Martin Conway – Man-made politics? Masculinity and Politics in Europe 1920-1970 (Utrecht Historical Lecture Series)

On 16 March Martin Conway (Professor of Contemporary European History, Balliol College, Oxford University) will give a lecture entitled ‘Man-made politics? Masculinity and Politics in Europe, 1920-70’. The lecture is part of the Utrecht Historical Lecture Series, organised by the Department of History and Art History.

In his lecture Conway will reflect on the re-orientation in the study of masculinity and politics from a rather crude presentation of movements of the extreme right as vehicles for the expression of normally repressed elements of masculine identity, and the emphasis upon how the authoritarian regimes of these decades ‘made’ new men, to the recognition of a plurality of masculine cultures and identities, as well as the limits to their manipulation by political regimes and state authorities.

THE NEW MAN
He will address how fascist masculinity formed part of a much larger reshaping of definitions of masculine identity that took place in Europe from the beginning of the century onwards, and how the New Man was much more diverse, and politically inclusive, than fascism alone, and not radically dissimilar from the conceptions of masculinity evident in many other political movements of the time. This is the starting point for a reflection on the continuity as well as the differences between the fascist New Man and post-war male archetypes in fields as diverse as Stalinist labour programmes, sport, espionage, exploration and late-colonial military conflicts. The children of the fascist New Man, it seems, were rather different from their father.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Martin Conway’s work spans European history from roughly the 1930s to the 1960s. One central element has been the history of Belgium, as a fascinating example of the interplay of factors of class, ideology and linguistic identity. In his path-breaking study The Sorrows of Belgium (2012) he focused on the immediate post-war period, including the ‘question royale’ and the issues of collaboration and political reconstruction. Other interests are broader and more comparative, e.g. political exiles during the Second World War, Catholic politics, political legitimacy in mid-twentieth century Europe, democracy, Europeanisation, and violence. In many of these studies, Conway demonstrates what made (and un-made) political stability in Europe across the upheavals of the 1930s and 1940s and into the post-war period. He is currently writing a book about how democracy was understood and practised in Western Europe from the Second World War to the end of the 1960s. Among other projects and activities, Conway is also editor of The English Historical Review.

UTRECHT HISTORICAL LECTURE SERIES 2016-2017
The Utrecht Historical Lecture Series 2016-2017 is organised by the Department of History and Art History of Utrecht University. It aims to contribute to the intellectual debate within and beyond the department by presenting leading scholars in history, addressing pivotal debates in the various disciplines of the historical profession. (Research) Master Students and PhDs, and Faculty from within the department and beyond are warmly invited to participate in the discussion. After every lecture drinks will be served.

More information: www.uu.nl