Passions,patriotism and nationalism,and Germaine de Staël1 |
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Authors: | GLENDA SLUGA |
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Affiliation: | Department of History, University of Sydney, Australia |
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Abstract: | ABSTRACT. This essay examines the influence of sentimentalism on conceptions of patriotism at the turn of the nineteenth century in order to historicise conventional views of the nature of patriotism as a fundamental human emotion. It uses a focus on the intellectual thought of Germaine de Staël in order to understand how a ‘sentimental’ view of patriotism took hold at a crucial moment in the European history of the idea of the nation and of the conceptualisation of emotions. I argue that de Staël's ideas and influence lead us to a radical reconsideration of the significance of the emotional history of patriotism for how we explain nationalism. |
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Keywords: | De Staë l emotions enthusiasm gender nations patriotism sentimentalism |
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