Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: Ethnicity and Nationalism by Thomas Hylland Eriksen ISBN: 0-7453-1887-8 Publisher: Pluto Press (UK) Pub. Date: 21 August, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $22.50 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.33 (3 reviews)
Rating: 1
Summary: Politically correct, otherwise rather useless
Comment: In line with most of this author's work, it seems very much focused geographically on the places with which he is personally familiar, Norway primarily (Mauritius secondly). Norway is, however, not necessarily a good choice as a representative for the general topics discussed, and no credible rationale for this is presented. This peculiar choice of geographical and cultural starting point is obviously convenient for the author, but serves the discussion of the topics chosen poorly. Further, the reader quickly suspects that the author's underlying motivation is political, while the argumentation in the book takes a anthropological form. This is a point of criticism which the author, openly left-wing politically speaking, often is met with, and for good reason in this reader's opinion. Best avoided.
Rating: 5
Summary: Highly informative
Comment: Eriksen blends both historical and recent contributions to the subject, then adds his own analysis. His writing style is clear and concise and his analysis is very carefully reasoned - a refreshing change from much of the social science literature. The work is more thorough on ethnicity than nationalism, but serves as a good starting point for more reading on the latter. This is an academic work, but suitable for any student of social science, and certainly anyone that has taken an introductory anthropology course.
Rating: 4
Summary: dry but informative
Comment: The author, a Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Oslo, has written a clear and concise book about ethnicity and nationalism from an anthropological perspective. Written in a very dry style, however, this book is not recommended as an introduction to nationalism for non-anthropologists, especially since Eriksen likes to draw on his own experiences in Mauritius and Norway a bit too much. Instead, this is a good introduction to anthropological debates about nationalism.
Eriksen is succssful in pointing out the constructive and fluid nature of ethnic and national identities: he shows how ethnicity is not an inherent property but merely an aspect of a relationship. Nonetheless, he argues, we should not therefore discount the importance of ethnicity or nationhood to those who hold it dear. He also addresses typical anthropological issues like kinship and argues for more efforts from anthropologists in studying the past to help create a better understanding of ethnicity and nationalism.
Finally, Eriksen manages to spend an equal amount of time on ethnicity and nationalism, something very rare in the literature.
All in all, a good book.
 |
Title: Ethnic Groups and Boundaries by Fredrik Barth ISBN: 0881339792 Publisher: Waveland Press Pub. Date: 01 March, 1998 List Price(USD): $13.50 |
 |
Title: Signifying Identities: Anthropological Perspectives on Boundaries and Contested Values by Anthony P. Cohen ISBN: 0415192382 Publisher: Routledge Pub. Date: February, 2000 List Price(USD): $34.95 |
 |
Title: Ethnicity by John Hutchinson, Anthony D. Smith ISBN: 0192892746 Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: 01 November, 1996 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
 |
Title: Racial Theories by Michael P. Banton ISBN: 0521629454 Publisher: Cambridge University Press Pub. Date: 01 May, 1998 List Price(USD): $22.00 |
 |
Title: Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism by Benedict Anderson ISBN: 0860915468 Publisher: Verso Pub. Date: 01 July, 1991 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
