Today, we’re going to finish up with Benedict Anderson. First, I am going to put you into groups to do a close reading of the text.
Close Reading
Let’s do a close reading of Bentham’s text, as usual. Remember that this is going to be our approach to reading. In your groups:
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Identify what you think are the most important sections of the reading.
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Summarise in your own words what the author is saying in these sections.
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Explain why these sections are important to the author’s argument.
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Give a practical example that can help us understand the argument.
To do this, you have to have the text open in your groups, so you can read it carefully, and talk about what it is actually saying (not what you guess it might be saying!).
I’m going to get all the groups to report back after the discussion.
Reimagining Myanmar/Burma
Our final topic is to think about Myanmar/Burma. I’m going to get you to write in response to these questions first, and then to discuss.
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What are the cultural and historical factors that have contributed to how Burma/Myanmar is imagined today?
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What are the problems with how Burma/Myanmar is imagined today?
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How can Burma/Myanmar be reimagined to better serve the interests of people int his part of the world?
Homework
For your homework, read chapter 9 of Hannah Arendt’s The Origins of Totalitarianism, chapter 9: https://www.perlego.com/book/4087260/