Séminaires

Over the course of the 1960s, Mauritius successfully curbed its population growth, leading to a higher per capita income. Ever since then, a body of work has set out to analyse the economy of Mauritius and offer various explanations to account for the remarkable performance of this small island, a former French possession that passed into the hands of the British before gaining independence in 1968.The talk will pay special attention to the parts of the Mauritian population that appear to be left out of this success story. How can we account for the lasting gap between the richest and the poorest that seems to be widening?The Mauritian economic miracle may be casting a shadow on the deep-rooted inequalities that still exist.

Recent debates about the definition of national identities in the UK, along with discussions on
the so-called secularisation of Western societies have brought to light the importance of a
historical approach to the notions of Britishness and religion.
This talk will explore how anti-Catholic networks developed and operated throughout Britain
and its Dominions (Canada, Australia) to propagate a specific definition of Britishness. The
purpose here is to highlight the importance of adopting a socio-religious perspective when
discussing the development of nationalism and imperialism in late nineteenth-early twentieth
century across ‘Greater Britain’.

Entre 1954 et 1962, la guerre d’indépendance algérienne suscite au sein de la gauche britannique un intérêt notable, qui s’inscrit dans la lignée de plusieurs réseaux anticolonialistes mais qui génère à son tour de nouveaux canaux de circulation, d’action, de traduction et de médiation pour la libération des peuples et des individus, de Londres à Accra, deTunis au Caire. Certes, les mobilisations au Royaume-Uni ne sont pas le seul fait de la gauche – notamment sur l’opposition à la torture ou sur l’aide aux réfugiés – et le travaillisme est lui-même divisé sur le discours à tenir et les actions à mener, sur les liens entre socialisme et internationalisme et sur la place de Londres dans une diplomatie en pleine transformation. Mais la réflexion, les amitiés et les alliances forgées au cours de la guerre montrent l’importance de penser le parti travailliste, avant son retour au pouvoir en 1964, au prisme des réussites, espoirs et illusions transnationales qui le parcourent.

The ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Armoured Corps) myth -that the Australian
nation was "born" in the bloodshed and sacrifice of the Gallipoli campaign during WWI -has
long been a contested terrain of Australian national identity, with a rich historiography. By
comparison, very little has been written about the Australian army's involvement in the Battle
of Syria (1941), in which Commonwealth and Free French troops defeated the (Vichy-sympathising)
French Mandate forces. Based on archival research in the National Archives of Australia
and the Australian War Memorial, the presentation will explore the contribution of
Australian militarism to the British Empire and its consequences, both on the societies of the
Middle East and on the construction of Australian nationalism.