Diasporas and national consciousness between Europe, the Mediterranean and beyond in the long 19th century

A common feature of several European national movements of the nineteenth century was their development outside the territorial space of the state or states they aimed at creating. National consciousness was often developed and elaborated within the circles of diaspora intellectuals and patriots living in exile. These national and trans-national associations and networks were geographically “displaced”, but in constant contact with their countries of origin.

The aim of the conference is to explore the role intellectual and revolutionary diasporas played in creating, disseminating and negotiating ideas, and in producing shared values, principles and discursive patterns among patriots of different national origins. It seeks to study how ideas are shaped, how they circulate, and the contribution that diasporas themselves gave to the main ideological currents advocating change in the post-revolutionary world: patriotism, republicanism, liberalism, etc. It will focus on the interaction between the intellectual communities of the European and Mediterranean centres and these diasporas, as well as contacts and exchanges between different diasporas. It hopes to look not only at displaced intellectuals from Europe and the Mediterranean, but also at those coming to these regions from other continents. By looking at trans-national exchanges and trans-national civil societies, it seeks to de-nationalize the study of national consciousness, encourage comparative analysis and study the connections, relations and exchanges between different intellectual traditions and currents. In particular, it is hoped that the conference will help discussing the following questions:

• The role of exiled intellectuals and patriots as cultural mediators between their hosting country and the country of origin
• The degree to which diasporas retained the culture of their country of origin, endorsed the political culture of the host country, or produced new original ideas.
• The existence of specifically diasporic Enlightenment, Romanticism, republicanism, liberalism, socialism, and how they related to the development of patriotism and national consciousness.
• The contribution of the displaced intellectuals to building bridges between various traditions and their impact on the internationalization of 19th century cultural and intellectuals trends

It is hoped that the conference will represent an opportunity to discuss, question and revise some of the theoretical frameworks used by historiography to explore and interpret the circulation of ideas between Europe, the Mediterranean and the rest of the world, and that it will provide an opportunity to improve our understanding of the intellectual and cultural dynamics facilitated by the cross-border and cross national encounters

The conference will be held in two parts:

1. A one-day workshop to be held in Nicosia (University of Nicosia). Date: 30 May 2010
2. A two-day conference to be held in London (Queen Mary College, University of London) Date: 10-11 September 2010