Type of Credit: Elective
Credit(s)
Number of Students
Notes:
The course explores the interaction between religion and ethnic identities in Asia (East Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia), including the Middle East, and the US, and their impact on nationalism, especially in non-western societies. It embraces critical questions of identity and citizenship, inclusion and exclusion, emotive attachments, local/global linkages, conflicts and violence. How do ethnicity and religion influence political interaction? How do ethnic and religious identities aggravate conflict and/or strengthen cooperation? The course examines case studies illustrating the junctures of ethnic, religion and national identities through the exploration of the politics of belonging and citizenship. It also investigates how relevant dimensions such as sacralization and symbolic legitimation may lead to violence.
The course is divided into two parts. The first part examines key concepts of ethnicity, religion, identity, nation, nationalism, as well as exploring the explanations of the emergence of nationalism. The second part delves into the impact of nationalism on the sense of belonging and political identities, religious nationalism, fundamentalism, by examining case studies from countries such as China, Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia, India, Turkey, Israel and the US.
On Week 11 we will watch the film “Argo” (2012, Director: Ben Affleck), which was one of the most high-profile film in 2012, about the 1979 rescue of six U.S. State Department employees from the siege at the American embassy in Tehran, Iran. On Week 14, we will watch the award-winning documentary “India’s Saffran Brigade” (2022, Filmmaker: Shehzaad Hameed Ahmad) about the rise of India’s nationalism.
能力項目說明
After completing the course, students will:
| 教學週次Course Week | 彈性補充教學週次Flexible Supplemental Instruction Week | 彈性補充教學類別Flexible Supplemental Instruction Type |
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Week |
Topic |
Content and Reading Assignment |
Teaching Activities and Homework |
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1 |
Introduction |
Syllabus Evaluation Criteria Class Regulations |
Introduction of syllabus and regulations
Students choose the 6 (six) weeks in which they want to submit their individual essays.
No Homework |
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2 |
Defining Ethnicity, Nation and Nationalism
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Required Readings Anderson, Benedict. 1991. Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Gellner, Ernest. 2006. Nations and Nationalism, pp.1-7. Additional Chandra, Kanchan. 2006. "What is ethnic identity and does it matter?" Annual Review of Political Science 9: 397-424. |
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3 |
Moon Festival Week |
No Class |
No Homework |
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4 |
Deeper into Ethnicity and Nationalism
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Required Readings Brubaker, Rogers. 2004. “’Civic’ and ‘ethnic’ nationalism”, in id., Ethnicity without Groups. Harvard: Harvard University Press. Chapter 6, pp. 132-146 Hutchinson, John and Anthony D. Smith (eds.). 1994. Nationalism. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, Introduction, pp. 3-5 Additional Fearon, James, and David D. Laitin, 2000, "Ordinary language and external validity: Specifying concepts in the study of ethnicity."
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5 |
Primordialism and Constructivism
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Required Readings Maxwell, A. (2020) Primordialism for Scholars Who Ought to Know Better: Anthony D. Smith’s Critique of Modernization Theory. Nationalities Papers, 48(5): 826-842. Bayar, Murat. (2009) "Reconsidering primordialism: an alternative approach to the study of ethnicity." Ethnic and racial studies 32.9: 1639-1657. Additional Wang, Chia-Chou (2018) Primordialism, Instrumentalism, Constructivism: Factors Influencing Taiwanese People’s Regime Acceptance of Mainland China’s Government, Journal of Contemporary China, 27:109, 137-150 |
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6 |
Ethnic and Communal Violence
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Required Readings Brubaker, Rogers and David D. Laitin. 1998. "Ethnic and Nationalist Violence." Annual Review of Sociology 24:423-52 Additional Horowitz, Donald. 1985. Ethnic Groups in Conflict. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, pp. 21-54 |
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7 |
Religious Nationalism
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Required Readings Juergensmeyer, Mark. (2010) "The global rise of religious nationalism." Australian Journal of International Affairs 64.3: 262-273. Grzymala-Busse, Anna. (2019). Religious nationalism and religious influence. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics Additional Brubaker, Rogers. (2012). Religion and nationalism: Four approaches. Nations and nationalism, 18(1), 2-20. |
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8 |
Religious Nationalism and Fundamentalism |
Required Readings Emerson, Michael O., and David Hartman. (2006) "The rise of religious fundamentalism." Annual review of Sociology (2006): 127-144. Friedland, Roger. "Religious nationalism and the problem of collective representation." Annual Review of Sociology (2001): 125-152. Additional Juergensmeyer, Mark (1993) Why religious nationalists are not fundamentalists, Religion, 23:1, 85-92 |
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9 |
Religion, Nationalism and Ethnicity |
Required Readings Mitchell, Claire (2006). The Religious Content of Ethnic Identities. Sociology, 40(6), 1135–1152 Gorski, Philip S., and Gülay Türkmen-Dervişoğlu. "Religion, nationalism, and violence: An integrated approach." Annual Review of Sociology 39 (2013): 193-210. Additional Brubaker, Rogers. (2015), "Religious dimensions of political conflict and violence." Sociological Theory 33.1: 1-19. |
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10 |
Nationalism and Authoritarianism: Comparing Iran and Turkey |
Required Readings Marashi, Afshin. "Paradigms of Iranian Nationalism: History, Theory, and Historiography." Rethinking Iranian nationalism and modernity. University of Texas Press, 2021. 3-24. Skocpol, Theda. "Rentier state and Shi'a Islam in the Iranian revolution." Theory and society 11.3 (1982): 265-283. Findley, Carter Vaughn. "Turkey, Islam, nationalism, and modernity." Turkey, Islam, Nationalism, and Modernity. Yale University Press, 2010. Additional Matin-Asgari, Afshin. "The Berlin circle: Iranian nationalism meets German countermodernity." Rethinking Iranian nationalism and modernity. University of Texas Press, 2021. 49-66. |
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11 |
FILM WEEK |
We are watching Argo (2012) Director: Ben Affleck. One of the most high-profile film in 2012, Argo tells the story of six U.S. State Department employees who managed to escape the 1979 siege at the American embassy in Tehran (which resulted in the 444-day hostage saga), but who were still trapped in Iran. |
Watch Film Discussion |
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12 |
Ethnoreligious conflict and religious nationalism in Indonesia
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Required Readings Menchik, J. (2014). Productive intolerance: Godly nationalism in Indonesia. Comparative Studies in Society and History, 56(3), 591–621 Simandjuntak, Deasy (2021) "Disciplining the Accepted and Amputating the Deviants: Religious Nationalism and Segregated Citizenship in Indonesia." Asian Journal of Law and Society 8.1: 88-107
Additional Aspinall, Edward (2008) Ethnic and religious violence in Indonesia: a review essay, Australian Journal of International Affairs, 62(4): 558-572 |
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13 |
Ethnoreligious and religious nationalism in Myanmar and Thailand, with a comparison of how religions are practiced in Chinese societies.
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Required Readings Kyaw, Nyi Nyi. "The role of myth in anti-muslim buddhist nationalism in Myanmar." Buddhist-Muslim Relations in a Theravada World. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore, 2020. 197-226. Tonsakulrungruang, Khemthong. "The Revival of Buddhist Nationalism in Thailand and Its Adverse Impact on Religious Freedom." Asian Journal of Law and Society 8.1 (2021): 72-87. Kuo, Cheng-tian. "Religion, state, and religious nationalism in Chinese societies." Religion and Nationalism in Chinese Societies, edited by Cheng-tian Kuo. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press (2018). Ch.1 Additional Chowdhury, Arnab Roy (2020) An ‘un-imagined community’: the entangled genealogy of an exclusivist nationalism in Myanmar and the Rohingya refugee crisis, Social Identities, 26:5, 590-607 |
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14 |
The rise of Hindu Nationalism in India
Documentary Film Week |
We will also watch Documentary Film “India’s Saffron Brigade” (2022) Filmmaker: Shehzad Hameed Ahmad), winner at London’s Association for International Broadcasting Awards 2022. Required Readings Van der Veer, P. (2021). Minority Rights and Hindu Nationalism in India. Asian Journal of Law and Society, 8(1), 44-55 Additional Chacko, Priya. (2019). Marketizing Hindutva: The state, society, and markets in Hindu nationalism. Modern Asian Studies, 53(2), 377-410 |
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15 |
Comparative Religious Nationalism in India and Israel
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Required Readings Abiri, Gilad. (2021). Intimate Rivals: The Freedom of Religious Nationalism. Asian Journal of Law and Society, 8(1), 19-43 Additional Chiriyankandath, James. "Religious nationalism and foreign policy: India and Israel compared." (2007): 1-18. |
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16 |
Conclusion: The complex relations between ethnicity, religion and nationalism Bonus topic: Christian Nationalism in the US |
Required Smith, Anthony D. "Culture, community and territory: the politics of ethnicity and nationalism." International Affairs 72.3 (1996): 445-458. Juergensmeyer, Mark. "Religious nationalism in a global world." Religions 10.2 (2019): 97. |
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17 |
Presentation Week |
Presentation Week |
Student Final Presentations |
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18 |
Final Paper Week |
Final Paper Week No class |
Submission of Final Papers No Homework |
Evaluations
Criterion
Final paper: The final paper is 5,000 words, focusing on a case study which is analyzed using the theories and concepts learned in the class. Students should consult the instructor about the topics at least four weeks before the paper is due. Evaluation is based on the quality and structure of the written piece, evidence-based and conceptually grounded argument, adequate literature review. The usage of relevant additional materials not listed in this syllabus is encouraged. Excellence is marked by analytical argument, usage of relevant theories and concepts, understanding of current events and well-argued position.
Please see the course weekly schedule
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