Everyday Nationalism in 21st century

DATE: 2nd March 2021

TIME: 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm

In collaboration with the International Relations Office, the Department of International Studies, Political Science and History, CHRIST ( Deemed to be University) organized an international webinar on "Everyday nationalism in the 21st century." The speaker for the session was Dr. Jon E Fox, Professor of Sociology from the University of Bristol, UK.

The session started with the welcome address and a brief introduction of the keynote speaker by Dr. Madhumati Deshpande, followed by the lecture of the speaker himself. He initiated the lecture with the question of how nationalism affects the day-to-day lives of ordinary people. In his lecture, he tried to elaborate the framework for understanding the roles of ordinary lives in producing and reproducing nationalism in these contemporary times. To substantiate his perspective, he discussed three pillars of everyday nationalism, namely, 1) tweeting the nation, 2)marching the nation, and 3)branding the nation. Each of these phenomena is interrelated in forming the ideas of today's nationalism.

He argues that with the use of social media platform, the narratives of nationalism has altered today. These virtual platforms are used to share and articulate people's views and opinions on everyday nationalism. As these platforms are shared spaces, it creates a sense of discursive empowerment among ordinary men. Elaborating on the second pillar, he described what DIY nationalism is and how social media is used to organise and mobilise the public. He also talked about Affective nationalism and the public performances of new niche nationalism that can create aggressive displays than before—heightening the tensions and making confrontation more real. Lastly, he discussed the branding of a nation. How different sorts of symbols are used to motivate and manipulate the audiences. Today, any random symbol is being identified for the purpose of nationalism that reflects and constitutes the specific interests and agendas of niche nationalism. Dr. Fox concludes his lecture by considering ordinary men as agents of nationalism, and with the advent of social media, it has given them a voice. Furthermore, as for the future of nationalism, he mentioned that everyday nationalism in the 21st century is not static but a constantly evolving phenomenon.

The next segment of the webinar was the Q/A session, where the students participatedenthusiastically. A lot of questions and queries were raised by the participants. The session was moderated by Dr. Manoharan N, who helped in generating a very interesting discussion. The event came to an end with the formal vote of thanks by Oishee Majumdar  from 4MAIS.