Association for the Study of Ethnicity and Nationalism
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The Association for the Study of Ethnicity and Nationalism (ASEN) is an international, interdisciplinary association for academics, researchers, students, journalists and others directly concerned with advancing the study of ethnicity and nationalism. It was founded by research students and academics in 1990 at the London School of Economics, where the headquarters of the Association are based. The objectives of the Association are to establish an international and interdisciplinary network of scholars interested in ethnicity and nationalism; stimulate debate on ethnicity and nationalism through the organisation of seminars, workshops, lectures and conferences; disseminate information on scholarly activities concerning ethnicity and nationalism; and publish research on ethnicity and nationalism in its journal Nations and Nationalism.
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[edit] Publications
The Association publishes two journals: Nations and Nationalism, one of the most cited in the field, and Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism (formerly called The ASEN Bulletin), which publishes research from young scholars, junior faculty, post-doctoral researchers and graduate students.
The first issue of Nations and Nationalism was published in March of 1995. In their editorial for that issue, Anthony Smith, Obi Igwara, Athena Leoussi, and Terry Mulhall described the need for a journal devoted to the study of nations and nationalism, and identified the three basic aims of the journal as: "(1) to be the vehicle of new research, both theoretical and empirical, and act as a forum for the exhange of views in the field; (2) to identify and develop a separate subject-area as a field of study in its own right, and unify the body of scholars in the field; [and] (3) to bring to the attention of the wider scholarly community, and the public, the need to treat the subject-area as a well-defined field of interdisciplinary study, which requires the collaboration of scholars from a variety of intellectual backgrounds."[1]
[edit] Other activities
[edit] Conferences
Each spring, the Association organises one of the largest annual conferences in the field. Its 2008 conference, titled Nationalism, East and West: Civic and Ethnic Conceptions of Nationhood, was held at the London School of Economics in April and was the largest to date. Past conference titles include: The Dark Face of Nationalism: Violence, Extremism and the Nation (2007); Nations and their Pasts: Representing the Past, Building the Future (2006); and Nation and Empire (2005).
[edit] Lectures, seminars and debates
The Association organises and hosts a range of different events at the London School of Economics including lectures, seminars and debates that feature prominent scholars in the interdisciplinary field of nationalism studies. The Ernest Gellner Nationalism Lecture and the Nations and Nationalism Debate are annual, and a number of smaller seminars are held more frequently throughout the year.
[edit] Essay prize
The Dominique Jacquin-Berdal ASEN Prize, established to honour the memory of a former ASEN member and editor of Nations and Nationalism, is awarded annually to the author of a submitted paper "to encourage young scholars to publish original research in ethnicity and nationalism." The prize includes £250 and 2 years' free membership in the ASEN, and may lead to publication of the article in Nations and Nationalism.[2]
[edit] Mailing list
The Association also maintains a mailing list, called Nationalism Research, which "provides members information on conferences, including calls for papers; new publications in the field; scholarships for students and researchers; jobs in academia; and events organised by the Association for the Study of Ethnicity and Nationalism at the London School of Economics and Political Science."[3]
[edit] Similar organisations
- Association for the Study of Nationalities (ASN)
- Association for Research on Ethnicity and Nationalism in the Americas (ARENA)
[edit] Notes
- ^ Anthony D. Smith et al. "Editorial", in Nations and Nationalism 1 (1), 1995, 2.
- ^ ASEN Essay Prize web page
- ^ Nationalism Research Mailing List web page