Symbols of Nations and Nationalism: Celebrating Nationhood [Paperback]

Providing an original perspective on the construction of nations and national identities, this book examines national symbols and ceremonies, arguing that, far from being just superficial or decorative, they are in fact an integral part of nation building, maintenance and change.Preface and Acknowledgements Introduction The Symbolic Construction and Authentication of Boundaries National Flags: Religion, Revolution and Rivalry National Flags and the Flagging of Nations National Days, Celebrations and Commemorations National Days Design: Towards a Typology of Successful National Days Symbolic Regimes and Nation-building Bibliography Index

''This rich, tightly argued, densely packed book is essential reading for all students of nationalism.'' - European Societies

''Gabriela Elgenius has written a highly readable book, with a solid basis in the literature on nationalism and nation building. She is to be praised for her comparative approach to flags and national days, and for her systematic presentation of overarching trends and typologies.'' - Nations and Nationalism

''This book is well conceived and well written, and it makes an intelligent and original contribution to the study of nations and nationalism. The book has many virtues and is one of the best and most complete studies I have seen on the role of symbols and ceremonies in constructing the nation.'' - Ethnic and Racial Studies

Because of the support it offers for contemporary scholarship on national identity, its European focus, and its new typology of national symbolism, Elgenius's work is a welcome contribution to our knowledge of national identity, and will be the standard sociological work on European flags and national days for some time to come. - Contemporary Sociology

GABRIELLA ELGENUIS British Academy Research Fellow at Nuffield College, the Department of Sociology, University of Oxford, UK. Her researcls3