From ‘cultivators of the soil’ to ‘citizen-soldiers’: physically active education and the nation at Maryland Agricultural College

In 1866, military drill and instruction became part of the curriculum of Maryland Agricultural College as a result of the passage of the Morrill Act of 1862, a law setting the terms for the establishment of agricultural colleges across the USA. The introduction of military instruction meant a direct inclusion of physically active coursework that preceded the widespread emergence of organized physical education courses in American educational institutions. However, this was not the first time physical activity was used and discussed at the college: previously, the uses of physical activity at the college wholly entailed outdoor agricultural practice in which students applied pedagogical training about agricultural techniques in the field. In this paper, we examine early Maryland Agricultural College printed discourse from 1859 to 1886, studying how the college shifted focus from idealizing the Republican male citizen as a physically active farmer or ‘cultivator of the soil’ in the years preceding the American Civil War to a physically active ‘citizen-soldier’ in response to the social and political effects of the conflict. Our analysis sheds light on the historical place of such physical activity coursework within the larger historical narrative of American physical education's emergence, and also provides useful historical context for critically viewing linkages between physical culture, nationalism, agricultural education and the military in contemporary physical education.     

Speaking Irish with hurley sticks: Gaelic sports,the Irish language and national identity in revival Ireland

The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) ban on foreign games, implemented nationally in 1905, affected not only GAA members but Gaelic League members also. The shared Gaelic heritage of both organisations led to their marriage in the Irish Ireland movement and the aims and ideals of both organisations were promoted alongside one another. GAA members were expected to promote and use Irish while Gaelic League members were to play only Gaelic sports. The commitment of GAA members to the language was to prove controversial throughout the Irish revival period, however, where lip service, symbolism and general lack of interest in the language led to the diminishing of GAA language policies. Nevertheless, GAA members enjoyed the status of being uniquely Gaelic. The same leniency was not afforded to Gaelic Leaguers with regard to vigilance in games. By tying itself to the GAA and the ban, the Gaelic League compromised its own ideals as regards the language forming the basis of Irish nationality and the importance of the games as part of Gaelic identity greatly increased. This corresponds with Timothy G. McMahon’s argument that the secondary aims of the Gaelic League came to obtain greater prominence in the Gaelic Revival than the language itself.     

Haute finance in the not-so-quiet revolution: colonialisme Anglo-Saxonne and the bombing of la Bourse de Montréal

ABSTRACT

This paper examines a situation in which finance is perceived as imperialist – as immanent to, and serving the interests of, a single ‘culture’ in the colloquial sense. The analysis centres on the long-forgotten 1969 bombing of the trading floor of la Bourse de Montréal (the Montréal Stock Exchange), a moment in an intense phase of the Québécois movement for independence from Canada. Because of the way in which the bombers framed the attack, and its political-economic and discursive contexts, the bombing presents an opportunity to think about key features of the relation between finance and cultural domination or imperialism. These features relate to finance’s specific articulation to the future, uncertainty, and, in the words of the séparatistes of the time, cultural ‘destiny’. The paper has three parts. The first describes the bombing of la Bourse and the public, media, and state responses, linking it to Québécois cultural-political geographies at several scales. Part two places the bombing in the longer-run cultural-politicization of finance in the francophone independence movement, to outline a specifically Québecois critique of finance capital. The third part considers finance’s perceived and real connection to, and thus capacity to shape or constrain, the cultural-political construction of collective possibility.     

Increase in the preference for civic over ethnic nationalism among Poles: The impact of representations of a multiethnic past on the perceived inclusiveness of the nation

While the importance of a nation’s history for its current national issues is well established, whether and how that history may be leveraged to promote inclusive and amicable intergroup relationships is less clear. We offer answers to these questions by showing that the referencing of a multiethnic past of a nation is a form of indirect intergroup contact that increases the perceived inclusiveness of the current nation. Firstly, in a nationally representative sample of Poles, we demonstrate that after referring to Poland’s multiethnic history before and during World War II, respondents expressed a greater preference for civic rather than ethnic nationalism. In other words, they expressed more inclusive understanding of their national identity. Secondly, in the follow-up experiment, we further explore this effect by replicating it in one of the targeted samples. Overall, our findings demonstrate how nations may benefit from utilising some parts of their history to promote inclusiveness.     

论伊朗伊斯兰民族主义

从民族主义的理论出发，指出现代伊朗存在四种民族主义类型，但伊朗伊斯兰民族主义因其具有巨大的时空优势和强大的群众基础，也因为其内容的全面性、系统性、人民性、传统性和时代性，所以它成为伊朗民族主义的主流，成为伊朗伊斯兰共和国的指导思想和占统治地位的意识形态。     

社会主义就是协和万邦的国民主义——关于“什么是社会主义”的思考

资本主义开创了世界历史 ,并在世界历史的条件下创造了愈以发达的社会生产力。但资本主义同时将“战国规则” ,即侵略性、扩张性的民族主义带到全世界。在特定的历史背景下 ,中国不得不祭起民族主义的大旗 ,并借助现代社会主义的思想武器 ,以图实现民族自救和民族复兴。但中国的社会主义并非对旧的民族主义的亦步亦趋 ,而是以民族解放为目的、以“天下主义”为依归的新民族主义 (国民主义 )。或者简单地说 ,中国的社会主义就是协和万邦的国民主义。     

闻一多诗歌文化品格三元论

闻一多的诗歌创作体现出独特的文化品格 ,其总体构成有三个基本要素 :浓重的祖国情结和沉郁的民族意识 ;厚传统而不薄现代、亲本土而不疏异域的开放性的文化精神 ;“用人民的形式 ,喊出人民的愤怒” ,使“行义”与“文采”充分人民化的艺术内质。     

论近代德国民族主义的相悖现象

近代德国民族主义从反对民族压迫、要求民族统一,蜕变为以扩张为特征的民族沙文主义,问题在于其原因与后果之间存在相悖现象。政治、经济与社会的分裂状况是导致德国民族主义兴起的主要原因,体制与现实则构成其相关要素,它所带来的后果是专制主义的确立与巩固、容克与资产阶级联合统治、军国主义的承继与思想文化上的强权意识。这种前后期的指归差异不可避免地使德国民族主义发生偏离。     

叶芝新探

本文从内容和风格的视角,探讨叶芝诗歌的思想艺术特色,强调诗人的多元化和主流化特点,诗人卷入爱尔兰民族独立运动和领导爱尔兰文艺复兴运动后,唯美主义,神秘主义和宗教思想明显减弱,现实主义入世精神显著增强,并成为主流。诗人抨击政治权力的腐败,无情嘲讽中产阶段的庸俗,反对民族压迫,热有人民,歌颂返朴归真的浪漫生活。     

Whiteness feels good here: interrogating white nationalist rhetoric on Stormfront

ABSTRACT

This essay adopts a critical rhetorical perspective attuned to affect to investigate white nationalist rhetoric on Stormfront, a popular white nationalist message board. My analysis illuminates how Stormfront attempts to appeal to mainstream white audiences by resisting normative expectations and affects articulated with white supremacy and (re)constructing white nationalism as a formation of white racial consciousness articulated with communal belonging, common sense, and pride. On Stormfront, affect is mobilized discursively to challenge colorblindness, construct rhetorical distance between white nationalism and white supremacy, and strategically negotiate white (dis)comfort with direct discourse on race to compel affective investments in white nationalism.