SO4519

NATIONS AND NATIONALISM

COURSE BROCHURE

SECOND HALF SESSION, 2000

DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY
Contents

1.0 SHORT DESCRIPTION...................................................................................................3

2.0 GENERAL INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................1

2.1 COURSE AIMS & OBJECTIVES....................................................................................1
2.2 COURSE STRUCTURE..................................................................................................1
2.3 LECTURES & TUTORIALS...........................................................................................1
2.4 ASSESSMENT..............................................................................................................1
2.41 Continuous Assessment..................................................................................................1
2.42 Written Examinations.....................................................................................................1
2.43 Marking Procedure.........................................................................................................1
2.5 NOTES ON PRESENTATIONS & ESSAYS.......................................................................1
2.51 Notes on Tutorial Presentations......................................................................................1
2.52 Notes on Writing a Research Essay................................................................................1

3.0 COURSE BOOKS............................................................................................................1

3.1 BOOKS RECOMMENDED FOR PURCHASE....................................................................1
3.11 Textbooks.......................................................................................................................1
3.12 Case studies....................................................................................................................1
3.13 Classic theoretical works................................................................................................1
3.2 A NOTE ON THE AVAILABILITY OF READINGS............................................................1

4.0 OUTLINE OF LECTURES AND READINGS.....................................................................1

I. Sociological and Ethnographic Approaches to Nationalism......................................1
II. Nation, Class, and Ethnicity: The Social History of some Fundamental Concepts....1
III. Does Nationalism Invent Nations? The Theories of Earnest Gellner.........................1
IV. Are Imagined Communities Imaginary? Reflexive Theories of the Nation...............1
V. Minority National Identities in France.......................................................................1
VI. Nationalism, State Socialism, and Post-Communist Collapse...................................1
VII. First Nations Nationalism..........................................................................................1
VIII. Scotland: A Nation without a State; or a State without a Nation?..............................1
IX. Canadien Identity and Québeçois Nationalism..........................................................1
X. The Future of Nationalism.........................................................................................1
XI. Conclusion and Review.............................................................................................1
1.0 SHORT DESCRIPTION
This course examines the phenomena of nationalism from the standpoint of sociological and
anthropological theory and through discrete case studies. The course begins with a set of four lectures
on the history of fundamental theories of nationalism, which will conclude with relational theories of
national identity. National identity will then be analysed in four ‘difficult’ contexts, which have
troubled theorists of nationalism: Scotland, Québec (including Québeçois and First Nation
nationalism), France (including Breton, Catalan and Basque nationalism), and nationalism in several
post-communist territories. The course will conclude with an analysis of the future of the phenomena.

2.0 GENERAL INTRODUCTION

2.1 Course Aims & Objectives

The overall aim of this course is to use the theme of nationalism to illustrate general theoretical
principles in sociology and anthropology.

Throughout this course we intend:

 To show how the disciplines of sociology and anthropology achieve a rational understanding of
social experience.
 To demonstrate, by looking at the changing form, content and popularity of nationalism, the nature
of social structure and the place of people in their communities.
 To use debates and arguments in the sociology of national identity to reflect upon the history of our
discipline and to question the evidence we present for our claims about the world.

By the end of the course we hope that students will be better able:

 To understand and account for the major developments in the content and expression of
nationalism;
 To be conversant with the major theories in the interpretation of national identity;
 To evaluate critically the evidence presented in sociological and anthropological arguments.

Finally, we intend to encourage in our students general skills which will endure beyond university
years. We hope at the end of the course, that you will be better able:

 To engage in objective evaluation of contentious issues;

 To evaluate critically claims against evidence;
 To judge the quality of evidence;
 To work with others to achieve common goals; and
 To express complex issues in concise and intelligible form.

2.2 Course Structure

For each week during second half session there will be one lecture. One week following each lecture
there will be two tutorial seminars devoted to the theme and central question of the previous week’s
lecture. The material required for the course is based primarily on the required and recommended
readings for each week as supplemented by the lectures and the discussions. Students will be expected
to compose two research papers, based on the topics for each week. They will also present a short ten
minute version of each paper topic during one of the tutorials. Students are expected to attend all
lectures and tutorials, as well as to keep up with the recommended readings for each week.

The assessment for the course is based on two research papers (15% each) and a written examination
(70%). Although the two presentations are not marked as such, your presentations will be evaluated in
written form along with the comments for the two research papers. The student is expected to meet the
deadlines set for each exercise (see section 2.41)
2.3 Lectures & Tutorials

The lectures for the course will be held in New King’s room 14 from 15.00-16.00 on Tuesdays.

There will be two tutorial seminar groups which will meet on Mondays. On will meet from 12.00-
13.00 in EWB, F74 and the other at 14.00-15.00 in OBF, 012. Assignment to specific tutorials, and
topics for the tutorials and for the essays will be made at the first lecture.

The office number of the lecturer, Dr. David Anderson is F22 Edward Wright building, telephone
272770. Electronic mail is david.anderson@abdn.ac.uk.

2.4 Assessment
Assessment of Sociology SO4519 is based on two elements: continuous assessment (two essays and a
short presentation) and a written examination. The continuous assessment element will be weighted at
30% of the combined assessment, and the written examination at 70%.

2.41 Continuous Assessment

In the first set of tutorials, each student will be asked to present one essay topic from the list of lecture
topics II through V. In the second set of tutorials, each student will present on a topics chosen from
lectures VI through X (see section 4.0). Each student will be assigned to a topic on the date of the first
lecture. Some tips for structuring your presentation are in section 2.51 of this brochure. Tutorial
presentations are not assessed as such, but the more preparation invested in the presentation will be
reflected in the quality of the paper.

The topic assigned for the tutorial presentation will also be the topic for the written submission. The
advantage behind allowing students to present their research is to allow them to discuss their ideas with
their seminar group before writing it up. The presentations also give other students the benefit of your
research. The deadline for the submission of each essay will be at the beginning of the tutorial session
two weeks following the date of the lecture (or during the tutorial one week following the your oral
presentation for that topic). Thus if you have been assigned to do an essay on the theories of
nationalism of Ernest Gellner (Lecture III February 22), the date of the presentation will be February
28 and the submission deadline for the essay will be at the beginning of your tutorial on March 6. If
you have an approved reason for missing the tutorial, you should submit your essay to the Sociology
Department’s main office (Room F50). Detailed advice on essay writing is given in section 2.52 of this
brochure.

Any student who fails to hand in an essay by the appropriate date will be referred to the head of the
department who may withhold the Class Certificate for the half-session course. Students will only be
allowed extensions beyond the deadline by obtaining permission from the lecturer. If you are ill, it is
your responsibility to ensure that a medical certificate is provided to the department; extensions to the
deadline will normally be given to students with certified illness. Except with advance permission from
the lecturer, late essays will not be accepted.

Your essay will be marked by the lecturer and returned with an indication of its standard. All essays are
graded on the twenty-point university common marking scale (which is summarised below) and the
grade be made available to you. The grade given should be treated as a general indication of the
standard of the essay and cannot be considered as a firm and final assessment until after the External
Examiner has met with the members of the department to determine the assessment results. Your
assessment essay may be required for scrutiny by the External Examiner, and you should therefore
keep your essay and be prepared to hand them in again to your tutor if asked.
2.42 Written Examinations

The 2-hour written examination paper for the half-session course will be taken in the examination
period following the end of the course.

2.43 Marking Procedure

The marking scale as it applies to Honours is as follows:

20 - 18 First Class
17 - 15 Upper Second Class
14 - 12 Lower Second Class
11 - 9 Third Class
8 -6 Fail
1 -5 Not used for courses at Honours level

In order to achieve a satisfactory mark the student must (a) demonstrate an understanding of the topic
at hand, (b) express the relevance of topic, (c) compose an adequately structured argument, (d) marshal
evidence to support that argument, (e) and to style an essay coherently. Any essay which meets all five
criteria will be given a grade of 12-14. An essay which shows an excellent understanding of the
question, or develops a unique, critical argument will be given a grade of 15-17. Grades 18-20 are used
sparingly and will only be assigned to a work which is outstanding according to two or more of the
above criteria. Grades 9-11 will be given to work, which does not completely fulfil the five criteria
above. For example, weak papers may have contradictory or insufficient arguments, or present
arguments which are not supported by reference to the literature, or show an uncritical assessment of
the literature. Grades 1-8 are given very rarely. They reflect written work which does not meet the
standards expected of Honours students. A paper of this type would fail to address some or all of the
five criteria above.

2.5 Notes on Presentations & Essays

2.51 Notes on Tutorial Presentations

Your two tutorial presentations should be a short overview of your argument not exceeding ten minutes
in length. The purpose of the presentation is to give you an opportunity to present and defend your
argument before the tutorial group, giving you a chance to develop it in written form in the research
paper. The presentation should begin with a short outline of your approach to the topic assigned to you.
You should then critically assess one or two points in the readings which bear upon your argument
giving short examples. It would not be appropriate to quote extensively from a book or article but to
give the gist of the author’s view and your assessment of it. The presentation should conclude with a
question or a suggestion for further reading which the tutorial group can then discuss.

2.52 Notes on Writing a Research Essay

Each student will have a week following their tutorial presentation to write up their research and their
argument into a short, formal essay. The essay should not be more than 2,000 words. It should be a
complete work including a title, an introduction and conclusion, and bibliography of references
consulted. In the introduction and conclusion you should present your argument clearly. In the body of
the essay you should refer to supporting examples and arguments from the literature, with care given to
the proper citation of sources. The authorities that you cite should be summarised in a reference list
which gives complete publication information using a standardised bibliographic style. You should not
include references from which you do not cite. Good presentation of your essay will be rewarded. You
should type or word process your work. You should also keep a copy of the essay in case of the
unlikely event that it is mislaid.
Although you will be assigned a topic for your essay, the lecturer is open to negotiate changes in topic
or focus as long as the essay concentrates on the region or identity group assigned for that week.
Comparative topics are especially welcome.

You should be aware that the University penalises plagiarism seriously. Plagiarism is the
representation of other’s ideas as if they were you own. In an essay or even an verbal presentation you
should not just copy or quote someone else’s work without acknowledging it. This stricture includes
merely rearranging the order of the words or restating the ideas. In my experience, cases of plagiarism
may occur subconsciously when a student, who has read dozens of works on a single theme, begins to
reproduce arguments in an off-hand way as if they were common knowledge. In your papers you
should always maintain distance between yourself and your sources, acknowledging and analysing
them at every step. You are evaluated on your conscious and pointed evaluation of the sources, not on
your capacity to just reproduce and argument.

The University’s definition of plagiarism is paragraph 1.1.8 of the Code of Practice of Student
Discipline (www.abdn.ac.uk/Academic-Section/download.html).

Any suspicion of plagiarism must be reported to the Head of the Department. If, after investigation,
cheating is suspected the matter will be reported to the University’s Investigating Officer. The offence
is subject to severe penalties ranging from a mark of zero for the entire course or preventing the student
from getting an honours degree.1

3.0 COURSE BOOKS

3.1 Books Recommended for Purchase

In this course, there are several books which we will read in their entirety and to which we will make
reference almost every week. Copies of each book have been placed in the Heavy Demand section of
the library. It is recommended that you purchase the textbooks in section 3.11. Depending on your
essay topics and interests, you may consider purchasing the case study books and/or certain classic
texts.

3.11 Textbooks
This course will feature concepts and analysis taken equally from sociology as anthropology. The
following three books provide good discussions of the literature on nationalism in both disciplines with
excellent bibliographies. We will be referring to them often.

Balakrishnan, Gopal (ed.). 1999. Mapping the Nation. London: Verso.

Eriksen, Thomas H. 1993. Ethnicity and Nationalism: Anthropological Perspectives. London: Pluto
Press.

McCrone, David. 1998. The Sociology of Nationalism: Tomorrow's Ancestors. London: Routledge.

3.12 Case studies

Starting from the third week of lectures, we will be focusing upon certain case studies of nationalism
with an emphasis upon the following ethnographic accounts. You will be asked to read each work in
entirety.

Alfred, Gerald R. 1995. Heeding the Voices of Our Ancestors: Kahnewake Mohawk Politics and the
Rise of Native Nationalism. Toronto: Oxford University Press.

Borneman, John. 1992. Belonging in Two Berlins: Kin, State, Nation. Cambridge: Cambridge
1
Since this is my first course here in Aberdeen, the legal paragraphs for this outline have drawn heavily
upon, if not in places reproducing exactly, the paragraphs in the course prospecti of Prof. Bruce and Dr.
Inglis.
 University Press.

Chapman, Malcolm. 1992. The Celts: The Construction of a Myth. Basingstoke: Macmillan Press.

Handler, Richard. 1988. Nationalism and the Politics of Culture in Quebec. Madison: University of
Wisconsin Press.

There will also be sets of selected photocopied readings on ‘French Minority Nationalism’ and perhaps
on ‘Quebecois nationalism’ which will be made available towards the middle of March.

3.13 Classic theoretical works

The following works are cited often, if not universally, in contemporary discussion of nationalism. The
lectures will be referring to them often as you will find reference to them in other courses and other
books. Through the course of your career you will find cause to refer to them often and thus may
consider purchasing them.

Anderson, B. 1991. Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism
[Revised Edition]. London: Verso.

Barth, Fredrik. 1969. Ethnic Groups and Boundaries: The Social Organization of Cultural Difference.
Boston: Little, Brown and Co.

Gellner, Ernest. 1983. Nations and Nationalism. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.

Gellner, Ernest. 1997 Nationalism. London: Weidenfeld & Nicholson [This is an edited collection of
Gellner’s Essays]

Hobsbawm, Eric. Nations and nationalism since 1780. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 1990.

Klymicka, W. 1995. Multicultural Citizenship . Oxford: Oxford University Press

Smith, Anthony D. 1986. The Ethnic Origins of Nations. Oxford: Blackwell.

3.2 A Note on the Availability of Readings

The Lecturer has attempted to structure the lectures and discussion topics on materials available in the
Queen Mother Library and a special order of reading materials has been placed. Certain key readings
have been identified as ‘heavy demand’ readings. These are the readings indicated with an asterix.

As this is Dr. Anderson’s first course of lectures in Aberdeen, it is quite possible that certain topics are
not as well supported by the library’s resources as he had planned. As the course progresses, additional
photocopied readings may be placed in the heavy demand section of the library. Students who are
encountering difficulty in researching a specific topic should consult with Dr. Anderson about
borrowing books or copies from his personal library. It will be expected that students will consult the
main library first.
4.0 OUTLINE OF LECTURES AND READINGS

The lecture for each week, as the tutorial presentations and associated essay topics, are supported by a
list of required and supplemental readings. Required readings are identified in this brochure with an
asterix and will be placed in the HD section of the library. It is not expected that you read all of the
readings for the course, but the wider your path through the readings the better will be your
understanding of the issue and the discipline.

I. Sociological and Ethnographic Approaches to Nationalism

Week 17 (Feb 7-Feb 11)

(No Tutorial Seminars February 7)

Abstract of Lecture for February 8

It is an often observed coincidence that the history and development of nationalist movements is
closely paralleled by the history and development of the social sciences. Though an overview of the
development of sociology and anthropology, the lecture for this week will explore the various ways
that these disciplines represent national movements and in some cases contribute to them. We will also
compare the effectiveness of various genres of research in representing identity from the political essay,
historical biography, statistical research, life histories, and the ethnography.

Readings for February 8

*Anderson, B. 1999. “Introduction” in Balakrishnan, Gopal (ed.). Mapping the Nation. pp. 1-16
London: Verso
*Alfred, Gerald R. 1995. Heeding the Voices of Our Ancestors: Kahnewake Mohawk Politics and the
Rise of Native Nationalism. Toronto: Oxford University Press. [Preface and Chapter 1]
*Borneman, John. 1992. Belonging in Two Berlins: Kin, State, Nation. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press. [Preface and Chapters 1 & 2]
*Eriksen, Thomas H. 1993. Ethnicity and Nationalism: Anthropological Perspectives. London: Pluto
Press. [Chapters 1 & 2]
*Handler, Richard. 1988. Nationalism and the Politics of Culture in Quebec. Madison: University of
Wisconsin Press. [Chapter 1]
Harbsmeier, Michael. Towards a prehistory of ethnography: early modern German travel writing as
traditions of knowledge. Vermeulen, Han F. and Roldan, Arturo Alvarez, eds. Fieldwork and
Footnotes: Studies in the history of European Anthropology. Routledge: London; 1995; pp.
19-38.
Herzfeld, Michael. 1997. Cultural Intimacy: Social Poetics in the Nation State. New York: Routledge.
[Chapter 1]
Hobsbawm, Eric. 1995. Age of Extremes: The Short Twentieth Century 1914-1991. London: Abacus.
[Preface and pages 1-17]
Llobera, Josep R. Anthropological Approaches to the Study of Nationalism in Europe: The Work of
Van Gennep and Mauss. Goddard, Victoria; Llobera, Josep, and Shore, Chris, eds. The
Anthropology of Europe: Identity and Boundaries in Conflict. Oxford: Berg; 1994; pp. 98-
112.
*McCrone, David. 1998. The Sociology of Nationalism: Tomorrow's Ancestors. London: Routledge.
[Preface and Chapters 1 & 2]
McDonald, Maryon. 1989. We Are Not French: Language, Culture and Identity in Brittany. London:
Routledge. [Introduction]
Mitchell, M. M. 1990. "Emile Durkheim and the Philosophy of Nationalism." Emile Durkheim:
Critical Assessments, vol. V, ed. Peter Hamilton. London: Routledge. 
II. Nation, Class, and Ethnicity: The Social History of some Fundamental Concepts
Week 18 (Feb 14 - Feb 18)

Tutorial Seminars February 14

This seminar will consist of organisational matters for the term.

Abstract of Lecture February 15

It has become commonplace among theorists to divide approaches to nationalism among ‘primordialist’
and ‘modernist’ trajectories, while placing the weight of the analysis of politics upon a material or
social structural foundation. This lecture explores the literature in class analysis, social movements,
and ‘ethnic’ identity which attempts to subsume national identity under one or more larger categories.
It will be argued that a certain perspective on national identity is nevertheless implicit, albeit
understated, in these theories.

Readings for February 15

*Acton, Lord. 1999. “Nationality” in Balakrishnan, Gopal (ed.). Mapping the Nation. pp. 17-38
London: Verso

Banks, Marcus. 1996. Ethnicity: An Anthropological Construction. New York: Routledge. [Chapters 1
& 2]

*Bauer, O.. 1999. “The Nation” in Balakrishnan, Gopal (ed.). Mapping the Nation. pp. 39-77 London:
Verso

Barth, Fredrik (ed.). 1969. Ethnic Groups and Boundaries: The Social Organization of Cultural
Difference. Boston: Little, Brown and Co. [Introduction and chapters by Barth and by
Eidheim]

*Eriksen, Thomas H. 1993. Ethnicity and Nationalism: Anthropological Perspectives. London: Pluto
Press. [chs 3, 5,6]

Gellner, Ernest. 1983. Nations and Nationalism. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.[Chs 1-5]

*Hobsbawm, Eric. Nations and nationalism since 1780. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 1990.

Hobsbawm, Eric and Terence Ranger (eds.) 1983. The Invention of Tradition. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press. [Chs 1 & 2]

*Klymicka, W. 1995. Multicultural Citizenship . Oxford: Oxford University Press [Ch. 4]

Llobera, Josep R. 1994 The God of Modernity: The Development of Nationalism in Western Europe.
Oxford: Berg.[Part II]

Smith, Anthony D. and Ernest Gellner. 1996. "The Nation: Real or Imagined." Nations and
Nationalism 2(3):358-70

Smith, Anthony D.. “Nationalism and the Historians” in Balakrishnan, Gopal (ed.). Mapping the
Nation. pp. 175-198 London: Verso

Smith, Anthony D. 1986. The Ethnic Origins of Nations. Oxford: Blackwell 

Essay Topics for February 28.

II.1)Discuss the role that the analysis of nationalism has played in Marxist theory, keeping in mind the
irony that most successful Marxist revolutions have benefited from movements of national
liberation.
II.2)Discuss to what degree a Barthian transactional account of ethnicity takes as implicit a liberal
concept of the person.
III. Does Nationalism Invent Nations? The Theories of Earnest Gellner
Week 19 (Feb 21 - Feb 25)

Tutorial Seminar Topics February 21

The presentations for this week will focus on essay topics II.1 and II.2 from week 18. Essays on these
topic are due February 28.

Abstract of Lecture for February 22

Earnest Gellner's Nations and Nationalism is universally acknowledged as a milestone in the analysis
of national identity. The readings, lectures, and tutorials for this week will focus on the structure of
Prof. Gellner's arguments, which often present a 'modernist' account of nationalism, but also upon their
important subtleties which underscore the importance of context, legacy, and feeling. Special emphasis
will be given to ‘neo-national’ contexts and the significance of 'civic or institutional' nationalism, both
if which challenge Gellner's theories.

Readings for February 22

*Gellner, Ernest 1999 “The Coming of Nationalism and its Interpretation: The Myths of Nation and
Class” in Balakrishnan, G., ed. 1996. Mapping the Nation. pp. 98-145 London: Verso.

———. 1997. Nationalism. London: Wiedenfeld & Nicolson. [This is an edited collection containing a
selection of Gellner’s essays]

———. 1983. Nations and Nationalism. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. [Chs 6-10]

Hall, J. A. and I. Jarvie, eds. 1996. The Social Philosophy of Ernest Gellner. Amsterdam: Rodopi.

Hroch, Miroslav. 1985. Social Preconditions of National Revival in Europe. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press. [Part I]

*Hroch, Miroslav. 1999 “From National Movement to the Fully-Formed Nation” in Balakrishnan, G.,
ed. 1996. Mapping the Nation. pp. 98-145 London: Verso.

*McCrone, David. 1998. The Sociology of Nationalism: Tomorrow's Ancestors. London: Routledge.
[Chapters 4 & 5]

*Taylor, Charles 1999 “Nationalism and Modernity” in Beiner, Ronald (ed.) Theorizing Nationalism
Albany: State University of New York pp219-245

Essay Topics for March 6

III.1) Ernest Gellner is reputed to be the premier advocate of a modernist account of nationalism.
However not all of Gellner’s writing suggests that national identity is contrived or constructed.
Weigh the importance of cultural legacy in the construction of nation according to Gellner.
III.2) Gellner’s account of nationalism stresses the role of literate elites in constructing national
identity as well as the latent effect of industrialisation upon cultural homogeneity. McCrone
argues that this very broad idea works best to account for 19th Century nationalism but fails to
account for the vibrant ‘neo-nationalisms’ which have changed the faced of industrial societies in
this Century. Defend Gellner against this attack.
IV. Are Imagined Communities Imaginary? Reflexive Theories of the Nation
Week 20 (Feb 28 - Mar 3)

Tutorial Seminars for February 28

The presentations for this week will focus on essay topics III.1 and III.2 from week 19. Essays on these
topic are due March 6

Lecture for February 29

Post-modern approaches in sociology and anthropology have first and foremost been applied to the
analysis of nationalist sentiments. In this lecture we will examine Benedict Anderson’s concept of an
‘imagined community’ and contrast it to earlier relational approaches in both the theories of Frederik
Barth and Ernest Gellner. The lecture will then introduce recent applications of discourse analysis and
practice theory to the analysis of nationalism.

Readings for February 29

*Anderson, B. 1991. Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism
[Revised Edition]. London: Verso.
*Balakrishnan, Gopal “The National Imagination” in Balakrishnan, G., ed. 1996. Mapping the Nation.
pp. 198-213 London: Verso.
Banks, Marcus. 1996. Ethnicity: An Anthropological Construction. New York: Routledge. [ch 5]
Brubaker, Rogers. 1996. Nationalism Reframed: Nationhood and the National Question in the New
Europe. Port Chester: Cambridge UP. [Part I]
*Breuilly, John 1999 “Approaches to Nationalism” in Balakrishnan, G., ed. 1996. Mapping the Nation.
pp. 146-174 London: Verso.
*Chatterjee, Partha. 1999. “Whose Imagined Community” in Balakrishnan, Gopal (ed.). Mapping the
Nation. pp. 214-225 London: Verso
Eriksen, Thomas H. 1993. Ethnicity and Nationalism: Anthropological Perspectives. London: Pluto
Press. [Ch 4]
Herzfeld, Michael. 1997. Cultural Intimacy: Social Poetics in the Nation State. New York: Routledge.
[Chs 6 & 7]
*Hill, Jonathan. 1996. History, Power, and Identity: Ethnogenesis in the Americas 1492-1992. Iowa
City: University of Iowa Press. [Introduction]
Jenkins, Richard. 1994. "Rethinking Ethnicity: Identity, Categorization and Power." Ethnic and Racial
Studies 17(2):197-223.
McCrone, David. 1998. The Sociology of Nationalism: Tomorrow's Ancestors. London: Routledge.
[Chapters 5 & 6]
Okamura, Jonathan. 1984. "Situational Ethnicity." Ethnic and Racial Studies 4:452-63.
*Renan, Ernest. 1990. "What Is a Nation?" Pp. 8-22 in Nation and Narration, ed. Homi K. Bhabha.
London: Routledge.

Essay Topics for March 13

IV.1) Discuss the importance of understanding social memory, and in particular, authoritative
historical accounts in the analysis of nationalism.
IV.2) Can an ‘imagined community’ exist without print media? Discuss the role of trade reciprocity,
kinship, and oral traditions in the stabilisation of national communities.
V. Minority National Identities in France
Week 21 (March 6 – March 10):

Tutorial Seminar Topics for March 6

The presentations for this week will focus on essay topics IV.1 and IV.2 from week 20. Essays on these
topics are due March 13.

Abstract of Lecture for March 7

The French Revolution has given us the classic prototype of the modern nation-state. Yet even this
seemingly strong example is riddled with significant and vocal nations who challenge the story of
French statehood. Through the examples of the Catalans, Bretons and the Basques, this week's lectures
and tutorials will investigate the tools by which state administrations seek to create and renovate
nations and similarly the tools that opposition groups mobilise to counterpose these attempts. The
readings for this week will stress the contribution of social history and ethnography to the study of
'minority' nationalisms.

Readings for March 7

*Badone, Ellen. 1991. "Ethnography, Fiction and the Meanings of the Past in Brittany." American Ethnologist 18(5):518-45.
Beer, W. 1980. The Unexpected Rebellion: Ethnic Activism in Contemporary France. New York: New York University Press. 
Berger, S. 1972. Peasants Against Politics: Rural Organisation in Brittany. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
*Eriksen, Thomas H. 1993. Ethnicity and Nationalism: Anthropological Perspectives. London: Pluto Press. [Chapters 6 & 7]
Fahy, D. 1964. "When Did Britons Become Bretons? A Note on the Foundation of Brittany." Welsh Historical Review 2(2).
Guibernau, M. 1996. Nationalisms: The Nation State and Nationalism in the Twentieth Century. Cambridge: Polity Press.
*Heiberg, Marianne. 1989. The Making of the Basque Nation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Keating, M. 1985. "The Rise and Decline of Micronationalism in Mainland France." Political Studies 33:1-18.
*Keating, Michael. 1996. Nations Against the State: the New Politics of Nationalism in Quebec, Catalonia, and Scotland. New
York: St. Martins Press.
*Kuter, Lois. 1989. "Breton Vs. French: Language and the Oppositiion of Political, Economic, Social and Cultural Values." Pp.
75-90 in Investingatin Obsolescence. Studies in Language Contraction and Death , ed. Nancy Dorian. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Lehning, Jan. 1995. Peasants of France: Cultural Continuity in Rural France During the 19th Century. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
*McDonald, M. (1989) We are not French! Language , culture and Identity in Brittany. London: Routledge. [esp. Parts 2 & 4]
*McCrone, David. 1998. The Sociology of Nationalism: Tomorrow's Ancestors. London: Routledge. [Chapters 3 & 7]
*Mendras, H. 1970. The Vanishing Peasant. Cambridge: MIT Press.
O'Brien, O. 1992. "Perceptions of Identity in North Catalonia." Critique of Anthropology 10(2 & 3).
*O'Brien, Oonagh. 1993. "Good to Be French? Conflicts of Identity in North Catalonia." Pp. 98-117 in Inside European
Identities; Ethnography in Western Europe, ed. Sharon Macdonald. Oxford: Berg.
*Pi-Sunyer, O. 1985. "Catalan Nationalism: Some Theoretical and Historical Considerations." New Nationalsims of the
Developed West, eds. E. Tiryakian and R. Rogowski. London: Allen & Unwin.
Reece, Jack E. 1977. The Bretons Against France: Ethnic Minority Nationalism in Twentieth-Century Brittany. Chapel Hill:
University of North Carolina Press.
Rogers, Susan C. Shaping Modern Times in Rural France.
*Urla, Jacqueline. 1993. "Cultural Politics in an Age of Statistics: Numbers, Nations, and the Making of Basque Identity."
American Ethnologist 20:818-43.
*Weber, E. 1976. Peasants into Frenchmen: The Modernization of Rural France. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

Essay Topics for March 21

V.1) Although Bretan identity is usually contrasted to French national identity, the relation between
the two is much more complex. Using social historic and ethnographic accounts, discuss the
contradictory role of Celtic identity in first defining and then negating French state identity.
V.2) Both French state identity and minority national identities in France rest depend upon the
control of language, and in particular, the authorisation of orthography, lexica, and sayings. Weigh
the relative importance of the control of language use versus the control of social institutions in
fostering the development of an autonomous identity.
VI. Nationalism, State Socialism, and Post-Communist Collapse
Week 22 (Mar 13 - Mar 17)

Tutorial Seminars for March 13

The presentations for this week will focus on essay topics V.1 and V.2 from week 21. Essays on these
topic are due March 20.

Abstract of Lecture for March 14

One of the most major upsets for both world politics and sociological theory alike was the outbreak of
war and nationally inspired resistance within the sphere of influence of the former Soviet Union. This
turn of events was one of the least expected outcomes of within volumes of analyses of politics and
social structure in the region. Recent examinations of the crumbling of state socialist power networks
reveal the integral role of the politics of national belonging at all levels of these avidly anti-nationalist
states. These studies provide the key for new model building in sociology and anthropology.

Readings for March 14

Anderson, David G. 1996c. "Bringing Civil Society to an Uncivilised Place: Citizenship Regimes in Russia's
Arctic Frontier." Pp. 99-120 in Civil Society: Approaches From Anthropology, eds. C. M. Hann and Ethel
Dunn. London: Routledge.

Anderson, David G. 1998. "Living in a Subterranean Landscape: Identity Politics in Post-Soviet Khakassia." Pp.
52-65 in Surviving Post-Socialism, eds. Sue Bridger and Frances Pine. London: Routledge.

*Banks, Marcus. 1996. Ethnicity: An Anthropological Construction. New York: Routledge. [Chapter 1 and 6]

Bell, Andrew. 1996. Ethnic Cleansing. St. Martin's Press.

*Borneman, John. 1992. Belonging in Two Berlins: Kin, State, Nation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Hroch, Miroslav. 1985. Social Preconditions of National Revival in Europe. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press. [Part II]

Kurti, Laszlo and Juliet Langman, eds. 1997. Beyond Borders: Remaking Cultural Identities in the New East and
Central Europe . Boulder: Westview Press. [chs 1 and 2]

McCrone, David. 1998. The Sociology of Nationalism: Tomorrow's Ancestors. London: Routledge. [Ch 8]

Verdery, Katherine. 1991. National Identity Under Socialism: Identity and Cultural Politics in Ceausescu's
Romania. Oxford: University of California Press.

*Verdery, Katherine. 1999. “Whither ‘Nation’ and ‘Nationalism” in Balakrishnan, Gopal (ed.). Mapping the
Nation. pp. 226-235 London: Verso

Essay Topics for April 17

VI.1) While the ‘sudden’ appearance of vociferous nationalist demands in the former Soviet space
initially surprised theorists, it has now been recognised that state socialism generations its own peculiar
pressures on identity. Examine the relationship between state power and the generation of the
nationalist sentiment. Weigh the extent that political repression of pre-existing identities contributed to
the outbreak in nationalist demands (the ‘pressure-cooker theory’) as compared to changes in everyday
civic practice (as argued by Bourneman).

VI.2) In terms of Western European history, the rise of nationalism parallels the rise of the market
economies and the liberal democratic state. Can the sudden rise of national demands in the spaces of
the former Soviet Union be linked to the sudden institution of a market economy?
VII. First Nations Nationalism
Week 22 (Mar 13 - Mar 17)

Tutorial Seminar Topics for March 13

The presentations for this week will focus on essay topics V.1 and V.2 from week 21. Essays on these
topics are due April 17 but will be accepted before the Easter vacation.

Abstract of Lecture for March 14

Aboriginal peoples worldwide have been consistently ignored in the analysis of national identity since
it was felt that they lacked the population and technology to build a state. However, as nation-states
turn inwards to arbitrate conflicting claims of belonging among their own citizens, the radical link that
many indigenous groups make between their person, nation, and the land begins to appear to be more
consistent and stable than many European national projects. This lecture will examine the phenomena
and the contradictions of ‘first nations nationalism’ with a special emphasis on conflicts with post-
colonial nationalisms in North America.

Readings for March 14

Albers, Patricia C. 1996. "Changing Patterns of Ethncity in the Northeast Plains, 1780-1870." Pp. 90-
118 in History, Power, and Identity: Ethnogenesis in the Americas 1492-1992, ed. Jonathan
Hill. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press.
*Alfred, Gerald R. 1995. Heeding the Voices of Our Ancestors: Kahnewake Mohawk Politics and the
Rise of Native Nationalism. Toronto: Oxford University Press.
*David, Dan. 1998. "All My Relations." Pp. 33-59 in Taking Risks: Literary Journalism From the
Edge, Barbara Moon and Don Obe. Banff: Banff centre press.
Delisle, Andrew. 1984. "How We Regained Control Over Our Lives and Territortoies: the Kahnawake
Story." Pp. 141-7 in Pathways to Self-Determination: Canadian Indians and the Canadian
State, eds. Leroy Little Bear, Menno Boldt, and J. A. Long. Toronto: University of Toronto
Press.
*Klymicka, W. 1995. Multicultural Citizenship . Oxford: Oxford University Press. [Chs 1,2,6,7]
Salée, Daniel. 1995. "Identities in Conflict: The Aboriginal Question and the Politics of Recognition in
Quebec." Ethnic and Racial Studies 18(2):277-314.
*Scott, Colin H. 1993. "Custom, Tradition, and the Politics of Culture: Aboriginal Self-Government in
Canada." Pp. 311-33 in Anthropology, Public Policy, and Native Peoples in Canada, eds. Noel
Dyck and James B. Waldram. Montreal & Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press.
Taylor, Charles. 1997. "Deep Diversity." Canadian Forum 76(862)
*———. 1998. "From Philosophical Anthropology to the Politics of Recognition." Thesis Eleven
32:103-?
Essay Topics for April 24

VII.1) Critically analyse Gerald Alfred’s ‘nested’ theory of nationalism giving special attention to
modernist criteria for nationhood. To what degree can nationalism support different qualities at
different levels of social organisation?
VII.2) In many parts of North America, first nations nationalism is founded upon solemn agreements
with the British colonial state dating back to the Royal Proclamation. Explore the challenges that
the multi-generational treaties and the rule of law create to liberal democratic visions of society.

Easter Vacation Period March 25 – April 16

VIII Is Scotland a stateless nation or a nation-less state?
Week 24 (Apr 17 – Apr 21)

Tutorial Seminar Topics for April 17

The presentations for this week will focus on essay topics VII.1 and VII.2 from week 23 (before Easter
holidays). Essays on these topics are due Friday April 28.

Lecture for April 18

Guest Lecturer: Prof. Steve Bruce
Theme: The point is to give you an opportunity to think about the nature of national identity, and the
links between nation and state, through the example of modern Scotland

Readings for April 18

Argente, J. A. 1981. "Stateless Nation, Tongueless People?" The Bulletin of Scottish Politics 2:162-81.

Brand, J. 1985. "Nationalism and the Neocolonial Periphery." Pp. 277-93 in New Nationalsims of the
Developed West, eds. E. Tiryakian and R. Rogowski. London: Allen & Unwin.

Brown, Alice, David McCrone and Lindsay Paterson. 1998. Politics and Society in Scotland. London:
Macmillan.

Bruce, Steve. 1993. ‘A failure of the imagination: ethnicity and nationalism in Scotland’s history’,
Scotia, 17, pp. 1-17. [SB will provide copies]

Chapman, Malcolm. 1992. The Celts: The Construction of a Myth. Basingstoke: Macmillan Press.

Condry, E. 1976. "The Impossibility of Solving the Highland Problem." Journal of the Anthropological
Society of Oxford 12(3).

Guibernau, M. 1996. Nationalisms: The Nation State and Nationalism in the Twentieth Century.
Cambridge: Polity Press.

Hobsbawm, Eric and Terence Ranger. 1983. The Invention of Tradition. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.

Keating, Michael. 1996. Nations Against the State: the New Politics of Nationalism in Quebec,
Catalonia, and Scotland. New York: St. Martins Press.

McCrone, David. 1998. The Sociology of Nationalism: Tomorrow's Ancestors. London: Routledge.

McCrone, David. 1992. Understanding Scotland: The Sociology of a Stateless Nation. London:
Routledge.

Nadel-Klain, Jane. 1992. "Reweaving the Fringe: Localism, Tradition, and Representation in British
Ethnography." American Ethnologist (18):500-17.

Nairn, Tom. 1977. The Break-Up of Britain. London: Verso.

———. 1997. Faces of Nationalism: Janus Revisited. London: Verso.

Paterson, Lindsay. 1994. The Autonomy of Modern Scotland. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

Essay Topics for May 1

To be announced
IX. Canadien Identity and Québeçois Nationalism
Week 25 (April 24 - April 28)

Tutorial Seminars for April 24 (Easter Monday)

The presentations for this week will focus on essay topics VIII.1 and VIII.2 from week 24. Essays on
these topic are due May 1.

Abstract of Lecture for April 25

Among neo-nationalist movements, Québeçois nationalism is one of the classic cases which challenge
theories of national identity. As being a form of ‘first world’ nationalism, economic hardship is not part
of the motor which drives it. Further, although being explicitly oriented towards the achievement of a
separate nation-state the control of institutional power already exercised within an existing federation
to a great degree defines the movement. This lecture will focus upon the challenges and limits of the
nation state form to Québeçois national identity with an emphasis upon competing identity structures
within the history of French North America. It will also examples other models in the analysis of
national identity which focus upon cultural elements such as the ‘personification’ of the nation and the
important role of language.

Readings for April 25

Barreto, Amнlcar A. 1998. Language, Elites, and the State Nationalism in Puerto Rico and Quebec. Westport,
Conn: Praeger.
Bauhn, Per, Christer Lindberg, and Svante Lundberg. 1995. Multiculturalism and Nationhood in Canada the
Cases of First Nations and Quebec. Lund, Sweden: Lund University Press.
Breton, Raymond. 1990. National Survival in Dependent Societies Social Change in Quebec and Poland. Ottawa:
Carleton University Press.
Breuilly, J. 1993. Nationalism and the State . Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Carens, Joseph H. 1995. Is Quebec Nationalism Just? Perspectives From Anglophone Canada. Montreal, Buffalo:
McGill-Queen's University Press.
Cook, Ramsay. 1995. Canada, Quebec, and the Uses of Nationalism. 2nd ed ed. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart.
Gagnon, Alain. 1984. Quebec, State and Society. Toronto, New York: Methuen.
Gordon, Richard I. 1982. The Nationalist Prism a Study of Ethnicity, Social Class, and Nationalism in Quebec
Province: 1919-1936.
Handler, Richard. 1983. "In Search of the Folk Society: Nationalism and Folklore Studies in Quebec." Culture
3(1):103-14..
Handler, Richard. 1988. Nationalism and the Politics of Culture in Quebec. Madison: University of Wisconsin
Press.
Keating, Michael. 1996. Nations Against the State: the New Politics of Nationalism in Quebec, Catalonia, and
Scotland. New York: St. Martins Press.
Salйe, Daniel. 1995. "Identities in Conflict: The Aboriginal Question and the Politics of Recognition in Quebec."
Ethnic and Racial Studies 18(2):277-314.
Sarkonak, Ralph. 1983. The Language of Difference: Writing in Quebec(ois). New Haven: Yale U.P.
See, Katherine O. 1986. First World Nationalisms Class and Ethnic Politics in Northern Ireland and Quebec.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Taylor, Charles, Amy Gutmann, Steven C. Rockefeller, Michael Walzer, and Susan Wolf. 1992. Multiculturalism
and 'The Politics of Recognition': an Essay. Princeton: Princeton U.P.
Essay Topics for May 8.

IX.1) The work of Richard Handler teaches us that the construction of a boundary from a line on a map to the
image of a national ‘body’ or ‘person’ is a key precondition in the fostering of a nationalist movement.
Compare the process of nationalist interpollation in Quebec to one other European context of your choice.
IX.2) In his critique of Québeçois identity the Mohawk political theorist Gerald Alfred describes the
movement as ‘merely’ linguistically based. Examine to what degree a distinct language is a sufficient
condition to the formation of a national unit. If appropriate, make comparisons to Scotland or Catalonia.
X. The Future of Nationalism
Week 26 (May 1 – May 5)

Tutorial Seminar Topics for May 1 (May Day)

The presentations for this week will focus on essay topics IX.1 and IX.2 from week 25. Essays on these
topics are due May 8.

Abstract of Lecture for May 2

Since their creation, various social science disciplines have attempted to ‘explain’ nationalism with the
intent of ‘explaining it away’. At the beginning of this century, however, nationalism and nationally
based movements are one of the most prominent social facts of our time. In one sense, this implies the
need for new models. In another sense, it implies the need for a new sociology or a new anthropology.
In this lecture we will examine the implications of the ‘politics of belonging’ for the investigation of
culture and social structure.

Readings for May 2

Anderson, Benedict. 1998. The Spectre of Comparisons: Nationalism, Southeast Asia and the World.
New York: Verso.
Balakrishnan, Gopal (ed.). Mapping the Nation. London: Verso [Chs 11-14]
Banks, Marcus. 1996. Ethnicity: An Anthropological Construction. New York: Routledge.
Bell, Andrew. 1996. Ethnic Cleansing. St. Martin's Press.
Brubaker, Rogers. 1996. Nationalism Reframed: Nationhood and the National Question in the New
Europe. Port Chester: Cambridge UP.[ch 6]
Eriksen, Thomas H. 1993. Ethnicity and Nationalism: Anthropological Perspectives. London: Pluto
Press. [Ch 8]
Gellner, Ernest. 1996. "Reply to Critics." The Social Philosophy of Ernest Gellner, eds. J. A. Hall and I.
Jarvie. Amsterdam: Rodopi.
Herzfeld, Michael. 1997. Cultural Intimacy: Social Poetics in the Nation State. New York: Routledge.
[Chs 7, 8 and Afterword]
Hobsbawm, Eric. 1990. Nations and Nationalism Since 1780. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[Conclusion]
———. 1995. Age of Extremes: The Short Twentieth Century 1914-1991. London: Abacus.
Klymicka, W. 1995. Multicultural Citizenship . Oxford: Oxford University Press [Chs 8,9,10]
McCrone, David. 1998. The Sociology of Nationalism: Tomorrow's Ancestors. London: Routledge. [Ch
9]
Nairn, Tom. 1997. Faces of Nationalism: Janus Revisited. London: Verso.

XI. Conclusion and Review

Week 27 (May 8 – May 12)

Tutorial Seminar Topics

The presentations for this week will focus on essay topics X.1 and X.2 from week 26. Essays on these
topic are due May 15.

No lecture this week.