One of the most important political science concepts that we will be discussing in this class is "nationalism." Nationalism is discussed in Chapter Three of the book on pp. 55-61 (we will be reading that chapter in Week Two). The book defines nationalism as the "passionate identification with a nation" and it defines a nation as "a large group of people who are bound together and recognize a similarity among themselves because of a common culture." Nationalism has probably been the most powerful political ideology in the world over the past 200 years.
For the first min-essay, I would like you to analyze the phenomenon of nationalism using three different sources that I have selected (links below). Your paper should devote at least a paragraph to each source describing how they think about the concept of nationalism, whether they see it as something positive or negative and why. Then I would like you to find an example of a nationalistic statement. It can be from a public figure, an historical document or a movie, book or song. In analyzing the example, I would like you to relate it to the concepts of nationalism that have been presented. Discuss whether you think this particular nationalistic sentiment is positive or negative and why.
Your essay should have a clear introduction and conclusion that identifies the main points that your paper will be presenting. Each of the assigned sources should be cited, and there should be at least one citation to the textbook (Shively). Since I have given you the materials, you do not need a bibliography. For quotations or references to the assigned materials, you should provide an in-text citation, which in this case would be the name of the author in parentheses, as in (Harari) or (Wimmer).
Your paper should be at least three full pages, double-spaced, 12-point font, with one-inch margins. Additional expectations and grading criteria are listed below the sources.
https://www.ted.com/talks/yuval_noah_harari_what_explains_the_rise_of_humans?language=en