This is especially evident in so-called “palingenetic” ideologies (Griffin 2007), including ultranationalism, fascism, and state indigenism, which place the concept of cultural rebirth at the center of their political projects. The revival of so-called ‘classical’ languages often serves as a tool for political mythmaking, as evidenced by various examples ranging from the promotion of colonial Nahuatl in Mexican state indigenism in the 19th century and Latin’s use in Fascist propaganda to Erdoğan’s support for Ottoman Turkish and Modi’s self-written Sanskrit poetry.
It is striking that this phenomenon has not received attention, especially in light of recent calls for critical assessments of how classical cultures and their languages have been politically exploited (Haack 2016: 9-14, 281-286 for Etruscan; Hansen 2023 for Nahuatl; Jensen 2017 and Yazan & Üzüm 2017 for Ottoman Turkish; Kjesrud 2017 for Old-Norse and runes; Lamers & Reitz-Joosse 2016 for Latin; Vajpeyi 2016 for Sanskrit).
Two factors contribute to the lack of scholarship in this area: “disciplinary myopia” (Lamers et al. 2020: 22-23) and the idealization of classical languages. Scholars in modern political discourse have not shown much interest in the subject, while experts in classical cultures tend to focus on the languages and their historical contexts, not on their political receptions (e.g., see Bailey 2014: 703 for an example from Indology).
Furthermore, classical languages have been traditionally idealized as models of cultural superiority. Despite an ever-increasing awareness of their potential for political manipulation and the ongoing criticisms of the terms ‘classical’ and ‘classicism’, there is still reluctance within the academic community to investigate how humanities scholarship has been complicit in the political exploitation of classical languages and cultures, particularly in undemocratic contexts.
Against this background, LANGUAGE MYTHS comes timely and aims at developing cross-cultural and comparative approach to this global phenomenon. As explained in in the team description attached to this application, our Franco-Nordic alliance is very well positioned to respond to the call for critical assessments of the political exploitation of classical cultures and their languages.
Organizers: Han Lamers, UiO, Marie-Laurence Haack, Université de Picardie, Magnus Pharao Hansen, University of Copenhagen