History Faculty Publications and Presentations
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
12-2017
Abstract
Following Ernest Gellner, this paper asserts that national consciousness is a modern phenomenon which arose in response to certain structural preconditions that came together differently in different national contexts. Furthermore, it suggests that this crystallization process is complex, involving the attainment of a tipping point at which time discrete semi-dormant processes merge into a dominant movement. It argues that in Bulgaria, one of the most influential factors in establishing these preconditions and the final tipping point was the publishing and educational work done throughout the nineteenth century by American Protestant missionaries. Six factors are identified as significant in this process: (1) the volume of print generated, (2) the massive distribution network for print materials, (3) the pricing strategy for these materials, (4) the establishment and management of modern schools, (5) the role played by the Americans in the process of orthographic standardization of modern Bulgarian, and (6) the creation through regular periodical publications of what Benedict Anderson describes as “unbound seriality”, a necessary component in forming modern national consciousness.
Recommended Citation
Miller, Christopher L. "American Missionaries and the Formalization of Modern Bulgarian National Consciousness." East European Quarterly 45, no. 3-4 (2017): 163-184.
Publication Title
East European Quarterly
Comments
© Central European University 2017.
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