Nationality and identity Flashcards
Nationality
A formal legal category which derives from people belonging to a specific ‘nation state’, that is a country recognised by other countries as a exercising authority and power over a geographical territory.
National identity
The feeling of being apart of a larger community, that is a ‘nation state’, which gives the individual a sense of pride (anthem/language), purpose and meaning, This may be expressed through patriotic or nationalistic attitude, feelings and behaviour. For instance, by volunteering to fight for ones country in times of war.
Anderson (1983)
A ‘nation’ is an ‘imagined community’, in that members of a nation will never meet most of their fellow members, and so a national identity is socially constructed through things like flags, the anthem and holidays/festivals. This was constructed by things like newspapers, which created a ‘national’ language that could be relatable.
Kumar (2003)
Unlike the Scottish, the English find it difficult to say who they are, and that English national identity is elusive (difficult to find).
Sardar (2002)
Global identity crisis. We must embrace diversity and focus on common humanity.
Guibernau and Goldblatt (2000)
Five central themes to British identity:
Geography: Britain feels separate from the rest of Europe.
Britain’s Protestant religious status which differentiated the UK from the mainly Catholic Europe.
Wars: Self-sacrifice, the stiff upper lip, perseverance, fair play and putting up with exceptional hardship.
The British empire: Britain see themselves as culturally superior.
The royal family: The very heart of British identity (mass media).
Skey
British identity victimhood:
British identity is sometimes expressed by the idea of ‘others’, because of their appearance, traditions and ways of behaving, are threatening ‘Britishness’.
Majority interests are seen as threatened by minorities.
Garner
National identity and negative views:
Immigration, multiculturalism, religious fundamentalism, the ghettoisation of ethnic minorities and the failure to conform to British cultural norms.
Condor
The importance of celtic identity:
The welsh and Scottish have developed a strong sense of identity (language;welsh have to learn welsh until year 11, history, education (different type of exam boards), government and media) while the English are experiencing an identity crisis. Some English people are unwilling to adopt the symbols of English identity such as the St Georges cross because of its association with racist political parties and football hooligans.
Denscombe
The ‘Little Englanders’ are critical of multiculturalism, immigration, Europe and equal opportunity policies. 20122 census 14% whites as purely British, 64% whites purely English.
