This book is an account of two dimension of state and nation building in france and spain since the seventeenth centurythe invention of a national boundary. Peter sahlins, university of california, berkeley, history department, faculty. Boundaries by peter sahlins paperback university of california. The making of france and spain in the pyrenees departed from previous scholarship on national identity by arguing that national identity formed both on the localized level among individuals responding to local communal or personal issues and on the central, political level, where national rulers sought to incorporate peripheral communities into the national fold and impose a national identity through polity, education, law, lingua franca, and religion. Having clear boundaries is essential to a healthy, balanced lifestyle. He is the author of several books, including most recently 1668. Peter sahlins born april 26, 1957 is an american historian of france and europe. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. A boundary is a personal property line that marks those things for which we are responsible. It is also a history of catalan rural society in the cerdanya, a valley in the eastern pyrenees divided between spain and france in 1659. Peter sahlins has taught history at uc berkeley since 1989. The making of france and spain in the pyrenees departed from.
Boundaries by peter sahlins paperback university of. His work has spanned france and spain from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century, focusing on questions of boundaries and identities. This book is an account of two dimension of state and nation building in france and spain since the seventeenth centurythe invention of a national boundary line and the making of frenchmen and spaniards. He is professor of history at the university of california berkeley, where he specializes in early modern france. Sahlins book is a fascinating look at what makes a nation, and a microcosmic study of the formation of the modern nationstate. His study of the cerdanya gives the book insights, not just into governmental statebuilding, but also the construction of identity, the necessity of boundaries for people to define themselves in opposition to the other. The making of france and spain in the pyrenees reprint by sahlins, peter isbn. The making of france and spain in the pyrenees 1989 and unnaturally french. He is the author of four books, including boundaries. Peter sahlins university of california, berkeley academia. From 2006 to 2008 he was on leave at the social science research council as its director of academic programs, where he directed the major fellowship programs and led a new environmental programming. Boundaries the making of france and spain in the pyrenees.