A handful of pieces by Hobsbawm and his fellow travelers that read like well-written academic papers should: thought-provoking, and nearly free of any kind of grim jargon. What we get is a set of incisive analyses of how English traditions were invented, and how "local" traditions were invented to expand the imperial project and the ambitions of local petty lords in Scotland, Wales, India, and British Africa. The book finishes with an essay by Hobsbawm expanded the purview to the invention of tr More...

Own up, all of you who watched even an excerpt from the TV coverage of the recent wedding of the future King and Queen of UK and thought, well, yes, sure the Brits are good at this kind of thing, after all they've had hundreds of years of practice at it. Ummm, no actually. As by far the most readable of the essays in this volume claims, it was not until the very late nineteenth century that the monarchy was aggrandized through elaborate public ritual: William IV's coronation was mockingly known More...

Un peu poussif au-delà de l'idée directrice de la réinvention des traditions qu'on croyait millénaire par le XIXème siècle, notamment. (Réappropriation des anciens rituels avec un sens nouveau plus nouvelles traditions purement inventées). J'y pense souvent en passant devant les Colleges d'Oxford les plus récents et qui ont été construits sur une inspiration clairement gothique tendance romantique. (Cf Expo du Louvre avec Marie d'Orléans.)

Plutôt déçue du chapitre sur la monarchie britannique qui More...

A fascinating group of papers on how "ancient traditions" are invented by societies that have, for one reason or another, lost touch with their true historical past. Without knowing it, of course, I have used this notion in "Eirelan," whose latter-day Celts imagine themselves closely connected to the ancient Celts but with many differences in outlook. They have "invented their traditions" over some ten centuries, and now (meaning "now" in 3953 AD) it is almost impossible to separate true histori More...

The Invention of Tradition, edited by Eric Hobsbawm and Terence Ranger, is a selection of essays by different historians. To quote the blurb:

Many of the traditions which we think of as ancient in their origins were, in fact, invented comparatively recently. This book explores examples of this process of invention [...]

There's a great quote in the section on the British monarchy. This is Lord Robert Cecil in 1860, after watching Queen Victoria open parliament:

Some nations have a gift for ceremon More...

A favourite of mine. Hobsbawm´s introduction sets the base - his co-authors put in the historical examples to put colour to the theory. It is really worth reading it over and over again. I especially enjoyed the parts on Welsh and Scottish traditions, invented at some point of the 18th and 19th century.
This makes you think about the supposedly traditional "ways of behaviour" you were accustomed to!

This book contains several interested historical studies that show how modern societies have "invented tradition" in order to build the nation-state and community ties. In the end, though, not very theoretically useful. The authors rarely show a methodology or approach that can be used in other work.

Awesome studies. Really a great theoretical tool for the study of nationalism, especially Cannadine's recollection of the history of the British monarchy. His description of "the preservation of anachronism" was very lucid and especially insightful.

A very fine book, I expected nothing else of Hobsbawm and his colleagues. Now I have to live with the disappointment about Scottish culture since I know that the Cilt is an invention by an Englishman and not that old. ;-)

Like a lot of collections of essays, this one was hit or miss. But the opener on Scottish "traditions" was great. You think "clan tartans" and "kilts" are "traditional"? Think again!

ini buku lama, tapi saya perlu beli [used lagi!] buat koleksi. suatu kumpulan esai yang ditampung dan diredaksi oleh sejarawan inggris eric hobsbawm ini sungguh sudah jadi antologi klasik bagi sejarawan.
secara khusus, saya tertarik mengenai pernyataannya yang provokatif bahwa sebenarnya apa yang kita sebut sebagai 'tradisi' [entah kegiatannya atau hasilnya] itu temuan beberapa abad terakhir saja.
wayang, busana jawa, gramatika bahasa jawa, dsb. itu ternyata bikinan orang abad XIX yang diklaim men More...

Anyone who wants to understand how nationalism/patriotism evolves... that is a very useful starting point.

Os autores dos ensaios desse livro mostram como tradições que consideramos antigas foram na verdade inventadas em tempos relativamente recentes. E como isso foi utilizado para inventar uma coesão social, para legitimar instituições e para inculcar comportamentos e códigos de conduta. Os autores se concentram no Império Britânico - com trechos excelentes sobre as highlands escocesas e sobre os rituais que cercam a monarquia - mas a provocativa expressão tradição inventada tem sido usada para fala More...

A thought-provoking and widely influential collection.

Eh....

should be subtitled to let you know upfront that it's essentially about british & british empire invention of tradition. super interesting articles and lots of great history about where various traditions - some that we think of as being quite old - really come from and when. a bit on the academic side, but not too jargony, so if you're interested in this sort of thing, i think it would be accessible to the non-specialist.

Essays on specific national myths that undergird popular nationalisms in Europe today. Mostly interesting and occasionally dull, depending upon the essay.

a great book edited by "Stalin's cheerleader" and some other guy that goodreads didnt even credit

A mixed bunch of studies which seemed to get less and less penetrable as you go on.

i read this for one reason: assignment.