Nationality & Identity Flashcards
What is nationality ?
The identity of the whole country.
How is the national identity expressed?
Through supporting national sports team
Pride in national anthem and flag
Who said a nation is an ‘imagined community’, socially constructed through symbols and rituals?
Anderson
Who said England’s national identity is elusive and hard to define due to it being a diluted British identity?
Kumar
Who says the world is in a global identity crisis?
Sardar
Why does Sardar say we are in a global identity crisis?
- Many of the old divides (East v West, capitalists v communists) have broken down.
- Britain has lost its empire, feeling small in a globalised world.
- It is unsure whether it should become more American or European.
Why may nationality be less significant now?
- National boundaries/cultures have been broken down by the internet and media. Young people are arguably ‘citizens of the world’.
- Halsey: Growing international homogeneity and the dominance of American culture has made it difficult to pinpoint Britishness. Our lives are becoming Americanised to the point where British can no longer be said to be unique.
Why may the English national identity be seen as negative?
Been used alongside racist right wing groups like the English Defence League and Britain First.
Who discusses the different responses to globalisation?
Hall
What are the three different reactions to globalisation?
- Cultural homogenisation: accept global culture and how all countries will become more similar
- Cultural hybridity: May take some parts of global culture alongside their traditional culture and develop a new but individual identity
- Cultural resistance: resist global culture, and protect their heritage, becoming traditional and nationalistic.
Who talks about international homogeneity and the dominance of American culture?
Halsey
What sociologists discuss how nationality as an identity is changing?
- Halsey: International homogeneity, dominance of American culture
- Hall: cultural homogeneity; hybridity; & resistance
- Sardar: global identity crisis
What does Sardar say about changing national identities?
- The world is in the middle of a global identity crisis as many of the old divides which defined us have broken down. (East v West, Communists v Capitalists)
- Britain has lost its empire and is unsure with whether it should become more American or European.
- ‘Englishness’ is based on historical traditions that are meaningless to the vast majority living there today, so there is a struggle to find an English identity.
- Argues to find a more confident identity, we must embrace diversity and focus on our common humanity.
What does Kumar discuss about nationality?
- Unlike the Scottish, Welsh, and the Irish, the English find it hard to say who they are. The English identity is elusive.
- The long history of the English as an imperial people has developed a sense of ’missionary nationalism’ which has necessitated the repression of ordinary expressions of nationalism.
- Thus, the quest to expand ‘Britishness’ may have diluted ‘Englishness’.
What does Anderson say about nationality?
- A ‘nation’ is an ‘imagined community’, in that members will never meet most of its members, and so a national identity is socially constructed through symbols and rituals (national holidays, flags, sport).
- We are also encouraged to get behind our nation’s interests. Media coverage of international events give British people involved higher status.
