Yes, I agree. This is a *fantastic* book. As are all of Michael Billig's books on discourse and rhetoric. best Nicky At 12:53 20/03/02 -0800, you wrote: >living in the US now, I felt compelled to read Michael Billig's Banal >Nationalism which is a great book. It's not a Marxist theory of the >nation-state (will need to read Bauer, Rosdolsky, Horace Davis as >well as critics such as Rudolf Rocker); but it is a compelling >rhetorical analyis of how national identity is assumed in everyday >discourse and how the very idea of society comes to be >interchangeable with nations. The book began as critique of leading >American philosopher Richard Rorty's call for leftist patriotism. >I recommend this book very highly. Again it is not a materialist >analysis but a discursive critique. >Best, Rakesh > > >Banal Nationalism >by Michael Billig >Paperback - 208 pages (August 1995) > Sage Publications; ISBN: 0803975252 ; >Dimensions (in inches): 0.61 x 9.22 x 6.14 > >Amazon review: > > > > > Essential reading, May 17, 2001 > Reviewer: Edward Bosnar (see >more about me) from Zagreb, Croatia > This book should not be so >hard to get, and it definitely should be more widely read - and not >just by > scholars. In contrast to the >oft-mentioned "hot" nationalisms which seem to plague far-off or >obscure places > like the Balkans, the Caucuses, etc., >Billig introduces the concept of "banal" nationalism to refer to >nationalism and the way > this form of identity politics is >reinforced in stable, affluent and apparently "anational" societies, >such as Great Britain or the > United States. This is not a consideration >of fringe groups, but of societies as a whole. Billig conducts an >exemplary > analysis into how identification with >one's nation or country is reinforced on a daily basis in the most >subtle and > unnoticeable (and thus banal) manner: the >weather maps in newspapers or on television which show one's country > highlighted in a different color, currency >or postage stamp containing patriotic motifs, pledging allegiance to >the flag every > morning by school children, etc. Billig's >point is that this everyday, almost unconscious intake of >psychologically loaded > signs, symbols and signals can be one >factor in explaining how easily people come to adopt irrational >openly "patriotic" > ways of thinking in times of crisis, >whether real or perceived (as anyone who lived in the U.S. during the >Gulf War can > attest to). There is also a good critique >of the dichotomy created between "civic" and "ethnic" nationalism, in >that those who > insist on this dichotomy usually tend to >view the former as "good" while the latter is definitely "bad." >Billig points out that > both have the potential to become >dangerously irrational. > > %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% Nicola Taylor Faculty of Economics Murdoch University South Street Murdoch W.A. 6150 Australia Tel. 61 8 9385 1130 email: n.taylor@stu.murdoch.edu.au %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%|
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