national_identity.ppt National Identity and configurations

National Identity and configurations

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National IdentityNational Identity

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ObjectivesObjectives
Upon completion of viewing this slide show on
National IdentityNational Identity you should be aware of:
How national identities are formed.
How much control people have in shaping their
own national identities.
The uncertainties about national identity that
exist in the contemporary British society.
The use of symbols and rituals in constructing
and reinforcing national identity.
How globalisation is affecting national identity.

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IntroductionIntroduction
It is said that nations are more than ‘blood
and soil’.
Nations are a social construction,
reflecting political and cultural interests
and changing over time.
Nations are geographical, but national
identity may equally be shaped by cultural
factors such as religion, language, history,
wars, etc.
Colonialism can also reinforce national
identity: 50 years ago world maps were a
third pink reflecting the British Empire.

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Evaluation of National IdentityEvaluation of National Identity
Paul Gilroy notes how as a black person
he feels culturally excluded from feeling
British.
In addition, many identify with Ireland,
Scotland and Wales before the United
Kingdom or being British.
'Britain was never a union of equals and
Britishness was more closely aligned
with Englishness’ (Guibernau and
Goldblatt (2000:132).

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Stuart Hall and Shared ExperiencesStuart Hall and Shared Experiences
Stuart Hall (1992) notes that
every nation has a collection of
stories about shared
experiences, sorrows,
triumphs and disasters.
In the United Kingdom you can
understand why there is both a
sense of identity about being
British as well as identities of
being English, Scottish, Welsh,
and Irish.

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What Does it Mean to be Kenyan?What Does it Mean to be Kenyan?
Bowie (1993) points out that non-Welsh
people think of Wales in terms of broad
stereotypes (rugby, male-voice choirs,
sheep farming, etc.)
However, there are huge cultural divisions
between Welsh and non-Welsh speakers,
North and South Wales, industrial/urban
parts versus agricultural/rural areas.
The reality of most nations is that they are
cultural 'hybrids'.
A sense of 'not being English' can unite
many people to identify with being Welsh,
or Scottish or Irish.

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What Does it Mean to be Kenyan?What Does it Mean to be Kenyan?
Richard Weight (1999) feels that
the English football team is a
crucial icon in binding the
English together.
He sees national identity about
emotional and cultural
attachments

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Globalisation and National IdentityGlobalisation and National Identity
James Fulcher argues that,
despite the development of a
'global society', national identity
is still important.
He argues we now live in a
'multi-level society' that has a
global level of organisation but
also regional, national and sub-
national levels.

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Benedict Anderson - 'Imagined Benedict Anderson - 'Imagined
Communities'Communities'
Benedict Anderson (1983, pictured left)
visualises the nation as an ‘imagined
community’. We will never meet all the
people who share our sense of nation,
so our national community is imaginary
in the sense of existing in our minds.
A shared language, and a shared culture
gives the preconditions for the
development of modern national identity.

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Anthony SmithAnthony Smith
Anthony Smith argues you
cannot create nations out of
nothing.
Nations can only be forged
from some pre-existing
community, bound by
language or culture or religion.
This might explain why artificial ‘imposed’
nations such as the old USSR failed and
broke up, returning to pre-revolution nations.

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Anthony GiddensAnthony Giddens
Anthony Giddens argues national
identity is relatively benign
whenever it is taken for granted.
When national identity becomes
threatened people embrace idea
of ‘we group’ and ‘them group’.
The conflict between Serbs
Bosnians and Croats stemmed
from the fact they no longer
identified themselves as
Yugoslavians.

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Rituals and Symbols in National Rituals and Symbols in National
IdentityIdentity
Rituals and symbols play a crucial role in
reinforcing identity.
Emile Durkheim argued the ritual of national
ceremonies give nations the cohesion and
unity they need.
In the UK, the state, monarchy and Church
of England are closely linked and form the
core of most British national rituals.

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Saluting the FlagSaluting the Flag
National identity is equally
reaffirmed through the use of
symbols, most notably the
national flag.
The obvious example of this
is the daily ritual for school
children in the USA of
saluting the 'stars and
stripes'.
The Statue of Liberty is an equally important national symbol.

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MadonnaMadonna
Madonna, in her much publicised
adoption of British identity, turned to
wearing the Union Jack on her clothes.
Madonna's Britain is similar to the one
British Airways is attempting to
symbolise:
A Britain that stands for pride, monarchy
and global respect.

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Remembrance CeremoniesRemembrance Ceremonies
An example of a ritual
that reinforces national
identity is the
Remembrance Day
ceremonies that can be
found across Britain
every November 11th.
They reinforce an
'imagined community'
(Anderson) and create
a 'we-group' (Giddens)
around pride in a
national identity. Remembering the war dead or
saluting the flag is about defining a
‘them-group’ or ‘other’ as 'not like
us'.

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Diana’s FuneralDiana’s Funeral
The death of Diana is
another illustration of
Benedict Anderson's
concept of the
'imagined community'
of the nation.

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ConclusionsConclusions
An old-fashioned view of national identity was to see it in terms
of 'blood and soil'.
Nation states have become an established part of the world
order.
Some of these so-called nation states are actually 'hybrids' and
contain a mix of cultural groups within the frontiers of the state.
National cultures often have a number of internal divisions (they
contain different subcultures).
Nations frequently exchange customs, food and dress fashions
with one another.
Moreover, they change over time (there are differences between
the 'traditional' culture and the present day culture).

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Conclusions (continued)Conclusions (continued)
National identities are created through 'official' channels (flags,
ceremonies) and unofficial stories people tell about their nation.
Nationalism as a political doctrine attempts to achieve sovereignty for
the nation and is linked to geographical boundaries. In Britain, this has
led to some devolution for Wales and Scotland.
In an everyday sense, nationalism expresses itself in attachment to the
nation and its citizens.
For many people this takes the form of inclusive nationalism but for a
smaller number it leads to exclusive nationalism.
Globalisation theorists see national cultures as becoming increasingly a
hybrid of values and lifestyles freely flowing across frontiers.
Globalisation has implications for national identities. The distinctiveness
of these identities is becoming eroded under the impact of global
exchanges.

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End of Slide ShowEnd of Slide Show