Imagined Communities: Reflections On The Origin And Spread Of Nationalism

In the second chapter, Anderson writes that, “No more arresting emblems of the modern culture of nationalism exist than cenotaphs and tombs of Unknown Soldiers” (9). Why is this so? What is the cultural significance of these monuments as symbols of nationalism?

How is nationalism similar—and dissimilar—to earlier political systems, such as the religious communities of the Middle Ages and the dynastic monarchies of Europe?

What historical developments enabled the ‘thinking’ of the nation as a new form of community? How did these developments relate to each other?

What role did print-capitalism play in the emergence of nationalist sentiment and independence movements? Consider both European nationalism and the revolutionary movements in the Americas.

Anderson argues that the first nation-states appear in the Americas. Why was this the case?What distinguished nationalist movements in Europe from these “creole pioneers”?

What role did vernacular language play in European nationalism? Compare and contrast three examples of European “linguistic nationalism” that Anderson discusses.

Anderson distinguishes between ‘popular’ nationalism and ‘official’ nationalism. What does he mean by this distinction? Discuss examples of each.

What factors led to the development of nationalism in the colonial territories of the European powers? How did the policies of the imperial colonial states affect the emergence of the new, post-colonial nation-states? What role did language play in these nationalisms?