Lifepaths of the nation: Aberystwyth and the reproduction of Welsh nationalism

为这项研究提供信息的第一个学术背景是对国家精英在再生产国家中的作用的关注。关于描绘民族主义话语轮廓的关键人物的角色，已经写了很多（Gellner 1983; Greenfield 1992; Kedourie 1971）。总的来说，这些研究倾向于断言这些观点的重要性，而没有在经验上证明它们的有效性。该项目从经验上考察了生活路径（Daniels and Nash 2004），或者换句话说，考察了一个地方的民族主义活动家的生活史和地理，以便产生一个更人性化的国家历史地理，这一方法受到了Daniels（1993）和Matless（1998）的影响。此外，Smith（1998: 190）对国家精英角色的研究被批评为本质上过于“自上而下”。有必要审视民族精英和普通国民在塑造民族主义话语中所扮演的角色。一种方法是关注不同民族主义者之间的传记联系，以及他们是如何在特定的地方扎根的。这样的焦点也使我们能够审查特定地点对国家再生产的意义。人们对研究地方对民族主义的意义越来越感兴趣，但这项工作倾向于研究地方如何反映民族主义话语（Agnew 2004; Appleton 2002; Contino and Skaria 2002）。该项目考察了一个不同的主题，展示了地方——以及民族主义活动家在其中的多种生活路径——如何成为塑造民族主义话语的关键场所。这个项目通过研究阿伯里斯特威斯不同的人在20世纪50年代到70年代之间交换威尔士民族主义中所扮演的角色，将这些不同的线索汇集在一起。它建立在考察威尔士民族的更广泛传统的基础上（Fevre et al . 1999; Gruffudd 1994; Jones 2000）。本研究有两个主要目的：探索民族主义行动者的生命路径与民族主义话语再生产之间的概念关联；从经验上考察阿伯里斯特威斯人在塑造威尔士民族主义发展中的作用。研究集中在以下问题上：哪些威尔士民族主义运动在20世纪50年代至70年代与阿伯里斯特威斯有关？镇上的个人如何塑造这些民族主义运动的话语？个人之间的社会互动在多大程度上影响了人们对威尔士民族的态度？阿伯里斯特威斯的民族主义演员的人生道路如何促成民族主义话语的形成？用来回答这些问题的方法是档案研究和口述历史研究。档案研究已被用来确定在研究期间威尔士民族主义运动的关键话语。作为一种将口述历史与关键人物（传记、自传、通信等）进行语境化的方式，它也很重要。口述历史研究被用来描绘阿伯里斯特威斯民族主义运动中关键人物的生活轨迹，以及他们对威尔士民族发展的影响。拟议的研究建立在使用口述历史作为研究社会和空间变化的一种强大传统的基础上。潜在的应用从概念上讲，通过解决民族主义活动家的生活道路对国家再生产的重要性，有可能使国家的历史地理人性化。在方法上，展示使用口述历史和传记方法作为描绘民族主义话语发展的手段的潜力。从经验上看，有可能更详细地说明威尔士民族主义发展的一个重要阶段，特别是关于不同运动和主角之间的联系。

The first academic context that informs the research is a concern with the role of national elite in reproducing nations. Much has been written concerning the role of key individuals in delineating the contours of nationalist discourse (Gellner 1983; Greenfield 1992; Kedourie 1971). On the whole, these studies have tended to assert the significance of these ideas without demonstrating their validity empirically. The project examines empirically the life paths (Daniels and Nash 2004) or, in other words, the life histories and geographies of nationalist activists within one place in order to produce a more humanised historical geography of the nation, an approach influenced by the work of Daniels (1993) and Matless (1998).In addition, work on the role of the national elite has been criticised by Smith (1998: 190) for being too 'top-down' in nature. There is a need to examine the role played by national elite and ordinary members of the nation in shaping nationalist discourses. One way of doing this is by focusing on the biographical connections between various nationalists and how they are grounded within particular places.Such a focus also enables us to examine the significance of particular places for the reproduction of nations. There is a growing interest in studying the significance of places for nationalism but this work has tended to examine how places reflect nationalist discourse (Agnew 2004; Appleton 2002; Contino and Skaria 2002). The project examines a different theme by showing how places- and the multiple life paths of nationalist activists within them -can be key sites for shaping nationalist discourses.This project brings together these different strands by examining the role played by different people in Aberystwyth in swaping Welsh nationalism between the 1950s and 1970s. It builds on a broader tradition of examining the Welsh nation (Fevre et al 1999; Gruffudd 1994; Jones 2000).AimsThe research has two main aims: to explore the conceptual association between the lifepaths of nationalist actors and the reproduction of nationalist discourse; to examine empirically the role of people in Aberystwyth in shaping the development of Welsh nationalism.The research focuses on the following questions: which Welsh nationalist movements have been associated with Aberystwyth between the 1950s and 1970s?; how have individuals within the town shaped the discourses of these nationalist movements?; to what extent have the social interactions between individuals been important in shaping attitudes toward the Welsh nation?; how have the life paths of nationalist actors in Aberystwyth contributed to the formation of nationalist discourses?The methods used to answer these questions are archival research and oral history research. Archival research has been used to determine the key discourses of Welsh nationalist movements in the period under study. It has also been important as a way of contextualising oral histories conducted with key actors (biographies, autobiographies, correspondence etc.). Oral history research has been used to chart the life paths of key individuals within nationalist movements in Aberystwyth and their impact on the development of the Welsh nation. The proposed research has built on a strong tradition of using oral histories as a way of examining social and spatial change.Potential applicationsConceptually, the potential to humanise the historical geographies of the nation by addressing the significance of the life paths of nationalist activists for the reproduction of nations.Methodologically, the potential to show the use of oral history and a biographical approach as means of charting the development of nationalist discourse.Empirically, the potential to illustrate in more detail an important phase in the development of Welsh nationalism, especially with regard to the connections between different movements and protagonists.