The rebirth of global nationalisms
Discursive programme to accompany Gotong Royong. Things We Do Together
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Alt-right as well as national movements have gained – in recent years – a strong and fairly stable position in global politics. A return to nationalism has already occurred; hence why the question of the cause of the revival of global nationalism is well-founded. One of the reasons may be disillusionment caused by the uneven and exploitative nature of global economic and cultural circulation. Marginalized and excluded groups have come together to find an antidote to the negative effects of such a state of affairs. As a result, isolationist tendencies, particularism and identity populism violently manifest themselves both in social and political life as well as express themselves discursively. This phenomenon affects both the semi-detached areas of the Global South, but also the hitherto centres – Europe and the United States. One nation and one culture are the central elements of the nationalist turn. During the meeting, we shall discuss the phenomenon of taking over the discursive potential developed by the new humanities along with the entire rhetorical repertoire of social identity and social justice through nationalist movements. This unsettling phenomenon should not, however, cause a sense of helplessness. This is a good time to rethink the issues of emancipation and the contradictions that they may generate in order to effectively oppose nationalist rhetoric.
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- Participants
- Imani Jacqueline Brown
- Clara Ianni
- Ewa Alicja Majewska
- The discursive programme supplementing the Gotong Royong. Things We Do Together exhibition intends to add to what we learned from the exhibition itself. Recent changes in the social, political and economic climate—including economic crises, political-religious extremism, the questioning of climate changes, populist and nationalist trends, the crisis in education and the gradual breakdown of community ties—seem to be universal. The Gotong Royong. Things We Do Together exhibition offers projects, actions and grassroots solutions by using artistic-educational activism to defy these negative indicators. We would like this discursive programme to put the exhibition in a broader context. The programme’s meetings will differ both in format and in their way of presenting knowledge. The meetings will involve artists and activists who are taking part in the exhibition, as well as analysts of culture and of connections between politics and economics. We believe that it is important to investigate concrete issues. In these meetings, we will think about what acting together means, why nationalist tendencies are picking up and what role an unconventional perspective can play in transforming education.
- Curators of discursive programme
- Marianna Dobkowska
- Konrad Schiller
