Transnational; University; Cultural diplomacy; Linguistic conflict; Liège; Belgique; France; Ghent University; Liège University; Flamandisation de l'Université de Gand
Abstract :
[fr] En juillet 1923, le Parlement belge vota une loi transformant l’Université de l’État à Gand en université bilingue, prélude à sa « flamandisation » complète (1930). Cette loi sonnait le glas de la langue française en Flandre - et des derniers espoirs du Quai d’Orsay. En effet, comme les travaux de Maria De Waele l’ont montré, la diplomatie hexagonale craignait que son influence en Belgique ne pâtisse de cette évolution, quoiqu’elle se garda prudemment de toute intervention visible dans ce dossier. Toutefois, au-delà de cette lecture étatique, il nous a paru pertinent d’interroger les vecteurs moins officiels de cette influence. En nous penchant sur le cas des réactions des professeurs et étudiants de l’autre Université de l’État, Liège, face à la flamandisation de l’Université de Gand entre 1918 et 1923, nous avançons l’hypothèse que la diffusion transnationale des idéaux à la fois politiques et scientifiques des universitaires français a pu contribuer, en ces lendemains de guerre mondiale, à l’intensité de la mobilisation liégeoise. [en] In July 1923, the Belgian Parliament passed a law transforming the State University of Ghent into a bilingual university, paving the way to its full ‘Flemishisation’ (1930). This law sounded the death knell for the French language in Flanders – and the last hopes of the Quai d'Orsay. Indeed, as Maria De Waele's writings has shown, French diplomacy feared that its influence in Belgium would suffer from this evolution, although it cautiously refrained itself from any visible intervention in this matter. However, beyond this state-centred framework, we find relevant to check the less official vectors of this influence. Analysis of the reactions of teachers and students from the other State University, Liège, to the Flemishisation of University of Ghent between 1918 and 1923, suggests that the transnational spread of the political and scientific ideals of French academics has contributed to the intensity of mobilisation in Liège, in the context of the aftermath of World War One.
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