Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism

Mind-opening book about the interpretation of nationalism. Read this for the anthropology of communication class. ( )

An absolutely breathtaking work of world-historical scholarship. The artificiality of the "nation" is really brought home here, and so too is the nebulous nature of precolonial politics and societies. Read this, no matter what. ( )

Lots of detail, well argued and well defended. Maybe too much detail for me. I'd happily have read the cliffsnotes version. But overall interesting and happy to have encountered it. It helped undo some of my (unfounded, yet likely widespread) notions about the inevitability and timelessness of nations and nationalism. (They're relatively modern phenomena despite efforts to historically legitimize their present existence.) I haven't been a fan of nationalism for a while- this book further bolsters that dislike and provides more tools for putting it in context and critiquing it. The (argued) links between the rise of nationalism and church languages as well as print media were interesting.

I really ought to have taken notes along the way since the bounty of detail sometimes distracted me from the broader points it was trying to make. ( )

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. ( )

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. ( )