This is the final part of a conference (What is a Nation?) held by Ernest Renan at the Sorbonne on March the 11th, 1882. « J’en ai pesé chaque mot avec le plus grand soin. One lies in the past, one in the present. 42-55 or Two things, which in truth are but one, constitute this soul or spiritual principle. 2 What is a nation?^ Ernest Renan (Translated and annotated by Martin Thom) What I propose to do today is to analyse with you an idea which, though seemingly clear, lends itself to the most dangerous misunderstandings. Figure 4 Visual images of a nation: website displaying map of Palestine villages depopulated in 1948 and 1967, and razed by Israel. and Other Political Writings by Ernest Renan, unknown edition, There is a large version of the Israeli Tourism map [PDF]. About the Author Ernest Renan (1823–1892) was a French scholar of the Ancient Near East and early Christianity, best known for The Life of Jesus (1862), an international best seller, and his views on national identity. by Geoff Eley and Ronald Grigor Suny, translated by Martin Thom, (New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996), pp. C’est ma profession de foi en ce qui touche les choses humaines », déclare le philologue et historien Ernest Renan (1823-1892) en 1887. Ernest Renan, “What is a nation?,” in Becoming National: A Reader, ed. In his own lifetime, Renan was best known as the author of the hugely popular Vie de Jésus ( Life of Jesus ). What Is a Nation? One Though not explicitly stated, Renan’s first and central supposition is that all people are equal and free. M. F. N. Giglioli is a research fellow in the Department of Political and Social Sciences at the University of Bologna. Am 11. März 1882 hielt der französische Wissenschaftler Ernest Renan an der Sorbonne (Paris) einen Vortrag über die Idee einer Nation. He mostly wrote about religion and politics. Devenu l’une des icônes de la IIIe République, ces vingt pages sont celles d’une conférence qu’il est invité à donner à la Sorbonne, le 11 mars 1882. Unter dem Titel „Was ist eine Nation?“ wird die Rede, die ein französisches Konzept dieses Begriffs beschreibt, berühmt. the nation and attributes to ethnographic.Ernest Renan 1823-92 was a rationalist scholar of the history of languages and. ", pose, quant à lui comme critères de l’appartenance nationale, "le désir de vivre ensemble, la volonté de continuer à faire valoir l’héritage qu’on a reçu indivis." Time, Renan pointed toward viewing nations as cultural entities willed into.Renans essay on the nation is the classical text of civic. What is a Nation? Ernest Renan’s central argument is that a nation is a conglomerate of people who share a common past and have derived a strong bond with an agreement to stay together and be governed by mutual consent in the future. nationalism, the French. Ernest Renan defines a nation as an entity based on acts of the free will of individuals forming a collective identity: “A nation is a soul, a spiritual principle. View a larger version of Palestine villages Depopulated in 1948 and 1947. (extract) (1882) Note. Ernest Renan (February 28, 1823–October 12, 1892) was a French philosopher and writer. Ernest Renan. Ernest Renan (1823-1892), dans sa célèbre conférence de 1882 intitulée "Qu’est-ce qu’une Nation ? In this conference Renan presents his original idea of what constitutes a nation: a common heritage and a personal willingness to share that heritage. Figure 3 Visual images of a nation: website displaying map for Israeli tourism.