GS101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Chopsticks, Nationstates, Kashmiris
Oct 6 midterm review session - thursday BA101 7-9pm
Review
● Globalization is both a continuation of earlier social processes, and the emergence of
newer social processes
● Globalization is also an intensification of humanity’s sense of itself as belonging to one
space, one race
● Thus globalization has both objective (external) and subjective (internal) effects
● Globalization is not a linear process
The Modern System of Governance
1. What is a Nation-State?
a. Nation and Culture
b. State
i. Territory
ii. Political Sovereignty
iii. Economic and Military Control
2. From Empires to Nation-States
a. Fiefdoms
b. Peace Treaty of Westphalia
1) What is a Nation-State?
● Nation: refers to a group of people who regard themselves as being one people, a folk,
by virtue of culture
● A sense of belonging together as a meaningful group based on shared culture rooted in:
○ Common language
○ Shared historical experiences
○ Religious beliefs and cultural practices
○ Diet / cuisine, dress, music, etc
● (Technically, Canada wouldn’t count because it is so diverse)
What is Culture?
● Culture: Institutionalized and patterned set of beliefs, values, behaviours, and practices
● Aspects of culture:
○ Beliefs (e.g. ideas about meaning of life and death)
○ Values (e.g. how to lead the Good Life?)
○ Behaviours (e.g. handshakes, bows)
○ Practices (e.g. covering/uncovering of head as sign of respect)
○ Artefacts / Cultural products (e.g. cutlery, chopsticks)
○ Traditions / Rituals (e.g. flowers at funerals)
Nationalism
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
● “A nation is a group of people that sees itself as being a people, that is, belonging
together in some meaningful sense as a unit, and as having its own identity, and as
being separate and distinct from other groups” (Orend, 4)
● (Therefore some people automatically left out)
● Imagined Community? (Benedict Anderson) → scholar, book Imagined Community…
some communities that are natural (families), nation is just imagined community
● Nationalism: the drive of a nation to get its own state
Reconciling Nationalism in a Global Age?
● Ethnic nationalist movements push for independence
● Yet globalization increases regional integration
● Contradictions of the human condition: universal aspirations, particular identities
● Examples: Catalonians, Kashmiris, Kurds, Palestinians, Uighurs, Scots
● Push for integration, and yet some want to be individual? (e.g. Quebec)
State (Polis)
● State: refers to the political entity in a given territory
● Government in a political territory
● In the modern system of governance, the mechanisms of power are heavily influenced
by the state:
○ Economy, military, law, education
Political Power
● “A state refers to the government of a country. This is the group of people responsible
for making and enforcing the rules that regulate the collective life of a people and
thereby making an orderly social life possible on a given territory” (Orend, 7)
Nation-State and Sovereignty
● Nation-state: one nation (cultural group) in one state (i.e. territory)
● Sovereignty: non-interference into a state’s internal workings is paramount
● Territorial integrity: a state can do whatever it wants within its own borders
○ I.e. national self-determination
● Swiss Anti-Immigration Politics (2007)
Culture and the Nation-State
● One nation per state assumes homogeneity (i.e. sameness) of culture within territorial
boundaries
○ Easier to maintain in Europe 300 years ago
○ Colonial settler societies (e.g. Canada, USA, Australia) have never been
homogenous
● Citizenship: undivided loyalties to one particular place, one particular way of life
○ In the age of globalization, is such cultural homogeneity possible?
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Oct 6 midterm review session - thursday ba101 7-9pm. Globalization is both a continuation of earlier social processes, and the emergence of newer social processes. Globalization is also an intensification of humanity"s sense of itself as belonging to one space, one race. Thus globalization has both objective (external) and subjective (internal) effects. The modern system of governance: what is a nation-state, nation and culture, state. Nation: refers to a group of people who regard themselves as being one people, a folk, by virtue of culture. A sense of belonging together as a meaningful group based on shared culture rooted in: Diet / cuisine, dress, music, etc (technically, canada wouldn"t count because it is so diverse) Culture: institutionalized and patterned set of beliefs, values, behaviours, and practices. Beliefs (e. g. ideas about meaning of life and death) Values (e. g. how to lead the good life?) Practices (e. g. covering/uncovering of head as sign of respect) Artefacts / cultural products (e. g. cutlery, chopsticks)
