“Much needed. Fills an existing gap in the historical period with a wide range of examples from all over the world.”—Margarita Díaz-Andreu, author of A World History of Nineteenth-Century Archaeology: Nationalism, Colonialism, and the Past
“Provides new, nuanced perspectives that will inspire studies in the materiality of identity creation and transformation in the past and its role in heritage creation in the present.”—Stephen A. Brighton, author of Historical Archaeology of the Irish Diaspora: A Transnational Approach
“Thoughtful, challenging, and original. Expands the spatial and temporal parameters of the growing literature on nationalism and national identity.”—Philip L. Kohl, coeditor of Selective Remembrances: Archaeology in the Construction, Commemoration, and Consecration of National Pasts
Drawing on studies covering the period 1500 AD to the present, this volume explores the archaeology of the period in which modern nationalism developed. While most previous research has focused on how governments and other institutions manipulate archaeology for ideological reasons, the contributors to The Country Where My Heart Is look at what material artifacts can reveal about the rise and fall of national identities in the modern world.
Approaching the topic from a broad international perspective, this volume features case studies from northwestern and Central Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Americas. Contributors show how shared social identities engaged with national identities in these regions as modern nation-states first began to emerge.
