[Commlist] 'Promoting the Nation in Troubled Times' Symposium and Workshop

'Promoting the Nation in Troubled Times' - Symposium and Workshop

20th and 21st March 2019

(Symposium: 20th March, 14:00-18:00; Workshop: 21st March, full day)

Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK

Episodes such as Brexit in the UK, the Trump Presidency in the US, the 
election of Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil, and the rise of the Five Star 
Movement in Italy, have pushed questions about nation and nationalism 
into the spotlight. A common view among journalists and commentators is 
that nationalism ‘is back’, largely thanks to populist leaders and 
movements that have successfully mobilized nationalist passions in order 
to advance their political agendas. The symposium will consist of a 
keynote by Melissa Aronczyk (Rutgers University) followed by a panel 
including Nadia Kaneva (University of Denver), Fabian Frenzel and 
Massimo Giovanardi (Leicester University), and Paweł Surowiec 
(University of Sheffield). An invitation only workshop will take place 
on 21st March to continue discussions from the previous day.

Whether or not nationalism has ever fully disappeared from the public 
arena is a matter of debate. Indeed, one could argue that the recent 
resurgence of nationalist sentiments and rhetoric is part and parcel of 
a much longer trend. At least since the late 1990s, governments and 
corporations from all over the world have started developing ‘nation 
brands’ and using targeted communication strategies to construct and 
communicate particular versions of national identity in the 
international arena. These strategies have not always been explicitly 
associated with nations and nationalism; rather, they appeared under the 
guise of public and cultural diplomacy, propaganda, or strategic 
communication. Some of the commentators have questioned the social 
consequences of these strategies, warning of risks entailed in the 
restrictive, simplified, commodified versions of national imagination. 
In contrast, practitioners and advocates of nation branding and public 
diplomacy have argued that these strategies are not only necessary to 
maintain competitiveness in a global market, but that they also 
contribute to peace through a marginalisation of nationalist chauvinism. 
The current global context requires a fresh look at these issues. 
Promises that public diplomacy would facilitate dialogue and engagement, 
and that nation branding was underpinned by a post-political approach, 
should be re-examined in view of the increasing visibility of polarised 
expressions of national identity all over the world.

This symposium brings together key experts in nation branding and public 
diplomacy and is part of the theme Nation, organised by the IAS, and is 
co-sponsored by the ESRC and the School of Business & Economics.

Further information:

https://www.lboro.ac.uk/research/ias/events/

This event is open to the public, but we ask you to confirm your 
attendance here:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/promoting-the-nation-in-troubled-times-tickets-55704692234 


WORKSHOP

Following on from the International Symposium on 'Promoting the Nation 
in Troubled Times', an invitation only workshop will take place on 21st 
March to continue discussions from the previous day.

Confirmed participants include:

-Melissa Aronczyk, Rutgers University

-Göran Bolin, Södertörn University

-Nicholas Cull, USC Annenberg School of Communication

-Nadia Kaneva, University of Denver

-Ian Somerville, Leicester University

-Pawel Surowiec, University of Sheffield

-Göran Svensson, Uppsala University

To express an interest in attending this event, please contact Dr César 
Jiménez-Martínez. (C.A.Jimenez-Martinez /at/ lboro.ac.uk) 
<mailto:(C.A.Jimenez-Martinez /at/ lboro.ac.uk)>



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