Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism

by

English language

Published Feb. 12, 1991

ISBN:
978-0-86091-546-1
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4 stars (1 review)

Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism is a book by Benedict Anderson about the development of national feeling in different eras and throughout different geographies across the world. It introduced the term "imagined communities" as a descriptor of a social group—specifically nations—and the term has since entered standard usage in myriad political and social science fields. The book was first published in 1983 and was reissued with additional chapters in 1991 and a further revised version in 2006. The book is widely considered influential in the social sciences, with Eric G.E. Zuelow describing the book as "perhaps the most read book about nationalism." It is among the top 10 most-cited publications in the social sciences.

7 editions

reviewed Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism by Benedict Anderson

Still very thought-provoking

4 stars

I first read this as an undergraduate in the early 90s, and have read it again about once a decade since. It's still fascinating book, breaking away from the conventional eurocentric approach to nationalism to focus on the rest of the world - but also to show how developing national identities there would later influence the development of nationalism and national identities in Europe. Understandably dated in a few parts - Anderson himself notes that the late 70s conflicts in SE Asia weren't as important in the long term as they seemed to him then - and suffers occasionally from dropping in large chunks of untranslated text which assumes the reader is impressively multilingual, but still a fascinating read.

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