HIST/WMST 500

Gender, Race and Nation in Europe and Beyond,
18 – 20 C.

(Joint graduate / undergraduate course)

Karen Hagemann

The past two decades have seen an explosion of writing on questions of nation and nationalism. Yet, questions of gender and race have been seriously neglected in much of this work.  This is the more surprising because new historical research shows clearly that all nations and nationalisms are invented, gendered and raced. The course explores this growing body of gendered research by focusing on problems of national belonging, citizenship, state and nation formation, and national iconography. We will discuss questions such as: What difference does it make to our understanding of nations and nationalisms when gender and race are taken into account?  What is the relation between hierarchies of class, gender and race in any given nation?  How do gender, race, ethnicity, religion and generation intersect in constructions of national belonging and processes of social and cultural nation building?

The common point of departure of the course will be an understanding of “gender” and “nation” as constructed and contested relational systems of cultural and social meanings.  Together, the two systems not only shape the political national culture in historically specific ways, but also legitimize and limit the access of (groups of) people - women and men - to national movements as well as to the resources of states and nations.  The aim is to develop a relational view of the perception of emerging nations from an inside and outside perspective. This is necessary, because the central phenomenon of inclusion in and exclusion from socially and culturally constructed nations did not arise solely through the drawing of internal boundaries (of gender, class, race, ethnicity, religion and culture in the broadest sense), but also through the drawing of external boundaries - to neighboring peoples or states and to ‘alien peoples’ in the conquered colonies. 

Format of the Course

The course is planned as a seminar class for undergraduate and graduate students. The sessions will center on discussions of assigned reading. Participating in a group discussion is important both as a skill and as a learning opportunity. Preparation for and participation in the class discussions are therefore key requirements for this seminar. Students are expected as a matter of course to have read the required readings and to be ready to discuss it. Active, engaged reading is therefore a critical part of the preparation for an active, engaged discussion.