Nationality and identity

Question 1

What are the key terms of Nationality and Identity?

Answer 1

State: a self-governing geographical area

Nation: a population assumed to have a shared identity and culture based on common descent and historical homeland

Nation state: where the people living within a state are united by a common identity and culture
• When a national people has a state of their own, it is called a nation state (e.g. France, Egypt, Germany, Japan)
• Some states contain two nations (e.g. Canada, Belgium) or three (e.g. Britain)
• Some nations have no state of their own (e.g. the Kurds, spread between Iran, Iraq and Turkey)

Nationalism: a movement that stresses the rights to freedom and territory of a nation

Globalisation: the process by which various countries and cultures of the world become more closely intertwined

Glocalisation: the process by which local and global cultures interact to produce new forms

Question 2

People come to identify themselves as belonging to a nation through a combination of two things:

Answer 2

1. Territoriality – they can identify a certain physical/geographic space
2. Common culture – they are socialised into the attitudes, attributes and ideas of an ‘imagined community’ (Anderson, 1983):

Question 3

List the Aspects of Common Culture in Socialising Mechanisms

Answer 3

1. Language
2. Education
3. Ceremonies and ritual symbols
4. Values and attitudes
5. Traditions and customs
6. Consumption and leisure
7. Achievements
   - Political
   - Technological and science
   - Sporting
   - Cultural

Question 4

Give an example in Britain for each of the Aspects of Common Culture in Socialising Mechanisms:

1. Language
2. Education
3. Ceremonies and ritual symbols
4. Values and attitudes
5. Traditions and customs
6. Consumption and leisure
7. Achievements
   - Political
   - Technological and science
   - Sporting
   - Cultural

Answer 4

1. English
2. Teaching of English literature, history and religion in British schools
3. Ceremonies - royal weddings, Remembrance Day
4. Symbols – flags, coins, monuments
5. Values – Upholding human rights and freedoms, respect for rule of law
6. Attitudes – Sense of fair play, tolerance
7. Traditions – celebrating Christmad
8. Customs – Sending birthday cards
9. Consumption – Fish and Chips
10. Leisure – Cricket and football
11. Achievements:

• Political – 2nd World War
• Tech and science – Industrial Revolution
• Sporting – Invention of cricket, winning football world cup – once
• Cultural – Pop music, fashion, literature

Question 5

Functionalist views on nationality.

Durkhiem argued in 1897 about this including reference to ceremonies. What did she say?

Answer 5

Durkheim (1897) argued that socialisation through ceremonies and ritual are important integrating mechanisms that contribute to the creation and recreation of national identities

Question 6

The purpose of Functionalist views on nationality is to create what?

Answer 6

The purpose of this is to create social solidarity, the general belief that people share a bond uniting them, which provides a sense of social cohesion.

Question 7

Functionalist views on nationality sometimes finds expression in what?

Answer 7

Nationalism.

This sometimes finds expression in nationalism.

Nationalism plays a positive role in creating feelings of community and cohesion.

However, it can also provoke feelings of difference and antagonism towards ‘others’.

Question 8

Functionalist views on nationality were discussed by Terzis in 2001. What did he/she say with reference to Media?

Answer 8

Terzis (2001) argues that the media plays a significant role in this as

1. ‘tellers of national myths’
2. ‘engravers of national symbols on the nation’s memory’
3. presenters of national rituals

Question 9

Globalisation theorists argue that national identity has changed because of three main challenges posed by globalisation:

Answer 9

Globalisation theorists argue that national identity has changed because of three main challenges posed by globalisation:

1. Political and economic unions e.g. European Union threaten to take over from national identities
2. Immigration by minority groups with their own forms of culture and social organisation
3. Cultural processes e.g. media, food, fashions and styles

Question 10

Globalisation theorists argue that national identity has changed because of three main challenges posed by globalisation.

This has resulted in two trends:

Answer 10

1. Cultural uniformity, especially McDonaldisation (Coca cola, baseball hats, jeans), and from the East (Indian food, Chinese martial arts, Buddhist spiritualism)
2. Glocalisation, where local and global cultures interact to produce new forms

Question 11

Apart from globalisation, Waters (1995) suggests that three further reasons are causing British identity to weaken:

Answer 11

1. Celtic identity - Devolution in Scotland and Wales have strengthened a long-held sense of regional identity that overpowers the British identity.
2. Multiculturalism - Modood has found that Asians and African-Caribbeans do not feel comfortable with a ‘British’ identity because they do not feel that they are accepted by white Britians as truly British.
3. English identity - Increasing numbers of people are likely to identify themselves as English rather than British (‘Little Englanders’). However, Asians and African-Caribbeans seldom identify themselves as ‘English’ because of the associations of English nationalism with racism.

Question 12

What is the conclusion on Nationality and Identity?

Answer 12

• A global culture may be spreading, where we become ‘citizens of the world’ instead of having national identities.
• However, most people still have an important sense of national identity, and differences in national cultures are still clearly visible.
• In Britain, a new multicultural ‘Britishness’ is emerging in popular culture.
• However, these differences are shrinking.
• Globalisation theorists may prove to be right in the end, or we may react to globalisation with increasing nationalism.