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ENGL 131A

The nation, claims, and intertextuality

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Opening discussion

Intertextuality

Background discussion

01

04

The Nation

and Claims

02

03

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Benedict Anderson’s Imagined Communities

Benedict Anderson (1936 - 2015)

  • Irish political scientist/historian
  • Best known for Imagined Communities
    • 1983 First ed, with revisions in 1991 and 2006
  • Motivating questions:
    • How is nation-ness formed?
    • Why is the nation relevant anyway?
    • What are the paradoxes within nationalism? (5)

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Main Points

The Nation

National creation

Proposed definition

Nation-ness is a particular kind of cultural artifact

The idea is created at this “turning point” of historic, social, and economic events (4)

“It is an imagined political community–and imagined as both inherently limited and sovereign.” (6)

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Imagined

The Imagined, Limited, and Sovereign

Limited

Sovereign

Most members of a nation will never know or interact w/ their fellow members, yet can still conceptualize the larger idea of community

Both materially and conceptually; no matter the size, nations will encounter material or geographic boundaries

Results from the turn from divinely ordained hierarchies towards pluralism in religion and belief; ex: Divinely appointed Kings → other modes of belief and faith

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Claims and Intertextuality

How can we use the idea of the nation, practice making claims, and tie it into this week’s material?

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Claims

Whenever you approach a piece of academic/argumentative/persuasive writing, a complex claim is always at the foundation of your paper.

Complex claims - a clear thesis that makes an argument backed by evidence

Thesis/Antithesis/Synthesis

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Creating/Identifying Claims

  1. Research question → claim
    1. What’s your position? What are you trying to say?
  2. Evidence
    • What evidence will you use to support your claim?
    • Textual? Statistical?
  3. Stakes
    • Why is your argument important to begin with?
    • What contextual factors are at play?
  4. Concession
    • What is the other side saying about the issue?
    • How can someone argue against you/use a different perspective?

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Creating/Identifying Claims

  • Research question → How can we define the nation?
    • “Tentative suggestions… satisfactory interpretation,” (4)
  • Evidence
    • Textual: cites Hobsbawm, Nairn, Gellner
  • Stakes
    • Foregrounds with real-world examples of revolution and war around emerging nations in postcolonial movements
  • Concession
    • “I observe… no ‘scientific definition’ of the nation can be devise; yet the phenomenon has existed and exists,” (Seton-Watson, 3)

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Claims Activity

As a group, order the statements on the next slide with regard to the amount of support that a reader would likely require. Begin with the statement that would require the least support, and end with the statement that would require the most support (or the statement(s) that is/are unsupportable).

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Claims Activity

1) Anyone who drinks Coke should be executed.

2) High schools should remove Coke (and other soda) vending machines from their campuses.

3) Drinking Coke can contribute to obesity.

4) Coke has more flavor than water.

5) Anyone who drinks Coke should be put in prison.

6) People who drink Coke should be taxed more heavily than people who do not drink Coke.

7) If you drop your phone into a glass of Coke, the phone will likely be damaged.

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Claims Activity

As a group, choose two statements from your section that are appropriate for a 5-7 page essay and brainstorm support for them that you might use in a paper.

Ex:

  • What appeals could you use?
  • What type of evidence (data, polls, scientific research, textual)

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Claims Activity

Can your group think of other points of view, concessions, or counter-arguments that apply to your statements? Can your group explain the stakes involved in your statements? In light of your support, write a complex claim that answers an “at issue” question, implies alternate points of view, and shows the stakes for the reader.

  • Ex: Despite other potential social habits and economic factors, drinking Coke frequently can contribute to obesity as Coke consumption has been linked to an increase in diabetes and cardiovascular problems, thus generally increasing the potential health issues for avid Coke drinkers.

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Break

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Top Gun and Intertextuality

  • Top Gun (1986)
    • Highest grossing domestic film of 1986
    • In the National Film Registry since 2015
  • Gave rise to the patriotic blockbuster; action films infusing Hollywood stardom with U.S. military/government aesthetics

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Top Gun and Intertextuality

In what ways can we put Top Gun and Imagined Communities together in conversation?

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  • How does the film adhere to IC’s definition of the nation, if it does?
  • Can the film be read as propaganda? Why?
  • Further, how does the assigned reading change your perspective of the film, if any?