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The 2024 Conway Lectures: "Medieval Contributions to Patriotism"

Thursday, September 12, 2024 2:00–3:30 PM
  • Location
  • Description
    This talk will be held in-person and streamed live on our YouTube channel. Vist the event main page to find the viewing link.
    About the Talk
    Patriotism is integral to the European political tradition, and the Middle Ages rehabilitated and transformed amor patriae of the ancient origins. However, the history of patriotism is complicated and notoriously elusive. This lecture proposes an analytical framework of what I call ‘three prototypes of patriotism’: military, civil, and endemic. The lecture will survey medieval variations of military patriotism (pro patria mori) and civil patriotism (the exercise of civic virtues for the common good) before turning to an examination of endemic patriotism in the late Middle Ages, which eulogised the native land and naturalised the love of country. An exploration into the medieval legacy will highlight a central theoretical issue of contemporary relevance: what constitutes the patria?
    About the Speaker
    Takashi Shogimen is professor of history at the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. Originally from Japan, Takashi obtained a Ph.D. in medieval history at the University of Sheffield. Subsequently he was a research Fellow at Clare Hall in the University of Cambridge before arriving at the University of Otago in 2004. Takashi is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and a Foreign Member of Academia Europaea. He has published 12 books and more than 50 articles and book chapters in English and Japanese. His publications include Ockham and Political Discourse in the Late Middle Ages (Cambridge University Press, 2007), The Birth of European Political Thought (University of Nagoya Press, 2013), which won the 2013 Suntory Prize, one of Japan’s most prestigious awards for scholars in humanities, and most recently, an edited volume, Rethinking Medieval and Renaissance Political Thought (Routledge, 2023).

    About the Series
    In 2002, the Medieval Institute inaugurated a lecture series in honor of Robert M. and Ricki Conway. Robert Conway was a 1966 graduate of Notre Dame and trustee of the University, He was (and his wife Ricki continues to be) a long-time friend and supporter of the Medieval Institute. The annual Conway Lectures bring senior scholars of international distinction to Notre Dame each fall to speak on topics across a variety of disciplines.
    Originally published at medieval.nd.edu.
  • Website
    https://events.nd.edu/events/2024/09/12/the-2024-conway-lectures-takashi-shogimen-university-of-otago-medieval-contributions-to-patriotism/

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