State, society and nation
Proposed to be offered next in 1996
8 points * 2 hours per week * First semester * Clayton
States invariably claim the right to govern their territories and peoples because they act for the nation. The nation in turn is embedded, through a variety of post-enlightenment rationales, in the shared identity of its citizens. However, in practice, many nations had to be `created' to match their political-territorial units, and many states were, and are, torn by the politics of identity. Nation-states are mostly plural and culturally diverse. They are divided along complex lines of identity including those of class, religion, ethnicity and, in not a few cases, nascent sub-nationalisms. This subject will explore the sociology and politics of identity and the ways in which different and overlapping identities are bound up with the exercise of power. It will examine both theoretical issues and comparative case studies.
Assessment
One essay (4000 words): 70% * One seminar paper (not less than 2000 words): 30%
Recommended texts
Frankel B Beyond the state Macmillan, 1983
Gellner E Nations and nationalism Basil Blackwell, 1983
Giddens A The nation-state and violence Polity, 1985
Skocpol T States and social revolutions CUP, 1979
Smith A The ethnic revival CUP, 1981