Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism is a book by Benedict Anderson about the development of national feeling in different eras and throughout different geographies across the world. It introduced the term "imagined communities" as a descriptor of a social group—specifically nations—and the term has since entered standard usage in myriad political and social science fields. The book was first published in 1983 and was reissued with additional chapters in 1991 and a further revised version in 2006.
The book is widely considered influential in the social sciences, with Eric G.E. Zuelow describing the book as "perhaps the most read book about nationalism." It is among the top 10 most-cited publications in the social sciences.
I first read this as an undergraduate in the early 90s, and have read it again about once a decade since. It's still fascinating book, breaking away from the conventional eurocentric approach to nationalism to focus on the rest of the world - but also to show how developing national identities there would later influence the development of nationalism and national identities in Europe. Understandably dated in a few parts - Anderson himself notes that the late 70s conflicts in SE Asia weren't as important in the long term as they seemed to him then - and suffers occasionally from dropping in large chunks of untranslated text which assumes the reader is impressively multilingual, but still a fascinating read.
Review of 'Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
I listened to the audiobook, which was probably a mistake (despite an excellent reading by the narrator). This book deserves a close reading, but has others have said, the language is overly wrought, and too florid for the ear. This is not the kind of book you can put on and let wash over you. I had to stay still and listen closely (a waste of the audio format!), and used things like www.litcharts.com/lit/imagined-communities to actually understand each chapter. A quick extract for illustrative purposes:
The cosmic clocking which had made intelligible our synchronic transoceanic pairings was increasingly felt to entail a wholly intramundane, serial view of social causality; and this sense of the world was now speedily deepening its grip on Western imaginations.
One thing I definitely do understand is how important this book is. I knew it was a classic, and I can see why. Anyone interested in …
I listened to the audiobook, which was probably a mistake (despite an excellent reading by the narrator). This book deserves a close reading, but has others have said, the language is overly wrought, and too florid for the ear. This is not the kind of book you can put on and let wash over you. I had to stay still and listen closely (a waste of the audio format!), and used things like www.litcharts.com/lit/imagined-communities to actually understand each chapter. A quick extract for illustrative purposes:
The cosmic clocking which had made intelligible our synchronic transoceanic pairings was increasingly felt to entail a wholly intramundane, serial view of social causality; and this sense of the world was now speedily deepening its grip on Western imaginations.
One thing I definitely do understand is how important this book is. I knew it was a classic, and I can see why. Anyone interested in politics and/or publishing needs to at least understand the argument of this book, of the role of print capitalism as a foundation of the development of modern nationalisms. The democratizing power of vernacularisation and its resultant divisiveness (which can bloom into virulent nationalism) seems a social constant that we see acting on today's society in the form of mass distribution of technology, the seizing of the means of publication, and the resultant isolated communities of imagined conspiracy, governmental or medical.
I very much appreciate the wide span of "philosophizing" of this book, and its grand ideas. I just wish it was put in a more vernacular form so that many more could absorb its concepts.
Review of 'Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism' on 'Goodreads'
No rating
Sehr spannendes Buch zur Entstehung von Nationalstaaten. Ich mochte sehr, dass es sich dabei nicht allein auf den Westen bezog, sondern Beispiele aus aller Welt betrachtete. Die größte Schwierigkeit war, dass er sehr häufig im Text herumsprang, so dass ich manchmal nicht mehr wusste, wo wir uns genau befinden. Möchte ich definitiv nochmal lesen.
Review of 'Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Though this book thinks it's about nationalism, and is certainly about that too, it is really about several overlapping ideas, some of which may not even have names. It is about self & other. It is about identification/idealization. It is about the power of giving something a name. It is about the exercising of power through control of the categories of thought.
Anderson introduces the concept of "nation" by distinguishing it from other human communities because people are willing to kill and die for it. Though people may bond over common professions or fandom of sports teams, their attachment rarely will rise to a kill-or-be-killed level, but I wonder about this distinction. If the Spartan (for example) weren't dying for a nation in its modern version, wasn't it the equivalent for its time? In fact, people have always been willing to die for causes. In the present day world, causes …
Though this book thinks it's about nationalism, and is certainly about that too, it is really about several overlapping ideas, some of which may not even have names. It is about self & other. It is about identification/idealization. It is about the power of giving something a name. It is about the exercising of power through control of the categories of thought.
Anderson introduces the concept of "nation" by distinguishing it from other human communities because people are willing to kill and die for it. Though people may bond over common professions or fandom of sports teams, their attachment rarely will rise to a kill-or-be-killed level, but I wonder about this distinction. If the Spartan (for example) weren't dying for a nation in its modern version, wasn't it the equivalent for its time? In fact, people have always been willing to die for causes. In the present day world, causes are often built-in features of the nation concept. It's "our freedom" they hate (or so goes the slogan). The idea that America (say) could so betray its own defining values as to no longer be America is an idea I've heard expressed more than once but the cognitive ability to be able to think in such an abstract way is unlikely to catch on. Instead, America is defined by its logo-map, it's shared culture and language, it's "dream" of classlessness which won't yield to the fact that it is easier to transcend your class origins in Germany, Japan or Canada. It is, in a word, "imagined." Having recently read Matt Taibbi's [b:The Divide: American Injustice in the Age of the Wealth Gap|17834864|The Divide American Injustice in the Age of the Wealth Gap|Matt Taibbi|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1403165815s/17834864.jpg|24955022] , I'm aware that a great deal of my understanding of how America works is false but even after being informed, much of the myth feels real to me.
A nation is the most successful packaging of the collective self in a way that feels tangibly real. It incorporates as many sub-selves, e.g sports teams, celebrities, music, as can be squeezed in. This book explains how this has been done historically and gives the details of the forces working for and against the various possible shapes and characters of numerous "actual" nations.
It is written in a mostly jargon-free often literary style that makes it fun to read, though it sometimes becomes hard to follow in its specificity. The last chapter is a metachapter which follows how the book itself, nicknamed I.C., is translated and shaped to conform to the national needs of readers world wide.
Very interesting and difficult book about how we conceive Nationalism. I honestly wouldn't have been able to make it through without the context and guidance of my post-colonial lit. class. If you're up for it, though, Anderson's writing style is clear and engaging though the concepts are at times subtle and complex.
