Talk:Imagined community

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The article states the following: ''Anthony Smith stands that even when nations are the product of modernity, it is possible to find ethnic elements that survive in modern nations. Ethnic groups are different to nations.''

One can certanly define ethnic identity as cultural identity, as opposed to national identity that is essentially political identity. However, I am still not clear whether or not Anderson considers ethnic groups to be imagined communities as well? After all, even the smallest ethnic group will never know most of their fellow-members, meet them, or even hear of them, yet in the minds of each lives the image of their communion (to paraphrase Anderson). Using the same analogy, could one argue that religious communities are also imagined communities - after all, they are often much larger than national communities? If we go with this line of thinking further, could one argue that any kind of human community that is larger than the number of people you can personally know is in fact an imagined community? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.46.5.62 (talk • contribs) 19:21, 25 August 2006 (UTC)

Yes. That's what it says in his intro. "all communities larger than primordial villages of face-to-face contact (and perhaps even these) are imagined. (6)" Adam crymble 23:14, 2 November 2006 (UTC)

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In Anderson's concept of "imagined community" is a confusion. Indeed, he makes a confusion between the difference between microsociology and macrosociology and the difference between actual and imagined. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 194.230.219.27 (talk) 22:48, 3 March 2008 (UTC)

Broadening the subject
This page seems to be Anderson-centric. For a topic to be worthy of a Wikipedia entry it needs to be established and have more than one source. When I've got the time I'll read up on the documents around the topic and add citations from other authors. I ask others interested in the topic to do the same as imagined communities go further than nationhood as they came up in the media cultures course on my first degree with regards to television soaps where the viewers imagine the community depicted in the programme --Jonathan Bishop (talk) 12:59, 16 January 2010 (UTC)

Move to "Imagined community"
Since the first sentence of the article reads "The imagined community is...", and since readers are more likely to search for "community" than "communities", would it not make more sense to move this article to "Imagined community"? 134.226.252.160 (talk) 15:39, 2 March 2011 (UTC)

Please don't mess with this article unless you have read Benedict Anderson's book
The unsung hero who wrote the bulk of this article ought to be applauded by the Wikipedia community, it's a very concise summary of an important book. Proposals such as "Move to Imagined community" and "Broadening the subject. This page seems to be Anderson-centric" are laughable in this context. You might as well criticise the Pride & Prejudice page for being Austen-centric. Don't touch the article unless you know the book. — Preceding unsigned comment added by JO 24 (talk • contribs) 19:18, 11 April 2012 (UTC)

Hi. The article talks about a very specific use of the term, while it is now broadly used to describe various communities of interest. It seems like adding disambiguation, like "Imagined community (nationalism)" would make it clearer. 69.119.232.155 (talk) 17:29, 3 February 2013 (UTC)

Article title
Hello. The article talks about a very specific use of the term, while it is now broadly used to describe various communities of interest. It seems like adding disambiguation, like "Imagined community (nationalism)" would make it clearer.69.119.232.155 (talk) 17:24, 3 February 2013 (UTC)

I'm not changing it myself but I really think the Communities of interest thing is really off and needs to be reconsidered. A community of interest would be more of an American civil war reenactment group or a group who collects trains; while the community based on sexual orientation would not fall under this parameter because it is broader than what they have in common. I think to think otherwise is an attempt to minimize that particular community. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Balzomo (talk • contribs) 17:58, 29 September 2013 (UTC)

Long quote, mostly off topic
I am moving this here, as it seems only slightly relevant - and a violation of WP:QUOTEFARM. --Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus&#124; reply here 08:56, 8 April 2015 (UTC)

The construction of imagined narratives to enable the state to weave disparate communities into a national whole is complex. Aside from building a sense of "togetherness", the agenda of developmental regimes to blend policy objectives, economic goals and regime stability into this narrative, becomes more apparent as these narratives age. Kenneth Paul Tan states:

"The modern nation, no matter how small or socially homogeneous, can only be an imagined community. And, as an imagined community, it needs its members to feel as if they have an intimate knowledge of one another. It needs constantly to be narrated through structures that are resonant and familiar to all (Anderson, 1991). For instance, the Singapore Story follows a rigid structure that begins properly in 1819 when Sir Stamford Raffles of the British East India Company founded factory on the island and went on to build up a thriving colonial port city. The "Japanese Occupation" in the early 1940s eroded the myth of colonial superiority and precipitated anti-colonial sentiments, particularly amongst the Chinese masses who were becoming influenced by communist developments in China. Eventually, the rise of political consciousness led to the emergence of several indigenous political parties, including the PAP, whose English-educated leaders such as Lee Kuan Yew co-operated with the communists in order to secure a mass base of supporters. After Singapore gained self-government in 1959, Lee sought a merger with Malaya; and, in 1963, Malaysia was established. By 1965, Singapore was ejected from Malaysia due to irreconcilable differences. And, from this point on, the Singapore Story becomes an account of a "Third World" ex-colony taking nervous first steps as an independent nation-state; but transforming "against the odds" into a successful "First World" nation-state whose per capita GDP today is equal to those of the leading countries of Western Europe.

This straightforward tale of survival and success is complicated by a cautionary note insisting that Singapore, although it has come a long way, continues to be dogged by old and new vulnerabilities that threaten to destroy all that it has achieved. The moral of this Singapore Story, then, is: whatever Singapore has been doing right, it must continue to do, or else face the possibility of losing everything. Such a narrative might help Singapore citizens, recent immigrants and Singaporeans living overseas to feel connected by a mythically grand story that serves as a source of meaning and value to all its protagonists. The nation, like any large community in which members do not all enjoy face-to-face interaction, must be imagined; and common stories that go into the construction of a national identity, sense of belonging and value system can more adequately activate this imagination through the mass media that capitalism has made an intrinsic part of everyday life. This, among others, has been an important motivation for the state to retain its tight grip on journalism in Singapore."

Imagined communities vs Imagined Communities
I have split this article into two, partially - but not fully - overlapping topics. The concept of imagined communities is broader than the book that introduced it. To some degree, of course, there is an overlap, but the book article should focus on the concepts introduced in the book only, its reception, reviews of, etc. This article can (and does) go beyond it, to discuss (for example), how other scholars have used this concept. --Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus&#124; reply here 03:01, 9 April 2015 (UTC)

a dubious article
Seeing as this is almost entirely a paean to Benedict Anderson, and as well barely more than a stub, I don't see where this deserves to stand alone rather than simply being rolled back into Benedict Anderson.

While Anderson originated the term, reading this article tells me that in the subsequent 36+ years the concept hasn't had any impact past a few acolytes of Anderson. Before editing, I will take a swat at pruning the cheerleading, and see what remains. Weeb Dingle (talk) 18:57, 2 June 2019 (UTC)