IP39920 - NATIONALISM IN THEORY AND PRACTICE

Module Identifier

IP39920

Module Title

NATIONALISM IN THEORY AND PRACTICE

Academic Year

2006/2007

Co-ordinator

Ms Anwen M Elias

Semester

Semester 1

Course delivery

Lecture

16 Hours. 16 x 1 hour lectures

Seminars / Tutorials

8 Hours. 4 x 2 Hour Seminars

Assessment

Assessment Type	Assessment Length/Details	Proportion
Semester Exam	2 Hours	60%
Semester Assessment	1 x 2500 word essay	40%

Brief description

This module aims to provide students with an understanding of the key theoretical debates about the formation, composition and function of nations in contemporary politics. The ways in which nationalist mobilisation and claims to nationhood have played out in different political contexts will be explored. The module will also consider the implications of globalization and transnational integration for ways of understanding identity, territorility and political authority.

Aims

Upon completion of this module, students should be able to:

- Evaluate the theoretical and conceptual difficulties of studying nationalism
- Describe and analyse the main theoretical perspectives on the origins of nations
- Critically discuss different theoretical accounts of the composition of the nation
- Demonstrate, through written work and in seminars, an ability to apply these theoretical perspectives to contemporary issues relating to nationalist mobilisation and claims to nationhood
- Discuss the key features of minority nationalism and right-wing extremist nationalism, and their implications for the liberal democratic state
- Explain and compare different examples of nationalist mobilisation in different geographical settings
- Identify and discuss the main challenges posed by globalisation and European integration to traditional understandings of the 'nation', 'national identity' and 'citizenship'
- Discuss and evaluate the ethics of secession
- Evaluate different philosophical accounts of minority and group rights

Content

Difficulties of conceptualising and theorising the 'nation'
Consideration of different explanations of the emergence of nationalism as a political phenomenon
Who constitutes the nation? Primordial vs. Civic accouints of the composition of the nation
Minority nationalism and nation-building against the state
Nationalism in Central and Eastern Europe
The ethics of nationalism and rights of secession
The implications of globalisation and European integration for nations and nationalism

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 6