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" this text is confusing. the point seems to be that the nation is merely a social ordering technology that is fun to dismiss, yet the writer frequently refers to nationalities as knowable entities, presumably to make the writing accessible, yet i noticed no caveat for this. i might have missed it, but he carries on so. would such a contradiction deserve better treatment than a footnote? i wished that he would just simply state what his unseemly predispositions were rather than insinuating through sociology. what winds up happening is the feeling that the only basis for a theory of the life of nationality outside of social construction is bias. there's material to source here for a both/and thesis of race despite the perils of anderson's voice. the usage of race as a coherent and solid entity, i.e. as 'black' is made to cohere for the consideration of 'the black question,' reminded me of marxists, so i decided anderson is a marxist. i don't know if he's really a marxist, but he does talk about benjamin twice at meaningful moments near the beginning and near the end of the text, presumably for emphasis. not that i mind marxists, until they start talking about race like that. and talking about race in a lot of different contexts with an ease that makes me kinda suspicious, in a way where i just have to wind up taking your word for it. he talks about a lot of different parts of the world in a way that kind of made me uncomfortable. like they were all supposed to make sense under one unifying concept (capitalism? class?) that never materially effects each place differently. even calling attention to that makes me sound like a globalization denialist. i'm not a globalization denialist. it's just that talking about too many different places as if they're all the same in some ways seems to just further globalization. but if you come into this being aware of the contingency/hegemony problem, you should be okay. i do feel that, assuming he is indeed a marxist, he shouldn't be making you do that extra work. who does that? someone who for this edition needs to add a lengthy ramble on the anecdotes surrounding the translation and publication history of the boo you've just read. i tried to figure out how i could care but i gave up. "
- Ralowe, 2/17/2014
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" Read it. Especially if you are into or study cultural studies. This book was one of my formal introductions to identity politics and is part of the reason I study and do the work I do today. "
- Izetta, 1/16/2014
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" I've read this book a number of times for different classes and always, ALWAYS find something new in it. Although many have now expanded on Anderson's work, his book is still a central piece in the literature of nationalism and nation-states. It can be a bit dense at times, but the dedicated reader will find much of value in it. "
- Ash, 1/10/2014
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" One of my professors told me that this is currently the most cited book in the social sciences. A ground-breaking (in the eighties when it was published) study of the origins of nationalism, it nonetheless left me with some questions. And occasionally Benedict Anderson seems like he's been a little too clever in his wordplay and his refusal to translate large passages out of the French. "
- Celeste, 1/10/2014
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" Why it took me so long to read, I don't know, but this should be required reading for everyone. It's quick, too. "
- Elizabeth, 1/8/2014
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" Hugely significant book that shifted how people look at nationalism. I would have appreciated greater attention to chronology and the precise timing of the developments Anderson purports to explain, but that's a standard historian's complaint... "
- Danny, 12/28/2013
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" I learned that nationalism is part of our imagined experienced to define culture. "
- Edna, 12/24/2013
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" shows how truly arbitrary our nationalism is. "
- Timothy, 12/22/2013
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" Loved it. Blew my mind. will write more later... "
- Christine, 12/13/2013
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" One of my all time favorite theory books. The problems of national identity and nationalism are often at the forefront of my mind, and certainly the lens through which I regard many current events, and it is with this book's aid I've been able to reach many of my conclusions. "
- Brian, 12/11/2013
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" A classic, and every bit as good as its made out to be. "
- Charles, 12/5/2013
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" This is a fascinating book, and it is necessary interest for anyone with an interest in the social sciences. "
- Evan, 12/1/2013
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" Reading "Imagined Communities" feels like acquiring over night a three-year curriculum in political science. I will cherish my copy and read it again next year. "
- Sjonni, 5/13/2013
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" Good book to read for a basis on studies on nationalism; definitely need more to complement the work. "
- Vicki, 5/1/2013
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" Definitive text on nationalism and the birth of nation-states. "
- Jessica, 4/6/2013
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" Key work in the discussion of nationalism and nation-building "
- Tessa, 3/27/2013
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" Groundbreaking ideas but he's a bad writer. Still, a must for anyone interested in nationalism. "
- Greg, 1/30/2013
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" One of the first books I read at Marlboro. A pretty good wake-up to serious history, and well-written too. "
- Peter, 1/26/2013
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" sounds cooler than it is, oversold "
- Josiah, 11/28/2012
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" Excellent!! Clear, concise, well argued & explained. "
- Justin, 11/19/2012
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" never totally got into it "
- Libby, 10/20/2012
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" This is the first and only book of theory that I have really loved. I can't stop thinking about it and puzzling over the hitches I see in the argument. "
- Emmie, 5/8/2012
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