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.

Journey to Topaz

by Yoshiko Uchida

Publication year 1971

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Perseverance, Race, Coming of Age, Family, Immigration, Nation, Politics & Government, War, Justice

Tags Historical Fiction, World War II, US History, Children`s Literature, Education, Education, Military & War, World History

Published in 1971 by Japanese American author and educator Yoshiko Uchida (1921-1992), Journey to Topaz is the first children’s novel to address the United States government’s forced relocation of people of Japanese descent to wartime prison camps during World War II. The novel follows the Sakane family’s life as they are forced to move from their comfortable home in Berkeley, California, to the Topaz War Relocation Center, a concentration camp, in the harsh Utah desert... Read Journey to Topaz Summary

July's People

by Nadine Gordimer

Publication year 1981

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Equality, Conflict, Fear, Guilt, Memory, Regret, Race, Family, Marriage, Social Class, Colonialism, Community, Nation, Politics & Government, War, Fate, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

Tags Historical Fiction, Race & Racism, Military & War, African Literature

July’s People, a 1981 dystopian novel by South African author Nadine Gordimer, imagines the aftermath of a bloody uprising that topples South Africa’s notorious, white-ruled apartheid regime. Her novel, which follows a white family’s desperate flight from Johannesburg, traces the complex interdependencies of white and Black South Africans, revealing the insidiousness of the regime’s racial disparities and mindsets, even among liberal, well-meaning white people. Through the lens of this hypothetical future, Gordimer’s novel explores racial... Read July's People Summary

Kaikeyi

by Vaishnavi Patel

Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Gender Identity, Sexual Identity, Friendship, Mothers, Self Discovery, Community, Nation, War, Good & Evil, Justice, Power & Greed, Religion & Spirituality

Tags World History, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Mythology, LGBTQ+, Indian Literature

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King Hedley II

by August Wilson

Publication year 1985

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Masculinity, Race, Family, Community, Nation, Justice

Tags Drama, Historical Fiction, African American Literature, Race & Racism, American Literature, Dramatic Literature, Classic Fiction

August Wilson’s King Hedley II premiered in 1999 and opened on Broadway in 2001. It is the ninth installment in Wilson’s Pittsburgh Cycle (also known as the Century Cycle), a series of 10 plays that examine the experiences of Black Americans during the 20th century. It was nominated for multiple awards including a Tony and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Wilson won two Pulitzer Prizes for other Pittsburgh Cycle plays, Fences in 1987... Read King Hedley II Summary

Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun

by Wess Roberts

Publication year 1987

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Wins & Losses, Perseverance, Teamwork, Nation, War, Politics & Government

Tags Business & Economics, World History, Leadership, Creative Nonfiction, Self-Improvement, Military & War, Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy, Philosophy, Politics & Government

Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun is a self-improvement and business leadership book by Wess Roberts, who was a human resources manager at Fireman’s Fund Insurance when he published the book in 1989. Using the historical figure of Attila the Hun as his mouthpiece, Roberts outlines his management style and approach to business. This guide refers to Attila’s “persona” when quoting words that Roberts imagines Attila might have said. In the introduction, Roberts discusses Attila... Read Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun Summary

Leadership

by Henry Kissinger

Publication year 2022

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Nation, Politics & Government, War

Tags Philosophy, Biography, Politics & Government, Leadership, World History, Business & Economics, Philosophy

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Leaves of Grass

by Walt Whitman

Publication year 1855

Genre Poetry Collection, Fiction

Themes Hope, Joy, Love, Death, Future, Appearance & Reality, Environment, Place, Space, Self Discovery, Community, Nation, Beauty, Equality, Literature, New Age, Religion & Spirituality

Tags American Literature, Philosophy, Classic Fiction, Free Verse, Love & Sexuality, Grief & Death, Science & Nature

The first edition of Leaves of Grass, by Walt Whitman, was published in 1855. A slim volume of 95 pages, it contained 12 untitled poems and a 10-page preface, also untitled. The poem that came to be known as “Song of Myself” took up more than half of the book. Although Whitman designed, financed, and published Leaves of Grass himself, there is no author’s name on the title page. However, the frontispiece features a picture of Whitman: He... Read Leaves of Grass Summary

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

... Read Lift Every Voice and Sing Summary

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