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
Results 1-5 of 31
Page 6
... boundaries, and which, thereby, threaten the existing national status quo. With some room for growth, the word can be stretched over moments of eccentricity, such as Thatcher's remarks about the Falklanders being of 'British stock'. But ...
... boundaries, and which, thereby, threaten the existing national status quo. With some room for growth, the word can be stretched over moments of eccentricity, such as Thatcher's remarks about the Falklanders being of 'British stock'. But ...
Page 20
... boundaries are rigorously drawn; and where citizens, and male citizens in particular, might expect to be called upon to kill and die in defence of the national border- post. A glance at mediaeval and modern maps shows the novelty of the ...
... boundaries are rigorously drawn; and where citizens, and male citizens in particular, might expect to be called upon to kill and die in defence of the national border- post. A glance at mediaeval and modern maps shows the novelty of the ...
Page 22
... national boundaries. Thus, the boundary-consciousness of nationalism has itself known no boundaries in its historical triumph. Nationalism, in its triumphant march, has swept aside rival ideologies. At the beginning of the twentieth ...
... national boundaries. Thus, the boundary-consciousness of nationalism has itself known no boundaries in its historical triumph. Nationalism, in its triumphant march, has swept aside rival ideologies. At the beginning of the twentieth ...
Page 23
... national leader, planning for 'socialism within one country' and willing to defend the nation against foreign ... boundaries, most of which tend to follow straight lines, lakes or rivers. By contrast, Europe is dense with boundaries ...
... national leader, planning for 'socialism within one country' and willing to defend the nation against foreign ... boundaries, most of which tend to follow straight lines, lakes or rivers. By contrast, Europe is dense with boundaries ...
Page 24
... national boundaries? Why should Venezuela, Costa Rica and Bolivia boast their independence, raise their own armies and patrol their own borders? The system of nation-states does not seem to follow a neat pattern for global division ...
... national boundaries? Why should Venezuela, Costa Rica and Bolivia boast their independence, raise their own armies and patrol their own borders? The system of nation-states does not seem to follow a neat pattern for global division ...
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
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