Gendered Nations: Nationalisms and Gender Order in the Long Nineteenth Century

In recent years, nations, nationalism, and the nation-state have enjoyed a resurgence of scholarly interest. The focus on the twentieth century and in particular the post-colonial and post-socialist era, however, has neglected the crucial developmental phase of modern nationalism, when basic patterns were created that were to exert long-term influence on the political culture of nations in and outside Europe. This book examines how gender and nation legitimize and limit the access of individuals and groups to national movements and the resources of nation-state. From problems of inclusion, exclusion and difference, national wars and military systems to national symbols, rituals and myths, contributors present a diverse array of critical perspectives, methodological approaches, and case-studies that are intellectually provocative and will help to guide future research as well as orient it toward international comparison.This book raises new questions about nation and gender and provides an assessment of the state of research in different countries for all those interested in cultural and social history, politics, anthropology and gender studies.

Ida Blom is at the University of Bergen.

Karen Hagemann is James G. Kenan Distinguished Professor of History at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She recently co-edited in English Home/Front: Military and Gender in 20th Century Germany (2002), Masculinities in Politics and War: Gendering Modern History (2004), and Gendering Modern German History. Themes, Debates, Revisions (2007).

Catherine Hall is Professor of Modern British Social and Cultural History at University College London.