Nations Without Nationalism
Julia Kristeva
(Author)
Leon Roudiez
(Translator)
21,000+ Reviews
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Description
Underlying Julia Kristeva's latest work is the idea that otherness - whether it be ethnic, religious, social, or political - needs to be understood and accepted in order to guarantee social harmony. Nations Without Nationalism is an impassioned plea for tolerance and for commonality, aimed at a world brimming over with racism and xenophobia. Responding to the rise of neo-Nazi groups in Germany and Eastern Europe and the continued popularity of the National Front in France, Kristeva turns to the origins of the nation-state to illustrate the problematic nature of nationalism and its complex configurations in subsequent centuries. For Kristeva, the key to commonality can be found in Montesquieu's esprit general - his notion of the social body as a guaranteed hierarchy of private rights. Nations Without Nationalism also contains Kristeva's thoughts on Harlem Desir, the founder of the antiracist organization SOS Racisme; the links between psychoanalysis and nationalism; the historical nature of French national identity; the relationship between esprit general and Volksgeist; Charles de Gaulle's complex ideas involving the "nation" and his dream of a unified Europe. In the tradition of Strangers to Ourselves, her most recent nonfiction work, Nations Without Nationalism reflects a passionate commitment to enlightenment and social justice. As ethnic strife persists in Europe and the United States, Kristeva's humanistic message carries with it a special resonance and urgency.
Product Details
Price
$36.00
Publisher
Columbia University Press
Publish Date
May 20, 1993
Pages
108
Dimensions
5.8 X 8.56 X 0.67 inches | 0.61 pounds
Language
English
Type
Hardcover
EAN/UPC
9780231081047
BISAC Categories:
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About the Author
Julia Kristeva, internationally known psychoanalyst and critic, is Professor of Linguistics at the University de Paris VII. She has hosted a French television series and is the author of many critically acclaimed books published by Columbia University Press in translation, including Time and Sense: Proust and the Experience of Literature and the novel, Possessions.
Reviews
Bringing together the national and the cosmopolitan, Julia Kristeva makes the case for a commitment to a new universalism which recognizes that we are all strangers to each other. This is an important contribution to recent debates concerning race, nationalism, and identity.