Missions Resources - Bibliography
Rescuing History from the Nation : Questioning Narratives of Modern China
Authors: Duara, Prasenjit
ISBN: 0-22616722-4
Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 1996
Type of cover: Soft Cover
Summary: Rescuing History from the Nation is a contribution to the dialogue on Globalism and Nationalism. Since Duara is arguing against a strain of thought, the reader should be aware of the literary context.
Benjamin Barber's Jihad vs. McWorld, the most influential voice in the deliberations, offers the opinion that the drifting decay of the sovereign nation-state model for world affairs is the beginning of chaos and eventual global capitalist totalitarianism.
Duara argues otherwise: the shift of power from lawyers, guns and money, to cultural competition undermines not democracy, but rather the nation-state model of world affairs, which is inextricably tied to nationalism and all the horrors that go with it. Duara is an Indian who studies China, so he has seen plenty of the violence of nationalism.
The focus of this book is how history as a discipline has often been used as a tool to propegate the Nation-State. If you are a student of world affairs, Rescuing History from the Nation should be a lively read. If you don't have the time, just read the Introduction and the second last chapter.
- Paul Grant
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