17.1 Captivity and Enslavement, Olaudah Equiano, the interesting Narrative of the life of Olaudah Equiano written by himself 1. What are Equiano’s impressions of the white men on the ship and their treatment of the slaves? How does this treatment reflect the slave traders’ primary concerns? Equiano’s first impression of these white men is a feeling of uncertainty and sorrow for the future. As his story goes on Equiano is afraid of these white men, but also he is wishing to end it all because of the conditions and treatment of the slaves.
When we think of nationalism we often associate a sense of identity with stare and nation, for some the idea of there identity being connected to their nation is a positive notion, but for others this association to nation raises worry of alienation and violence.1 Nationalism can be seen as a network where individuals of a nation can have shared values, expectations and sense of self. These negative associations of nationalism “occurs when, in the process of seeing ourselves as uniquely Australian others suffer. ”2 An example of this would be the Cronulla riots where violence was inflicted upon those people that Australians born residence did not deem then worthy of being identified as Australian due to their ethnic background and the colour
People from various ethnicities are moving and have moved, settled and become citizens of countries other than their ancestors’. Even today, there is discrimination based on looks and the parent country just as the Japanese Americans were discriminated against, although in different ways. Today, people struggle with identity problems and the problem of nationality. Like Oliver Goldsmith, there are few who claim to be citizens of not of any country, but citizens of the world. There are several who adopt and choose a country to be their own and call it their own.
Canada has a very rich history, despite being a younger country than most. This history constitutes many different methods, good or bad, that Canadians have tried in order to develop a significant national identity. For instance, Canada played an important role in both of the World Wars in attempts to establish a distinct national identity on the global stage. After World War Two, Canada joined the United Nations and began performing peacekeeping missions to provide aid to countries, thus creating a new facet to the Canadian national identity. However, Canada has also used unjust methods, such as establishing residential schools as a way to assimilate the First Nations into the government’s idea of what Canadian national identity should be.
Later, the cultural critic Stuart Hall has opined about the changing nature of identity. He says that there is no fixed identity that can be attributed to an individual for his life period; it evolves through several changes in each phase of life. So it can be understood that formation of identity involves several steps: construction, reconstruction and deconstruction. The politics behind this formation may depend on the nature of identity that an individual tries to hold. Indeed, the cultural critic Kobena Mercer reminds us: “One thing at least is clear - identity only becomes an issue when it is in crisis, when something
People often imagine American identity as unassuming and accepting. America is a place made up of a mixture of cultures, supposedly allowing one to live their life no matter how different it may be from their neighbor. American identity is seeing someone 's appearance, and no matter how different someone 's skin color or clothes, they are sanctioned as an American. Wouldn 't America be a place that welcomes different appearances and heritages as one? Okita 's poem "
I suppose when i used to think of cultural identity, i perceive it as what racial background we come from, what race we are. Whether it’s Mexican, Asian, French, etc… I assumed it meant what special foods we eat, and events or activities we participate in according to our background. Little did i know this is a misconception; quite a common one actually. Cultural identity is actually how you live your life and how you express yourself, the things you enjoy that make you, you. I am someone who enjoys many things, ranging from A-Z.
Like all social identities, there is no fixed European identity. Today we have overcome the monolithic conception of it in favour of a more postmodern definition, understanding it as something fluid or constantly in the process of becoming. Ideas of Europe and about Europe are in close relationship with the historical context and as such they ought to be studied, so that a diachronic understanding can facilitate a synchronic analysis. Paul Valéry’s essay “The Crisis of the Mind” fits well in this framework: the crisis is a crisis of conscience, it’s the awareness that the understanding of the world that once was is no more. Thus, it is an important example of a turning point in the history and evolution of Europe’s identity (or at least of
After addressing the propositions, Miller dedicates one chapter (chapter 6) to explore the link between the seemingly erosion of national identity in western democracies. He argues that national identities are not eroding per se. Rather, it is the “growing uncertainty about the cultural values and political principles that distinguishes one nation from the next”. More generally, On Nationality is a book where Miller defends the idea of civic nationalism. This school of thought stems from a liberal analysis of nationalism and national identity.
The background of my cultural identity I am an African American female but that isn’t all there is to know me for. I am an African American girl who is very interactive with my religion and also my culture. Cultural identity can be hard to explain because some people don’t know what’s really in their culture and they fail to see , and understand it. I know what my cultural identity is because of my ethiopian flag, the baked macaroni, and the movie the lion king.
The Warwick debate provides approaches to the study of nationalism. It laid the foundation for the development of two approaches to the study of nationalism. The first approach is Smith’s primordial approach and the other is Gillnets modernist approach. Smith’s argument begins with the definition of nationalism and the difference between a state and a nation.
Throughout my experiences in this course so far, I have had many opportunities to reflect on my own past and have begun to better understand my own cultural identity. It has been much more difficult to wrap my head around than I would have predicted it to be because so many things play into the construction of an identity that it can be hard to look at all of those separate pieces together. My cultural identity, like all others, is more complicated than it first appears. I identify as a white person, a woman, an American, a gay person, and a feminist, just to name a few. While all of these labels carry with them stereotypes and expectations, they also interplay with the cultural influences I was subject to throughout my childhood.
Moving on to the idea of nationalism, Ernest Gellner (1997) understood nationalism as a product of industrial society. He defines nationalism as “primarily a political principle, which holds that the political and national unit should be congruent” (Guibernau and Rex 1997: 52). Nationalism, Gellner says is either a product of feeling of anger when the principle discussed above is not fulfilled or a product of feeling of satisfaction aroused by its fulfilment. Therefore, “nationalism is a theory of political legitimacy” (Guibernau and Rex 1997: 52). Gellner justifies the repercussions of the idea of “nationalism is a theory of political legitimacy” by discussing how the political effectiveness of national sentiment impairs the sensibility of the nationalists to realise the wrong committed by the nation.
It focuses on the fact that identity is not stable rather it is in flux and fluidity now (Pile and Thrift, 1995). They saw identity with cluster of difference and vibrancy, with fluidity and contrast. Difference plays a vital role in the fluidity of identity as Soja and Hooper say that the politics of identity include power, difference and change (1996:187). People have multiple identities and in the construction of identity there is a key factor called difference. This difference comes from different sides like place, origin, gender, culture and ethnicity.
It does not mean that society nowadays lost identity and sense of national belonging because cultural identities aren’t static, they are dynamic and constructed situationally in particular place and time (Shultz & Lavenda). Democritus of Abdera wrote, “To a wise man, the whole earth is open; for the native land of a good soul is the whole earth.” Thus people have relentless desire to travel, discover world cultures and to coexistence with world citizens. That is what make them cosmopolitans. Due to (Beck & Cronin, 2004) the human condition has itself become cosmopolitan, no borders exist anymore in any part of our life: travelling, communication, terror.
