Nationalism
Driving Question: Why do we live in a world of nation-states?
Trace the roots of nationalism, explore how it spread across regions, and analyze the revolutions it inspired, along with the challenges those movements faced. You’ll learn how people expressed national pride, and how revolutionary hopes sometimes ran into roadblocks.
Learning Objectives:
- Use evidence to understand the origins and effects of nationalism on human communities and political revolutions.
- Evaluate how nationalism affected different societies during this period.
Vocab Terms:
What is nationalism, really? Before exploring how nationalism shaped revolutions and identities, you’ll reflect on what nationalism means to you.
Check the Lesson Guide for sample answers (just in case you’re like us and sometimes mix up Taylor Swift and Patrick Henry).
Today, we live in a world of nation-states. Ideas of nationalism underpin our personal and community identities. These materials will help you understand what nationalism is and how it emerged.
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Guiding Questions
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Guiding Questions
What does it mean to belong to a nation? In this video, you’ll learn how nationalism developed, how it spread, and how it has shaped the modern world, for better and for worse.
The revolutions of 1848 are sometimes called a “successful failure.” These revolutions united people across the political left in vast movements that shook the foundations of the status quo in Europe. But almost universally, the diversity of these coalitions proved to be their undoing. Historian Immanuel Wallerstein claimed that 1848 was a “world revolution” and that there has only ever been one other—1968. If you’re interested in learning more or having your students compare the two world revolutions, check out this blog post: “Back to the Barricades (Again): What 1968 Can Teach Students Today.”
The revolutions of 1848 were a flame that spread across Europe—and beyond. In this article, you’ll read about the dozens of countries where revolts erupted, and in the activity that follows, you’ll consider why they failed.
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Guiding Questions
At the beginning of this lesson, you probably knew a little bit about nationalism. How much has that changed? Consider how your understanding of nationalism has changed.
Real words from the revolutionary era show how people around the world imagined freedom, rights, and national identity. Practice quick sourcing to think critically about who created each document and why.
Nationalist movements in Germany and Italy transformed fragmented regions into unified states. Compare the strategies behind unification, from revolution to realpolitik, and reflect on whose actions and perspectives shaped the national story.
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Guiding Questions
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Guiding Questions
