An analysis of Ernest Gellner's Nations and nationalism

Author(s)

    • Stahl, Dale J.

Bibliographic Information

An analysis of Ernest Gellner's Nations and nationalism

Dale J. Stahl

(The Macat library)

Routledge, c2017

  • : pbk
  • : hbk

Other Title

A Macat analysis : Ernest Gellner's Nations and nationalism

A Macat analysis of Ernest Gellner's Nations and nationalism

Nations and nationalism

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Includes bibliographical references

Description and Table of Contents

Description

To the dismay of many commentators - who had hoped the world was evolving into a more tolerant and multicultural community of nations united under the umbrellas of supranational movements like the European Union - the nationalism that was such a potent force in the history of the 20th-century has made a comeback in recent years. Now, more than ever, it seems important to understand what it is, how it works, and why it is so attractive to so many people. A fine place to start any such exploration is with Ernest Gellner's seminal Nations and Nationalism, a ground-breaking study that was the first to flesh out the counter-intuitive - but enormously influential - thesis that modern nationalism has little if anything in common with old-fashioned patriotism or loyalty to one's homeland. Gellner's intensely creative thesis is that the nationalism we know today is actually the product of the 19th-century industrial revolution, which radically reshaped ancient communities, encouraging emigration to cities at the same time as it improved literacy rates and introduced mass education. Gellner connected these three elements in an entirely new way, contrasting developments to the structures of pre-industrial agrarian economies to show why the new nationalism could not have been born in such communities. He was also successful in generating a typology of nationalisms in an attempt to explain why some forms flourished while others fizzled out. His remarkable ability to produce novel explanations for existing evidence marks out Nations and Nationalism as one of the most radical, stimulating - and enduringly influential - works of its day.

Table of Contents

Ways in to the Text Who was Ernest Gellner? What does Nations and Nationlism Say? Why does Nations and Nationlism Matter? Section 1: Influences Module 1: The Author and the Historical Context Module 2: Academic Context Module 3: The Problem Module 4: The Author's Contribution Section 2: Ideas Module 5: Main Ideas Module 6: Secondary Ideas Module 7: Achievement Module 8: Place in the Author's Work Section 3: Impact Module 9: The First Responses Module 10: The Evolving Debate Module 11: Impact and Influence Today Module 12: Where Next? Glossary of Terms People Mentioned in the Text Works Cited

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Details

  • NCID
    BB25327613
  • ISBN
    • 9781912127306
    • 9781912302574
  • Country Code
    uk
  • Title Language Code
    eng
  • Text Language Code
    eng
  • Place of Publication
    London
  • Pages/Volumes
    98 p.
  • Size
    21 cm
  • Subject Headings
  • Parent Bibliography ID
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