Contrasting liberal nationalisms in Scotland and Quebec

What explains the differing characters of nationalisms? Drawing on research undertaken for his recent book Liberal Nationalisms, the substantive focus of James Kennedy’s presentation is on the emergence of liberal forms of nationalism in Scotland and Quebec at the beginning of the 20th century, associated with the Young Scots’ Society and the Ligue nationaliste canadienne, a loose grouping of individuals that included Olivar Asselin and Henri Bourassa.

Dr Kennedy places a particular emphasis on the configuration of political rule. Not limited to empire and the state, but including civil society and the place of organized religion, he explains both the similarities and differences between the two nationalisms.

This seminar is based on Liberal Nationalisms: Empire, State and Civil Society in Scotland and Quebec (McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2013), winner of the Canadian Sociology Association’s John Porter Tradition of Excellence Book Award