Banal NationalismSAGE, 1995 M08 15 - 208 pages Michael Billig presents a major challenge to orthodox conceptions of nationalism in this elegantly written book. While traditional theorizing has tended to the focus on extreme expressions of nationalism, the author turns his attention to the everyday, less visible forms which are neither exotic or remote, he describes as `banal nationalism′. The author asks why people do not forget their national identity. He suggests that in daily life nationalism is constantly flagged in the media through routine symbols and habits of language. Banal Nationalism is critical of orthodox theories in sociology, politics and social psychology for ignoring this core feature of national identity. Michael Billig argues forcefully that with nationalism continuing to be a major ideological force in the contemporary world, it is all the more important to recognize those signs of nationalism which are so familiar that they are easily overlooked. |
From inside the book
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Page 1
... modern blood is to be spilled are different; and so is the scale of the bloodshed. As Isaiah Berlin has written, "it is by now a melancholy commonplace that no century has seen so much remorseless and continued slaughter of human beings ...
... modern blood is to be spilled are different; and so is the scale of the bloodshed. As Isaiah Berlin has written, "it is by now a melancholy commonplace that no century has seen so much remorseless and continued slaughter of human beings ...
Page 9
... condition, has been produced by the age of the modern nation-state. The rise of the state has brought about an ideological transformation of common sense. Building upon the ideas of Ernest Gellner, Benedict Introduction 9.
... condition, has been produced by the age of the modern nation-state. The rise of the state has brought about an ideological transformation of common sense. Building upon the ideas of Ernest Gellner, Benedict Introduction 9.
Page 10
... modern nation-states. The assumption that different languages 'naturally' exist illustrates just how deeply nationalist conceptions have seeped into contemporary common sense. The following chapter discusses the notions of banal ...
... modern nation-states. The assumption that different languages 'naturally' exist illustrates just how deeply nationalist conceptions have seeped into contemporary common sense. The following chapter discusses the notions of banal ...
Page 11
... modern age and is being superseded in the postmodern, globalized world. If this is the case, then banal nationalism is a disappearing ideology, with a politics of identity replacing the old politics of nationhood. This thesis is ...
... modern age and is being superseded in the postmodern, globalized world. If this is the case, then banal nationalism is a disappearing ideology, with a politics of identity replacing the old politics of nationhood. This thesis is ...
Page 19
... modern world, for, as Hobsbawm asserts, "the basic characteristic of the modern nation and everything associated with it is its modernity" (1992, p. 14). Historians have disputed exactly when the nation-state first made its appearance ...
... modern world, for, as Hobsbawm asserts, "the basic characteristic of the modern nation and everything associated with it is its modernity" (1992, p. 14). Historians have disputed exactly when the nation-state first made its appearance ...
Contents
1 | |
13 | |
37 | |
National Identity in the World of Nations | 60 |
Flagging the Homeland Daily | 93 |
Postmodernity and Identity | 128 |
Philosophy as a Flag for the Pax Americana | 154 |
Concluding Remarks | 174 |
References | 178 |
Name Index | 193 |
Subject Index | 199 |
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Common terms and phrases
according American appear argued assumed audience banal banal nationalism become boundaries Britain British called Cambridge century Chapter citizens claim consciousness contemporary context continue created critics culture daily deixis described discourse distinction established ethnic Europe example exist familiar flag force foreign forgetting French global Guardian habits hegemony homeland hopes idea ideology imagined important independence individual interests language liberal linguistic live London major means merely movements nation-state national identity nationalist nationhood natural newspapers ourselves particular party patriotic patterns person philosophy political politicians postmodern present President Press psychological readers represent rhetoric Rorty Rorty's routine seek seems seen sense social society sort speak speakers speech sporting stereotypes story suggested symbols talking tend term territory themes theory thinking tradition United universal waved whole world of nations writes