CRESC Annual Lecture: An Unsettled State

Description:

The Scottish referendum on independence takes place on 18th September 2014. Whatever the outcome of this vote, the event marks a period of intense debate and reflection on the relationship between national identities and processes of decentralization. Many other European states have also been actively involved in re-scaling the state – instituting diverse forms of regional autonomy – some peacefully agreed upon, others highly conflictual.  The question as to whether Scotland should be an independent country raises questions around the possibilities of legal and fiscal autonomy in a world of globalized capital flows, shared environmental concerns, and the rapid circulations of social media. There are important questions about whether regional autonomy and political decentralisation can counter the economic trajectories of internal differentiation and increased inequality; and there are also questions about the role of media representations, arts, literature and cultural practices in reframing people’s sense of national belonging.

The postwar history of Europe includes divisions between Protestants and Catholics, Muslims and Christians, Catalans and Spanish, and, within the UK between those who think of themselves as British, or perhaps English, as against those who identify themselves as Scottish, Welsh or Irish. Migration and living in diaspora has complicated national belonging The shifting topographies of identity are visible in multiple forms in Western Europe, and they express themselves in diverse ways: in sporting contests; forms of worship; voluntary associations; political and cultural activities; and in the violence of racist attacks and so-called ethnic cleansing.

The CRESC Annual Lecture debates the unsettling effects of independence movements. Taking place shortly after the Scottish referendum, a panel of distinguished speakers will reflect on the shifting character of national identity in Europe and explore its consequences. Questions they will explore will include the following:

• how independence movements articulate understandings of and aspirations for reformed democracy and mobilise media and communications for specific ends;
• whether greater autonomy will deliver more of the same economically ie increasing competition and entrenched inequalities within and between regions and groups
• how national identity equates to citizenship, and the extent to which civic identities resonate with ethnic, linguistic, religious, and other overlapping but non-territorial forms of identity;
• how national identities work at different scales - intersecting with European, regional, local, and other territorial affiliations;

the particular historical circumstances in which national identities become important to particular sections of the population, and the forms that demands for independence, or for integration, have taken.

Mark Drakeford was born in West Wales before moving to Cardiff some 30 years ago. A former probation officer and youth justice worker, he is a professor of social policy and applied social sciences at Cardiff University. A Labour councillor on South Glamorgan County Council, he worked as the Welsh Government’s health and social policy adviser between 2000 and 2010 and later became head of the First Minister’s political office. Mark was elected Assembly Member for Cardiff West in May 2011. He was chair of the Assembly’s health and social care committee before being appointed Minister in March 2013.

Susana Narotzky is Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Barcelona and a Fellow of the Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research. Her main research focus has been on the anthropology of work, with particular attention to unregulated production and care practices within and across generations. The recent global crisis has led her to investigate the articulation between folk models of the economy that inform practices at the micro sociological level, and expert models of the economy that frame policy, corporative and institutional behaviour. Her work is inspired by theories of critical political economy, moral economies and feminist economics. She will contribute to our debate from her understandings and experiences of Spain's autonomous regions.

Stewart Purvis is Professor of Television Journalism at City University London and a non-executive director on the board of Channel Four.  He is a former Chief Executive and Editor-in-Chief of ITN and Partner for Content and Standards at Ofcom.  He is the co-author of 'When Reporters Cross the Line'.  During his career in television he won BAFTA and Royal Television Society awards and was awarded a CBE.

Bill Schwarz is a Professor of Modern Literature and History at Queen Mary, University of London. The first volume of his Memories of Empire was published by Oxford University Press in 2011.  Bill studied English and History at York University, before going on to the Centre for Contemporary Studies at Birmingham.  He has taught Sociology and Politics at Warwick, Cultural Studies at the University of East London, and Media and Communications at Goldsmiths, and arrived at Queen Mary in 2004. Bill is also an editor of History Workshop Journal.

To reserve your place at the CRESC Annual Lecture 2014, please email Claire Hyde at claire.hyde@manchester.ac.uk with your name, name of organisation and contact details.

This is a free event.  Please be aware that places are restricted and are allocated on a first come-first served basis.

Cost:

Free

Website and registration:

claire.hyde@manchester.ac.uk

Region:

North West

Keywords:

Case Study

Related publications and presentations:

Case Study

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