This week, we will discuss the nature of nations in lecture and sections. In order to understand this, and to incorporate nation as an identity category in your final paper, we would like you to read the following pieces:

What is Nationalism?. Read the definitions of nationalism on the main page, then click on the link "Ernest Gellner" on the left bar, and read how the world's leading authority defines nationalism.

Then read examples of the two kinds of nationalism that Professor Gellner sets out:

A Brief History of the Sri Lanka Army. This gives you an example of a kind of nationalism, based on history, culture, and affinity with the land.

President George W. Bush Speech to the Joint Session of Congress. This gives you an example of a very different kind of nationalism, based on a civic consciousness and a universal claim of moral superiority to other nations.

When you come to section on Tuesday or Wednesday, be prepared to point out the passages in these two articles that illustrate the different kinds of nationalism in Sri Lanka and in the U.S.