Nations and Nationalisms: Theories, Practices and Methods

International Postgraduate Conference, 10-11 September 2018

The Loughborough University Nationalism Network (LUNN), in collaboration with the Association for the Study of Ethnicity and Nationalism (ASEN), are organising an international conference dedicated to postgraduate students (Master and PhD) interested in theories, practices and methods of nations and nationalism studies.

While postgraduate conferences are usually discipline-specific, the present conference aims to be multi-disciplinary, inviting postgraduate students belonging to different disciplines (e.g. Geography, Sociology, Psychology, History, Politics, Arts, English and Drama) to discuss ideas, theories and methods related to their common research focus on nations and nationalisms. The conference will allow students to share their research projects among a multi-disciplinary audience as a way to encourage and generate intellectual exchange and cross-fertilization of ideas.

This is a two-day conference, featuring keynote speakers Professor John Breuilly  (London School of Economics) and Professor Siniša Malešević (University College Dublin). Selected papers will be presented by postgraduate authors in sessions chaired by LUNN members, who will also act as discussants.

Please mark these dates on your calendar

  • Abstract submission deadline 13 April 2018
  • Notification of abstract acceptance By 30 April 2018
  • Registration deadline 20 May 2018
  • Conference dates 10-11 September 2-18

Professor John Breuilly (London School of Economics)

Rethinking the relationship between nationalism and nation-state

My original work on nationalism and arguably most of the other key texts which formed the modern field of nationalism studies was centred on the question of how nationalism related to nation-state formation. There might have been arguments about how far back in time nationalism went and how it related to the concept of nation but (a) those arguments are well-worn, and (b) the political urgency for studying the subject had to do with nation-state formation. Now we live in a world of nation-states, and most of the “nationalism” that attracts interest is clearly not aimed at nation-state formation but, at most, reshaping nation-state constitutions and institutions. This raises the question not only of whether such nationalism must be understood in a different way from one centred on state formation (and its necessary condition: state destruction) but also whether such an understanding might profitably be projected upon that earlier period when the global world order was being reconstructed along nation-state lines. As an historian this question interests me more than trying to understand contemporary nationalism, although I think detaching of nationalism from nation-state formation has implications for that too.

Professor John Breuilly's profile page

Professor Siniša Malešević (University College Dublin)

Grounded Nationalisms

In this presentation I explore the complex and contradictory character of nationalism. I start with a few biographical remarks identifying how and why I became interested in the study of nationhood. I then look at what nationalism studies have achieved over the past forty years and in which direction this research field could develop further. The second part of my presentation focuses on the notion of grounded nationalisms. I explain the meaning of this concept and then analyse how it operates in the wider social context. More specifically I zoom in on the organisational, ideological and micro- interactional processes that underpin nationhood and nationalisms.

Professor Siniša Malešević's profile page

A roundtable with LUNN members listed below will offer reflections on theories and methods for the study of nations and nationalism.

Travel and accommodation

  • Travelling by train: Loughborough is approximately a 90-minute train journey from London, an hour from Birmingham, or two hours from Manchester or Leeds. Direct trains to Loughborough depart from London St Pancras, Nottingham, Derby, Sheffield, and York. A shuttle bus service from Loughborough rail station to the university runs throughout the year.
  • Travelling by air: The nearest airport is East Midlands. The yellow Skylink bus service from the airport to Leicester goes right through the centre of Loughborough. Buses depart every 20-30 minutes during the day from stand D outside the airport arrivals hall.
  • Travelling by car: Loughborough University is two miles from junction 23 on the M1. The University is clearly signposted on all other main routes. Car parking on campus can be difficult so you may wish to leave your car at your hotel or the station and get public transport to campus.

Accommodation at Loughborough University

Accommodation in the town

There is a good range of accommodation suitable for different budgets in the town

**Other hotels are available, including links to these hotels does not constitute an endorsement on the part of the organisers