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A 7 page analysis. In his book Nations and Nationalism, author Ernest Gellner addresses the topic of how the political forms that are so intrinsic to the modern world came into being—how did the concept of a 'nation' develop? What caused certain people to define themselves in this manner? How does this concept influence the present and the future? These and more questions are addressed by this slim volume. No additional sources cited.
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7 pages (~225 words per page)
File: KE9_99ergel.doc
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What caused certain people to define themselves in this manner? How does this concept influence the present and the future? These and more questions are addressed by this slim
volume. Often, a student will pick up a book on nationalism, and become quickly overwhelmed as the author zooms through using vocabulary that it is assumed the reader already
knows. The poor reader is engulfed in jargon and convoluted sentences that make no apparent sense because the reader is lacking the fundamental references that are necessary to understand the
topic as a whole. This is a book for those of us who havent got a clue as to what these authors are discussing. Gellner starts slowly, and logically, with
definitions. The first chapter defines such fundamental concepts as "state" and "nation" and "nationalism." For example, "nationalism" is clarified by defining it both as a sentiment and as a "theory
of political legitimacy." Since "nationalism" can be used in both of these context, both definitions are required. However, once this has been stated, the reader can easily see that the
context in which the word is being used can give clues as to which definition should be applied. Gellner then proceeds to build slowly, first addressing how societies first developed
in agrarian cultures. Gellner discusses how political units in the agrarian age varied enormously in size and variety (13). There were "city states, tribal segments, peasant communes, and so forth"
(13). He also goes on to describe how, in particular, David Hume and Immanuel Kant were adept at describing the rational spirit of the industrial age, and how it
was characterized by orderliness and efficiency (21). In this chapter, Gellner emphasizes that the nature of industrial society fundamentally changed the skills required to function within that society. He writers
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