As stated earlier, Anderson has defined "nation" as an "imagined political community." We have discussed earlier why it is "imagined," but why does he consider the nation a "community?" It is because as he says, "Finally, it [the nation] is imagined as a community because, regardless of the actual inequality and exploitation that may prevail in each, the nation is always conceived as a deep, horizontal comradeship" (Anderson 7). Yet this cannot be taken at face value, for does an American living in New York, feel "a deep, horizontal comradeship" for a fellow countryman living in Alaska? Or as said earlier does not a Bengali living in West Bengal, India harbour more fraternal feelings for another Bengali from Bangladesh, than for a person from Delhi or Chennai? This is where the ambiguity surrounding the concept of "national identity" emerges. Andson says he believes that this "dispute and debate" can be successfully understood only with knowledge of "cultural hybridity." As espoused in the works of Homi K. Bhabha, who put forward his theory of hybridity to explain the very unique sense of identity shared and experienced individually by members of a former colonized people. Thus the fact of the matter is that we are always struggling with the concept of cultural identity, be it personal or national. …show more content…
We will also keep in mind Eric Hobsbawm's working definition of a nation as any sufficiently large body of people whose members regard themselves as members of a 'nation'; and also that nations as a natural, God-given way of classifying men are a myth while nationalism, which sometimes takes preexisting cultures and turns them into nations, sometimes invents them, and often obliterates preexisting cultures, is a reality.'
"The Nationalism Project: Ernest Renan Defining the Nation." The Nationalism Project. http://www.nationalismproject.org/what/renan.htm (accessed April 4, 2014).
Throughout the years, humans have constructed many unique civilizations; all which follow a distinct social, economic, and political structure. Even so, there is one characteristic that prevails among these societies, the concept of nationalism. In short, nationalism refers to the feelings people have when identifying with their nation. This simple notion possesses the ability to divide or unite collective groups, and has played an important role in many historical events.
The importance of a perceived common descent to the self-definition of some groups as nations requires a differentiation between nation and ethnic group. [. . .] A common distinction made between the two is that the term ‘nation’ carries the connotation o...
To begin with, culture is something that may change evolve within time but culture is something that come with your heritage or your ethnicity the traditions and things that happen that make up your culture like how your parents raised you are culture. In the informational text “ What is cultural identity” by Elise Trumbull and Maria Pacheco, and in the personal essay “Ethnic Hash” by Patricia Williams, there are similarities and differences in how each writer conveys their message about cultural identity. Based upon their research, Trumbull and Pacheco present the idea that culture changes and that it will never stay the same, while Williams uses her personal experience to develop the idea that many things influence cultural inheritage but
Our world today is becoming increasingly nationalised, boiling each nation into distict individuals. Wiping out variety and diversity in a country. This is shown in the source as the speaker has a standpoint, by which a country should spread its beliefs upon all of its civilians forming them into one. They describe this from a crisis standpoint as they plead for uniformity of their nations spirit, even going as far to say that, if unchanged it could be the destruction of their entire race. It is evident that this standpoint is false, for the events in history miror the opposition of this statement. Nationalism has brought terror among civilizations, to the point of destruction. This statement supported by the genocide that Stalin and Hitler brought upon their people, furthermore nationalism is what started WW1 that lead into WW2. Yes nationalism can bring great pride and joy to a nation but on the back hand it can also lead to destruction and death.
As harmful as ethnic nationalism can be, nationalism can be a force for good. Civic nationalism, as opposed to ethnic nationalism, successfully unites people not by race or ethnicity, but by similar values and ideals. For example, the United States of America was upon the common ideals of freedom and equality. According to one expert, “The United States accepted men of all kinds of descent as their alma mater, transforming them into a ‘new race of men’” (Kohn). The non-exclusivity of American nationalism is exactly what sets apart civic nationalism from ethnic nationalism.
Europeans and people throughout the world came to America to evade religious oppression and begin anew with a culture that was like no other. In the nineteenth century, Ralph Waldo Emerson made a statement of how America was declaring cultural independence from their European ancestry. The United States became a melting pot of the world; blending people, language and heritage creating opportunity for even the the lowest and most hated ethnic groups. Slaves began to have their own unique culture and literature for the first time. America had it’s own literary movement sparking creativity that evolved into significant components of modern culture.
This work is very important to me because it highlights the importance of cultural identity and how this is continually formulated in spite of the dramatic rate at which technology is taking over every aspect of my life. I particularly find it interesting that even with the proliferation of devices and new media, I am not able to completely let go of what I regard as memories that define my cultural identity. These memories come from experiences and development of oneself. Cultural learning, also called cultural transmission, is the way a group of people or animals within a society or culture tend to learn and pass on information. Learning styles are greatly influenced by how a culture socializes with its children and young people.
When we think about our identity we often think about the way we look. Such features as hair color, eye color, skin tone, height and weight come to mind. Whilst these features are part of our identity, there are many more complex factors that make us who we are. Whilst psychological issues are paramount to the formation of our identity, I will be addressing the nature of our identity in relation to socio-cultural factors (Austin, 2002, p.9). During the course of this essay I will be discussing the term of Identity and some of the axes of identity, including Race, Class and Gender. It is important to understand some of the significant issues of identity so that we have more of an understanding of who and what we are, which in turn may help us to begin to better understand others.
No human being is culture free. We are a product of the many different cultures which surround us. Our values, worldview and experiences are structured by the society and culture that exert influences on our lives each day.
To what extent should nation be the foundation of identity? Nationalism is a shared group feeling seeking independence for its culture or ethnicity that holds that group together. A nation is understood as being a shared state of mind, cultural beliefs, linguistics, ethnics, religious practices, geographic location and shared political understandings. The basis of one's identity is influenced by their culture, religion, ethnic status, and their political views, therefore, the list of common understandings of a nation is proof that nation is a large part of the foundation of identity. A person's identity is predisposed based on what kind of nation-state they belong to.
Salazar, J.M., 1998, ‘Social identity and national identity’, in Worchel, S., Morales, J.F., Páez, D., Deschamps, J.-C. (Eds.), Social Identity, International Perspectives. Sage, London.
In his book Imagined Communities, Anderson points out “some tentative suggestions” to the abstract concept of “nation, nationality, and nationalism.” Nation, according to Anderson, is “an imagined political community […] both inherently limited and sovereign.” A nation is imagined because all members cannot know about the existence of each other, but there is still something that connects their minds and souls together. For example, Vietnam 1000 years ago was a small and insignificant country. Yet its people were patriotic and unified through the shared experience that evoked emotion.
How many times have people asked themselves, who am I? What defines me? Culture plays a very important role in the identity of people. People are born in a culture, their family's culture, but not with an already established culture. The term culture refers to the values, beliefs, customs, style of dress, food, songs and stories that are shared and learned in a characteristic group. On the other hand, identity is a set of features, attributes and characteristics that define a person. Identity is constructed by language, social structure, gender orientation and cultural patterns. Although many do not relate these two themes, there is a complex relationship between culture and identity.
Moreover, a nation is not a natural thing but created through nationalism. The main objectives to form nationalism is to gain independence, to become modern and then to develop a positive identity.