Reference no: EM133775779
Assignment: Political Science
Consider the following questions when writing your journal entry. You do not need to answer all questions, but you should address at least one of the questions. Aim for more than a summary, and use your write-up to show your understanding of the readings. Where possible, deepen your discussion by adding comparisons, addressing points of agreement or disagreement, or adding critiques (refer to comments given on previous assignments).
A. What roles do states play in nation-building?
B. How is nationalism used by states or power-holders and to what ends?
C. How does Weber explain nationalism or nation-building in France?
D. How does the discussion relate to earlier readings (including Smith, Hastings, Gellner, and Anderson)?
The reading:
A. "Nationalism and the state" (Ch. 5) by John Breuilly, in Nations and Nationalism: A Reader
B. "Introduction: Nation-building and the failure of institutional memory" (introductory chapter), from Francis Fukuyama, in Nation-Building: Beyond Afghanistan and Iraq. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006.
C. Excerpts from Eugen Weber. Peasants into Frenchmen: The Modernization of Rural France, 1870-1914. Stanford, Calif: Stanford University Press, 1976.