Political Science 663D/Sociology 690A, "Seminar on the State and Nationalism"
Ricardo René Laremont. This course is also in the process of being cross-listed in other departments.
This course examines the process of state construction in both the European center and what is known as the periphery. After examining the questions and problems of state construction, the course will then examine several different schools that try to explain nationalism. Among the readings regarding state construction that we will consult are: Charles Tilly, The Formation of National States in Western Europe; Charles Tilly, Coercion, Capital, and European States, AD 990-1990; Evans, Rueschmeyer & Skocpol, Bringing the State Back In. A partial list of works to be read concerning nationalism are the following: Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities; John Breuilly, Nationalism and the State; Eric Hobsbawm, Nations and Nationalism since 1780; and Anthony Smith, The Ethnic Origins of Nations. The objective of the course is to try to understand the pronounced role that nationalism and ethnic identity have played in the creation of new arenas of armed conflict in a globalized world at the beginning of the 21st century.
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