Nationalism has been one of the most powerful and contested forces in modern history. It has inspired revolutions and unifications, justified wars, fueled exclusions, and animated art, literature, and music. This course explores nationalism as an idea, ideology, and lived experience across two centuries, asking: What makes a nation, and who belongs? Must nations always become states? How have myths, monuments, gender, and religion shaped national identity? What happens when nationalism turns violent or when it is reimagined as liberation? The course unfolds in three acts. Act I: 'Imagining Nations' traces the revolutionary and romantic origins of nationalism in nineteenth-century Europe. Act II: 'Institutionalizing Nations' examines how nationalism was embedded in schools, armies, religion, and memory, and how exclusions of race, antisemitism, and gender defined its boundaries. Act III: 'Nations Unbound' confronts the crises and reinventions of nationalism in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, from fascism and Soviet nation-making to anti-colonial liberation and globalization. We will read classic theorists, novels and poetry, and engage with films and art. With a mix of discussion, analysis, and creative assignments - including the chance to "invent your own nation" - this course offers a journey through the drama of modern nationalism.
5 units · Letter or Credit/No Credit
Nationalism has been one of the most powerful and contested forces in modern history. It has inspired revolutions and unifications, justified wars, fueled exclusions, and animated art, literature, and music. This course explores nationalism as an idea, ideology, and lived experience across two centuries, asking: What makes a nation, and who belongs? Must nations always become states? How have myths, monuments, gender, and religion shaped national identity? What happens when nationalism turns violent or when it is reimagined as liberation? The course unfolds in three acts. Act I: 'Imagining Nations' traces the revolutionary and romantic origins of nationalism in nineteenth-century Europe. Act II: 'Institutionalizing Nations' examines how nationalism was embedded in schools, armies, religion, and memory, and how exclusions of race, antisemitism, and gender defined its boundaries. Act III: 'Nations Unbound' confronts the crises and reinventions of nationalism in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, from fascism and Soviet nation-making to anti-colonial liberation and globalization. We will read classic theorists, novels and poetry, and engage with films and art. With a mix of discussion, analysis, and creative assignments - including the chance to "invent your own nation" - this course offers a journey through the drama of modern nationalism.
Offered in Autumn 2026 at Stanford University.