OUR PURPOSE:

Nationalism is a phenomenon of central importance to our times. The simple idea that a people occupying a given territory are somehow distinctive and therefore must have a separate state has exerted tremendous force in the modern world. It emerged in the late 18th century as an international movement for independence, self-rule, equality, and liberty that spread throughout the Americas and Europe. During the last century nationalism has been associated more often with violence and aggression.

The scholarly discussion on nationalism has traditionally focused on Europe and areas of the contemporary world (Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia) troubled by ethno-nationalist conflict. ARENA will encompass all aspects of nationalism and national identity, but it seeks in particular to stimulate interest in a comparatively neglected area, the Americas, where nationalism and national identities emerged out of former colonies with multi-ethnic immigrant populations and thereby took particular forms. Our aim will be to "Americanize" the conversation on nationalism, by which we mean not only to expand the scope of the debate, but also to bring the particular experience of multi-ethnic immigrant American nations to bear on that debate.

Until now there has been no organization devoted to the study of nationalism in the Americas, and there remain remarkably few instituional venues for the study of nationalism generally. ASEN, the Association for the Study of Ethnicity and Nationalism at the London School of Economics, remains the leading organization, and its primary focus is Europe. ASN, the Association for the Study of Nationalities based at Columbia University in New York, focuses on Europe, the former Soviet Union, and Central Asia. Though many Americanists are doing exciting work on nationalism, most work in isolation within the confines of their national and disciplinary specialties with few venues for exchange and collaboration.

ARENA hopes to play a valuable role in bringing scholars together into a forum of scholarly exchange and collaboration. It will sponsor periodic conferences, launch a book series, foster an internet community, and stimulate an international network of scholars engaged in research on a topic of timely and compelling importance.

PROGRAMS & GOALS:

• Promote research, knowledge, and understanding of the varieties of nationalism, nation building, national identity, and ethnicity in the Americas

• Promote exchange and collaboration across national and academic frontiers and provide information about the state of knowledge in this field of research

• Establish an advisory board of leading scholars from different academic and national specialties to advise on goals and program initiatives, with a steering committee that will meet annually to propose specific programs

• Create and support H-Nationalism, an internet discussion group under the auspices of Humanities-Net

• Sponsor periodic conferences on special topics, such as: Secession and Nationalism; Nationalism in Multi-Ethnic Societies

• Sponsor panels and symposia at international conferences of other organizations, such as the triennial International Congress of Americanists (Seville Spain, 2006), ASEN annual conference (London), American Historical Association (Philadelphia, 2006).

• Establish a book series with a leading academic press Studies in Nationalism and Ethnicity in the Americas, devoted to innovative scholarship in the field

• Affiliate with ASEN, the Association for the Study of Ethnicity and Nationalism based at the London School of Economics, to promote international collaboration and exchange and expand the current scope of discussion on nationalism.

• Create and support a web site focusing on nationalism in the Americas to present news, working papers, bibliographies and other research resources, and affiliate with The Nationalism Project, the leading web site devoted to nationalism

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