$7.50 FLAT RATE GROUND SHIPPING! Free Store Pickup.
Apparel & Accessories
Supplies
Technology
Sale & Clearance
Menu
Shop By Category
Books
Apparel & Accessories
Gifts & Collectibles
- Auto Accessories
- Blankets
- Diploma Frames
- Drinkware
- Home Decor
- Kids & Baby
- Office & Travel
- School Accessories
- Specialty Shops
Supplies
- School Supplies
- Planners
- Emblematic Supplies
- Calculators & Batteries
- Dorm & Apartment
- Art Materials
- Photographic Supplies
- Medical
- Electronic Supplies
- Locks
Technology
- Software
- Computer Accessories
- Drives & Storage
- TV & Audio
- Printers & Ink
- Digital Cameras
- Technology Partner Sites
Gift Cards
Accessories
Sale & Clearance
Special Book Categories
The Illusion of Cultural Identity
- Author: Bayart, Jean-Francois
- Publisher: University of Chicago Press
- Binding: Paperback
- Copyright: 2005
- ISBN-13: 9780226039626
- ISBN-10: 0226039625
<div>The concept of cultural identity has become for many a convenient explanation for most of the world's political problems. In <i>The Illusion of Cultural Identity</i> Jean-François Bayart offers a sustained critique of this rationalization by dispelling the notion that fixed cultural identities do, in fact, exist. <br><br>In this highly sophisticated book, Bayart shows that the very idea of cultural identity prevents us from grasping the cultural dimensions of political action and economic development. Identities, he argues, are fluid, never homogeneous, and sometimes invented. Political repertoires are instead created through imagined, highly ambiguous aspects of culture—what he calls "imaginaires." For instance, the long beards worn by men in some fundamentalist groups are thought to be key to their core identities and thus assumed to be in conflict with modern values. These beards, however, do not stand in the way of the men's use of technology or their embrace of capitalism—an example Bayart uses to demonstrate the equivocality of cultural identity. The theoretical implications of Bayart's analysis emerge from a fascinating collection of historical examples that often surprise and always instruct.</div>
Additional Book Description
<div>The concept of cultural identity has become for many a convenient explanation for most of the world's political problems. In <i>The Illusion of Cultural Identity</i> Jean-François Bayart offers a sustained critique of this rationalization by dispelling the notion that fixed cultural identities do, in fact, exist. <br><br>In this highly sophisticated book, Bayart shows that the very idea of cultural identity prevents us from grasping the cultural dimensions of political action and economic development. Identities, he argues, are fluid, never homogeneous, and sometimes invented. Political repertoires are instead created through imagined, highly ambiguous aspects of culture—what he calls "imaginaires." For instance, the long beards worn by men in some fundamentalist groups are thought to be key to their core identities and thus assumed to be in conflict with modern values. These beards, however, do not stand in the way of the men's use of technology or their embrace of capitalism—an example Bayart uses to demonstrate the equivocality of cultural identity. The theoretical implications of Bayart's analysis emerge from a fascinating collection of historical examples that often surprise and always instruct.</div>
You might also like...
UWF Classic Diploma Frame $140.00
UWF Alumni Decal $4.95
5 Piece UWF Desk Set $36.00
Sign Up and Save
Receive great offers and updates
