The Century of Nationalism? Cosmopolitan lives in 19th Century Europe

Abstract

This article investigates the tensions between nationalism and cosmopolitanism in 19^th century, highlighting the horizon of possibilities of both models. The analysis starts from the book The Europeans. Three Lives and the Making of a Cosmopolitan Culture, written by the historian Orlando Figes. We will reflect on these tensions in two lines: nationalization of Wagner’s opera and irruption of railroad and mass tourism. We have also problematized the historiographic topic of the century of nationalism. There is no doubt that the nationalization processes hoarded more energy and space than the federal, universalist, or cosmopolitan. But the historical process was not unidirectional. This is relevant for the educational field ant the consideration of nationalism as the only possible way to structure the word.