gender”. The overall aim of this seminar series is to scrutinize the relationship between the politics of gender, nationalism and ethnicity. It has been argued that gender inequality is inherent in nationalism as “all nationalism, tends to be conservative,” and ‘conservative’ often means ‘patriarchal’. This is partly due to the tendency of nationalists to be ‘re-traditionalisers’ and to embrace tradition as a legitimating basis for nation-building and cultural renewal. Civic-secular, liberal, and multicultural formulations of nationalism have been claimed in order to rectify gender inequalities, yet these formulations of nationalism have brought about new problems with respect to gender equality and liberation. Seminar speakers are invited to discuss whether the civic/secular, liberal or a multicultural formulation of nation is able to promote gender equality.

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Stained Glass of Flemish Nationalism

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By Dr. Karen Shelby

Picture 1

Since the creation of the Belgian state in 1831, some members of the Flemish community have maintained citizenship as Flemings rather than as Belgians and have located their desire for independence from Belgium directly within the concept of a long-suffering and thus martyred history under Belgian (i.e. French-speaking) rule. This ideology is clearly articulated in two sets of stained glass windows located in the unusual and controversial IJzertoren Memorial Museum in Diskmuide, Belgium. Conceived as a memorial to the Flemish men who died at the Belgian front during the Great War, the memorial, and much of the symbolism ascribed to the site, has functioned as a physical manifestation of the idea of a distinct Flemish ethnicity as opposed to Belgian nationalism. This becomes evident, for instance, in the tower’s physical structure which evokes the tombstones designed for the Flemish soldiers containing the Flemish “AVV-VVK” inscription: “All for Flanders – Flanders for Christ”, which encodes the ideology and symbolism of the Flemish Movement within the language of martyrdom and perseverance (Picture 1).

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Everything Must Go: Liquidating and Lessening Hmong Cultural Heritage in Laos

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By Dr. Simeon S. Magliveras

Textiles are an influential site where gender ideals and national, local and ethnic identities are produced and expressed. However, with the advent of tourism and consumerism of fourth world products in Laos, the tensions between quantity and quality, local markets and global markets and meaning and meaninglessness have become magnified. This photo essay will examine some of these tensions and demonstrate how the authenticity of only a few textiles and designs has been preserved.

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