Nationalism in anthropological perspective
P Graham
8 points
* 2 hours per week
* First semester
* Clayton
Objectives On completion of this subject, students should be able to recognise and analyse key concepts informing anthropological and sociological approaches to nationalism; demonstrate a grasp of the arguments in the principle works on nationalism currently defining the topic in the social sciences; evaluate the arguments of particular authors on the subject; critically assess the debates around prominent theories of nationalism; analyse the relationship of nationalism to various wide-ranging sociological phenomena such as colonialism and globalisation.
Synopsis This subject examines the modern phenomenon of nationalism and reviews a range of theories that attempt to account for it. Despite predictions of its demise, nationalism is apparently flourishing as we continue to witness the forging of nations and the construction of national identities around the globe. Overall, the subject explores the thesis that the nation, as a culturally defined community, is the highest symbolic value of modernity. Themes include the relationship of nationalism to ethnicity and migration, gender and sexuality, colonialism and globalisation.
Assessment Seminar participation: 20%
* Essay (2000 words): 30%
* Essay (4000 words): 50%
Recommended texts
Anderson B Imagined communities Verso, 1991
Brenneis D L (ed.) Imagining identities: nation, culture, and the past, Special issue of American Ethnologist, 1992
Chatterjee P The nation and its fragments Princeton U P, 1993
Comaroff J L and Stern P C (eds) Perspectives on nationalism and war Gordon and Breach, 1995
Foster R J (ed.) Nation making: Emergent identities in postcolonial Melanesia Michigan U P, 1995
Fox R G (ed.) Nationalist ideologies and the production of national culture American Anthropological Association, 1990
Gellner E Nations and nationalism Blackwell, 1983
Hobsbawm E The age of extremes: The short twentieth century, 1914-1991 Michael Joseph, 1994
Hobsbawm E Nations and nationalism since 1870: Program, myth, reality CUP, 1990
Llobera J R The god of modernity: The development of nationalism in Western Europe Berg, 1994
Parker A and others (eds) Nationalism and sexualities Routledge, 1992
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