The Nation

Reading Valentine Ch 9 esp. pp Nations National Identity Nationalism

The Nation Nation-states a product of a specific historical epoch –Industrial Capitalism Nation-States under threat –From Globalization –From internal division

Nations A collective form of identity Socially constructed A legacy of the modern period Nation-States under threat: –Identity being re-constructed

Nationalism: Michael Ignatieff Ethnic nationalism Civic nationalism

Civic Nationalism Nation is composed of all who subscribe to its political creed –a nation based on citizenship –regardless of birth, ethnic origin, language etc., –Socially realistic –Example: Canada outside of Quebec

Ethnic Nationalism Nation composed of those of a common ethnic heritage –a nation based on blood, language –rule by the ethnic majority –Socially unrealistic

Ethnic Nationalism Nations are idealised as “pure” cultures –motherland; fatherland; homeland; cradle/berceau –idealised landscapes –association of space & people, blood & soil

Ethnic Nationalism Constructs a Gaze –Ethnocentric self vs Others –Can be hostile toward Others

State Capitol, Austin TX

Civic Nationalism In debunking the mythologies of ethnic nationalism (blood & soil etc.,) Ignatieff creates other mythologies: –culture, history, tradition still matter in a “civic nation” –“Civic nations” have their own traditions, mythologies, tribal myths etc., –Civic Nationalism as politically-correct wishful thinking linklink

Imagined communities Benedict Anderson (1983) Nations are imagined communities But they are not purely imaginary –Created out of pre- existing identities

Nation State Historically specific Invented in C16th Europe

Nation State Importance of media, schools –Disseminates idea of community –Co-ordinates common experience

Benedict Anderson: Print capitalism and Ethnic diversity –Promote imagined communities

Gerrard St East Video capitalism and Thriving Indian expatriate community –Promotes the imagination of an India by the expatriate community

Invented traditions Creating or falsifying the past –for promoting an invented community

Nationalism “...what nationalism really is: the dream that a whole nation could be like a congregation; singing the same hymns, listening to the same gospel, sharing the same emotions, linked not only to each other, but to the dead buried beneath their feet.” -- Michael Ignatieff Blood & Belonging

Assad’s Funeral, Syria

National Identity

French Nationalism

US Nationalism

the beaver is a proud and truly noble animal….

Nationalist Kitsch “There is no nationalist art that is not kitsch, no patriotic creation that does not pantomime sincerity. Why? Perhaps no art that is not personal can ever be genuinely sincere, and nationalist art, by definition, cannot be personal.” -- Michael Ignatieff Blood & Belonging

Banal Nationalism Where nationalist symbolism becomes more important than any deeper social reality

Conclusion: Nations, Nationalism are social phenomena –socially constructed –socially meaningful to some extent –importance of mythology and symbolism in creating national identity