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RITUALS OF CITIZENSHIP, ANTWERP, 2019
“One thing States tend to is the continuation of their own existence”
Iain Banks, The Player of Games, 1988
Methodological nationalism posits that nation-states - and their boundaries - are at the roots of the definition of identities. Yet, at a time when cultures are becoming more enclosed and more global, we need new definitions of belonging and citizenship.
The state of liminality describes a period of transition between two definitions of the self ; it implies the suspension of a previous identity, the dissolution of order which enables new structures to emerge. Rites of passage give rise to the new self in its belonging to a different social group, and mark the acceptance of new rights and duties. They are political tools of transformation of the self aimed at maintaining existing social and power structures.
What if these rituals could become tools for political transformation? How can we define rituals of citizenship, both individual and collective, which testify to a shift from the nation-state to a new political paradigm of universality?
“Rituals of Citizenship” will simultaneously explore the underlying values, hopes and dreams of this post-nation-state world, as well as both the social practices and spaces which support these values. What is it to be a citizen? What are the secular temples of this global citizenship? But above all, what are the universal values which can offer un-hegemonic unity?
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