CONFERENCE: "Meeting of Young Researchers in Contemporary History of the AHC (Contemporary History Association)" (Barcelona, 15-17th June 2015)
PANEL: "Citizenship: XIXth century perspectives
CONTACT: louise.zbiranski@normativeorders.net
SUMMARY: All over Europe, early contemporary history is intimately intertwined with the concept of the citizen. After the French revolution, at the latest, it became crucial for political theorists, statesmen, and the people. The aim of this panel is to study citizenship as an interface of theory and practice. It queries particularly for the nexus between citizenship and emancipation, governmental control, and resistance.
For liberal theorist central hopes of emancipation were associated with citizenship: it symbolized equality in rights and political participation. Early liberal visions of citizenship, moreover, often stressed the importance of active participation and watchfulness towards the government. Citizens were not only supposed to vote but also to act as lay judges, journalists or national guardsmen. Radical currents, moreover, saw popular mobilization as a key element of civic governmental control and stressed the right of resistance.
However, 19th century citizenship had also a practical and a legal side. Where liberalism actually wielded power it often fell short of its universal pretensions. Moreover, in most of the European states the extension of citizenship went hand-in-hand with state growth and the he government’s ability to penetrate into society (e.g via the introduction of passports or compulsory military service). Furthermore, reforms meant to turn the people into citizens often triggered popular resistance.
The panel seeks to elucidate these two faces of citizenship by case studies. It invites proposals from intellectual, political or micro-history that contribute to our understanding of the interaction of these factors – or challenge the narrative sketched above.
Abstracts of max. 600 words can be send to: louise.zbiranski@normativeorders.net:
DEADLINE: 15th November
For further information on the panel and the conference see:
http://historiabcn2015eng.wordpress.com