Masculinity and Nationhood, 1830-1910: Constructions of Identity and Citizenship in Belgium

Masculinity and Nationhood, 1830-1910 looks at 'masculine' patriotic behaviour in schools, army and parliament in nineteenth century Belgium. Schoolboys singing on excursion, soldiers acting out a shot wound on the maneuvering field and politicians raising their voices against effeminacy: all articulated their manly love of the nation in their own way. In recent years, much has been written about masculinity and citizenship in modern Europe. However, little is yet available about the learning process in which children and young men engaged in order to look, walk and talk like mature men and patriots. Belgium, at the crossroads between French, British and German notions of gender and citizenship, proves to be an ideal case-study to show not only how men were taught to move and fight, but also how they spoke and sang to express modern masculinity and patriotism.

"This book not only takes a novel approach to the history of national citizenship in Belgium; it also achieves a new understanding of public masculinities throughby applying theories of space and sound". - Professor John Tosh, University of Roehampton, UK

A history of what it meant to be a man, and a citizen of an emerging nation throughout the nineteenth century. This book not only relates how Belgians were taught how to move and fight, but also how they spoke and sang to express masculinity and patriotism.

Josephine Hoegaerts is a Historian and a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the University of Leuven, Belgium. Her research focuses on gender, politics and vocal culture in nineteenth century Europe.

Three Anthems, a Flag and a Tenor: Introduction

PART I: SPACES

1. Men in Space: The Construction of All-Male Spaces

2. Movements in Space: Choreographies of Masculinity

PART II: SOUNDS

3. Singing the Nation, Singing the Self

4. Men's Sounds and Silences

Conclusion: Soundscapes of Gender and Nation