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Cultural Intimacy: Social Poetics in the Nation-State
Cultural Intimacy Social Poetics in the NationState Author:Michael Herzfeld By comparing the twin notions of "cultural intimacy" and "structural nostalgia," Michael Herzfeld explores how the "disreputable" plays a role in creating a sense of national solidarity. "Structural nostalgia," as defined by Herzfeld, is the means through which peoples of a nation use images of lost perfection to try to resolve the tension betwe... more »en the rhetoric of collective self-presentation, and the embarrassment of collective self-knowledge. Herzfeld argues that national and other larger communities rely on stretching the metaphors of body, family and local group to the point where they no longer represent lived experience but where they nevertheless provide the basis for collective identity.« less