Description
Book SynopsisThis book is about how human societies form collective, i.e. shared, memories, with implications for how nations, ancient and modern, are built. Understanding how nations manipulate the collective memory making process is key to explaining the behaviors of various state and non-state actors, such as the Islamic State.
Trade ReviewMemory and Nation Building is a hugely ambitious and ultimately convincing narrative of the tight bonds between memory, social formation, and ultimately of state building. Few authors have attempted to connect deep prehistory to the present in a single region of the world, much less three. Beautifully written, deeply researched, and often surprising, scholars in many fields will find Galaty's new theorization of memory convincing and useful. -- Wayne Lee, Dowd Distinguished Professor of History, University of North Carolina
In Memory and Nation Building, Michael Galaty reveals the pervasiveness of memory work in society through a series of well researched diachronic case studies. His prose is both erudite and accessible, making this book essential reading for scholars and students in all walks of the Social Sciences and Humanities. -- Robert Schon, Associate Professor of Anthropology, School of Anthrpology Associate Director (Academic Affairs), Director of Graduate Studies, The University of Arizona
In this lucid, sweeping monograph, Galaty (Univ. of Michigan) argues that collective memories are a necessary component of human cultural behavior, and, moreover, that they are the most crucial element of state formation and nation building. * CHOICE *
