Lost illusions in Interwar Europe: nation and self in Robert Musil
The work of Robert Musil Der Mann ohne Eigenschaften is not only considered one of the heights of the twentieth century novel, but also constitutes an essay of deep political theoretical depth on the nation and nationalism in interwar Europe. The crisis of the Austro-Hungarian Empire serves as the r...
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| Format: | Article |
| Status: | Published version |
| Publication date: | 2022 |
| Country: | España |
| Institution: | Universidad de Sevilla (US) |
| Repository: | idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:idus.us.es:11441/142024 |
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/11441/142024 https://doi.org/10.12795/araucaria.2022.i49.01 |
| Access Level: | Open access |
| Keyword: | Nacionalismo Nacionalidades Imperio Austro-Húngaro, Robert Musil Identidad colectiva Nationalism Nationalities Austro-Hungarian Empire Collective identity |
| Summary: | The work of Robert Musil Der Mann ohne Eigenschaften is not only considered one of the heights of the twentieth century novel, but also constitutes an essay of deep political theoretical depth on the nation and nationalism in interwar Europe. The crisis of the Austro-Hungarian Empire serves as the reason for the author to develop a deep critique of some of the fundamental theoretical foundations of modern political thought. This article shows how the systematic criticism to which essentialist and racist nationalism is subjected in the work is based on a review of two of the philosophical assumptions that make it possible: the linear conception of time and history, and the metaphysics of the subject. The analysis explores the deep relationship that exists in the work between individual identity (the subject) and collective identity (the nation), between the crisis of the modern unitary subject as an autonomous individual and the difficulties of the construction of a pluralist and democratic concept, inclusive of Nation. |
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