Rethinking Nationalism: A Critical Introduction

by Jonathan Hearn

Remarkable firsthand account by one of the few survivors of Magellan s epochal journey 1519 1522 Remarkably detailed record of new lands flora and fauna shipboard life etc Introduction 28 halftones Map Rethinking Nationalism offers an innovative and interdisciplinary introduction to the study of nationalism that provides a careful introduction to the dominant approaches to the subject before developing its own critique Much of the literature on nationalism has been framed by debates between primordialists emphasizing nationalism s roots in deep ethnic history and emotional bonds and modernists treating nationalism as a necessary illusion of the modern political economy Drawing on sociology politics anthropology and history Jonathan Hearn brings out the strengths and weaknesses in both these positions arguing that what is needed is a more rigorous understanding of how national symbols act on emotions in specific social contexts and less reliance on overly static notions of modernity as a historical stage This is an innovative and interdisciplinary introduction to the study of nationalism The author uses paired chapters first to present the work of key authors in relation to each of a set of key themes primordialism modernism power and culture and then critically to rethink these core concepts

Genres: Politics

292 pages, Paperback

First published September 4, 2006