Topic: Problems in Contemporary Nationalisms and Internationalisms (H. Karam Ally)
In 1983, in his seminal work on nationalism called Imagined Communities, the Irish political historian Benedict Anderson claimed that the concept of the ‘nation’ derives its significance (and special privilege) as an ideal of community “because, regardless of the actual inequality and exploitation that may prevail in each, the nation is always conceived as a deep, horizontal comradeship.” This ideal, at once a project and a projection of unity, is what represents the power of the ‘nation’ in the imagination of its adherents; as Anderson adds, “[u]ltimately it is this fraternity that makes it possible, over the past two centuries, for so many millions of people, not so much to kill, as willingly to die for such limited imaginings.” In this course, we will explore the historical, philosophical and literary aspects of nationalism, as well as corresponding ‘globalist’, i.e., multinational or internationalist challenges to nationalism in the contemporary world. Through a comparative approach encompassing distinct and yet often intersecting forms of nationalism and internationalism, we will explore the fundamental dialectical tension between the nation as an exclusive community, and the radical challenge to this ideal by that which lies beyond national imagination.
