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Nationalism and the Don Handelman |
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National festivals.
Military parades. Patriotic memorials. Such public events and tributes
naturally bring to mind the idea of 'nationalism'. But what is the cultural
logic behind them? How does a country such as To answer these questions, renowned
anthropologist Don Handelman unpacks the meaning of
national ritual and symbol in Throughout, Handelman
develops his theory of 'bureaucratic logic' as driving force behind
expressions of nationalism in the modern state. He argues that bureaucratic
logic has a much wider cachet than simply functioning as a way of thinking
only about bureaucratic institutions. The logic is crucial to how these
institutions function, but more so, it is a dominant force in forming modern
state social order. Bureaucratic logic is used incessantly to invent and to
modify all kinds of systems of classification that often have profound
consequences for individuals and for groups, and that are ritualized
powerfully through a host of state-related public events. Don Handelman, Sarah Allen Shaine Professor of Anthropology and Sociology, The
Hebrew University of Jerusalem. |
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