Nationalism: Problems, Paradoxes and Power

This seminar examines nationalism's historical evolution and reconstructs its role in contemporary political life. Drawing from a broad, interdisciplinary range of materials—from political philosophy to history and political science—the class interrogates the relationship between nationalism and other ideas considered constitutive of “modernity,” like capitalism and popular sovereignty. In so doing, the class aims to understand the sources of nationalism’s enduring power. Despite predictions of nationalism’s demise, we are currently witnessing its revival in the developed democracies of the West. What explains nationalisms persistence? What are the roots of nationalism’s continued imaginative appeal and political potential?