Nationalism is a topic that I have learned a decent amount about in the past. When I was an undergraduate I minored in Sociology in addition to majoring in History. In three of my sociology courses, Race and Ethnic Relations, Urban Sociology, and Political Sociology, nationalism was a subject discussed within the context of the main theme of the course. Therefore, I had a good understanding of the topic before reading both Imagined Communities and Black London. Both books, however, not only enhanced my understanding of nationalism but also made me think about it in new ways. Before reading Imagined Communities by Benedict Anderson I knew that nationalism emerged in the 1700’s. What I did not know, if Anderson’s theory is correct, was that the
…show more content…
One of the most significant to me has to do with the formation of that nationalist and black internationalist community. Anderson argues that two main things must occur for nationalistic communities to emerge. The first is that a common vernacular replaces a privileged language, and the second is that the new language will be used in growing print-capitalism products such as the newspaper. With newspapers being written in a language that everyone can understand, ideas and different intellectual thoughts can reach more people and people can begin to identify with one another based off shared realities. I understood Anderson’s argument as a group only forms after a as a step-by-step process took place. On the other hand, I understood Matera’s argument on the formation of the black internationalist community very differently. As I read his book, it seemed like this community grew organically within London. Political organizations formed at the same time as dance halls and supper clubs, and when people went to, and participated in, these arenas their ideologies and hopes for the future were shaped by their interactions with others. There weren’t steps that needed to be taken in order for it to form, and many realities occurred at the same time. Another difference that I noticed is that black internationalism is the coming together of people of African descent from all over the world. This included those people still in Africa, but also Afro-Caribbeans, African Americans, and people who migrated to London. The geographic scope was much larger, and could theoretically encompass the entire earth. This sense of coming together could even be seen in the culture that developed in Black London. It became a melting pot of different customs and world views because of the different backgrounds of people that lived there. Nationalism however is much more limited in geography. Nationalist movements occurred in a specific
One of the most significant to me has to do with the formation of that nationalist and black internationalist community. Anderson argues that two main things must occur for nationalistic communities to emerge. The first is that a common vernacular replaces a privileged language, and the second is that the new language will be used in growing print-capitalism products such as the newspaper. With newspapers being written in a language that everyone can understand, ideas and different intellectual thoughts can reach more people and people can begin to identify with one another based off shared realities. I understood Anderson’s argument as a group only forms after a as a step-by-step process took place. On the other hand, I understood Matera’s argument on the formation of the black internationalist community very differently. As I read his book, it seemed like this community grew organically within London. Political organizations formed at the same time as dance halls and supper clubs, and when people went to, and participated in, these arenas their ideologies and hopes for the future were shaped by their interactions with others. There weren’t steps that needed to be taken in order for it to form, and many realities occurred at the same time. Another difference that I noticed is that black internationalism is the coming together of people of African descent from all over the world. This included those people still in Africa, but also Afro-Caribbeans, African Americans, and people who migrated to London. The geographic scope was much larger, and could theoretically encompass the entire earth. This sense of coming together could even be seen in the culture that developed in Black London. It became a melting pot of different customs and world views because of the different backgrounds of people that lived there. Nationalism however is much more limited in geography. Nationalist movements occurred in a specific