Matt Antezana Blog 1

The term nation has long been associated with a variety of topics ranging from ideological movements such as Marxism, hegemonic states, and other similarly named terms (e.g. nationality and nationalism). However as Benedict Anderson says "nation, nationality, nationalism-all have proved notoriously difficult to define" (Anderson, 3). Even though the term has widely been referred to in association with a different ideologies and with the massive influence of nationalism in the modern an exact definition on the term of nation has yet to be established.

            Benedict Anderson proposes that the definition of the term nation is an "imagined political community and imagined as both inherently limited and sovereign" (Anderson, 6). Anderson goes on to argue that it is imagined because the members of the nation will never meet most of the other members yet the image of their "communion" exists in the minds of each member (Anderson, 6). The nation is said to be limited because boundaries encompass all nations,  and they are sovereign because the concept came to light during the in a time where dynastic legitimacy was destroyed (Anderson, 7). The nation is defined as a community by Anderson because the nation "is always conceived as a deep, horizontal comradeship" (Anderson, 7).

            Anderson proposes that in order to understand nationalism it is important to align it with the large cultural systems that preceded it (religious community and dynastic realm) instead of political ideologies (Anderson, 12). This proposal goes hand in hand with the question of how one knows if they belong to a nation and the film "Finding the Circle: American Indian Dance Theatre Circle" that we watched in class. The film sheds light mostly on the cultural aspects pertaining to religion that Anderson mentions over the dynastic realm. During the film the various dances performed seemed to be deeply rooted within the Native American traditions. Much of these traditions that still define the community today were crafted from religious values that still exist within the members of the community. This produces an interconnectivity between all of the members of the community even though all the members may not be aware of everybody else. This creates an identity revolving among cultural ties, religion, and familial values. These are different variables that help define the nation of the Native Americans.