OSUN Theme: Democratic Practice
Ethnicity, Nationalism, and the State: Voices and Responses
Term: June 12, 2023 – July 7, 2023Level: 100-Level
Day/Time: M/T/W/Th/F 8:00 AM EST - 10:00 AM EST
All Summer Courses are accredited through Bard College.
This seminar will explore the nexus between ethnicity and politics from multiple disciplinary perspectives, focusing on the often-overlooked differences between nationalism (allegiance to one’s “nation” or cultural group) and patriotism (allegiance to one’s state or political entity), and the conflicts these differences can create in multinational states. Special attention will be paid to the origins of ethnic challenges to existing state structures, as well as to subsequent state efforts to contain ethnic strife. We will also explore the myths and realities of group identification and solidarity, and how tensions between the multiple loyalties required in the modern state system have exacerbated ethnic tension in some states and ameliorated it in others. Examples will be drawn from both the industrialized and developing worlds.
Credits: 4 U.S./8 ECTS