Technology and Nationalism

In Canada a around the world, online communication has led to a new universal language. In Technology and Nationalism Marco Adria argues that technology has often played a decisive but unnoticed role in shaping the ways in which citizens develop allegiances to regions and nations. Presenting three case studies that demonstrate how technology expands and strengthens regional identities, Adria uses topical examples such as advanced weapons for national defence and radio broadcasting to offer a new perspective on the internet and its developing relationship to social identity in Canada. Revisiting Marshall McLuhan's work on the ways that technologies influence societies, Adria reconsiders the effects technologies have had on Canadian regionalism and nationalism. Offering key insights into media history, the author outlines the influence that newspapers, radio, and television have had in forming a mindset ready to welcome the internet age. As the digital revolution continues to shape the world into a global village, Technology and Nationalism provides a detailed and overdue reflection on the influence of technology on the social and political bonds we form and inhabit.