Nation & Nationalism

These texts explore the concept of the nation, an idea of community that inspires patriotism and nostalgia. What makes a nation? And why are people willing to die—or to kill—to protect it? These are just a couple of the questions examined in the texts in this collection.

Lift Every Voice and Sing

by James Weldon Johnson

Publication year 1900

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Grief, Equality, Joy, Religion & Spirituality, Trust & Doubt, Justice, Nation, The Past, Future, Race, Perseverance

Tags Lyric Poem, Inspirational, African American Literature, American Literature, Race & Racism, Religion & Spirituality, Civil Rights & Jim Crow South, US History

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Living Downstream

by Sandra Steingraber

Publication year 1997

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Environment, Animals, Food, Place, Politics & Government, Economics, Education, War, Nation

Tags Science & Nature, Health, Politics & Government, Social Justice, Education, Education, Gender & Feminism

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Locking Up Our Own

by James Forman Jr.

Publication year 2017

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Race, Social Class, Nation, Politics & Government, Justice

Tags Race & Racism, US History, Politics & Government, Social Justice, Incarceration, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Sociology, World History

Locking Up Our Own: Crime and Punishment in Black America is a work of nonfiction by James Forman Jr., an American lawyer and legal scholar specializing in racial inequities in criminal justice. Published in 2017, this critically acclaimed book examines the complex role Black leaders played in advancing tough-on-crime policies that ultimately contributed to the mass incarceration of Black people in the United States. Drawing on his experience as a public defender and his extensive... Read Locking Up Our Own Summary

London

by Samuel Johnson

Publication year 1738

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Place, Power & Greed, Politics & Government, Order & Chaos, Justice, Nation, The Past, Nostalgia, Grief

Tags Satirical Literature, Poetry: Dramatic Poem, Age of Enlightenment, Neoclassicism, British Literature, Finance, European History, Politics & Government

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Lovecraft Country

by Matt Ruff

Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Race, Nation, Safety & Danger

Tags Fantasy, Horror & Suspense, Science Fiction, Action & Adventure, Race & Racism, Black Lives Matter, US History, Social Justice, American Literature, African American Literature, World History, Historical Fiction, Religion & Spirituality

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Manhunt

by James L. Swanson

Publication year 2006

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Nation, Politics & Government, War

Tags Crime & Law, US History, Politics & Government, Military & War, Mystery & Crime Fiction, World History, Biography

Manhunt: The Twelve-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer (2006) by James L. Swanson is a popular true-crime historical thriller about the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865 and the search for the assassin John Wilkes Booth. James Swanson has written several books about Abraham Lincoln and other events in American history including the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The book won the Edgar Award, a literary award for fiction and non-fiction works... Read Manhunt Summary

Maria Chapdelaine

by Louis Hémon

Publication year 1913

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Love, Family, Colonialism, Community, Nation, Religion & Spirituality, Safety & Danger

Tags Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Romance

Maria Chapdelaine (1916) is a novel by Breton author Louis Hémon. Maria Chapdelaine tells the story of its titular protagonist, a young woman who lives on her family’s farm in a remote stretch of Québec wilderness. Against the backdrop of a brutal and unpredictable climate, Maria must choose between three suitors who each represent different lifestyles: A trapper, a farmer, and a factory worker who has emigrated to the United States. Hémon explores The Hardships... Read Maria Chapdelaine Summary

Marie Antoinette

by Antonia Fraser

Publication year 2001

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Power & Greed, Apathy, Conflict, Fear, Joy, Femininity, Mental Health, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Death, The Past, Place, Social Class, Nation, Politics & Government, War, Safety & Danger, Truth & Lies

Tags Biography, Historical Nonfiction, European History, Politics & Government

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Meno

by Plato

Genre Essay / Speech, Nonfiction

Themes Education, Nation, Truth & Lies

Tags Philosophy, Education, Politics & Government, Science & Nature, Ancient Greece, Education, Philosophy, World History, Classical Period, Classic Fiction

One of the founding documents of Western philosophy, Plato’s Meno recounts a dialog on the nature of virtue between Socrates and his pupil Meno, a rising star among the leaders of ancient Greece. They discuss how virtue can be recognized, where it comes from, and whether it can be taught.Meno takes place in 402 BCE in Athens; Plato, Socrates’s most famous student, in 385 BCE wrote down his recollection of the conversation. It offers a... Read Meno Summary

Metal Slinger

by Rachel Schneider

Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Revenge, Family, Social Class, Nation, Politics & Government, Loyalty & Betrayal, Power & Greed, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

Tags Fantasy, Romance, Science Fiction, New Adult, Action & Adventure

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