Anderson suggests that nationalism is an imagined concept. This photo of enemy soldiers sharing Christmas celebrations during wartime extends this claim by suggesting that nationalism is not a valid cause for warfare, because the foes were getting along in spite of their different nationalities and the war at hand.
For the human species, the need for belonging and identification with others has always been an unquestioned method of survival. A sense of community and security has been desired by all mankind for as long as they have existed on the earth. However, as of late (the 20th century to be exact), concepts such as nationalism and patriotism have stirred people to commit some of the most passionate acts in history. In the essay, Imagined Communities, Benedict Anderson argues that communities are imagined and questions the intelligence behind giving your life for a made-up perception. In a depiction of the Christmas Truce of 1914 between England and Germany, one can see the folly inherent in believing too fiercely in the borders dividing nations.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Lens Essay-- topic and intro
In her essay "On Photography," Susan Sontag suggests that photographs are readily taken to be truthful reproductions of reality, although they can be deceptive, and that while photos are powerful in their ability to evoke emotions and deliver moral messages, they can only reinforce, not change, existing public opinions. During the Second Lebanon War, which took place in the summer of 2006, the controversial staged photographs that were run in the media -- especially the ones of children's toys among rubble -- supported both of Sontag's claims. While many American newspaper readers did accept the deceptive photographs as real, they did little to sway public opinion from supporting Israel to supporting Hezbollah.
During the Second Lebanon War, which took place in the summer of 2006, many emotionally provocative photos were run in major newspapers and magazines depicting the suffering of the Lebanese people as a result of Israeli airstrikes. Especially notable among these was a series of photos that showed children's toys laying about the rubble of a bombed-out building, which took advantage of the emotional power of the motif of the suffering of children. However, it was later proven that these photos -- which to newspaper editors must have seemed to good to be true -- had been staged by pro-Hezbollah photojournalists trying to elicit sympathy for their cause from the West. In her essay "On Photographs," American writer Susan Sontag argues that that photographs are readily taken to be truthful reproductions of reality, although they can be deceptive, and that while photos are powerful in their ability to evoke emotions and deliver moral messages, they can only reinforce, not change, existing public opinions. The staged photographs that came out of the Second Lebanon War offer support for her claim. While many American newspaper readers did accept the deceptive photographs as real, they did still little to sway public opinion from supporting Israel to supporting Hezbollah.
During the Second Lebanon War, which took place in the summer of 2006, many emotionally provocative photos were run in major newspapers and magazines depicting the suffering of the Lebanese people as a result of Israeli airstrikes. Especially notable among these was a series of photos that showed children's toys laying about the rubble of a bombed-out building, which took advantage of the emotional power of the motif of the suffering of children. However, it was later proven that these photos -- which to newspaper editors must have seemed to good to be true -- had been staged by pro-Hezbollah photojournalists trying to elicit sympathy for their cause from the West. In her essay "On Photographs," American writer Susan Sontag argues that that photographs are readily taken to be truthful reproductions of reality, although they can be deceptive, and that while photos are powerful in their ability to evoke emotions and deliver moral messages, they can only reinforce, not change, existing public opinions. The staged photographs that came out of the Second Lebanon War offer support for her claim. While many American newspaper readers did accept the deceptive photographs as real, they did still little to sway public opinion from supporting Israel to supporting Hezbollah.
Lens Essay Arguement & Intro
Structure of Argument:
Doniger suggest that masks allow one to self-impersonate: to become the very person that others see in us. While Doniger very thoroughly explores the act of donning masks, she falls short in addressing the act of shedding masks. Nabokov’s provocative novel Lolita brilliantly explores both the act of donning and shedding masks. In his novel, Lolita at first becomes the person Humbert Humbert projects. However, as years go by and their relationship becomes more stable, Lolita attempts to shed the mask that Humbert Humbert has unfairly and inappropriately projected unto this young girl. Nabokov’s Lolita extends Doniger’s intriguing argument about donning asks by arguing that the shedding of certain masks remains just as important in discovering one’s true self.
Introduction:
“Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins” (Nabokov, 9)
Nabokov’s Lolita is a brilliantly written novel about Humbert Humbert, a middle-aged man obsessivingly lusting after a 12-year old girl. Humbert Humbert, or H.H. as he familiarly refers to himself, meets Lolita through a woman he stays with during the summer. Due to the fact that Humbert narrates, it is sometimes difficult for the reader to gauge how mutual the interactions between Humbert and Lolita truly are. However, Nabokov eventually makes clear to the reader that Humbert has projected certain images upon Lolita: images that she initially seems to embody, yet eventually completely rejects. These ‘masks’ that Humbert forces upon this young girl bear striking resemblance to the masks essayist Wendy Doniger claims society can force upon its members. In her essay “Many masks, Many selves”, Doniger suggest that masks allow one to self-impersonate: to become the very person that others see in us. While she very thoroughly explores the act of donning masks, her essay falls short in addressing the act of shedding masks. Lolita brilliantly explores both the act of donning and shedding masks. In his novel, Dolores at first becomes the person Humbert Humbert projects. However, as years go by and their relationship becomes more stable, Lolita attempts to shed the mask that Humbert Humbert has unfairly and inappropriately projected unto this young girl. Nabokov’s Lolita extends Doniger’s intriguing argument about donning asks by arguing that the shedding of certain masks remains just as important in discovering one’s true self.
Doniger suggest that masks allow one to self-impersonate: to become the very person that others see in us. While Doniger very thoroughly explores the act of donning masks, she falls short in addressing the act of shedding masks. Nabokov’s provocative novel Lolita brilliantly explores both the act of donning and shedding masks. In his novel, Lolita at first becomes the person Humbert Humbert projects. However, as years go by and their relationship becomes more stable, Lolita attempts to shed the mask that Humbert Humbert has unfairly and inappropriately projected unto this young girl. Nabokov’s Lolita extends Doniger’s intriguing argument about donning asks by arguing that the shedding of certain masks remains just as important in discovering one’s true self.
Introduction:
“Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins” (Nabokov, 9)
Nabokov’s Lolita is a brilliantly written novel about Humbert Humbert, a middle-aged man obsessivingly lusting after a 12-year old girl. Humbert Humbert, or H.H. as he familiarly refers to himself, meets Lolita through a woman he stays with during the summer. Due to the fact that Humbert narrates, it is sometimes difficult for the reader to gauge how mutual the interactions between Humbert and Lolita truly are. However, Nabokov eventually makes clear to the reader that Humbert has projected certain images upon Lolita: images that she initially seems to embody, yet eventually completely rejects. These ‘masks’ that Humbert forces upon this young girl bear striking resemblance to the masks essayist Wendy Doniger claims society can force upon its members. In her essay “Many masks, Many selves”, Doniger suggest that masks allow one to self-impersonate: to become the very person that others see in us. While she very thoroughly explores the act of donning masks, her essay falls short in addressing the act of shedding masks. Lolita brilliantly explores both the act of donning and shedding masks. In his novel, Dolores at first becomes the person Humbert Humbert projects. However, as years go by and their relationship becomes more stable, Lolita attempts to shed the mask that Humbert Humbert has unfairly and inappropriately projected unto this young girl. Nabokov’s Lolita extends Doniger’s intriguing argument about donning asks by arguing that the shedding of certain masks remains just as important in discovering one’s true self.
Topic and Intro
Topic for Lens Essay:
In his essay “Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism,” Benedict Anderson suggests that nationalism is born from a people’s sense of connection to an imagined community. Photographer Dang Ngo’s images of Chin Burmese refugees add another perspective to Anderson’s arguments by exploring how such grievous displacement makes these people unable to imagine belonging to any community at all. If nationalism is thus defined by the capacity to be psychologically created, it could be an impossible attainment for the Chin, who have become forced citizens of a “no man’s land” and who have lost either their ability or their will to imagine being a member of a worldly community.
http://www.dangngo.com/burma/
*Note- the selected image is the 11th one on the scroll (with the woman and child kneeling in the forest)
Introduction:
Refugees can be characterized as a nation’s lost generation; their coerced displacement strands them in precarious situations that frequently deny them their national identity. They become the orphans of the world, having lost their mother when they lose their country. The Chin Burmese find themselves under similarly low ceilings, for they are continually being evicted from Burma and forced into refugee lifestyles in Malaysia, India, and along the Thai border. In his essay “Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism,” Benedict Anderson argues that nationalism is the psychological product of an individual’s imagined connection to a community. The Chin, however, exist in a constant state of limbo and are thereby unable to discern what country, if any, they belong to. As photographer Dang Ngo’s image suggests, these refugees are imprisoned in their own purgatory, destined neither to return to their former life nor to claim their place on higher ground. In short, this hopeless disorientation makes the Chin incapable of forging the imagined connection that Anderson describes, which may render them without a sense of nationalism entirely.
In his essay “Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism,” Benedict Anderson suggests that nationalism is born from a people’s sense of connection to an imagined community. Photographer Dang Ngo’s images of Chin Burmese refugees add another perspective to Anderson’s arguments by exploring how such grievous displacement makes these people unable to imagine belonging to any community at all. If nationalism is thus defined by the capacity to be psychologically created, it could be an impossible attainment for the Chin, who have become forced citizens of a “no man’s land” and who have lost either their ability or their will to imagine being a member of a worldly community.
http://www.dangngo.com/burma/
*Note- the selected image is the 11th one on the scroll (with the woman and child kneeling in the forest)
Introduction:
Refugees can be characterized as a nation’s lost generation; their coerced displacement strands them in precarious situations that frequently deny them their national identity. They become the orphans of the world, having lost their mother when they lose their country. The Chin Burmese find themselves under similarly low ceilings, for they are continually being evicted from Burma and forced into refugee lifestyles in Malaysia, India, and along the Thai border. In his essay “Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism,” Benedict Anderson argues that nationalism is the psychological product of an individual’s imagined connection to a community. The Chin, however, exist in a constant state of limbo and are thereby unable to discern what country, if any, they belong to. As photographer Dang Ngo’s image suggests, these refugees are imprisoned in their own purgatory, destined neither to return to their former life nor to claim their place on higher ground. In short, this hopeless disorientation makes the Chin incapable of forging the imagined connection that Anderson describes, which may render them without a sense of nationalism entirely.
Topic and Intro
Topic:
Essayist Wendy Doniger suggests in “Many masks, many selves” that people impersonate others, hoping to change themselves, but they ultimately fail and revert back to their normal self. Akira Kurosawa’s 1954 film Seven Samurai challenges this claim by suggesting that impersonators can change permanently through its portrayal of one of the main protagonists’ transformation.
Introduction:
In Akira Kurosawa’s 1954 film Seven Samurai, one of the main protagonists, a son of a farmer named Kikuchiyo pretends that he is from a noble class of samurai. Despite his humble origins, Kikuchiyo bears an oversized katana and an air of bravado to make others think that he is a samurai. The other six samurai hired to protect a village from bandits view him as nothing more than a wannabe. In fact, when one of the samurai, Heihachi, creates a war banner for the group, he draws six circles to represent the samurai, and a triangle for ‘Lord Kikuchiyo.’ Despite being the odd one out, Kikuchiyo manages to prove himself worthy of the title samurai by the end of the film. One of the main points of the movie is that we can choose who we want to be; external factors such as society and class shouldn’t rigidly confine us to a default persona. However, Wendy Doniger takes a different view in her essay “Many masks, many selves.” She believes that people impersonating others out of a desire to change themselves will ultimately fail. Seven Samurai rejects Doniger’s stance on change and declares that we are not hopelessly trapped inside our self.
Essayist Wendy Doniger suggests in “Many masks, many selves” that people impersonate others, hoping to change themselves, but they ultimately fail and revert back to their normal self. Akira Kurosawa’s 1954 film Seven Samurai challenges this claim by suggesting that impersonators can change permanently through its portrayal of one of the main protagonists’ transformation.
Introduction:
In Akira Kurosawa’s 1954 film Seven Samurai, one of the main protagonists, a son of a farmer named Kikuchiyo pretends that he is from a noble class of samurai. Despite his humble origins, Kikuchiyo bears an oversized katana and an air of bravado to make others think that he is a samurai. The other six samurai hired to protect a village from bandits view him as nothing more than a wannabe. In fact, when one of the samurai, Heihachi, creates a war banner for the group, he draws six circles to represent the samurai, and a triangle for ‘Lord Kikuchiyo.’ Despite being the odd one out, Kikuchiyo manages to prove himself worthy of the title samurai by the end of the film. One of the main points of the movie is that we can choose who we want to be; external factors such as society and class shouldn’t rigidly confine us to a default persona. However, Wendy Doniger takes a different view in her essay “Many masks, many selves.” She believes that people impersonating others out of a desire to change themselves will ultimately fail. Seven Samurai rejects Doniger’s stance on change and declares that we are not hopelessly trapped inside our self.
Anderson suggests that nationalism is a false sense of camaraderie. The Declaration of Independence extends to this claim by suggesting that there is a legal document that provides for this claim that the members of a nation can be brought together as one without meeting or having anything in common with one another other than the fact that they live on the same body of land.
Intro:
A nation is an organized group of people that are brought together and ruled by one form of government. Nationalism, the pride that one has for the advancement for his or her own country, brings together many of the the citizens in a single nation. Benedict Anderson, the author of "Imagined Communities," has a different definition for a nation; he believes that it is an "imagined political community - and imagined as both inherently limited and sovereign." He believes this because there is a feeling of connectivity between all of the citizens without having ever met or realizing that the differences between one another are large. The theory of the "imagined community" is viable for any nation, including the United States of America. Under the Declaration of Independence, the citizens of America are brought together by one line "all men are created equal." How is it possible for one line of one document to bring so many people together? It is possible because it creates the illusion of a community.
Sontag suggest that photographs are not statements about the world , but rather pieces of it. To photograph an object is to have an interest in the object as it is, and is a tactful way of encourage what is happening. The act of taking a photograph of a person is to violate them, to have knowledge of them , to turn them into an object. A photograph is an implement of power.
The act of paparazzi extends to this argument, a camera is a tool of power. To photograph the unsuspecting is to violate them, and take a piece of them with you.
To win 8 gold medals in a single Olympics is an impressive task. So impressive that only one person in world has ever done it, Micheal Phelps. Recently a photograph was released that portrayed Micheal Phelps smoking marijuana out of a bong. This single photograph has tainted his image to eyes of the public and will cost him thousands in endorsement money. This is the power of a single photograph.Sontag suggest that photographs are not statements about the world , but rather pieces of it. To photograph an object is to have an interest in the object as it is, and is a tactful way of encourage what is happening. The act of taking a photograph of a person is to violate them, to have knowledge of them , to turn them into an object. A photograph is an implement of power.The act of paparazzi extends to this argument, a camera is a tool of power. To photograph the unsuspecting is to violate them, and take a piece of them with you.
The act of paparazzi extends to this argument, a camera is a tool of power. To photograph the unsuspecting is to violate them, and take a piece of them with you.
To win 8 gold medals in a single Olympics is an impressive task. So impressive that only one person in world has ever done it, Micheal Phelps. Recently a photograph was released that portrayed Micheal Phelps smoking marijuana out of a bong. This single photograph has tainted his image to eyes of the public and will cost him thousands in endorsement money. This is the power of a single photograph.Sontag suggest that photographs are not statements about the world , but rather pieces of it. To photograph an object is to have an interest in the object as it is, and is a tactful way of encourage what is happening. The act of taking a photograph of a person is to violate them, to have knowledge of them , to turn them into an object. A photograph is an implement of power.The act of paparazzi extends to this argument, a camera is a tool of power. To photograph the unsuspecting is to violate them, and take a piece of them with you.
Sontag suggest that a sense of immortality is captured through a camera lens and produced on a photo; Pictures such as one showing an image of a severly damaged ship with the image of the same ship before a hurricane in the corner exemplifies and emphasizes this claim by suggesting that immortality is a product of photography but not on accident.
Pressing gently down on the button to capture a moment in time is overlooked with the true power this action holds. Cameras are instantly seen as tools of memories and pleasures, and though most people understand this feature cameras have a more effective purpose. Sontag lists different abilities a camera has and the various motivational reasons on why people press down on the button. Reasons include to remember where a person was in the world or to appreciate a moment in time. These moments in time can be painful, joyous or serious but people part take in the action mentioned as a social right. People feel compelled to take pictures as proof of there adventures and "whatever is remarkable that they encounter". But why do people do this? Sontag briefly mentions it but taking a snapshot is a "kind of immortality". It is not just a kind but an actual act of immortality. People have been searching for an oasis or potion capable of this phenomenon, but they have actually have had the tool necessary to be immortalized and it is through a camera. People do not just take pictures to remember and have a sense of achievement in capturing the ultimate "kodak moment", but because it is the only source of immortality in today's world. Taking a picture allows an individual to go through a time machine an feel younger both mentally, spiritually and even physically.
Pressing gently down on the button to capture a moment in time is overlooked with the true power this action holds. Cameras are instantly seen as tools of memories and pleasures, and though most people understand this feature cameras have a more effective purpose. Sontag lists different abilities a camera has and the various motivational reasons on why people press down on the button. Reasons include to remember where a person was in the world or to appreciate a moment in time. These moments in time can be painful, joyous or serious but people part take in the action mentioned as a social right. People feel compelled to take pictures as proof of there adventures and "whatever is remarkable that they encounter". But why do people do this? Sontag briefly mentions it but taking a snapshot is a "kind of immortality". It is not just a kind but an actual act of immortality. People have been searching for an oasis or potion capable of this phenomenon, but they have actually have had the tool necessary to be immortalized and it is through a camera. People do not just take pictures to remember and have a sense of achievement in capturing the ultimate "kodak moment", but because it is the only source of immortality in today's world. Taking a picture allows an individual to go through a time machine an feel younger both mentally, spiritually and even physically.
Sontag-essay
Sontag suggests that a photographer can place his/her power into any photograph. Alfred Eisenstaedt's photo of a mother and child in the destroyed land of Hiroshima after the bombing adds to the Sontag's point that photography is the interpretation of the artist and once the photo is displayed to an audience it gains a degree of power over them.
The choices a photographer makes influence the viewer's ideas because there is a limited frame he or she is forced to examine. The selection of a subject, emphasized colors, expanse of the background, and angles combined with multiple other decisions give the photographer a power over what the audience will see. Susan Sontag in her essay on photography argues how photos have the ability to give power to the artist capturing the moment. Being able to stop time by capturing the action and producing it as a tangible item gives the photographer the authority to witness a subject the way that no one else, including the subject, is able to. Alfred Eisenstaedt exercises his power in his famous photography of celebrities, landscapes, and other life events. He photographed a mother and her child sitting together in the depleted landscape of Hiroshima after all of the effects after the explosion of the atom bomb. The way Eisenstaedt chose to photograph the two leaves the viewer to only the limited focus points of his work giving him power over his audience.
Paper Topic and Introduction
Paper Topic:
In her essay, "Many masks, many selves," Wendy Doniger suggests that self-impersonation or masquerading is a form of self-identification. An account taken from English cutler Thomas Mills in 1618 adds to Doniger's claim by suggesting that entertainment, emotional release and social justice also serve as other means for such self-impersonations in addition to identity of the self.
Introduction:
In conversing with his wife Agnes, a cutler named Thomas Mills provided a detailed account of a typical charivari that took place on May 27th, 1618. Generally, the term charivari referred to a ritualized mechanism of social control, common in England and in surrounding areas in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries; the noisy, chaotic processions enabled the community to express their collective dismay over adulterous relationships, cuckolded husbands, abusers or other social offenders of the like. Mills' description of the events that took place in the small market town of Calne, England illustrate specifically such a procession in which the participants donned masks both as a form of entertainment and emotional release as well as for the depiction of mockery to help serve as a form of community control and social justice. However, in her essay "Many masks, many selves," Wendy Doniger argues that people engage in self-impersonations or masquerading for the sole purpose of self-identification. While Doniger's emphasis on identity of the self does have a certain validity and importance, she still overlooks the idea that the purpose of masquerading may extend beyond identifying and finding ones own self. Therefore, the account provided by Thomas Mills complements Wendy Doniger's thesis regarding self-impersonations by putting forth emotional release and social justice as other rationalizations for the act of masquerading.
Paper Topic and Introduction
Topic:
Anderson suggests that a nation is an imagined community in which people with no real physical connection maintain a psychological bond--nationalist sentiment--based on their concept of shared nationality, which includes shared language, art, and values; the European anthem extends this claim by broadening the scope of this imagined community: for imagined communities based on the idea of shared culture applies not only to nations, but to regions as well. Yet, though nationalism and regionalism are similar, they are not identical, a fact which the European anthem may help to illustrate.
Introduction:
Rather like its pre-modern predecessors, a nation is a politically unified group of people who feel a strong psychological bond with each other, not because of any actual acquaintance or genetic relationship, but because of members' belief in a shared history--including language and art--and shared set of values. The vague yet remarkably strong bond of nationalism among diverse populations is complex and difficult to understand fully. In Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism, Benedict Anderson manages to distill the phenomenon into the concise term "imagined political community" (Anderson 6). He also asserts that national anthems are a hallmark of nationalism, for singing one's national anthem with one's countrymen creates a physical manifestation of a nation's imagined unity (145). Yet the European anthem, Ludwig van Beethoven's prelude to his setting of Friedrich Schiller's poem "An der Freude" ("Ode to Joy"), sheds light on an even broader imagined community: the region. Like nationalism, regionalism is a feeling of belonging to a group of people tied by historical interaction, artistic common ground, and shared values. Unlike nations, however, regions are not united by language--thus, regional ties are even less concrete than national bonds. The European anthem illustrates both the similarities and the crucial difference between nationalism and regionalism by utilizing some basic elements of distinctly 'European' art and values, while simultaneously tearing down the language barriers among European nations.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Imagined Communities
Anderson argues that people join together under a singular national identity because of the egalitarian notion that in their struggles for the country, all its peoples will come together as one. "[The nation] is an imagined as a community, because, regardless of the actual inequality and exploitation that may prevail in each, the nation is always conceived as a deep, horizontal comradeship" (Anderson 7). This imagined fraternal bond is what causes greatly different peoples to be willing to unite under a single flag in their fight for a goal.
According to Anderson, recent international conflicts are notable in that they have been driven by nationalistic ideals. "The great wars of this century are extraordinary not so much in the unprecedented scale on which they permitted people to kill, as in the colossal numbers persuaded to lay down their lives" (Anderson 144). To Anderson, this idea of nationalism as a primary cause of military service is a relatively new one.
According to Anderson, recent international conflicts are notable in that they have been driven by nationalistic ideals. "The great wars of this century are extraordinary not so much in the unprecedented scale on which they permitted people to kill, as in the colossal numbers persuaded to lay down their lives" (Anderson 144). To Anderson, this idea of nationalism as a primary cause of military service is a relatively new one.
Anderson Quotes
In Anderson's essay "Imagined Communities" explains the presence of non-physical communities, but communities that exist in the mind set of the public. These communities relate to various catergories such as race and politics. Catergories such as these affect the nation and cause Anderson to propose her own definition of what is a nation.
"...it is an imagined political community- and imagined as both inherently limited and sovereign."
Anderson is explaining though millions of people coexist in the same political structure, members of a nations government will nevewr know everybody personally. Instead of the individual, politics has lead to view society in large numbers and groups because finding similar traits and opinions in groups will cover all individuals. Thus this imagined community of individuals has changed into a community of groups.
Along with politics, race is one of the biggest categories (communities) because this nation thrives on its diversity. Anderson explains that race has been a big benefit to this growing nation we live in. It fuses people from different backgrounds and introduces a different aspect to life such as languages and songs. Nationalism has been the area where this diverse "melting pot" has produce several things such as Anderson explains in this quote.
"The cultural products of nationalism- poetry, prose fiction, music, plastic arts- show this love very clearly in thousands of different forms and styles."
Through national anthems, art and other sub groups that define a culture, these imaginative communities of people defined by politics tend to morph with each other because of the understanding and accepting attitudes of the public.
"...it is an imagined political community- and imagined as both inherently limited and sovereign."
Anderson is explaining though millions of people coexist in the same political structure, members of a nations government will nevewr know everybody personally. Instead of the individual, politics has lead to view society in large numbers and groups because finding similar traits and opinions in groups will cover all individuals. Thus this imagined community of individuals has changed into a community of groups.
Along with politics, race is one of the biggest categories (communities) because this nation thrives on its diversity. Anderson explains that race has been a big benefit to this growing nation we live in. It fuses people from different backgrounds and introduces a different aspect to life such as languages and songs. Nationalism has been the area where this diverse "melting pot" has produce several things such as Anderson explains in this quote.
"The cultural products of nationalism- poetry, prose fiction, music, plastic arts- show this love very clearly in thousands of different forms and styles."
Through national anthems, art and other sub groups that define a culture, these imaginative communities of people defined by politics tend to morph with each other because of the understanding and accepting attitudes of the public.
An Imagined community is how Anderson describes the central cause for the belief in nationalism. Citizens have a strong belief in nationalism because the community in which they are apart of is imagined. "It is imagined because the members of even the smallest nation will never know most of their fellow members, meet them , or even hear of them, yet in the minds of each lives the image of their communion." Members of the community never truly know a vast majority of the nation, yet they feel drawn together because of the false belief of the imagined community. Anderson further develops on the idea by using national anthems as an example. "At precisely such moments people wholly unknown to each other utter the same verses to the same melody. The image: unisonance" Members of the communtity feel connected as they sing, somehow related, but in reality all that connects them is sound.
Anderson's "Imagined Communities"
In the essay "Imagined Communities: Reflections, on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism", author Benedict Anderson explores the nature of nationalism. Anderson argues that the idea of a nation is purely a created image. He says, “[The nation] is an imagined political community – and imagined as both inherently limited and sovereign” (Anderson, 6). Anderson believes the nation is thus a created idea: one where one’s ‘nation’ has defined limits and whose concept of sovereignty is merely an ancient scheme.
Anderson further argues the ties and bonds we feel to our nation are in fact just as imagined and just as superficial. He writes, “…nation-ness is assimilated to skin-colour, gender, parentage and birth-era – all those things one cannot help. And in these ‘natural ties’ one sense what one might call ‘the beauty of gemeinschaft’. To put it another way, precisely because such ties are not chosen, they have about them a halo of disinterestedness” (Anderson, 143). In this thought-provoking statement, Anderson argues that the very reasons that we feel ‘naturally’ bonded to our fellow countrymen have nothing natural about them. Like our nation itself, the bonds that we feel to the larger community are purely imagined: a created tie that we thus feel draws us closer to each other.
Anderson further argues the ties and bonds we feel to our nation are in fact just as imagined and just as superficial. He writes, “…nation-ness is assimilated to skin-colour, gender, parentage and birth-era – all those things one cannot help. And in these ‘natural ties’ one sense what one might call ‘the beauty of gemeinschaft’. To put it another way, precisely because such ties are not chosen, they have about them a halo of disinterestedness” (Anderson, 143). In this thought-provoking statement, Anderson argues that the very reasons that we feel ‘naturally’ bonded to our fellow countrymen have nothing natural about them. Like our nation itself, the bonds that we feel to the larger community are purely imagined: a created tie that we thus feel draws us closer to each other.
Quotes from Anderson
In his essay “Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism,” Benedict Anderson suggests that martyrdom executed in the name of nationalism springs from the belief that death for one’s country is an act of inherent pureness. He accordingly engages the quandary of “how far” people would be “willing to die for” a nationalistic cause “if [they] imagined the proletariat merely as a group in hot pursuit of refrigerators, holidays, or power” (Anderson 144) to validate the implication that mortal sacrifice can only be induced by the “aura of purity” (144) surrounding nationalism. In short, because the latter is thought to be constituted by such a wholesome foundation of integrity, it can drive many to risk their lives in its honor.
Anderson also comments on the criticism of nationalism’s frequent indistinctness. He concludes that “cosmopolitan and polylingual intellectuals” (Anderson 5) often harp on nationalism’s lack of clear identity by likening it to “ ‘neurosis’ in the individual, with much the same essential ambiguity attaching to it” (5). Anderson underscores the perspective that the flaws of vagueness and “emptiness” (5) give rise to nationalism’s reputation of being philosophically and theoretically unclear and unsubstantial.
Anderson also comments on the criticism of nationalism’s frequent indistinctness. He concludes that “cosmopolitan and polylingual intellectuals” (Anderson 5) often harp on nationalism’s lack of clear identity by likening it to “ ‘neurosis’ in the individual, with much the same essential ambiguity attaching to it” (5). Anderson underscores the perspective that the flaws of vagueness and “emptiness” (5) give rise to nationalism’s reputation of being philosophically and theoretically unclear and unsubstantial.
Imagined Communities Quotes
Benedict Anderson describes the unified feeling of nationalism as being imagined because in a nation citizens can only rely on faith that their contemporaries share the same beliefs. Nationalism "is imagined because the members of even the smallest nation will never know most of their fellow-members... yet in the minds of each lives the image of their communion." Without meeting or even talking to every member in the nation, the unity of nationalism is only a thought.
Benedict Anderson relates the imagined communities to a type of fraternity with enough comradeship to offer such sacrifices as large as life itself. "This fraternity... makes it possible... for so many millions of people, not so much to kill, as willingly to die for such limited imaginings." The fraternity of nationalism is a great enough force to evoke extremities.
Sarah's Anderson Quotations
1. Anderson suggests that, contrary to the common perception of nations, a nation is in fact an imaginary entity: "It is imagined because the members of even the smallest nation will never know most of their fellow-members, meet them, or even hear of them, yet in the minds of each lives the image of their communion" (Anderson 6). Thus, though members of a nation may have no real physical connection--may indeed be completely unknown to each other--their concept of shared nationality creates a strong psychological bond between them, which forms the bedrock of their nation.
2. Unlike those who have proposed that nationalism is rooted in xenophobia, Anderson believes that nationalism is actually founded upon love for one's country. Indeed, he argues, "the cultural products of nationalism--poetry, prose fiction, music, plastic arts--show this love very clearly in thousands of different forms and styles. On the other hand, how truly rare it is to find analogous nationalist products expressing fear and loathing" (Anderson 142-3). The lack of evidence for the former model, coupled with the abundant wealth of evidence for the latter, compel one--in Anderson's view--to perceive nationalism as a product of love rather than fearful hatred.
Imagined Communities
Anderson's Imagined Communities explores the roots of nationalism and its implications on humanity. He argues that nationalism is an invention, a creation, and that the fraternity felt between people in a community, who don't even know each other, is false. He writes, "all communities larger than primordial villages of face-to-face contact (and perhaps even these) are imagined." (6) When people of the same nation feel a connection to each other, without even meeting them, this connection is imagined.
Anderson delves into the mysticism behind patriotism, the reason why millions of people have given their lives for an imagined concept. He identifies a crucial difference that separates pride for one's nation, and pride for any other community. The pride of the nation is obviously much more powerful because of the inability to join and leave it easily. "Dying for one's country, which usually one does not choose, assumes a moral grandeur which dying for the Labour Party, the American Medical Association, or perhaps even Amnesty International can not rival, for these are all bodies one can join or leave at easy will." (144) Therefore, Anderson underlines a key component of the strength of patriotism - the grandeur of having no other choice.
Anderson quotes
1. Anderson argues that nationalism can be instilled into another person because nationalism is not one singular characteristic but instead the grouping of many different aspects. These 'modulars' are "capable of being transplanted, with varying degrees of self-consciousness, to a great variety of social terrains, to merge and be merged with..." (4). The outcome of merging the old and new facets of ones views creates a more cohesive bond throughout a large group of people because they are linked on many differing levels.
2. A nation is only an imagined political community according to Anderson. "It is imagined because the members of even the smallest nation will never know most of their fellow members, meet them, or even hear of them, yet in the minds of each lives the image of their communion," Anderson states(6). This idea shows his belief that without even knowing or just knowing of someone there is an overlying bond that holds them together in their shared nation.
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