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National identification from below. Europe from the late 18th century to the end  of the First World War  International Conference  Ghent (Belgium), 7-8 March  2008The last three decades, the discourse, myths, symbols and rites of  the most diverse nations and national(ist) movements, have been amply studied.  Much of this research, however, is informed by a limited conception of the  constructivist paradigm, interpreting national identity as a middle and upper  class concern brought to the masses through a whole range of nationalising media  (schools, army, press, monarchy, church, etc.) overemphasizing the idea of elite  construction ex nihilo (as if dominant groups can randomly choose which myth  they want to 'feed' to the masses). This conference wants to study not only the  production of national discourse, but also its appropriation by 'ordinary  people' and the masses' creativity in forging new national symbols from below.  The intended audience includes historians, political scientists, sociologists,  anthropologists, ethnographers, ... This conference is organised by the  Department of Modern and Contemporary history at Ghent University and the  Department of history at Antwerp University, in collaboration with the ADVN -  Archival and documentation center of Flemish nationalism, and supported by the  Research Foundation-Flanders (FWO).  Programme committee      Anthony D.  Smith (London School of Economics), honorary member      Heinz-Gerhard Haupt  (European University Institute)      Martyn Lyons (University of New South Wales)       Gerard Noiriel (Ecole des Hautes Etudes en sciences sociales)      Niek Van  Sas (University of Amsterdam)      Jakob Vogel (Centre Marc Bloch.  Deutsch-franzoesisches Zentrum fuer Sozialwissenschaften)       Key-note  speakers     John Breuilly (London School of Economics)     Heinz-Gerhard Haupt (European University  Institute)      Martyn Lyons (University of New South Wales)     Ilaria  Porciani (University of Bologna) RegistrationRegister at www.frombelow.ugent.be/registration.php     Before 31 December 2007: two-day attendance: 100 euro, one-day  attendance: 60 euro. After 31 December 2007: two-day attendance: 130 euro,  one-day attendance: 70 euro.Special rates for bachelor and master students  Contact: Dr. Maarten Van Ginderachter, Vakgroep Nieuwste Geschiedenis,  Universteit Gent, Blandijnberg 2, B-9000 Gent, T: +/32/(0)9/264 40 02, E: frombelow@UGent.be  _____________________________Provisional programmeFriday 7 March 20089.00-9.15 Introduction by Marnix Beyen (Antwerp University) and Maarten Van Ginderachter (Ghent University)9.15-11.00 Plenary session 1 presided by Jakob Vogel (Centre Marc Bloch. Deutsch-franz&#246;sisches Zentrum f&#252;r Sozialwissenschaften)    John Breuilly (LSE), key-note address    What does it mean to say that nationalism is &#8220;popular&#8221;?    Oliver Zimmer (University of Oxford)    Nationalism and the reshaping of German towns, 1860-1900    James Brophy (University of Delaware)    Which Political Nation? The Popular Public Sphere in the Rhenish Borderlands, 1800-1848Discussion11.00-11.30 Break11.30-12.50 Plenary session 2 presided by Marnix Beyen    Heinz-Gerhard Haupt (European University Institute), key-note address    Laurence Cole (University of Norwich)Discussion12.50-14.00 Lunch14.00-15.45    Parallel session 1 presided by S&#233;bastien Dubois (National Archives of Belgium in Li&#232;ge)    Parallel session 2 presided by Thomas Buerman (Ghent University)    Stephanie M. Hilger (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), Regula Engel: A (Swiss?) Amazon in Napoleonic Times    Anna Kuismin (Literary Archives of the Finnish Literature Society &#38; University of Helsinki), Discourses of &#8216;Enlightenment&#8217; and Nationalism in the Autobiography of a 19th century Finnish Peasant     Dora M. Dumont (State University of New York College at Oneonta), Romans Encounter the Nation: City and Province in 1870Discussant: Martin Lyons (University  of New South Wales)Discussion    Silvia Cresti (Freie Universit&#228;t Berlin), Fatherland in the Province: Jewish Communities in Silesia during the 19th Century and German Identification     Tom Verschaffel (University of Leuven, campus Kortrijk), Between nations. Multiple identifications among Belgian migrants in Northern France, 1830-1914    Miika Tervonen (European University Institute), &#8216;Peasants&#8217;, &#8216;Gypsies&#8217; and &#8216;travellers&#8217;: nationalism and ethnic boundary-drawing in Finland and Sweden, c.1850-1920Discussant: Oliver Zimmer (University  of Oxford)Discussion15.45-16.15 Break16.15-16.40 Ilaria Porciani (University of Bologna), key-note addressNationalism and women from the middle and lower middle classes in Italy16.40-17.00 DiscussionSaturday 8 March 20089.00-10.45 Plenary session 3 presided by Maarten Van Ginderachter (Ghent University)    Martyn Lyons (University of New South Wales), key-note adress    Recovering the &#8216;lost provinces&#8217;: how the Poilus discovered Alsace, 1914-1918    Jean-Fran&#231;ois Chanet (Universit&#233; Lille III)    &#8216;From the wound a flower grows&#8217; &#8211; A re-examination of French patriotism in the face of the Franco-Prussian war    Miguel Cabo Villaverde (Universidad de Santiago de Compostela)    An inconvenient nation. Nation-building and national identity in SpainDiscussion10.45-11.15 Break11.15-12.35 Plenary session 4 presided by Luc Boeva (ADVN)     Andrew Thompson (University of Leeds)    Empire and National Identity: the case of the British    Margot Finn (Warwick University)    Familiar Others: Family, Household and Kin Identities among the Anglo-Indian Elite, c. 1780-1830Discussion12.35-13.30 Lunch13.30-15.15Parallel session 3 presided by Bruno De Wever (Ghent University)Parallel session 4 presided by Luc Boeva (ADVN)    Lone Kolle Martinsen (European University Institute), A Danish case study. The reception of B. S. Ingemann&#8217;s historical novels    Francesco Dall&#8217;Aglio (University of Rome), The mountain, the bandit and the monk: popular forms of nationalism in Bulgaria, 1762 to 1914    Theodora Dragostinova (Ohio State University), Speaking National in the 1906 Anti-Greek Movement in BulgariaDiscussant and discussion    Antoon Vrints (Ghent University), &#8216;As there are potatoes in the country, they belong to us, Belgians&#8217;. Well-being and lower class national identification in Belgium during the First World War    Eberhard Fritz (Altshausen), &#8222;Als Mann ins Feld, zurueck als Held&#8220; Postcards as a patriotic mass medium during the First World War    Victor Rizescu (University of Bucharest), Debating National Betrayal: Romanian Collaborators during World War IDiscussant: Jakob Vogel (Centre Marc Bloch. Deutsch-franz&#246;sisches Zentrum f&#252;r Sozialwissenschaften)Discussion15.15-15.45 Break15.45-17.00 Conclusions by and plenary discussion presided by Niek Van Sas (University  of Amsterdam) 