John Storey Flashcards
When, according to Storey, did ‘Britain’ become a name of the nation?
In the early eighteenth century, although it had been mentioned in earlier periods (1536, incorporation of Wales)
How was Britain ‘invented’?
In 1707 the Act of Union united England and Scotland, followed by the composition of the unofficial British national anthem “Rule Britannia” in 1740
When did the name change to “United Kingdom”?
When Ireland was added between 1801 and 1921
Which event led to the name “United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland”?
In 1921 with the division of Ireland
Which two factors, according to Storey, contributed to a “shared sense of Britishness”?
- The war with France was perhaps the most significant factor in the formation of British self-identity. The hostile Other encourage people in Britain to define themselves collectively against it
- Further, the building of the British Empire in North America, Africa, India and Australia was even more important for the formation of a shared sense of Britishness.
How does Storey contradict the common assumption that identity is “something coherent and fixed”?
He argues that identity is not only formed by “roots” but also by “routes”, meaning that change and formation are inherent to identity. In terms of national identity, it is not invented once but reinvented again and again. New powerful national figures, new institutions, new symbols and ceremonies, new stories of historical origins are added over time.
What is ‘national branding’ “often tied up with”?
National branding is often tied up with claims about maintaining supposedly ancient traditions :4th of July, Thanksgiving, beer in Germany, Christmas, national tourism boards, Bayernlied
How is nature used to establish a sense of the nation?
The way territory is articulated symbolically makes the connection between nature and nation seem natural. Territorial space has been made to signify by artists and writers as well – they have changed our perception of the British landscape, demonstrating the cultural construction of invented boarders of a territory into something that now seems like a perfectly natural way of seeing and belonging.
What is the relation of ‘folk culture’ and nationalism(s)?
The emergence of European nationalism was influenced by the discovery of folk culture. It is the very embodiment of the nature of a nation, including the national and natural blur.
f.ex. Irish folk music, Scottish dances & bagpipes, fairytales
How does Storey explain Benedict Anderson’s ‘imagined community’?
He describes how nationality is constructed with the use of cultural artefacts. He says that a nation is imagined because even in the smallest nation, the members will never know most of their fellow-members, let alone hear of them or meet them – yet the image of their communion is in the mind of all members.
What are horizontal and vertical relations?
A nation consists of horizontal (national belonging, based on equality) and vertical relations (social class, ethnicity, gender, generation – inequal).
What are nation-enabling media?
The novel, radio, television and newspaper are seen as nation-enabling.
How does Storey explain ‘hegemony’?
Hegemony (by Gramsci): process of power in which a dominant group rules by force and leads by “consent”. It is a specific kind of consensus, in which a social group presents its own interests as the general interests of the national formation (the particular becomes general).
Which two conclusions does Storey draw from “the concept of culture as a realised signifying system”?
=> culture attributes meaning to things
=> national culture consists of a network of shared meanings organised around relations of power
How, according to Storey, are national identities ‘made’?
- There is nothing natural about nationality
- National identities consist of the accumulation of what is outside (i.e. in culture = traditions, language, history, social practices) in the belief that it is an expression of what is inside (i.e. in nature = inherent, natural characteristics of people)
- => National identity is constructed from external cultural practices and symbols, but it is often believed to arise from something innate or natural about the people of that nation
- National performativity is not voluntary, it is a continual process of disciplinary reiteration
- National identity is created through repeated and sustained social performances and involves citations of previous performances of nationality
