Senior Lecturer in International Studies & Global Societies
University of Technology Sydney
Publications
BOOKS
2024
Crisis Cultures: Narratives of Western Modernity in the Digital Age
In Crisis Cultures: Narratives of Western Modernity in the Digital Age, Nicholas Manganas argues that crisis should be understood not as a series of isolated events, but as a constitutive state intrinsic to modern Western societies. He explores how this perpetual state of crisis intensifies underlying societal tensions and reshapes cultural and political dynamics. Drawing on a diverse range of case studies, including the Capitol Hill riots in the United States, and analyses from countries such as Spain and Greece, Manganas explores how both digital and traditional media perpetuate crisis narratives that significantly influence contemporary cultural identities and shape political discourses. His analysis also engages with the emotional and temporal aspects of crises, particularly focusing on how digital environments, through their ambient influence, shape and sustain these states of crisis. By reinterpreting the concept of crisis through an interdisciplinary lens that includes historical, political and cultural analysis, the author offers a compelling analysis of its role in shaping the present and future contours of Western societies.
REVIEWS
"We are immersed in crisis cultures. But not only.’ Manganas’s cartography of crisis cultures, as defined by a lack of meaningful events leading to the intensification of underlying tensions, represents a groundbreaking intervention in contemporary critical thought. A first-person, timely, experiential journey into the multilayered, complex temporality of the crises enveloping us."
—Alfredo Martínez-Expósito, University of Melbourne
2016
Las dos Españas: Terror and Crisis in Contemporary Spain
The idea of a divided Spain, where one half is antagonistic to the other half, dates back at least to the 19th-century Spanish satirist Mariano José de Larra who, in his essay 'All Souls Day 1836', wrote 'Here lies half of Spain. It died of the other half.' The narrative of las dos Españas is evident across many political and historical debates operating in the Spanish state, and contemporarily it shadows and informs national issues from Catalan independence to the teaching of history in schools. But it is most polemical in debates concerning the issue of terror in all its manifestations. Las dos Españas takes a multidisciplinary approach in understanding narratives of terror in contemporary Spain, in an attempt to contextualise terrorism socially and politically, as well as ideologically. Selective case studies of terror related events in the Spanish state will include the long-running Basque conflict, the state-sponsored death squad (GAL) scandal in the 1980s, the March 2004 terrorist attacks in Madrid, and other terror episodes. The author argues that these terror-related events can be re-read in terms of traces and links to long-standing historical narratives. However, since the onset of the global economic crisis in 2009, and its devastating effect on Spanish society, narratives of economic crisis have begun to supersede narratives of terror in the construction of the two Spains. The conclusion drawn is that the narrative of las dos Españas still has the power to continue to divide Spain ideologically in political discourse. Terror and crisis narratives are intertwined with the narrative of las dos Españas to provide a coherent argument that allows one to better understand the subversive nature of contemporary Spanish politics. Published in association with the Canada Blanch Centre for Contemporary Spanish Studies, LSE.
Publications
JOURNAL ARTICLES
2023
Emotional scapes in Mediterranean port cities: Walking Barcelona, Marseille and Genova in European Journal of Cultural Studies
In this article, Duruz, Giovanangeli, Loda and I explore the emotional trajectories that emerge in response to urban renewal in three Mediterranean port cities—Barcelona, Marseille, and Genova—arguing that these emotional responses offer critical insights into local reactions to urban transformation, extending beyond economic and branding strategies.
2022
'A Europe of Stories: Queer Cartography and the Grammar of Hope' in Journal of European Studies
I imagine the possibilities that might open up if we reenergise Queer and Europe with their original radical potential.
2021
'What do we Talk about when we Talk about Queer Death? Theories and Definitions' in Whatever: A Transdisciplinary Journal of Queer Theories and Studies, vol. 4, pp. 573-509
This is part 1 of 6 of the dossier What Do We Talk about when We Talk about Queer Death?, edited by M. Petricola. The contributions collected in this article sit at the crossroads between thanatology and queer theory and tackle questions such as: how can we define queer death studies as a research field? How can queer death studies problematize and rethink the life death binary? Which notions and hermeneutic tools could be borrowed from other disciplines in order to better define queer death studies? The present article includes the following contributions: – MacCormack P., What does queer death studies mean?; – Radomska M., On queering death studies; – Lykke N., Death as vibrancy; – Hillerup Hansen I., What concreteness will do to resolve the uncertain; – Olson P., Queer objectivity as a response to denials of death; – Manganas N., The queer lack of a chthonic instinct
2020
'A Place to Finally Rest: Reading National Shame in Spanish Crisis Cinema' in Journal of Iberian and Latin American Research, vol. 26, no. 2, pp. 193-206.
I explore how narratives of shame in Spanish crisis cinema weakens the individual connection with the nation state during times of economic crisis.
2019
'Real Men: Sam Smith's Emasculation of the James Bond Theme' in Celebrity Studies, vol. 10, no. 3., pp. 436-40.
I examine the reaction to Sam Smith's Bond song, The Writing's on the Wall and argue that by giving Bond an ‘authentic’ voice, Smith laid bare Bond’s emptiness and, in the process, undermined Smith’s own claim to authenticity.
2015
''You Only Like the Beginnings’: Ordinariness of Sex and Marriage in Looking' in Queer Cultures / Queering Cultures: Journal of Queer Studies in Finland, vol. 9, no. 1-2.
In this special issue of queering cultures, I examine queer utopias and suggest that queer potential continues to be inherent in the actual process of “looking.”
2007
'Mass-Mediated Social Terror in Spain' in Comparative Literature and Culture, Special Issue, Representing Humanity in an Age of Terror, Edited by Sophia A. McClennen and Henry James Morello, vol. 9, no. 1.
I investigate mass-mediated narratives of social terror in Spain in the context of the March 11, 2004, terrorist attacks in Madrid. Four citations in disciplinary areas including cultural anthropology and popular culture.
2007
'The Possibility of a ‘Dead Europe’: Tsiolkas, Houellebecq and European Mythologies' in PORTAL: Journal of Multidisciplinary International Studies, vol. 4, no. 2.
I explore how novels by Houellebecq and Tsiolkas undermine constituent mythologies that sustain and drive the European Union integration process.
2007
'Europe is Scared: The European Narrative of Perpetual Peace' in Culture, Theory and Critique: Special Issue: Creolization: Towards a Non-Eurocentric Europe, vol. 48, no. 1.
I explore the destabilisation of the grand narratives of the European project in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in Madrid in 2004 and London 2005.
Publications
BOOK CHAPTERS
2024
The pedagogy of listening: The poetics of crisis in contemporary Europe
I situate the concept of crisis in Europe within a framework that emphasises listening and reading as critical acts, challenging European subjects to reorient their understanding of social dynamics through relationality and community. By examining the poetics of crisis in contemporary Greece, I argue that a pedagogy of listening can offer new ways to comprehend crises as ongoing and chronic, re-energising acts of contestation and healing where traditional political and economic structures have failed.
2021
'Iberian Swagger vs. Feminist Masculinity: populist narratives of masculinity in contemporary Spain' in The Culture and Politics of Populist Masculinities, Lexington Books.
I explore populist masculinities from both the left and the right in contemporary Spain and question its link to the two Spains
2019
I investigate necropolitics in the TV series Scandal and engage with questions about what it means to be human when necropolitics underpins systems of government.
2018
“Queer Fantasies, Queer Echoes: the post-closet world of Looking” in HBO’s New and Original Voices: Race, Class, Gender, Sexuality and Power, Routledge, 2018.
I explore the HBO TV series Looking’s celebration of the banality of queer and suggest that it may signal the onset of a post-resistance, post-politics, queer era.
Publications
INTRODUCTIONS, REVIEWS, OTHER
2023
Introduction to Sticky Memories - The Emotional Landscape of Food
In this special issue, Sticky Memories: The Emotional Landscape of Food, Jean Duruz and I explore how culinary experiences shape emotional and cultural landscapes, becoming powerful symbols in personal and communal narratives. By examining the 'stickiness' of food memories, we highlight how these experiences influence identity, resist replication, and reflect complex sociopolitical realities.
2021
BOOK REVIEW: “Take Me to Spain”: Australian Imaginings of Spain through Music and Dance by John Whiteoak, Journal of Australian Studies
“Take Me to Spain”: Australian Imaginings of Spain through Music and Dance, by John Whiteoak, Lyrebird Press, Melbourne, 2019, xiii+258 pp., $55.00 (paperback), ISBN 9780734037923
2021
The Great Dis-Equalizer: The COVID-19 Crisis in Portal Journal of Multidisciplinary International Studies
The collection hosts a series of self-reflective essays and cultural works that discuss the authors' individual experiences of the COVID-19 crisis and contributes to reframing the pandemic as the 'great dis-equalizer'.
Conference Papers
"Historias de vida de género in Contemporary Spain"AILASA, Australian National University, Canberra, 31 May 2024
Co-author: Macarena Gordillo de Paz
"Demented Utopias: The Queer Politics of Polarization in Contemporary Spain" Europe's Past, Present and Future: Utopias and Dystopias, Twenty-Ninth International Conference of Europeanists, 29 Jun 2023
"Performing Utopic and Dystopic Narratives of Crisis" Performing Global Crises, Online, 30 Nov 2022
"Performing Hope in a City in Crisis: A Case Study of Barcelona" AILASA: Just Futures: Exploring Pathways of Futurity and Justice, Griffith Univeristy, 7 Jul 2022
"Resistance and Community in Barcelona: Performing Hope and Democracy in a City in Crisis"
Twenty-Eighth International Conference of Europeanists: The Environment of Democracy, 1 Jul 2022
"A Europe of Stories: Queer Cartography and the Grammar of Hope" Council for European Studies Virtual 27th International Conference of Europeanists: Europe’s Past, Present, and Future: Utopias and Dystopias, 2021
"Iberian Swagger vs. Feminist Masculinity: populist narratives of masculinity in contemporary Spain" Australian Iberian and Latin American Studies Association, Griffith University, Online, July 2020.
"Crisis Cultures: the poetics of austerity in contemporary Greece" What We Talk About When We Talk About Crisis: Social, Environmental, Institutional, Australian National University, 4-6 December, 2020.
“Austerity and Trauma Culture(s): On Recognition of Europe’s Occluded Voices,” Fragile Europe, Political Sociology Research Network 32 of the European Sociological Association, Charles University, Prague, November 2-3, 2018.
“Beyond the Eurotypes: Alternative Narratives of Contemporary European Culture,” Tuning into the Noise of Europe Conference, The Hague University of Applied Sciences, January 18-19, 2018.
“'Queering and Querying the Australian Suburbs: The Clash of Cultural Identities in Christos Tsiolkas's Novels,” Re-Imagining Australia: Encounter, Recognition, Responsibility Conference, International Australian Studies Association, Curtin University, December 7–9, 2016.
“From Terror to Crisis: Understanding Narratives of las dos Españas,” Crossroads in Cultural Studies Conference, University of Sydney, December 14-17, 2016.
“Real Men: Sam Smith’s Emasculation of the James Bond Theme” 3rd International Celebrity Studies Conference: Authenticating Celebrity, University of Amsterdam, June 28-30, 2016.
“Terror and the State: Learning from Spain’s ‘Dirty War,” Understanding Conflict, University of Bath, June 8–11, 2015.
“Performing Terror and the State: The GAL and the Unimaginable in Spain’s ‘Dirty War,’” Subverting the State: the Postcolonial Predicament, University of Kent, May 22, 2015.
“Understanding Narratives of Crisis in Contemporary Greece: History and the Illegitimacy of Austerity,” Greece and Austerity Policies: Where to Next for its Economy and Society, World Economics Association, Online Conference, October 20 – December 21, 2014.
“Narratives of Terror, Crisis and History: the Case of Spain,” Approaches to Discourse Analysis across Disciplines, Elte University, Budapest, September 1-3, 2014.
“Dead Europe: unravelling the mythologies of integration and crisis,” I Symposium Internacional EDiSO (Estudios sobre Discurso y Sociedad), Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, 15-16 May, 2014.
“Flowers from Another World: Navigating Spain’s Postcolonial Narratives” in the panel Close Encounters of the (Post)colonial Kind: European Cinema and Narratives of Ethnicity and Belonging. Crossroads in Cultural Studies, Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris 2-6 July, 2012.
"Narratives of Terror in Spain since 9/11: Histories and Discontinuities" Europe: New Voices, New Perspectives, Contemporary Europe Research Centre, University of Melbourne, 8 December, 2006.
"The Return of las dos Españas? Spain, ETA and the Politics of Ceasefire" Hyperworld: Language, Culture and History VII International Conference of the Association of Iberian and Latin American Studies of Australasia, City Campus, University of Technology Sydney, 27-29 September, 2006.
"Europe is scared..." Visions of Union: European Values and Contesting Voices, University of Technology Sydney, 19 to 20 September, 2005.