Browsing by Subject "National identity"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Containing Balkan nationalism: Imperial Russia and Ottoman Christians (1856--1912)
    (2008-08) Vovchenko, Denis Vladimirovich
    The dissertation is an analysis of the Russian relationship to Orthodox Christians in the Ottoman Empire during the second half of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century. As a methodological approach, it uses the concepts of irredentism, Orientalism, and multiple modernities. The dissertation focuses on the debate around the Bulgarian Church Question in Russia and Greek lands. The discussion developed among intellectuals, ecclesiastics, and diplomats from the Crimean War to the First Balkan War (1856-1912) and inspired several visions of a supranational cultural and political union of Russia and its "unredeemed" populations in the Near East. The study argues that in the period under consideration traditional Pan-Orthodox irredentism had to compete with the more modern ethnic-based Pan-Slavism. Based on those examples, the dissertation suggests that irredentism is a discourse of both similarity and difference. It helps consolidate the national identity of the core group by mobilizing it for the cause conveniently situated abroad. In line with Orientalist hallmarks, irredentism others and genders the unredeemed as helpless victims. In contrast to Orientalism, irredentist discourse others the purported Self and leaves more room for the agency of the unredeemed. The three responses to the Bulgarian Church Question can be broadly defined as "Pan-Slavism," "Pan-Orthodoxy," and "Greco-Slavic world/cultural type" theory as a synthesis of the first two. These visions sought to resolve tensions between ethnic and religious elements in the identity of significant segments of the educated Russian society. All three visions were examples of Orientalist production of knowledge connected with political power. They ultimately aimed at creating a non-Western civilization based on shared culture and centered on Russia. The existing scholarly literature considers the proponents of these visions as conservative, neotraditional, and "anti-modern" on the assumption that there can only be one liberal Western model of modernity. The dissertation uses the concept of multiple modernities to situate Russian responses to the Bulgarian Church Question within the broader context of "the invention of tradition" in fin-de-siecle Europe. It suggests the strength and evolution of traditional religious and dynastic identities and institutions on the eve of the First World War.
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    Elites’ conceptualization of issues of social cohesion.
    (2010-08) Figueroa, Chantal
    The purpose of this qualitative research study is to understand, compare and contrast elite perspectives of understanding of national identity and citizenship in Guatemala in the new environment of policies for social cohesion. In-depth interviews of six key personalities in Guatemalan elite society provide insights into the understanding of the construction of these concepts and the cultural logics underlying the initiative of the introduction of the Cabinet for Social Cohesion led by the first lady Sandra de Colom. Critical pedagogy is used as a theoretical framework to understand the future development and implementation of a policy for social cohesion and to pull together and analyze the similarities and discrepancies of elites’ perspectives. Finally, the study seeks to highlight the importance of identity politic when developing educational policy and social cohesion, especially citizenship education within the Guatemalan context. Key Words: social cohesion, citizenship, national identity, Guatemala
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    For China, and for science: the Institute of Agriculture at Tsinghua University and scientists in Republican China, 1930s-1940s
    (2013-08) Geng, Xuan
    In 1934, the National Tsinghua University established an institute of agriculture. It was expanded and strengthened during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Although it only existed for twelve years, this institute played a significant role in the history of science in modern China. Fifty-nine agricultural scientists worked at this institute. Four of them were selected as academicians of the Academia Sinica in 1948, and fourteen became academicians of the China's Academy of Sciences after 1949. This essay will examine the history of the Institute of Agriculture in Tsinghua University and explore the reason for its success. I argue that the Tsinghua researchers' dual-identity of being both Chinese people and scientists enabled this institute to survive and thrive in an extremely turbulent era. Motivated by the Chinese-scientist dual-identity, these scientists at Tsinghua IOA were able to be flexible and to relieve tensions between the Chinese and the foreign, between the central and local political forces, and between different local environments, and therefore contributed to the development of both their country and the scientific knowledge they worked on.
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    There is no nation without a language (Ní tír gan teanga): Language policy and the Irish Dancing Commission
    (2017-01) Farrell, Anna
    This study examines how language is employed to (re)create an Irish national identity through one popular form of non-formal education – Irish dancing. I specifically examine the entangled histories of the Gaelic League and An Coimisiún le Rincí Gaelacha (CLRG), the Irish Dancing Commission dance. Together these two organizations have engaged in an anti-colonial project spanning nearly a century that links the Irish language, dance, and an idealized Irish identity. This year (2016) is the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising, the event that marked the beginning of the successful Irish independence movement. In light of this anniversary, language issues are at the forefront of many peoples’ minds. This dissertation considers to what extent the articulation between language and dance continues in Ireland today, and how the role of language and dance in (re)creating an idealized Irish identity has changed from an anti-colonial project to one that seeks to reify Irish national identity in an era of globalization. Furthermore, I argue for a renewed focus on non-formal education in the field of Comparative and International Development Education, specifically the role that non-formal education can play in identity formation and fomenting language attitudes.