La arquitectura regionalista fue una moda internacional de la primera mitad del siglo XX que se hizo muy popular en zonas turísticas. Los defensores del regionalismo querían una arquitectura más... Show moreLa arquitectura regionalista fue una moda internacional de la primera mitad del siglo XX que se hizo muy popular en zonas turísticas. Los defensores del regionalismo querían una arquitectura más auténtica, una vida familiar sencilla en contacto con la naturaleza y la adopción de tradiciones artesanales. Esto se podría expresar de una forma nostálgica, exaltando los valores y el patrimonio del campo. Otros propagaban una versión más reformista: higiene moderna, aire y luz, honestidad constructiva e igualdad social. Basándonos en la prensa especializada de la época, analizamos tres tipos de prácticas relacionadas directamente con la arquitectura regionalista: el trabajo, el uso del espacio y la vida cotidiana. Show less
Architectural regionalism was a popular style at world fairs and international exhibitions. National pavilions in a regionalist style should incorporate a specific part of a country’s heritage in... Show moreArchitectural regionalism was a popular style at world fairs and international exhibitions. National pavilions in a regionalist style should incorporate a specific part of a country’s heritage in order to be recognisable. Because this heritage had to be unique and spectacular in order to attract the attention of the public, world fairs and international exhibitions constituted a highly influential global test field for the development of architectural regionalism. This will become clear by analysing the Panama-California Exposition in San Diego (1915) and the Ibero-American Exhibition in Seville (1929), where architectural regionalism was thedominant style. What types of heritage enabled the architects to construct a distinguishable and attractive pavilion that reflected the territorial identity of a specific nation or region? In this chapter, I will devise a typology of regionalist pavilions, first by distinguishing between cultural and natural heritage. Within the cultural heritage category, the focus can be on the European/Western legacy or on indigenous/exotic elements. The other axis represents the type of architecture—formal or vernacular—that is used as a source of inspiration. I will also critically reflect on the limited explanatory power of centre-periphery constellations and the agency of various actors. In order to explain the rise of specific regionalist styles we should not only analyse the discourse of intellectuals and the power of political and cultural institutions, but also take commercial actors and the role of consumption into account. Although it is difficult to study the demand side, there are some clear indications that the wishes of the wider public were taken into account by the architects.Le régionalisme architectural fut un style populaire dans les Expositions universelles et internationales. Les pavillons nationaux de style régionaliste devaient incorporer un aspect spécifique du patrimoine du pays afin d’être reconnaissables. Puisque ce patrimoine se devait d’être unique et spectaculaire afin d’attirer l’attention du public, les Expositions universelles et internationales constituaient un terrain d’essai mondial de développement du régionalisme architectural qui exerça une grande influence. Cela sera élucidé par notre analyse de l’Exposition Panama-California à San Diego (1915) et de l’Exposition Ibéro-Américaine àSéville (1929), dont le style dominant fut le régionalisme architectural. Quels sont les types de patrimoine qui ont permis aux architectes de construire des pavillons identifiables et attrayants qui reflètent l’identité territoriale d’une nation ou d’une région spécifique ? Dans cette contribution, je propose une typologie des pavillons régionaux, d’abord en établissant une distinction entre patrimoines culturel et naturel. La catégorie du patrimoine culturel peut se focaliser soit sur l’héritage européen/occidental, soit sur les éléments indigènes/exotiques. L’autre axe représente le type d’architecture, formel ou vernaculaire, qui servit d’inspiration. Je vais aussi m’engager dans une réflexion critique sur les limites de la puissance explicative de la constellation « centre-périphérie » et de l’association de divers acteurs. Dans notre explication de l’émergence de styles régionaux spécifiques, il ne suffit pas d’analyser les discours des intellectuels et le pouvoir des institutions politiques et culturelles ; il faut aussi considérer les acteurs commerciaux et le rôle de la consommation. Bien qu’il soit ardu d’étudier l’aspect de la demande, il existe des indications. Show less
Around 1900 the artisan became a national symbol throughout Europe. While the peasant had been lionized ever since the Romantic era, the craft guilds were denigrated as remnants of feudalism. This... Show moreAround 1900 the artisan became a national symbol throughout Europe. While the peasant had been lionized ever since the Romantic era, the craft guilds were denigrated as remnants of feudalism. This changed with the Arts and Crafts movement. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, the artisan began to appear as a representative of the nation at international exhibitions, which focused increasingly on vernacular arts and traditions. In this way, craft products became a part of the national heritage, while artisans were cherished as sources of national authenticity. In the early twentieth century, traditional crafts were increasingly appreciated by artists, collectors and consumers, and many of their most extraordinary products were seen as embodying the nation’s Volksgeist or folk-spirit. Show less
Recent historical studies tend to confirm the antimodernist interpretation, emphasizing the strong premodern roots of nations and nationalism. However, a broad comparative analysis of the rise of... Show moreRecent historical studies tend to confirm the antimodernist interpretation, emphasizing the strong premodern roots of nations and nationalism. However, a broad comparative analysis of the rise of the nation-state during the Age of Revolution shows that earlier notions of nationhood did not have a significant role in the creation of nation-states in Europe and the Americas. They were not the consequence of a glorious national revolt, but of a clash between the Old Regime and new ideals of political legitimacy. Many of these conflicts led to civil wars and the survival of the nation-state was mostly determined by the geopolitical constellation. The boundaries of the nation were defined in terms of civilization, whereas language and culture were largely irrelevant. Within these new nation-states, a universalist nationalization process began. In many instances, citizenship was awarded easier to foreigners than to “uncivilized” inhabitants, while Classical Antiquity was preferred over the national past. Show less
Twelve historians and social scientists reflect on Miroslav Hroch's contributions to the field of nationalism studies. There are essays on his pioneering comparative historical studies of ‘small... Show moreTwelve historians and social scientists reflect on Miroslav Hroch's contributions to the field of nationalism studies. There are essays on his pioneering comparative historical studies of ‘small nation’ national movements and his distinction between nationalism and national movements. Other essays focus on concepts such as those of protagonist, the three phases of national movements, the small nation and nationally relevant conflict of interest. A further set of essays explores how Hroch's approach can be extended beyond small nations, beyond Europe and into the contemporary period. Show less
This chapter proposes a typology of the architecture of national pavilions. The current architectural classification is not very suitable because it highlights the supposedly unique, national... Show moreThis chapter proposes a typology of the architecture of national pavilions. The current architectural classification is not very suitable because it highlights the supposedly unique, national character of most pavilions. For a comparative analysis of the way in which the nation was represented two factors are crucial. Was the pavilion inspired by buildings pertaining to high culture – such as temples and palaces – or does it refer to “low” culture – such as vernacular buildings or commercial structures? Another axis is the opposition between a universalist language (timeless classicism or a future-oriented functionalist style) and national particularism (which could be expressed by focusing on characteristic features). By thus defining four different options for national pavilions a number of global trends can be mapped. Around 1900, the emphasis on high culture – expressed in a dominant role for classicist and historicist pavilions – was replaced by a growing influence of popular culture – both in the form of festive, commercial structures and neo-vernacular buildings. Another clear shift is the rapid advance of architectural modernism in the late 1920s. Moreover, the typology shows that transnational influences are crucial to understand the decision-making process concerning the construction of national pavilions. First, global architectural trends heavily influenced how each participating country aimed to position itself. Second, the definition of each country’s national heritage was largely determined by a transnational public. World fairs induced a quest for the extraordinary; quaint and striking buildings became a central aspect of the nation’s heritage everywhere. Show less
Hasta ahora, los historiadores apenas han prestado atención al surgimiento de esta exaltación nacionalista del artesano. Después de la abolición de los gremios, los artesanos eran considerados... Show moreHasta ahora, los historiadores apenas han prestado atención al surgimiento de esta exaltación nacionalista del artesano. Después de la abolición de los gremios, los artesanos eran considerados sobre todo como un residuo del pasado. Los especialistas en historia socioeconómica suelen ignorar el papel de los oficios durante el siglo XIX y XX y se fijan sobre todo en el proceso de modernización industrial y sus consecuencias sociales. Los escasos estudios existentes sobre los artesanos como grupo social – generalmente definido como pequeño burguesía – se fijan sobre todo en su papel en el surgimiento de los movimientos fascistas. Por consiguiente, este trabajo es un primer intento de esbozar las pautas generales de la creación del artesano como símbolo nacional desde finales del siglo XIX hasta la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Se basa en un planteamiento transnacional que se fija en intelectuales, artistas y ejemplos que provienen de los principales países de Europa Occidental entre los que España ocupa un lugar destacado. La adulación por la artesanía tradicional surgió hacia finales del siglo XIX con el movimiento de Arts & Crafts, los museos etnográficos y las exposiciones universales. Sin embargo, solo en torno al cambio del siglo la artesanía se presentó de manera explícita como representativa de las tradiciones auténticas de la nación. Llama la atención que muchos de los oficios típicos que se definieron durante esta época siguen siendo tópicos nacionales hoy en día. En general, fueron sobre todo intelectuales y artistas preocupados por la cuestión social los que favorecieron la inclusión de la artesanía en el legado cultural de la nación, haciéndolo de esta manera más democrático y popular. Show less
Most historians today agree that nations are constructed and their borders largely arbitrary. So, why should we study nationalism by limiting ourselves to the boundaries of existing nation-states... Show moreMost historians today agree that nations are constructed and their borders largely arbitrary. So, why should we study nationalism by limiting ourselves to the boundaries of existing nation-states or nationalist movements? In fact, since the 1990s historians have been analysing the interaction between local, regional and national identities, mostly by concentrating on the territorial identification processes in a specific city or region. Other scholars examined trans-border influences on the nation-building process by focusing on the role of emigrants, borders, transfers or the impact of foreign scholars and tourists. As a consequence, nationalism is now being studied at various geographical levels besides the traditional emphasis on the nation itself: the local, the regional, the transnational and the global (which will be the topic of chapter twelve). This chapter aims to provide an overview of the impact of the ‘spatial turn’ on the history of nationalism. Show less
El nacionalismo no solo se manifestó en la esfera pública mediante estatuas, conmemoraciones y fiestas nacionales, también entró en el hogar. Durante la época revolucionaria el entusiasmo por la... Show moreEl nacionalismo no solo se manifestó en la esfera pública mediante estatuas, conmemoraciones y fiestas nacionales, también entró en el hogar. Durante la época revolucionaria el entusiasmo por la soberanía de la nación era compartido en la mesa durante la comida o en los salones con una copa. En la época romántica, en muchas casas se adquirían libros sobre la gloriosa historia de la nación y se leían novelas históricas. En el salón o el despacho probablemente había alguna imagen de una escena patriótica o algún recuerdo material de un héroe nacional, y a veces se entonaban canciones patrióticas. Sin embargo, durante gran parte del siglo XIX la nación ocupaba un espacio muy limitado y su celebración en general se limitó a ocasiones especiales. No afectaba al espacio físico, ni a las tareas domésticas. La vivienda, los muebles y las comidas o eran muy sencillos y no se identificaban entonces con un territorio específico o seguían modas internacionales. Esto empezó a cambiar hacia finales del siglo XIX. Lo más sorprendente fue que tanto los espacios como las prácticas domésticos empezaron a regionalizarse y nacionalizarse casi al mismo tiempo, y esto ocurrió en todas las partes del continente europeo. Por lo tanto, la nacionalización y regionalización del hogar en España no se puede explicar meramente por factores internos, sino que fueron parte de una nueva fase transnacional del proceso de construcción nacional. Antes de analizar la nacionalización y regionalización de la arquitectura doméstica y de las prácticas culinarias en España, haremos un repaso del estado de la cuestión relativa a la interacción entre regionalismo y nacionalismo, repasando algunas de las más relevantes estudios internacionales, tanto sobre el caso español como de su entorno europeo. Show less
This dossier aims to problematize the widespread understanding of ethnic cleavages as the hard core undergirding national conflict. As such it questions the rise of ethnic nationalism during the... Show moreThis dossier aims to problematize the widespread understanding of ethnic cleavages as the hard core undergirding national conflict. As such it questions the rise of ethnic nationalism during the late nineteenth century as the direct cause of the dawn of Europe’s ‘oppressed peoples’ after 1918. The different contributions evaluate the status of the First World War as the breakthrough moment of Wilsonian self-determination within the multi-ethnic states and empires in Europe. In this respect they investigate the recent powerful thesis propounded by scholars of national indifference in Central Europe that it was the unprecedented disruption of the Great War that politicized ethnicity as never before and made it into a marker of groupness rather than a mere social category, to use Rogers Brubaker’s terms. The articles in this dossier also contribute to recent investigations that focus on how European empires tried to accommodate nationalism and how nationalist movements in and outside of Europe used the disruption of the war and Wilson’s plea for self-determination to ask for independence. These articles demonstrate how the specific developments of war and revolution produced particular understandings of the general idea of self-determination. The Wilsonian discourse as such had a breakthrough in 1918 when the destruction of Austria-Hungary generally became accepted as an Allied post-war goal. Movements world-wide adopted self-determination as a goal and standard, but as this dossier demonstrates, all kinds of actors used Wilson’s words for their many purposes, such that one cannot speak of a coherent and meaningful Wilsonian moment. Show less
Nationalism studies does not seem to be a very innovative field of research. The path-breaking views of Anderson, Gellner and Hobsbawm – all published in 1983 – still form the starting point for... Show moreNationalism studies does not seem to be a very innovative field of research. The path-breaking views of Anderson, Gellner and Hobsbawm – all published in 1983 – still form the starting point for almost all existing investigations. Moreover, most recent studies focus on one national case, which implicitly results in a vast collection of ‘unique’ trajectories. However, over the last few years a number of highly original studies on the origins of nationalism, nation-state formation, banal nationalism, methodological nationalism and nation-building in a global perspective seem to announce a new dawn. Some of these refreshing interpretations – which will be discussed in this article – clearly demonstrate that historiographical nationalism still has a preponderant role in history writing. In the concluding paragraphs I will emphasize the need to overcome not only methodological nationalism, but also the terminological and normative nationalism that still dominates our discipline. Show less
