Essays on (De-)Composing the Nation

Abstract

The idea of this special issue came to us roughly half a decade ago. At that time, we had just completed our respective doctoral studies in composition, both concerned, in different ways, with the rediscovery of local identities, the critical renegotiation of national histories, and the (re)emergence of independence movements. In this context, we were (and are) attracted and repulsed by the discursive pressure of the “nation”, understood, from time to time, as an oppressive colonial institution, as an “imagined community” in Benedict Anderson’s terms (2006), or even as an ideal, independent geopolitical space to be rescued from the sovereignty of other national bodies. As a matter of fact, people in Scotland had just voted in the Independence Referendum when we were starting thinking about potential contributors for this collection.