Nationalism
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traditions and legends than on elite or ‘higher’ culture. Although it usually has an anti- modern character, cultural nationalism may also serve as an agent of modernization, providing a people with a means of ‘recreating’ itself. Whereas Rousseau is commonly seen as the ‘father’ of political nationalism, Johann Herder is usually viewed as the architect of cultural nationalism. Herder, together with writers such as Johann Fichte (1762–1814) and Friedrich Jahn (1778–1852), highlighted what they believed to be the uniqueness and superiority of German culture, in contrast to the ideas of the French Revolution. Herder believed that each nation possesses a Volksgeist which reveals itself in songs, myths and legends, and provides a nation with its source of creativity. Herder’s nationalism therefore amounts to a form of culturalism . In this light, the role of nationalism is to develop an awareness and appreciation of national traditions and collective memories rather than to provide the basis for an overtly political quest for statehood. The tendency for nationalism to be expressed through cultural regeneration was particularly marked in nineteenth-century Germany, where it was reflected in the revival of folk traditions and the rediscovery of German myths and legends. The Brothers Grimm, for example, collected and published German folk tales, and the composer Richard Wagner (1813–83) based many of his operas on ancient myths.
KEY FIGURE
JOHANN GOTTFRIED HERDER (1744–1803) A German poet, critic and philosopher, Herder is often portrayed as the ‘father’ of cultural nationalism. A leading intellectual opponent of the Enlightenment, Herder’s emphasis on the nation as an organic group characterized by a distinctive language, culture and ‘spirit’ helped both to found cultural history and to give rise to a form of nationalism that emphasizes the intrinsic value of the national culture. Herder’s major work was Reflections on the Philosophy of the History of Mankind (1784–91).
clu/iStock Although cultural nationalism has often emerged within a European context, with early German nationalism sometimes being viewed as its archetypal form, cultural nationalism has been found inmany parts of the world. It was, for instance, evident in black nationalism in the USA, as articulated by figures such as Marcus Garvey (see p. 136) and by groups such as the Black Panthers and the Black Muslims (later the Nation of Islam). Similarly, it has been apparent in India, in forms of nationalism that have been based on the image of India as a distinctively Hindu civilization, as advanced by the Bharatiya Janata Party, which has been in power since 2014 under the leadership of Narendra Modi (see p. 262). It is
also evident in modern China in the increasing prominence given by party and state officials to the idea of ‘Chineseness’, expressed, among other things, in a revival of traditional cultural practices and an emphasis on ‘Chinese’ principles and moral values. However, there has been disagreement about the implications of viewing nations primarily as cultural communities rather thanpolitical communities. On the one hand, cultural forms of nationalism have been viewed as being tolerant and consistent with progressive political goals, in which case they clearly differ from ethnic nationalism, even though the terms culture and ethnicity overlap. Ethnicity refers to a common consciousness of shared
Volksgeist : (German) Literally, the spirit of the people; the organic identity of a people reflected in their culture and particularly in their language. Culturalism: The belief that human beings are culturally defined creatures, culture being the universal basis for personal and social identity.
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