Political patriotism

The Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation seminar series has continued to provoke debate around key dimensions and ethics of globalisation and citizenship.

Presenting the sixth seminar for the year, Stan van Hooft, Associate Professor in the School of International and Political Studies, contended that patriotism can be compatible with a cosmopolitan stance towards human rights and global justice.

While patriotism is often argued to be at odds with a cosmopolitan outlook, Stan van Hooft argues that an identification with one’s own political community, rather than an attachment to the concept of community, can allow for a form of patriotism consistent with a cosmopolitanism perspective on human rights and global justice.

He argues patriotic love of one’s cultural community often has emotional, nationalistic and moralistic connotations. But van Hooft argues that patriotism does not need to be associated with cultural community. Instead attachment can be to political community and this, he argues, is “the proper mode of attachment involved in patriotism”.

The allegiance that arises from this attachment is one that is sceptical of the national interest and “does not accept that our moral responsibilities to others stop at national borders.”

Read the Full paper on Political Patriotism

Stan van Hooft’s presentation sparked a lively discussion on patriotism, cosmopolitanism and justice. Contributing to the discussion were other faculty members with expertise in this area, including Professor Gary Smith, Head of School, School of International and Political Studies, Professor Fethi Mansouri, Director, Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation and Professor Baogang He, School of International and Political Studies.

Stan van Hooft researches in areas including the applied ethics of health care, international relations and love and sexuality; and in European Philosophy. His publications include three recent books: Caring About Health, Understanding Virtue Ethics, and Life, Death, and Subjectivity: Moral Sources in Bioethics. He has also set up numerous Socratic Dialogues around Melbourne for the general public.

The ICG seminar series continues through the academic year. Dr Nicole Oke, ICG Seminar Series Coordinator and Alfred Deakin Post Doctoral Research Fellow at ICG says, “the ICG seminars are an opportunity to hear about the most recent research in the faculty, and through discussion to share other perspectives on these issues.”

For more information on the ICG Seminar Series ’09:
http://www.deakin.edu.au/arts-ed/icg/events/seminars2009.php

CALL FOR PAPERS
2009 : International Conference on Migration, Citizenship and Intercultural Relations
Thursday 19 November - Friday 20 November 2009 Venue: hd3.008/3.009 (Melbourne campus at Burwood), Deakin University Venue
Direction: http://www.deakin.edu.au/arts-ed/icg/events/pdf/hd3.pdf

We invite proposals for papers that address the following questions:

• With increasing diversity in a globalised world, what kinds of multicultural societies can we envisage for our increasingly diverse communities?
• What kind of cultural and national identities will be formed within these societies and what role will they play in the public sphere?
• Do transnational connections translate into weaker notions of local belonging or can they be used as a resource to strengthen local communities?
• Do migrant and minority ethnic groups experience a sense of inclusion?
• How is this sense of inclusion recognised or manifested in a multicultural society?
• Does government policy contribute to building a sense of belonging and inclusion among recent migrants and other ethno-cultural groups?
• What types of intercultural relations exist in a culturally diverse society?
• What is the role of these intercultural relations in fostering inclusive and ethical visions of citizenship?

Suggested topics include, but are not limited to:

• Multiculturalism, Identity and Citizenship
• Race, Ethnicity and Intercultural Relations
• Transnational Work and Temporary Migration
• Muslim Diaspora in the West
• Moving Beyond Xenophobia: Race Relations and Social Inclusion
• Transnationalism and Global Ethics

Online Registration Form
http://www.deakin.edu.au/arts-ed/icg/events/register/conference.php

Please send 250 word proposal/ abstract* by 15 August 2009 to:
Ms Chipp Sunil
Coordinator
International Conference on Migration, Citizenship and Intercultural Relations
Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation.
Email: chippy.sunil@deakin.edu.au

* Abstracts will be refereed by the Organising Committee.

For more information on the Conference:
http://www.deakin.edu.au/arts-ed/icg/events/conf-2009.php

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