15612

Gender and the Nation. A Contested Relationship

Johannes Heß, Tobias Klee

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Only three months after the NSDAP had taken power in Germany, in May 1933, members of the SA stormed the “Institut für Sexualwissenschaften,” run by German sexologist Magnus Hirschfeld, confiscating and destroying tens of thousands of books and a vital meeting place of the queer community. The institute had done intensive research on intersexuality and transgender identities, one of the few places in Europe to do so. Its research perturbed the convictions of clear and “healthy” gender norms the new rulers saw as indispensable for the future success and supremacy of the German people.
Germany was not exceptional in this regard. Since the 19th century, European imperialism, nationalism, as well as postcolonial movements relied on firm beliefs about the proper comportment and behaviour of men and women. (Hyper-)nationalism? Impossible without a binary gender regime. In her 1995 publication “Imperial Leather”, Anne McClintock wrote: "All nations depend on powerful constructions of gender. Despite many nationalists' ideological investment in the idea of popular unity, nations have historically amounted to the sanctioned institutionalization of gender difference. No nation in the world gives women and men the same access to the rights and resources of the nation-state." (p.353).
While female figures often represent the nation (see for example Germania, Columbia, Marianne), nationalism values “masculine” attributes such as rationality, industriousness, and bravery in war. The ideal national citizen is a man. In nationalist ideology, men can aspire to be politicians, scientists, or soldiers. Women have to carry the nation’s children, becoming figurative and literal mothers to the nation. They are moral and racial purity incarnate. By prescribing with whom and how women can have children, nationalists ensure the “proper” reproduction of the nation, without running the risk of “racial degeneracy” and “moral decay.” Despite the rising tide of nationalism and antifeminism, surprisingly little of the findings of gendered nationalism scholarship has made it into the public discussion. Using gender as an analytical lens helps us uncover hierarchies of power inherent to nationalism, the way nationalism constructs belonging, and the ways it excludes those who do not belong.
This seminar provides an introduction to gender research on nationalism. We will teach you how gender acts as a relational category. As such, you can use it as an analytical tool to understand and explain mechanisms of power, oppression, inclusion, and exclusion. By the end of the seminar, you will
• Be able to recall different theories and scholars on gender and nationalism from political science and history
• Be able to define the relationship between gender and nationalism and explain the interplay them
• Be able to identify markers of nationalist, racial, and gendered constructs in social, cultural, and political discourses
• Be able to analyse events and processes through the category of gender in the fields of history and political sciences
• Be able to apply the methods of political science or history to a research question regarding the intersection of gender and nationalism
• Be able to navigate, assess, and criticise the relevant scholarship close

14 Class schedule

Regular appointments

Wed, 18:00 - 20:00 14 Class schedule

Wed, 2025-04-16 18:00 - 20:00

Lecturers:
Tobias Klee
Johannes Heß