Benedict Anderson

Historical/Contemporary (late 20th century) · Political science, history, sociology

Benedict Anderson (1936-2015) was a political scientist and historian best known for his groundbreaking work on nationalism. Born in China to an Anglo-Irish family and educated at Cambridge and Cornell, he spent most of his academic career at Cornell University. His seminal book 'Imagined Communities' (1983) revolutionized the study of nationalism by arguing that nations are socially constructed communities, imagined by people who perceive themselves as part of that group.

Notable Works

• Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism
• The Spectre of Comparisons: Nationalism, Southeast Asia and the World
• Under Three Flags: Anarchism and the Anti-Colonial Imagination
• Language and Power: Exploring Political Cultures in Indonesia
• Debating World Literature
• In the Mirror: Literature and Politics in Siam in the American Era

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